Amarilla Thrilla!

Thought I would do a quick post to keep documented the brews I've done this summer. I made a 10 gallon batch of the Three Floyds Gumball Head clone again, and am pretty much through the second keg already. This beer is a great summer beer. For whatever reason, this seasons didn't seem as "hoppy" to me. Probably because I had an IPA on tap at the same time.
I did something a little odd this time. I didn't quite hit my volume and drained a bit too much into a carboy, so I added about a gallon of water to one of the carboys to dilute it some. The diluted batch ended up around 4.5% and actually came out quite light and tasty. I think if I do this one again, I'm going to add more hops so the Amarillo really shines through, and I might just try to make this a little lighter, as the light version this year was so well received.

Click here for the recipe - Three Floyds Gumbal Head Clone.

Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA clone

I don't drink DFH very often, but if I do, it's usually the 60 minute IPA. Not my favorite IPA, but it's definitely a great example of the style. I had always been intrigued by the labor intensive hop additions in this beer and wanted to try it for myself. I had to make my annual IPA for a friends bday party, so I opted for this clone.

After this was done, I did a side by side comparison. I honestly would say that the two really don't match up. Maybe the bottle of DFH lost it's hop "pop" or something, but the comparison wasn't really close. Mine had a citrus hop burst right up front, with a bitter back end. The malts really didn't shine through. The DFH version had a huge malt up front with a bit of a bitterness at the end. This clone recipe sworn by in the brewing community, so who knows. Maybe the commercial example needs to be fresher for a better comparison. Either way, it's a kick ass IPA, one I'd definitely make again, maybe... The hop additions can get a little repetitious, and for someone like me that has a tough time paying attention longer than 5 minutes.... this brew took some serious concentration. What didn't help was two highschool buddies I hadn't seen in ages, showing up to drink beer in the middle of the brew session.. All was good, I kept setting the timer and kept adding the hops! Here's the recipe:

Fermentables:
2-Row - 13 lb.
C-60 - 2 lb.

Hops:
Amarillo, Nugget and Simcoe - .10 oz. each, added: 60, 55, 45, 35, 25, 15, 10, 5. 0 min. was a 1/2 oz of Amarillo.
Dry Hopped with: 1 oz. Amarillo, 1/2 oz. Simcoe

Yeast:
SafAle-05

OG: 1.055
FG: 1.010
ABV: 6%

DRB Cream Ale

I was asked to make a beer for a work function and actually made this a month or so ago, in preparation for the mid-August party. I made 10 gallons of it and tested the first 5 gallons out at a friends party. 5 gallons were gone in about 3 hours. My test worked! I figured if I could make a craft beer, that wasn't dark, hoppy or thick, people that drink regular beer might dig it. This will especially hold true for the "Bud" drinkers I work with. I was quite impressed with the second round of this beer. The first I had served right off the yeast only 2 weeks after being brewed. It still had a bit of a freshness to it. This second round has a lighter flavor to it and looks beautiful. The head on it is light, white and bubbly. It's a very refreshing beer, oh and by the way, I made this before using all 2-row, I'd definitely suggesting the split with pilsner, it lightened it up quite a bit. Here's the recipe:

Cream Ale (10 gallons)

2-Row - 8 lb.
Pilsner - 8lb.
Flaked Rice - 1.70 lb. (mash)
Corn Sugar - .84 lb. (end of boil)

Hops
Willamette - 4.8AA - 1.60 oz. 60 min.
Willamette - 4.8AA - .80 oz. 1 mins.

Yeast
SafAle US-05 - 2 packets

OG: 1.051
FG: 1.010
ABV: 5.4%