Wednesday, September 1, 2010

DRB Weizen


I wanted a plain ol' wheat beer for some end of summer sipping. This is a really basic recipe, and I used the dry wheat yeast for the first time, which I was impressed with. Great tasting beer, very light, refreshing, clove/banana flavors come through, but aren't too big. Easy, shmeasy, excellent beer.

Fermentables
6 lb. Pilsner
5.25 lb. Wheat

Hops
1.20 oz. Willamette - 4.8% - 60 min.

Yeast
WB-O6 Safbrew

OG: 1.051
FG: 1.010
ABV: 5.4%

RobSlam - Imperial IPA

I've definitely been on a hop kick this year. I've pretty much had something hoppy on tap non stop in my garage. And with the 3 hour disappearance of the last keg of 60 minute IPA clone, I had already prepared another beer to replace it.
I'd been wanting to do an Imperial IPA for quite some time, and just never had a big enough hop selection on hand to do one. I had accumulated hops I traded for, hops from previous batches, etc., and finally had enough on hand to make a good beer.
The base grain for this recipe is straight out of Brewing Classic Styles. The hop addition, I borrowed from a Pliney the Elder clone. I used different hops, but was pretty aggressive in the styles I chose. Most I researched went well together, so I didn't go too crazy on mixing them up.
I kegged this last night and took a sip from the racking cane, and wow, it about hurt my tongue it was so hoppy. Today, I carbonated it, poured some off and tasted it again. A beautiful white froth head sat on the top of the glass the duration of my sampling. What a fantastic floral citrusy smell this beer has. And the taste is amazing. It reminded me of hopslam, with every sip I took (thus the name), although, that wasn't really what I was going for - but the reason I mention it, is hopslam is one of those double (imperial) IPA's that has an overwhelming hop presence to it, with a minimal malt background. I imagine this is going to settle into a nice beer, but I wouldn't mind if it stayed just how it is now! It's truly a fantastic beer, and one glass is about all you need for an evening. :)

RobSlam - Brewed August 6th, 2010 (no, it's not a Hopslam Clone)
Fermented @ 63-65 degrees
Dryhopped in the primary

Fermentables
15.00 lb - US 2-Row Malt
1/2 lb. Crystal 40
1 lb. Corn Sugar (flame out)

Hops
2 oz. US Nugget 13.0 % - 90 min.
1 oz. Chinook 11.5% - 90 min.
1 oz. Amarillo 8% - 90 min.
1 oz. Simcoe 12.4% - 45 min.
1 oz. Amarillo 8% - 30 min.
1 oz. Cascade 5.4% - 15 min.
1 oz. Cascade 5.4% - 10 min.
1 oz. Cascade 5.4% - 5 min.
1 oz. Nugget 13% - 0 min.
1 oz. Amarillo, 1/2 oz. Chinook, 1/2 Nugget - Dryhop

Yeast
US-O5 SafAle

OG: 1.076
FG: 1.009
ABV: 9%