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%

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%

Smokin' Brown Ale

If I'm not brewing, I'm barbecuing (smoking meat using a smoker). I just love the smoked flavor that comes from the wood used in the smoking process. A while ago, I made a smoked porter, and although it was good, it didn't quite have the level of smokiness I desired.
While shopping at Titgemeiers a while back, I stumbled on some Briess Cherry Smoked malt. I picked up a few pounds for an eventual smoked beer. I finally constructed the recipe using a basic American Brown Ale. I took out some of the 2-Row and replaced it with 3lbs. of the smoked grain. Here's the recipe:

Smokin' Brown Ale

Fermentables:
8 lb. 2-Row
3 lb. Briess Cherry Smoked Malt
.50 lb. C-40
.50 lb. Biscuit
.50 lb. Wheat
.25 lb. CaraMunich 60
.25 lb. Chocolate

Hops:
1.10 oz. Goldings - 5.0% AA

Yeast:
Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale (starter from Fred)

OG: 1.059
FG: 1.007
ABV: 6.9%

The beer came out pretty good. It has a really nice level of smokiness to it, probably just a tad too much, but it's still very drinkable. If I were to make it in the future, I might cut back a pound of it for more of a subtle smoke flavor, this recipe is more of an in your face smoke smell and taste, but again, it's a really unique style and I've really been enjoying a pint here and there. From what I'm told, the smoke flavor level in my version is not even close to that of a German Rauchbier.. I've gotta try one of those someday..

One more thing to add, the yeast used in this beer came from Brad @ Original Gravity. He had a couple leftover packs of Wyeast. Fred on our club was gracious enough to build a 5 gallon starter which we all split up. Thanks everyone.

Oh yeah, pictured is my new smoker, which, has nothing to do with this batch of beer, I'm just proud of it. I do plan on smoking some grains with it in the future for another smoked recipe. I did however enjoy some smoked ribs from this smoker, with the smoked Brown Ale, and the match was perfect!

Citra-Rillo IPA (AHA Big Brew Day Batch)

Edit: adding to this post that, this is by far one of the very best beers I've ever made. Save this recipe, it's freaking amazing! Great citrus burst of hops with a refreshing low malt finish. WOW. (6.30.10)

A couple posts back, I posted on an IPA I made for the new kids arrival. During the process of making that beer, I screwed up a bit. I had wrote down the wrong grain bill and ended up replacing honey malt grains for Munich. Once I figured out what I did, I re-ground grains for that batch, and set the honey malt grains aside thinking I'd give the bag of grains away or toss them.

After a lot of research, everyone (of course) told me to "Relax, have a homebrew and brew it anyway.." Since I didn't have anything else prepared for Big Brew Day, I decided on using these grains for an IPA. I've been loving the Citra hops lately, so I picked some up along with some Amarrillo's and brewed this IPA on the lawn of Harbor Inn & Ale. For those of you that weren't there, this beer was chilled and carboy'd in about 15 minutes, as I had received "THE" phone call that my wife was in labor!

Citra-Rillo India Pale Ale

Fermentables:
11 lb. 2-Row
2 lb. Honey Malt
.50 lb. C-40
.50 lb. Wheat

Hops:
1 oz. Magnum 12.2% - 60 min.
1 oz. Citra 11.1% - 30 min.
1/2 oz. Amarillo 8.6% - 10 min.
1/2 oz. Citra 11.1% - 10 min.
1/2 oz. Amarillo 8.6 % - 5 min.
1/2 oz. Citra 11.1% - 5 min.
1 oz. Amarillo 8.6% - 0 min.
1/2 oz. Citra 11.1% - 0 min.
1 oz. Citra 11.1% - Dry Hopped
1 oz. Amarillo 8.6% - Dry Hopped

Yeast:
WLP001 - California Ale (starter)

OG: 1.060
FG: 1.008
ABV: 6.9%
IBU: 103.2

This beer is a hop bomb. I've kegged it but have only tasted it during transfer and as you can imagine, it tastes amazing. All the worrying I did about the honey malt making this too sweet - not even a problem. Looking forward to sitting down to a cold carbonated pint. Once some space in the fridge clears, I'll be putting this one on tap.. hopefully soon!!