I’m sure we’ve all seen the recipes for beer can chicken, but I’m not talking about that — though Ray and I have been more than intrigued with it. And I am by no means discussing Philadelphia Eagles — if you begin that chant, I will kick you … sorry football fans, but you can take it out to the stadium parking lot for tailgating, not here. I’m talking about the day when people overeat, overdrink, and overwatch TV: Thanksgiving.

Don’t get me wrong — it’s always nice to sit down to a special meal with family. This year we’ll be going to my parents’ house just north of Syracuse, and Ray will get to take part in the small and quiet Ward family dinner. My mom has a fairly simple, but tried and true menu lined up, but along with the pumpkin pie Ray is baking, we’ll be bringing something else. Beer.

Before sitting down to write this, I took a few moments to Google “Thanksgiving Beers,” not sure what I would find. There doesn’t appear to be a single “Thanksgiving” beer — though the winter warmers have begun hitting the shelves — but there are a number of articles discussing the pairing of certain styles with certain dishes. Ah-ha! Something useful!

For your own reading pleasure, here are a few that I found to be interesting:

• An article that is extremely recent with good suggestions
• A piece from our friends at BeerAdvocate that is 2 years old, yet still very relevant
• And if you’re really intense, take a look at this beer and food matching chart I found on the BA’s Web site

As for Ray and I, we’ll be bringing some bottles of our tripel up, which should pair nicely with the turkey, as well as another one of our homebrews that we have yet to tell you about. I plan on serving my parents samples, just to show them what we’ve been up to, and then on Sunday we’ll share some of my homebrews with my aunt and uncle, who are very eager to try them — my uncle even asked if we’d be towing a barrel behind the car!

So to all of you: Have a great Thanksgiving, don’t stuff yourself, and crack open a craft beer in lieu of a bottle of wine for the big feast. Enjoy!

Craft Beer, Opinion Add Comment »

Nearly three weeks ago, Ray and I had the opportunity to tour Dogfish Head’s brewery in Milton, DE, following an entertaining morning and early afternoon of tailgaiting Punkin’ Chunkin’ with Steph, Tim, and other members of their UD crew.

The first thing we saw when pulling into the parking lot was Sam’s famed truck, parked out front on its own grassy throne. Not too far from it were the bocce ball courts, as well as the best porta-potties I have ever experienced in my life. No joke — they had toilet paper, didn’t smell god-awful, and nestled between the two was a nifty sink that allowed me to pump water over my hands via a foot pedal, and I think I remember seeing soap.

Walking into the brewery, we were greeted by a friendly fellow that took our name and explained the sampling system in which they hand out four small cardboard dogfish to everyone to redeem at the end of the tour for samples.

We were early, so we checked out all of the merch, making mental notes of what we’d like to purchase after the tour. T-shirts, glasses, hell if we could have purchased some of the mammoth wall art, we would have. I still have a few walls in the condo unadorned … I think.

Before long, the tour began, and we were lucky enough to have John, a knowledgeable tour guide and home brewer to boot! We got to see the first bottling line that Sam ever worked with, as well as some of the original equipment like Sir Hops A Lot, the original continuous hopping machine. John knew a lot about Dogfish’s history, and used the perfect blend of curmudgeonly humor with a true understanding of how brewery equipment works. There was no reference to “thingamagiggies” or “whatchamacallits.” John knew his stuff and kept us moving along quickly, all the while encouraging folks to ask questions.

Ray and I learned some really fantastic things about Dogfish head, like how the brewery works with the local farms by providing the spent grains for cattle feed, and then later purchasing those cattle to make steaks and burgers at Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats in Rehoboth Beach — hey, it’s the circle of life baby.

We got to see the famous 10,000 gallon Palo Santo fermenters, which house the lusciously decadent Palo Santo Marron, as well as the other stainless steel fermenters throughout. In the photo to the right, you can see I got John mid-sentence, which was pretty common since he had a lot to say!

John was even kind enough to tell us about the gaffe in which one of the DFH brewfolks (I can’t remember the guy’s title) made the same mistake twice … he kept forgeting to clean the o-ring at the bottom of one of the conical fermenters, which kept infecting the beer. He got to make that mistake twice, and then he was walked through his process, in which the discovery of the unclean o-ring came about.

Walking past the huge bags of hops was tempting, and the brewery smelled heavenly, despite all the stainless steel keeping our germs away from the beer. We finished our tour at the bottling line, which to me, sounded like an engineering geek’s dream with lasers and all sorts of intricate moving parts. I think John mentioned that any bottles that are not properly filled get shifted off the bottling line, but not dumped. Instead, Dogfish Head employees can take them home, but mind you, the bottles are not labled — DFH doesn’t need anyone trying to make a quick buck, but then again, I don’t think the brewery employs that kind of people.

On our way back to the sample bar, I got to snap a quick photo of “Me So Hoppy,” kin to Sir Hops A Lot and Sofa King Hoppy (say it out loud a few times and you’ll get the joke).

At the sample bar we were able to try 60 Minute IPA, Midas Touch Golden Elixir, Raison D’Etre and Indian Brown Ale. We siddled up to the bar and ended up spending most of the time talking to the amicable bartender Jameson. Jameson was amused by our tales of homebrewing and even told Ray that he wished he could find a “sweetheart” like me who would bake, brew and read to him while driving (I had told him about reading parts of Brewing Up a Business to Ray while driving back from vacation). Who knew I was such a catch?

Meanwhile, Tour Guide John decided that since we had been a good tour group and we were the last one for the day, he would crack open a 4-pack of Palo Santo Marron, which was quite generous.

Before leaving we selected a couple t-shirts, 2 glasses, a bottle opener key chain for me and a 4-pack of Palo Santo Marron. We even made sure to get a quick photo with Jameson, who seemed honored.

Leaving the brewery, we headed to Rehoboth Beach, where we had dinner at Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats after playing a giant game of chess — if you’re curious, we called the game a draw because no one had enough pieces left to win. I ordered the fish and chips, while Ray had a salmon entree. I enjoyed the well-spiced Panagea, while Ray got to try one of the small batch beers called Piston Honda, a fresh-hopped ale. We finished the night with a slice of Chocolate Chicory Stout Cheesecake, made with blue cheese, and paired with a pint of Chicory Stout.

Luckily for us, we were staying at a quaint motel less than 50 feet away from the pub, so we were able to collapse into a fabulous beer and food coma quickly without hurting ourselves. What a fantastic trip!

Breweries, Brewpubs, Craft Beer 1 Comment »

Life has finally caught up with Ray and me, and it has been none too pretty. We had to miss out on sharing reservations with our friends Jen and Derek for Talula’s Table, one of the hardest reservations to get on the East Coast, and possibly the country. An amazingly epic bummer. We’ll be missing Steph and Tim’s housewarming this weekend because we finally came to the realization that if we didn’t take a weekend off, we’d each have a massive meltdown. Luckily for us, we got to see their new house (they’ve been doing an AWESOME job redoing it) this past weekend when we celebrated Ray’s birthday at Stoudts.

So socially, we’ll see everybody in the new year, but here at Bathtub Brewery, we’ll be back to posting our usual 3 times a week on Monday. I already have a fabulous post half-written, and here’s a hint:

Miscellany Add Comment »

Out of my brewing group, I think I’m the only non-engineer. Numbers? Science? Pshaw … I want ass-kicking flavor and a nose that will tickle the fantasies of your olfactory glands. Sure, you can get that with very precise and measured recipe writing, and honestly that’s admirable. As much as I am a baker (where measurements are important) I’m an experimenter, and I like throwing in a little bit of this and that.

Perhaps I might be taking after entrepreneur and brewer extraordinaire Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head, who in his book Brewing Up a Business recalls his great grandmother during the discussion of his first brew: “…my great grandmother … was known in her town for making the best sausage using only pinches and handfuls to measure. I felt comfortable trusting my judgment and it actually worked well.”

A little less than a month ago, I sat down to write my first recipe, after following many of Ray’s innovative and successful endeavors (I swear, nothing beats that Tripel we brewed!). I knew what I wanted to brew, and I knew the flavors I wanted to bring forth, but how to get to that point took a little time. I started with Charlie Papazian’s The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, reading about the style I was interested in and making notes about a few of the recipes Papazian recommended. Though I wasn’t interested in copying one of his recipes, it was a great place to begin. I also googled the type of beer I wanted to brew — I know I’m being elusive, but I want the recipe to be a surprise — to see if anyone else had attempted it. I had some luck with forums, getting a few ideas for ingredients. Then, it was off to our handy-dandy brewing software, Beer Alchemy.

I find Beer Alchemy to be user-friendly, and quite honestly a whole post could be written about it (Maybe if you ask Ray nicely he’ll write about it.). With MoreBeer.com open, I could search for malts, hops, adjuncts and yeasts, getting an idea of what the site stocked, and then analyze what certain ingredients would do in the recipe. It can be fascinating how an extra ounce or two of malts or hops can make a difference in SRM or IBUs.

Just the other day we received our shipment of the ingredients for my recipe as well as Ray’s next one for January. I’m excited — look for a post on December 8  — and I will try my hardest to not add a pinch of this and a scoop of that. Our digital scale will be my friend.

Opinion, Recipes Add Comment »

Mitch Steele, head brewer at Stone Brewing Co., needs a band, because he has the most metal name in brewing. He’s also a pretty smart guy with tons of experience in both macro- and microbrewing, having previously served as a managing brewer at Anheuser-Busch before beginning his now 2.5-year (and growing) tenure at Stone.

On November 4th, Mitch braved the airlines to trek all the way out from San Diego to Philadelphia, where he headed up Tria’s Election Night edition of Fermentation School in a lecture entitled “Get Stoned on Election Day”.

To accompany the lecture, Mitch brought seven of Stone’s best beers: Pale Ale, IPA, Arrogant Bastard, Ruination IPA, 11th Anniversary Ale, 07.07.07 Vertical Epic aged in red wine barrels, and a 2006 vintage of Double Bastard aged in brandy barrels. Tria, for its part, paired all of this with two cheeses (creamy Cherry Grove Toma from Lawrenceville, NJ, and smoky smooth Vella Dry Monterey Jack from Sonoma, CA) along with spiced, toasted almonds, a few slices of prosciutto, and soft Philly pretzels.

While guiding us through the beer list, Mitch fed us piles upon piles of rich, chewy insight into American brewing. Did you know that 19th century brewers actually prided themselves on their use of rice and corn in their beers, even going so far as to make it a selling point? Did you know that today, it’s actually more expensive to cut beer with those grains instead of simply using nothing but malted barley? Or that a lot of double IPAs are fermented with additional sugar in order to get the ABV nice and high without having to use a lot of malt?

My favorite fact was how Stone stumbles upon some of their recipes. The brewery maintains a 20-gallon pilot brewing system that employees are free to putz around with, creating a democratic process that leads Mitch and his brewers to beers that they wouldn’t have otherwise invented. National phenomenon Arrogant Bastard is one direct result of this system (turns out it was all just a big mistake that happened to taste really good), as is Stone’s impossibly delicious 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout.

Which brings us to the beers themselves. You’re probably already familiar with the first three beers on the list. Stone’s Pale Ale smells sweet and floral and fills your mouth with just enough hoppy bitterness to make you want to drink way too much of it; the Centennial dry-hopped IPA fills your nose and mouth with earthy, citrusy hop flavors; and legendary Arrogant Bastard was its usual mysterious self, assaulting you with a barrage of malts and hops. Stone is very protective of the recipe for Arrogant Bastard, even going to far as to deny it a classification, and Mitch refused to say a single word about how it is made.

Ruination IPA is Stone’s Double IPA, though double may be the wrong word. A typical American Double IPA is essentially a regular IPA with twice the malt and twice the hops, but Stone is Stone — double won’t cut it. And so, Ruination IPA uses quadruple the hops of Stone’s standard IPA recipe, and it shows. The beer is crisp and refreshing, yet somehow massive, probably owing to the sheer weight of hop oils swirling through the glass. The nose is so hugely sweet and hoppy that I wouldn’t judge anyone for using this beer as an air freshener.

Needless to say, Stone is famous for their liberal use of hops, but the last three beers show that they have more than a few other tricks up their sleeves.

The 11th Anniversary Ale is an innovative Black IPA, which combines a big IPA — bittered with Chinook and dry-hopped with Simcoe and Amarillo — with a German dark lager. Thanks to a generous helping of German Carafa malts (dark, dehusked malts that provide all of the flavors of roasted malt without the gritty bitterness), the beer boasts a complex balance, beginning with huge hop flavors and aromas and leaving in its wake lots of roasty malt. Everyone in the room agreed that this was a spectacular beer, so we were all pleased to hear that Stone is currently working on making this a year-round offering. All they need, Mitch told us, is a name.

The 07.07.07 Vertical Epic is a 10% ABV Belgian-style strong ale, spiced with grapefruit peel, lemon peel, cardamom, and ginger, and aged in red wine barrels. The nose pops with lots of spice, oak, and dry red wine aromas, making your tongue tingle in anticipation… That might have been a little too colorful. Ah well, it stays. It was delicious, okay?

The brandy-aged Double Bastard is a work of unrelenting madness. I theorize that Mitch peeled back the veils of perception and gazed into the maw of blistered, horrifying reality to bind himself to this mania. Already sinister by way of a doubled Arrogant Bastard recipe, this particular vintage of Double Bastard did hard time in a disused brandy barrel, emerging changed, mutated into a display of smooth oak, spicy brandy, and, you know, a shit ton of malts and hops. Stone claims that this beer is only 10% ABV — I think they lie. I can still feel it more than a week later.

After the lecture, I managed to grab Mitch’s attention for a few minutes to talk about his time with Anheuser-Busch. He explained that, as a managing brewer, he had quite a bit more freedom of creativity than the other brewers in the company had. He even listed several recent Michelob brews that can be credited to him. That said, he was emphatic to point out that he was a big exception: Most macrobrewers are trapped by their company’s recipes, and even Mitch didn’t have carte blanche in his work. It was easy to see that he was leagues happier working for Stone.

We extended a verbal wedding invitation to Mitch before making our way back down to street level, buzzy and full, but satisfied by our generous look into the commercial craft beer world.

Breweries, Craft Beer, Restaurants, Tasting Add Comment »

The 2008 Presidential Election has come and gone. While I’m sure there are some of you out there who aren’t happy with the outcome, now that it’s over, I think we can all agree that it’ll be nice to see the endless debate and discourse settle down so we can get back to liking each other. That’s why I figure, hey, why don’t I write a political humor article to get people all ticked off again?

It goes without saying that your world view tends to be reflected in your choice of candidate, but the effects that your personal philosophies have on your homebrewing habits may be more subtle. Let’s take a look at the sorts of homebrewers that supporters of the different candidates may be:

Barack Obama Supporters (Democratic Party)

After carefully examining the failed beers brewed previously, you throw out all of your recipes, pledging to bring new brewing ideas to the table without really specifying anything. Nevertheless, your beers have won you a lot of devoted followers, though they do sometimes come off as a little bit fanatical.

John McCain Supporters (Republican Party)

You focus on all of the big, high ABV beers, the theory being that what you bestow on them will trickle down to the weaker brews (which, coincidentally, your wealthy in-laws make quite a lot of money on). You frequently attack beers brewed by Obama supporters. Also, you were a POW in Vietnam.

Chuck Baldwin Supporters (Constitution Party)

You firmly support the Reinheitsgebot, and try to base your recipes on the fundamental laws it sets down. You support any homebrewer who wishes to secede from the AHA.

Bob Barr Supporters (Libertarian Party)

You tend to focus on your own brewing, and prefer not to intervene in other brewer’s lives, to the point where you refuse to give your homebrewer friends any assistance when they ask for it. In fact, you believe they would use your help against you in the end. You oppose any federal definition of brewing.

Cynthia McKinney Supporters (Green Party)

You do your best to minimize waste when you brew. You use only organically grown malts and hops, and you compost everything when you’re done. You embrace all kinds of beers, and wish for everyone you know to participate in the creation of your recipes. No one seems to notice that you’re Black, too.

Ralph Nader Supporters (Independent)

Though people generally do not object to your beers, not many are particularly interested in drinking them, either, no matter how often you try to brew. Recently, you’ve made a few off-color beers that you later had to apologize for.

Ron Paul Supporters (write-in)

You believe that your beers should be what they want to be, so long as they don’t impinge on any other beer’s right to do the same, and so you tend to exert minimal control when writing your recipes. You provide a few ingredients and try to give your beer guidance, but ultimately, you believe that whatever the beer ends up being will be ultimately good. That said, you absolutely, positively refuse to support another brewer’s decision to abort a beer currently fermenting.

Disclaimer: This is just a stupid blog post so seriously don’t get all bent out of shape all right?

Homebrewing, Opinion 2 Comments »

My last entry about Tria was really only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the late Sunday afternoon we spent there. Aside from the Sunday school beer and cheese offerings, Ray and I ordered the Herbed Potato Chips with Truffle Aioli and Roasted Beets with Bulgarian Feta Cheese. The beets had a very earthy-topsoil aroma that was very interesting, but I was not crazy about; Ray, however, quite enjoyed them. The herbed potato chips were simply divine and could easily be eaten by the pound, with or without the aioli.

For my entree I ordered the Mixed Greens with Mission Figs, Gorgonzola, Pine Nuts and Gorgonzola-Pine Nut Vinaigrette. It was the perfect portion, had just enough vinagrette, and extremely crisp greens. The only issue I had was that I think I reacted to the pine nuts — the roof of my mouth felt quite funny, and Ray’s mouth also reacted. Oh well. I ate it anyway, and rather enjoyed it. Ray ordered the Spanish Tuna with Black Olive-Red Pepper Tapenade and Arugula Sandwich and was also happy with it, despite having to spend five minutes in the bathroom trying to wash all of the oil off. For beverages, I ordered Bell’s Special Double Cream Stout, which came in a fantastic bottle. At 6.1 ABV it’s not too strong, and on the web site it’s described as “sweeter and smoother than the Kalamazoo Stout.” Well I was sold.

Ray was able to order a brew he had been very eager to try: Weyerbacher’s Harvest Ale, and he did a proper tasting of it:

Appearance: White head with lots of lacing. Clear amber gold.
Nose: Super-floral and sweet. Hops are clearly the focus, but are somehow mellow.
Taste: Bitterness is subdued, giving the stage to the hops’ flavor, which is citrusy and slightly earthy/grassy. Again, subdued despite being so prominent.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, bitey, very refreshing. Hop bitterness lingers on the back of the tongue and throat.

To end our trip, we ordered dessert, as well as the Meantime Coffee Porter to share. We ordered the Rogue Chocolate Stout Bread Pudding with Allagash Cherry Sauce and the Nutella Panino. According to the bottle, each serving of the British coffee porter is equal to one cup of coffee, caffeine-wise. We noticed it had a hint of sour to it, but were not sure if it was intentional. I think Ray enjoyed the beer, while I wasn’t terribly crazy about it.

Our servers were knowledgeable and friendly, and we even scored some swag! Cape Ann’s brewer Jeremy had one of Tria’s staff bring us a baseball cap and a t-shirt from the brewery. “For the homebrewers …” the staff member (I feel like he might have been the owner?) said with a smile. So cool!

We joined the Tria loyalty club, paid our affordable bill, and then headed out into the early autumn night, elated that we found a new place to get lost in … maybe every Sunday.

Craft Beer, Pairings, Pubs Add Comment »

A few Sundays ago, Ray and I headed into Philly to go to Tria’s “Sunday School”, a wonderful promo that the restaurant runs every Sunday. The premise is simple: A wine, a beer and a cheese are showcased and priced at least 50 percent off. There is also a substantial write-up for each Sunday School item, drawing people in that might otherwise not have made the trip. Such smart marketers.

We were enticed by the innovative offering of Cape Ann Fisherman’s Pumpkin Stout. Cape Ann is located in Glouchester, MA, and its pumpkin stout weighs in at 6.75 ABV. The cherry on top was the appearance of Cape Ann’s brewmaster, Jeremy, making the rounds at the tables and talking to anyone interested about Cape Ann and their funky little beer. Score!

The stout was an opaque dark brown with a thin head and Tria’s bartenders served it at the appropriate temperature. As we sipped, we noted that the beer went through a number of flavor stages, beginning with a stout start, then pumpkin coming out a little later. Pumpkin was prevalent in the nose, and the beer overall was very balanced, with just enough bitterness.

Mid-way through our tasting, brewmaster Jeremy stopped by our table to talk about the brewery, their flagship beers, and the stout. He was friendly and very knowledgeable, chuckling when Ray asked how much pumpkin should be used in the mash on a homebrew level. “You’re going to make me pare down to a homebrew recipe?” he asked with a grin. He wasn’t about to do the math, but he did share with us that Cape Ann uses 50 pounds of pumpkin to produce a 20 barrel batch of Pumpkin Stout. Fair enough. Jeremy also reminded us that “a little goes a long way” when it comes to spices, something that every homebrewer should remember.

We also ordered the Sunday School cheese, a Weinkase Lagrein from Alto Adige, Italy. The rind of the cheese was deep purple due to a 4-day garlic and pepper bath in Lagrein wine. I overheard one of the hostesses comparing it to Havarti. We both enjoyed the cheese, which was coupled with crisp bread slices and dried cherries that were soaked in Allagash beer to refresh them.

But that’s just the beginning of our little gastro journey…stay tuned for Tria’s Sunday School Part II.

Craft Beer, Restaurants 2 Comments »

Last Thursday was my company’s annual pumpkin carving contest, where individuals and/or groups may enter a pumpkin that is then judged by peers. I got together with my publishing group — of which three people had an initial idea of what should be done — and together we brainstormed our masterpiece.

The idea: Converting a pumpkin into a keg and serving extremely small samples of beer — possibly even a pumpkin beer.

Since I am known as the brewer in the group, I was called in. I explained that it would be too late for Ray and me to brew a special concoction for the day, and also laid to waste their ideas of trying to get a pumpkin large enough to fit a commercial keg. But after battering their hopes and dashing their dreams, another issue was brought up: Could we serve beer at work?

So we switched up the plan and decided to make a mulled cider, which would go into a lemonade-style pitcher that has a spout on the bottom. I suggested we carve off the pumpkin’s bottom, and create a “mouse door” of sorts for the spout to stick out of. We were off and running.

I stayed after work the night before to bring all of our props into work (this would not be just a simple carved pumpkin) and did the initial hollowing out and etching. I got the idea from another blogger who had etched — for lack of a better term — the face of Barack Obama into her pumpkin, and figured I could do the same with the “bar” sign I had created.

The next day I finished up the carving, we decorated, and during judging we served my homemade ginger snaps and Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale. Yes, you read that right, we found our courage and supplied two six packs from St. Stephen’s on Green that I ran out for. People were surprised by our gutsiness, but even better, most liked the flavor of the beer! A lot of folks also raved about my cookies, and were repeatedly surprised that they were homemade — I guess they don’t know me well enough. We won the prize for group pumpkin, but more importantly, I helped introduce craft beer to my co-workers. A happy ending for all.

Miscellany Add Comment »

Remarkably, we are not brewing a pumpkin beer this year.

The weather is getting cold (not to mention characteristically unpredictable) over here in South Jersey, and it won’t be long before we’re all huddled under blankets in front of our open ovens. It’s time to brew something warm!

This month, we’ve put together an apple beer loaded with spices and sweetness. We don’t expect it to be especially alcoholic, but the 6.5% ABV that we’re shooting for should still be pleasantly warming. Factor in the 40% cider wort, mix in a little luck, and we should end up with something like a nice, hot apple pie to get us through Jersey’s bitter January. Except it’s beer and it’s cold.

One unique thing about this recipe is that it doesn’t really fit into a specific style. We based the recipe loosely on the Red Ale style, but there are also elements of Scotch Ale. That and it’s obviously also a fruit beer, which is what it’d be entered under in a competition. Basically, this beer is a monstrosity and a perversion of nature. And here’s how to make it:

30 October 2008
Winter Red Apple Ale
5 gallons, 30 minute steep, 60 minute boil

5.0 lbs Ultralight Liquid Malt Extract (60 min)

Specialty Grains:
1.0 lbs Crystal Malt 120L
1.0 lbs CaraRed Malt
0.5 lbs CaraFoam Malt
0.25 lbs Chocolate Malt

1 lb 8 oz Wildflower Honey (15 min)

2.0 oz Willamette Hops [3.9% AA] (60 min)

2 gal Apple Cider
3.0 lbs Granny Smith Apples, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2.0 lbs Gala Apples, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 Whole Cinnamon Sticks
1 Whole Nutmeg, chopped
1 oz Ginger Root, peeled and chopped
1 oz Coriander Seed, crushed

1 tablet Whirlfloc (20 min — clarifier)

White Labs Irish Ale Yeast WLP004

4 oz corn sugar (bottling)

———

Create a yeast starter two days in advance.

Add cider and 1 gallon of water to kettle. Heat to 155°F.

Steep grains at 155°F for 30 minutes.

Remove grains, turn off heat, add malt extract while stirring.

Bring to a boil. Add hops.

At 20 minutes, add Whirlfloc tablet.

At 15 minutes, turn off heat. Add honey while stirring. Add apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger root, and coriander.

Return to boil for remaining 15 minutes.

Chill wort to below 80°F. Rack to fermenter and dilute to 5 gallons. Pitch yeast starter and aerate thoroughly. Allow to ferment to completion at 65 – 70°F.

Rack fermented beer to secondary fermenter. Age for 1 – 2 weeks.

Rack to bottling bucket. Boil corn sugar with 1 c filtered water and add to beer. Mix well.

Bottle. Age for two weeks.

One important note: Do not use apple cider that has preservatives in it. The preservatives will either kill or severely inhibit the yeast. You’ll most likely have to go to either Wholefoods or a farmer’s market to get un-preserved cider. Get an extra gallon while you’re there, to prepare for the eventuality of you drinking a lot of it before you can get to brewing.

For the apples, we were shooting for a slightly tart apple character, so we used more Granny Smiths than Galas. Taste your cider beforehand and adjust your apple selections to your liking. You may want to use many different apples to give the beer lots of apple complexity. My style, personally, is to focus on one or two flavors and really showcase them (which is also why I tend to write recipes with only one breed of hop). Some people like to mix it up. Do what makes you happy. Pet a kitty. Give hugs.

Honeywise, your best bet is to take a ride to your local farmer’s market. The honey you can get at the supermarket is perfectly valid, but you’ll probably find that you get higher quality stuff from local farmers. Ours came from the agricultural prodigies at Griggstown Quail Farm.

A couple more tips: Instead of trying to chop the nutmeg, wrap it in paper towel and hit it with a mallet. Try to resist the urge to stuff your nose in the freshly smashed nutmeg. You won’t be able to. It’s intoxicating, I tell you. For the coriander, pulse it in a coffee grinder for a few seconds.

Something we’re trying differently this time: All of our beers so far have come out with a lot of fruity esters. It’s yummy in most cases, but in the stout, for example, it was completely out of place. These esters are the result of the temperature in our bathroom where we keep our fermenters; warmer fermentations produce more esters. To try to contain this, at my brother-in-law Tim’s, recommendation, we filled the bathtub up with a few inches of water, set the fermenter in the water, and covered it with a wet towel. Tim says this should lower our fermentation temperature by a good 10 degrees. He’s smart.

Homebrewing, Our Brew Days, Recipes 2 Comments »