RECIPE #71: WTWTA: The Carol 3.0 (Lambic)

Earlier this year I entered a local BJCP competition and happened to win the Best of Show with a wild fermented "Lambic" I had brewed 2.5 years earlier.  I had cultured yeast and bacteria for that batch from blackberries over growing the fence of the back yard at our old house we rented, as well as peaches from the local farmer's market.  This was the only yeast I used for fermentation.  Over the course of the year I added dregs from commercial and homebrewed sours.  After a year and a half in bottles it won BOS.  When this happened I of course wanted to re-brew it, so I started stepping up the dregs.  For winning BOS I got to brew the batch at Falling Sky, but they don't do sours, so we did a kettle soured version that mimicked the original.  

Just after the win I was chatting about the beer with Matt Van Wyk of Oakshire Brewing and that it wouldn't actually be re-brewed commercially.  Then, almost as if it wasn't a big deal, he stated that he would brew the beer with me.  Matt makes amazing sours and the thought of even being able to do my beer with him is a huge honor.  8 months later and we are there.  I brewed this current batch for myself, 10 gallons, to fill a 6 gallon wine barrel, and have some for aging and blending later, as well as the big reason, to begin growing the yeast up for the 10 barrel batch.  I had pitched my starter onto 6 gallons of the wort I got from my Falling Sky brew, then pitched that slurry onto this 10 gallon batch.  I gave the slurry from this batch to the Matt who stepped it up on a 1 barrel batch to have it ready to ferment 10 barrels.  A few days from typing this, I will be at Oakshire brewing this recipe on a large scale for aging in full size wine barrels.  Never thought I would see this day come.

REVIEW: I (heart) PcA (1st place IPA)

When my pastor told me we were going to do a Fall Party for the church and wanted me to brew a beer for it, I knew right away what I wanted to make.  I wanted an IPA, because that is the drink of choice here in the PNW.  Home to Oakshire and Ninkasi, the people here in Eugene know good IPAs, so I had to make a great one for the event.  I wanted big citrus character with background pine and resin notes.  I wanted a dry finish.  I wanted a firm bitterness.  Boy did I get it.

Look:
Pours a fairly clear orange with a touch of haze which is appropriate for a dry hopped beer.  A 3 finger eggshell colored head with tight bubbles sits atop the beer and slowly fades to a thick cap that lasts the whole way down.  Thick lacing clings to the glass and spots its way down the glass to the end.  Beautiful beer, best looking IPA I have made to date.

Aroma:
The smell of floral hops hits first with a touch of geranium, but not overpowering as some floral notes can get.  This is shoved out of the way quickly by an onslaught of grapefruit rind, sweet onions, hop oils, and mangoes.  After a moment there is a hint of sweaty socks (hello again Amarillo), followed by lemon and lychee fruits.  Touch of dank and pine, some sweet bread notes, and a hint of alcohol.

Taste:
The first wash over the tongue is super oily, resinous hops, pine, bitter grapefruit, and tropical fruits.  There is a touch of floral, but not much and a hint of dirty peaches.  Sweet malt backbone supports the hops well leading to a firm bitterness that lingers on the back of the tongue.  Touch of grainy crackers.

Mouthfeel:
The medium to light body gives way to a really dry (but not bone dry) finish.  The bitterness is firm but not abrasive or harsh, and it lingers through the glass.  No astringency.  Touch of warming alcohol.

Overall:
I am really happy with this recipe.  I have always been anti-crystal malts in my IPAs but the light handed use of the lower lovibond Carastan actually worked quite well.  The sweet grainy malt and dry finish really let the hops shine.  Complex blend of citrus, dank, tropical, and floral work great together without getting muddled.  The bitterness is firm, but could actually stand to get turned up a few more IBUs.  Need to keep this recipe in the rotation and make a couple tweeks.

This beer took 1st place in the IPA category at the McKenzie Cider & Craft Beer Festival - Homebrew Competition

RECIPE #70: BANGARANG: Rufio 2.0 (1st place Imperial Red IPA)

I just love having a big, bold, dank, pithy, piney, red, hop bomb around a couple times a year.  Especially in the Fall when the darkness starts creeping in sooner and sooner, the nights are cooling off, the garden is waning, the trees are changing colors, the hops are fresh.  I usually don't like much, if any, crystal malts in my hoppy beers, and have even avoided it completely at times.  For my Imperial Red IPA I do like some burnt sugar in there, just not raisins and plums.  Of course you have to have the right hops to play nicely over a red, malty, base with a touch of burnt sugars and toffee, and a big alcohol presence.  I have done 2 beers along these lines in the past, the first iteration of Rufio was over a base of Vienna and Munich with Chinook, Simcoe, and CTZ.  The second Imperial Red IPA I did last fall used flaked barley, crystal rye, and Kiln Amber for a malty and aromatic base to support the Cascade, Centennial, Chinook and CTZ hops.  For this version (a return to Rufio), I used a base close to Pliny the Elder with an extra layer of Crystal using an addition of British Dark Crystal for burnt sugar and color along with the Carastan for honey and light toffee notes, as well as Black Malt for the color and dry roast finish.  I really enjoyed the way the 4 C hops played up the dank and pith last Fall over the more berry / tropical fruit forward notes on the first Rufio, so I went with this combo again.

RECIPE & PROCESS: WTWTA: Ira & Judith

As I look back through old posts, and try to organize the blog, I came to realize that I had made an initial recipe post for the clean beer that eventually became the two sour beers that are Ira and Judith. I also gave some random updates with lofty ideas about all this crazy stuff I was going to do, and on how things were going. But there was no single recipe to show for the beers, what I actually did with them, what the process was, aging times, fruit additions, blending, bottling, etc. If someone wanted real info on the beers and how to make them, I didn't have gathered source of all the information. So, here it is. I have given the original recipe and fermentation specs, then outlined the process from there on in the notes.

RECIPE #69: I(heart)PcA (1st place IPA)

There has been a large shift in our church lately away from an attitude of retreat from "the world" to one of pursuing people with Christ's grace.  Our church is located in the South Hills so it can be out of the way and easily overlooked.  We haven't had much exposure to the community, even other churches don't know who we are.  Time for all that to change.  In an attempt to get more exposure, and to serve those around us, our church is going to be putting on an annual Fall Kick Off Party, the first of which is scheduled for October.  Part of this kick off party is to have beverages and food for people to enjoy.  Of course, in a city like Eugene, the beverage of choice is Craft Beer, and not just any Craft Beer, as this is the birthplace of Ninkasi, we prefer IPA.  I was asked to make the beer for the party, so I went with a hop bomb.  I have been really happy with the last few IPAs I have brewed in the aroma hop kick department, but the bitterness is always too low, and for a culture acclimated to NW IPAs, the bitterness has to be there.  To get my bitterness up on this one I pushed the Sulfates up over 250 ppm, dried it out, and upped the BU:GU ratio to 1.35.  This should give me a nice dry, bitter bite in the finish, and tons of hops in the flavor and nose.

RECIPE: BANGARANG: Neverland (American Sour Collabo with Falling Sky)

Back in February I was able to watch the Best of Show unfold at a competition I had judged, and also entered.  It was completely humbling and shocking to see my 2.5 year old Gueuze advance to the top 6, top 5, top 4, top 3, top 2, Best of Show.  I still find myself at times wondering if it really happened.  The prize was to brew the beer on a full system at Falling Sky Brewing.  Issue is that they don't do sours, it would take 2+ years for the beer to be done, and I didn't have the exact yeast pitch used for primary as I had cultured it from Blackberries and Peaches almost 3 years ago.