Trois vs Cal Ale IPA Tasting

One of the flagship beers for the brewery will be a 7% ABV IPA.  I'm looking for loads of hop expression and a firm, but not overpowering bitterness.  This batch of IPA was split between White Labs Cal Ale and "Brett" Trios.  Of course, there is a lot of stir around the inter-webs about the fact that it is indeed not Brett.  But it still acts like Brett and throws flavors like Brett primary with big tropical fruit esters.  I did this to begin the process of not only getting house recipes, but also getting a house yeast strain.  The difference between these two beers is almost night and day.  The Trios continued to act on the dry hops morphing them around in the keg (producing CO2 as well).  I am not sure where the huge melon component in the Cal Ale version came from since there are no melony hops in the mix, but it is a huge turn off to me, even though judges really liked it and it got an Honorable Mention.  The Trios through some phenols as well that detracted from the overall flavor.  Good start to recipe and yeast formulation, but definitely not there yet.

Release the Panic (Trios IPA):

Aroma:
Tropics burst off the nose, pineapple and mango.  Behind the big esters are citrus rinds and hints of resin.  Mild alcohol peeks out behind the powerful aroma.  There is a touch of phenols, some peach, with mild grassy and melon notes.  No where near as much grass and melon as the Cal Ale.

Appearance:
Pours a super clear golden orange under a dense off-white head with tiny bubbles.  Fades to a thick cap and leaves lots of spotty lace all the way down the glass.

Flavor:
Hop oils coat the tongue, heavy notes of citrus and pine.  Spicy notes could be peppery phenols or from the hops.  Pineapple esters and sweet malt notes make it almost candy like.  Bitter finish, less so than the Cal Ale version.

Mouthfeel:
Body is a quite thin and watery, especially for the level of cara-pils in this recipe.  Semi-dry finish.  Bitter and oily.  Medium carbonation.

Feed the Machine (Cal Ale IPA):

Aroma:
Huge melon and vegetal note leaps from the glass.  It is odd, this is the same exact aroma, just sometimes it is a lot of vegetable and the next it is melon.  Hints of sweetness, candy like, followed by mild herbal notes and citrus rinds.

Appearance:
Pours a super clear golden orange under a dense off-white head... sound familiar?  The head on this beer stays around longer and thicker than the Trios version.  Head is moussey.  Leaves lots of lace.

Flavor:
Tastes like hop candy and cantaloupe (I hate cantaloupe), resin, and pine.  Vegetative notes and medium citrus pith.  Honey like malts.  Medium high bitterness.

Mouthfeel:
Medium body with a fairly dry and bitter finish.  Crisp.  Body is much more in line with an IPA than the Trios version.


Overall Comparison of Both:
The Trios version is very enjoyable in the nose and flavor, lots of tropics and hop notes lends an enjoyable complexity.  The phenols and thin body detract from the overall wonder of this beer.  For the Cal Ale version the body is spot on as is the cleanness of the fermentation, but the super melon notes are too much.  The odd thing is that there are no melony hops in the mix, and it only came in on the dry hops.  Speaking of dry hops, part of the reason the melons don't come through on the Trios version might be due to the fact that this yeast was still active in the keg during the warm dry-hopping (it started carbonating on its own).  It was exciting to do this little experiment.  I need to work on the body and fermentation parameters, but definitely going with Brett (yes I know that Trios is not Brett, which is why the next batch will have actual Brett as the sole yeast).  Neither of these beers will become the Flagship IPA for the brewery, but it gets me one step closer.

RECIPES: #76 Feed The Machine (IPA) & #77 Release the Panic (100% Brett IPA)

7 oz Whirlpool Hops for 10 gallons

Thus it begins.  The process I swore I would never do.  Rebrewing a recipe with tweeks.  I have day dreamed of owning my own brewery someday, and have declared that I would never have house beers, the same recipe brewed over and over again.  But then the day dreams are seeming to become more serious.  I recently felt led to step out of ministry, that youth ministry is not where the Lord is calling me.  In the midst of this, I have been wondering where my calling may actually be.  My pastors have stated that they are excited to see where the Lord uses me in the future, and they all hope it is in brewing.  Then my wife buys me Starting Your Own Brewery, 2nd Edition for Christmas (a super expensive book), seems like she is behind the idea.  In light of all this - the possibility of actually owning a brewery - the thought of having solidified recipes, house beers, repeatable, excellent, it all comes rushing in.  Regardless of whether I actually have year round house beers or not, I need a solid recipe to give potential investors, something repeatable and unique, something I can brew on a big boy system and know if I did it right or not.  Thus it begins.  Rebrewing a recipe with tweeks.  

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 #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.

Review: Hop Hedonist IPA

There is something about a good West Coast IPA, lots of hops bursting out of the glass, complex layers of fruits, resin, pine, and dankness atop a subtle malt background and a dry finish.  That's how I like 'em, and that's how I make 'em.  The layers of hop aroma and flavor are great on this beer, though the bitterness needs a boost.  Both this beer and the Black IPA that was made with it really hit the spot.  The use of Munic. Maybe Malt and Dark Wheat really get the color to a deep orange w/o the raisin flavors and sweetness associated with oxidized crystal malts.

Look:

Pours a slightly hop hazed burnished orange with a dense off-white head fades slow to to a cap and leaves great rings of lace all the way down the glass.   Tiny bubbles feed up from the bottom.  Some hop particles in suspension.

Aroma:

Hops leap out of the glass, peach and mango, blueberry, pine needles, followed by hop resin and grapefruit with onion in the background.  Just a touch of floral hops.  There is a sweet and toasty malt note behind it all.  The peach esters from the West Yorkshire yeast really pull it together.

Flavor:

The taste follows the nose, big burst of juicy hops, peach, tropical fruits, pine, and a grapefruit kick.  Dank hop resins follow with lots of hop oils and toasty malts below.  Hard to tell if the peach is all hops or all yeast, but they blend well.

Mouthfeel:

Medium body is rich and smooth, slightly full on the palate, but not heavy, which is part of the hallmark of the West Yorkshire yeast.  Semi-dry finish, needs to be drier for my tastes.  Bitterness balances well, but really is too soft, needs a boost.  The finish is slightly flabby which I am beginning to believe is from the addition of pickling lime to my mash.  I think it is taking the finished pH up a little and leaving the beer without that dry crisp punch I really want to see.  Lactic acid in the glass makes it pop a little more.

Overall:

Big burst of juicy hops in the nose and tongue, complex hop notes, toasty malt sweetness, good lacing.  This beer is well on it's way to becoming a great IPA (last year's version took 2nd place after 3 months).  We will see what happens with this one when I enter it in June.  The finish needs tweeking, up the IBUs, dry it out a bit more, and get the pH down a tad.  Other than that this beer really quenches that need for lupulin.  Maybe a touch more dankness to round out the big fruits.

RECIPES: #57 Hop Hedonist (IPA) & #58 Identity Crisis (Black IPA)

No matter how hard I try to get away from it, I can't escape that reality that I am a Hop Head.  The aromatics of tropical fruits, pine, citrus rinds, resins, they are just so alluring.  With a pulling bitterness in the finish and a mild malt backing to support the hops, an IPA is truly a thing of beauty.  Yes, there are many out there who hate bitter beer, but maybe it is because I am from the North West, I gotta have them hops.  And it had been too long with out them.  I blew my keg of Autumn IPA a month ago and have been fiending for the hops ever since.  I bought some Dale's Pale Ale, Hopothermia, and Palate Wrecker and it just isn't cutting it.  Finally I got a chance to brew up 2 IPAs.  

Recipe #48: Release the Panic (Session Brett Wheat IPA)

I have really wanted to get into single strain 100% Brett fermentations for awhile now.  I did a Brett L Oud Bruin in Spring that was supposedly mixed with some Lacto (no lactic acid in the beer though), and I have wanted to brew a hoppy Brett beer as the fruitiness of the Brett is a great compliment to fruity hops.  Seeing as this is a split batch with a Session White IPA I don't really want a super fruity beer for this batch so I did a larger addition of Chinook to get a substantial amount of Pine with the Simcoe in there as well.

I decided to mash a little higher than normal for this beer since it is a smaller beer.  I didn't want it to end up in the lower single digits on the FG and be thin, especially since Brett beers typically lack body.  The high percentage of flaked products, the flaked oats, and the higher levels of Chloride compared to Sulfate should make for a decent finish on this batch even if the FG dips a little lower. 

2nd Place Review: IPA

Every so often you get that itch, you know the one I'm talking about, the craving for hops.  Some of us always have that itch, others float between flavor cravings.  I have found myself to have a fairly diversified palate, but I always love a good IPA.  And there is no better IPA than the one you brewed fresh yourself.  On this beer I was looking for a big fruity hop punch with lots of tropical and juicy fruits, low citrus, and a big piney background, with a restrained malt presence.  That's what I got.

Look:

Pours a deep gold almost orange, clearish but still hazy from the dryhops, creamy and thick white head.  This beer glows.  The foam stays the distance, and leaves sticky lacing all down the glass.

Aroma:

Smells like tropical punch!  Lots of mango and pineapple, touch of peaches, resin, and pine.  Not really getting much citrus fruits, but this is a fruit bomb.  Makes you wonder what fruits are in the beer, but there isn't any.

Flavor:

Flavor mirrors the smell.  Lots of pine hits first, with a lingering of tropical fruits.  The finish is a little off, leaving a mild overripe peaches flavor that isn't too appealing, but it is mild enough that it doesn't make the beer off-putting.  Lots of fruit and resin.  Restrained malt, with a touch of toasty malt.  Some honey notes.

Mouthfeel:

Medium-Light body with a dryish finish, not super dry like I had hoped for.  Bitterness is there, but a little restrained for the estimated 92 IBUs, more like 60s?  The hops coat the tongue leaving it sticky.  Carbonation is a little prickly and helps cleanse the palate.

Overall:

I really like this IPA.  Good burst of fruity hops, pine, resin, tropics, complex layers, sticky hops, good color and head.  It does need to finish dryer and have a higher bitterness to get it to pop more.  It borders on a highly hopped Pale Ale with a higher ABV.

Recipes: Identity Crisis II (Black IPA) & 2nd Place - Homie's Hop Sock (IPA)

Every so often (more often then I would like to admit) I get an itch, an IPA itch.  Nothing can scratch this itch except a hop bomb.  Unfortunately many of the commercial IPAs I have been buying just don't cut it, some are just old (one hop bomb was simply caramel in the nose and flavor).  I even got a Black IPA from a local brewery that was brewed and kegged only days before I got my growler fill, and it just didn't work.  I haven't brewed an IPA in a long time, my 3 Fresh Hop beers were great but just didn't have the hop punch I was hoping for, and the Gumballhead Clone I brewed was quite hoppy but the 1/2 gallon of StarSan impacted the final pH making the finish on the beer difficult to drink.