Recipe #49: Hazy Dayz (Session White IPA)

After brewing a couple lagers and waiting for them to finish up for drinking I noticed that I didn't have any really flavorful brews, nothing hoppy to slake my lupulin lusts.  I have my Saison in bottles and the 2 American Pilsners, that's it.  I really enjoy White IPAs.  I really enjoy session IPAs.  And yesterday was National IPA Day.  Seemed fitting that I brew up a nice sessionable White IPA.  Around 4.5% ABV, 43 IBUs., dry, crisp, refreshing, fruity, bursting with hops.

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. 

Recipe: BANGARANG Rufio (Imperial Red IPA)

In continuing with my BANGARANG series, I have to move to many people's favorite Lost Boy, and mine as well, RUFIO.  I am currently sitting on a large volume of hops in my freezer, including Chinook, Simcoe, and a new 1# of CTZ.  Sounds perfect for a big, bold, dank, piney Red IPA.  I have also been meaning to use Vienna as a base malt to get a feel for it some.  I realize a big hoppy red is not the best place to get a feel for a malt, but that's what I am doing.  Added in a touch of Munich, a sprinkle of Black Malt for color and dryness, and a hefty dose of sugar to increase drinkability, up the fermentability, drop the FG, and up the OG, perfect for an Imperial IPA.

This beer was also done as an overnight mash for 10.5 gallons, split before the boil into 2 seperate batches.  This batch received a steep of the Black Malt and the addition of sugar while awaiting the boil.  This will also be my first run with my new hop strainer for the ball valve (replacing all the failed hop tacos).

Recipe: The Becca 2013: My Bruin Eyed Girl (Cherry Oud Bruin)

I was able to score a small slurry of Brett L and Lacto from a primary ferment of an unnamed source.  I immediately threw it into a starter of 500ml of 1.037 wort and 300 ml apple juice and put it on the stir plate for 2 weeks.  I thought about what I would brew, and came upon Oud Bruin.  Nice lactic twang, no vinegar, sweet and sour, big dark fruits, no Brett funk from a secondary ferment, no oak, not super attenuated.  Quite different from many of the sour, funky, bold, dry, oaky sours I normally do.  Though Brett as the primary strain would not be traditional, it would still work well as it will throw off big fruits, and Brett L should give a lot of cherry.  

Speaking of non traditional for Oud Bruin, neither is the grain bill.  I had been planning on doing a single mash split boil Munich Dunkel with the Oud Bruin, but decided 3 days prior that I didn't want a Dunkel for the Summer.  I switched it up and went with a big hoppy Imperial West Coast Red with a base of Vienna and touch of Munich (for rich maltiness w/o caramel).  I still wanted the Oud Bruin, and went with the same here - 26# of Vienna, 2# Munich II, maxed out mash tun for an overnight mash.  Of course, Vienna is not the traditional base malt for an Oud Bruin, Pilsner is, so this beer will be richer than a standard Oud Bruin would be, which I think will be good.  I added Caramunich 120 and Special B for dark fruits, raisins, plums, cherries, and Carafa III Special for color and a light chocolate background.  Give it 6+ months in the garage post primary through the Summer heat and it should make for a great beer this upcoming Fall and Winter (especially on a cold night @ ~8% ABV).

Increased Output: Multiple Beers With Minimal Effort

I learned early on that I needed to find a way to brew more beer without taking away more time from my family and ministry.  Although this seems impossible, I found a trick that has allowed me to double my output while keeping my brew schedule light.  I began doing this in my 5th month of brewing and have used it a lot ever since.  Basically, make one beer into 2 (or more).  There are a couple options for doing this, some require a little more time and effort, others are no more difficult than making a single 10 gallon batch.