Wednesday, July 25, 2012
My Personal Evolution
After reading my first ever post on this blog, I've come to realize just how much my tastes have changed in the two-ish years since I started. I have become a certifiable hop-head. I love the fragrant citrusy American hops. I love IPA now, and have even gotten a taste for Imperial/Double IPA. I've found out that I am just not that fond of beers heavy on roasted malts. Every now and then I do like a stout or porter but overall they are just not my cup of tea. Due to the hop shortage I mentioned, I've been having a hard time with recipes since I like to use the American hops in most of them. Without many other options I've been looking into using New Zealand hops. A lot of them seem to have some similar characteristics to some of the American hops I like. In the near future I will probably use these unique new hops in a beer to see how they compare. The great thing about this hobby is that there is always some new stain of yeast, type of hops or malt coming out. Even though things don't always go as planned, I always seem to have options.
Monday, July 23, 2012
3 Months Later
Well here I go again neglecting my blog for months. Not that many ready this anyway. I think the problem is memory. Its not a blog I want to be updating every day so I figure once every couple of weeks will do. By the time I should be posting something new, I've forgotten that I even wanted to keep this going fairly regularly. Well enough excuses, it's time for the "meat" of my post.
My last brew, the American Wheat ale dubbed Simulated Love, turned out very well. The Falconer's Flight hops were very good they have great smooth citrus character. The Citra dry-hop added a nice layer of extra tropical fruit character. It turned out to be a light, crisp, and refreshingly fruity/hoppy beer. I would brew it again in a heart beat. As much as I'd like to have it on hand year around, the hop shortage has made finding Citra hops damn near impossible. I also like to brew a lot of different styles.
My next brew is going to be a German style Hefeweizen. It's a really simple and straight forward beer and recipe. I will be using 3.3 pounds of liquid wheat malt extract, 3 pounds of Pilsner malt, 2 pounds of wheat malt, 8 ounces of carapils malt, an ounce of imported German Tettnang hops, and Bavarian Wheat liquid yeast(Wyeast 3638) with a packet of Safbrew WB-06 as back up yeast. I have back up yeast because when I activated the yeast pack it took a very long time to swell. I think the heat from being shipped thrashed the yeast. I am planning on brewing this Saturday.
When I bought all of the ingredients for the wheat beer I bought ingredients for the next batch too. It's for an American amber ale with rye to give it a spicy, bready edge. The the hops I originally planned on using are another type that due to shortage, are near impossible to find. I decided to go with what I could actually get my hands on which is a combination of Cascade and Crystal. Cascade provide citrus aroma and flavor and Crystal provide a spicy presence. I'll give more details on this beer a bit closer to when I will brew it. Probably about 3 weeks away.
Commercial beer recommendations:
Paulaner Hefeweizen
Rogue Dead Guy Ale
Founders Red's Rye PA
My last brew, the American Wheat ale dubbed Simulated Love, turned out very well. The Falconer's Flight hops were very good they have great smooth citrus character. The Citra dry-hop added a nice layer of extra tropical fruit character. It turned out to be a light, crisp, and refreshingly fruity/hoppy beer. I would brew it again in a heart beat. As much as I'd like to have it on hand year around, the hop shortage has made finding Citra hops damn near impossible. I also like to brew a lot of different styles.
My next brew is going to be a German style Hefeweizen. It's a really simple and straight forward beer and recipe. I will be using 3.3 pounds of liquid wheat malt extract, 3 pounds of Pilsner malt, 2 pounds of wheat malt, 8 ounces of carapils malt, an ounce of imported German Tettnang hops, and Bavarian Wheat liquid yeast(Wyeast 3638) with a packet of Safbrew WB-06 as back up yeast. I have back up yeast because when I activated the yeast pack it took a very long time to swell. I think the heat from being shipped thrashed the yeast. I am planning on brewing this Saturday.
When I bought all of the ingredients for the wheat beer I bought ingredients for the next batch too. It's for an American amber ale with rye to give it a spicy, bready edge. The the hops I originally planned on using are another type that due to shortage, are near impossible to find. I decided to go with what I could actually get my hands on which is a combination of Cascade and Crystal. Cascade provide citrus aroma and flavor and Crystal provide a spicy presence. I'll give more details on this beer a bit closer to when I will brew it. Probably about 3 weeks away.
Commercial beer recommendations:
Paulaner Hefeweizen
Rogue Dead Guy Ale
Founders Red's Rye PA
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