Beer Review Challenge: Spiteful GFY Stout

Good afternoon brew crew! I bring you a quick bit of reviews I have been meaning to post. This was only possibly due to the wonderful and kind Caitlin Malone, so a big shout out to her on the help acquiring these.

First, a little back story on the brewery, because the brewers have a cool history to tell. As kids, they knew each other and played hockey together. As fate would have it, they would end up teaming up again when both were in situations they decided were not ideal, and the idea machine was roaring away. How about opening a bar? Well, in Chicago, there are plenty of those around, so that scrapped that plan. Eventually, microbrewery was tossed out and it was barely out there before they were off and running. Starting off as homebrewers, they have become the true definition of a small brewery, almost a nanobrewery. The thing I have to truly respect is that they get to do it all on their terms and have a blast the whole time. Also, from what I can tell, they appear to have no filter when it comes to interviews, which I can relate to at times.

Now, the beers I got from them are their GFY stout (it is up to you to figure this bit out, but I assure it is funny) and Burning Bridges brown ale. I'll do a separate review for each, so here we go!

GFY stout is a Russian Imperial Stout (RIS), which means most people already know where this is going. For those lacking the background, the style should have a ton of complexity in aroma and flavor, ranging from chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, and even some specialty items like vanilla or fruit. The body should be thick and viscious, with a oil-like color to match from deep brown to jet black. Lastly, this should be a bit of a bigger beer, from 8% on up.

Color: The color on this is on par with any others in the mix. A deep black with touches of brown when held up to a light. The head on this is a nice velvety brown color, which invites sipping.

Head: The beer surprised me to an extent with the amount of head on this draft, but it dissipated pretty quickly. Still, pretty good for a style that doesn't always have the best retention.

Aroma: Overwhelming notes of caramel interwoven with chocolate and coffee. Hints of sweetness and spice try to peak through, even if they are easily missed by anyone that rushes.

Taste: Coffee and roasted flavors are the dominate player here, but some sweetness does try to break through. I found the flavor just a bit of a let down considering the way the aroma made me keep rethinking, but still a very satisfying beer. The mouthfeel is what helped this out immensely, because this sticks to your mouth and keeps the velvety texture around for a while, allowing the bitterness of the hops to finally make an appearance as a bittering additive with the aftertaste to help cleanse the palate.

Overall: As far as RIS go, this is a very good example. The aroma is probably my favorite part, and it would be a total home run if the lingering features in the aroma could be more prominent in the taste. Still, I cannot deny a fantastic beer for what it is and ask simply to try oaking this bad boy and see what happens with some extended aging (salivating).

Score: 7.0/10

As always, drink well and be merry. Slainte!

Get Off Maibock

It is already proving to be a super productive brewing season at home this year, so I hope you are finding yourselves enjoying some quality brews.

I recently brewed up my Maibock for the year to usher in spring with a wonderful beverage. To prepare for this run, I decided on two simple points. 1) This was going to be a traditional German lager, down to the ingredients; 2) The finished product will undergo as much of a true lagering as I can muster.

The first part of that was easier to do than I anticipated, as it just required me to adhere to the Reinheitsgebot, or the German Purity Law of 1516 that stated beer can only be made with barley, hops, yeast, and water. To that end, I tried to collect only German ingredients for my malt and hops, which was not hard to do, with one small exception that I was able to get around: Munich LME is a pain to find, but still available.

The latter of this was what required research and careful purchasing. To lager this beer, or even ferment it at the proper temps, I had a couple of choices, but I opted to go big or go home. I got a digital temperature controller, a fermentation heater, a digital thermometer, and a refractometer. During the brewing process, the thermometer made things vastly easier and faster compared to the old analog thermometer I was using. The refractometer, a tool designed for testing specific gravity, only requires a couple of drops instead of nearly a pint of liquid, so I get to save more beer for the final product (huzzah!).

The temperature controller combined with the heater allows me to set a fixed point for the beer to be at and keep it within 1 or 2 degrees at all times. Considering this was my second lager, and I didn't feel like doing the swamp cooler thing again (way too much effort), I am totally pumped! The carboy is sitting in the garage, and the controller is keeping it between 48 and 50 degrees F, right in the wheelhouse for this Bohemian lager yeast. Check out the set up below in the attached picture.

With the fermentation having no issues temperature-wise thus far, I'm very optimistic that the lagering it will experience in the garage will go just as well (after a brief period for a diacetyl rest to clean up some off-flavors).

So, that is my lager update. I suspect this will be available for consumption sometime in late April as I want to give this a solid 2 months of lagering, but only time will tell. More to come as the brew develops!

As always, drink well and be merry. Slainte!

UPDATE 1: The fermentation on this is taking forever! I couldn't believe how fast it started and how consistently it was creating CO2, but I'm going to let it ride as long as it wants. I am aware of the lower temps bringing down the metabolic rate of the yeast, but still, it is fun to see it go this long. Plus, the blow off tube makes the hops aroma super strong in the bucket.

UPDATE 2: The lagering is upon us, and I am happy to say that the winter weather in Northern IL is not a hurdle to overcome this year. I am seeing consistent temps of around 30 in the garage, which is totally where I wanted it to be. Plus, a sample I took had a great color, insane clarity, and a nice subtle hoppy bite with malt undertones. I'm looking forward to this one!

Smooth Brew Stout

Well, it didn't take long from the last time I posted to get the desire to brew again. I decided to go with the appropriate brewing choice for the year, so I made the final stout of the season for me, and this time it is a vanilla coffee stout. I was inspired by some of the wonderful stouts I'd been enjoying, and it seemed a crime to not give it one more go befor I run into my spring beers.

 

The brew itself was pretty simple, mostly due to the fact that I dialed down the recipe to accentuate the speciality malts and ingredients. There was a generous amount of sugar and DME used in this batch to keep costs down, but I think the addition of the coffee will dial down the generic maltiness in a big way. It is going to be roughly 7% with approximately 50 IBUs, so it will be big enough for the season, but will not overwhelm the drinker. This will be a great one to have when the weather is still cold and the driveway needs shoveling.

 

The thing I'm most proud of about this batch is that it is utilizing Intelligista coffee (espresso to be specific). Not only is this a great coffee in its own right, a number of really amazing beers have used this exact same kind of coffee, so it is cool to have a connection to them. I  plan to brew up a pot of coffee, cool it down, and add it to the secondary, where I will add some more vanilla beans for dry hopping. From my research, this is the smartest way to do coffee, because it adds some bitterness/flavor/aroma without adding needless tannins. The vanilla beans, since they were mostly in a sterile enviroment (sealed bag), will not be boiled, but rather soaked for about 10 minutes in StarSan ("Do not fear the foam").

 

I suspect I should be enjoying this beer right around Valentine's Day, which will make this a fantastic gift for a certain malt muse (yeah, go on and keep on enjoying your new nickname).

This beer was a simple run, mostly getting me ready for my next batches that will be a real challenge: Maibock & Oktoberfest. Stay tuned for those as the season moves us along.

As always, drink well and be merry!

UPDATE 1: Here is a picture of the carboy after 24 hours of fermntation. I'm pretty happy with the results, to say the least.

UPDATE 2:  The coffee has been brewed (8 oz), cooled, and added to the secondary along with the beer. It smells so damn good!

UPDATE 3: A small sample was taken for myself and my resident coffee stout geek (AKA Coren), and we both thought this will need a bit more coffee. I am going to do it in small additions on bottling day, so watch out for that update!

Certifications & Cicerones

Happy New Year everyone!

I know it has been some time since I last generated a new post, aside from updates here and there. What can I say except that the holidays demand a lot of attention, especially when having great beer and enjoying good times!

Well, the holidays now over, so I can once again refocus my efforts on the world of beer. First of all, I'm in the process of reading some new material in order to better hone my skills at recipe design. This is helping me as I decide what I'd like to make and with what ingredients. So far, I have some fun ideas in front of me for 2013, which I'm hoping will be an even bigger year for my home brewing than last year (I already have 4 new ideas I'm toying with, and a total of 5 recipes I want to make before April).

Aside from reading all this new material (which I owe to a very thoughtful Coren, my malt muse), I have been exploring some new options. One thing I was handed not too long ago was an article of a guy my age that is working part-time as a cicerone, which is essentially the beer version of a sommelier (even if it does pain me to simplify it that much). The role requires the certificate-holder to be well versed in beer styles, the brewing process, the history of beer, an understanding of how to serve beer, and some basis in draft management system & etiquette. Needless to say, I'm intrigued, so I have researched it a bit, and well, I'm not too surprised that the first test is something I crushed with little to no effort, but also gave me a good idea of where to focus my studies. I'm officially a certified beer server, and with a simple request to one of the many industry amigos I have made thus far, I can save up & study for the cicerone exam, which is quite a bit more involved.

So, I'm pretty pumped about this, because it is a form of true acknowledgement by the industry to have something. Besides, when was the last time anyone ever said, "Being noticed is uncool"?

That confirms a goal to have the cicerone exam scheduled and completed no later than October 2013.

Now, the other test I'm exploring requires some serious consideration and time commitments. The BJCP, or Beer Judge Certification Program, is the program in place for competitions, as small as a local club contest all the way up to the GABF. The format is to take an online test of 200 true/false questions as an entrance exam, followed within 1 year by a full exam that includes tasting several beers and providing a score card.

I'm looking forward to bigger & better challenges that will allow me to improve my own beer knowledge and have some fun! Be prepared to hear more about these programs and my advancement through them, because I'm playing for keeps.

As always, drink well and be merry.

Awesome Sauce IPA

Well, I can’t believe it, but I haven’t brewed in a few weeks, so my birthday weekend seemed like a natural fit to solve that problem.

This go around, it is my imperial IPA, Awesome Sauce IPA, which sits comfortably at an OG of 1.085 and 85 IBUs (on paper). This was not the actual recipe I wanted to make, unfortunately, because what I had written was nearly an all-grain batch, and I still do not have a mash-tun for my grains (next year, I swear!). I altered my recipe to match what I could make and my wallet could survive, which turned out to be a twist on a kit that was reasonably priced.

Coren was along for the ride on this one, which is turning out to be a typical occurrence, as she is regularly turning into my muse. I wanted to mention here that I really appreciate her for sticking it out with me when I’m brewing, which I’m sure is not the most fun for her. Thanks Cocoa!

So, let’s talk about this brew. This is a monster of a beer, as you can tell just by the stats, but the grain bill really tells the story. I came in at just over 10 lbs. for the overall amount of fermentables going into this batch, not to mention 6 oz. of hops during the boil and 1 oz. for dry hopping. Yikes, that is almost enough to stand up and salute you!

The product couldn’t have come together any cleaner, as it was all part of the now established process. I think Coren is right about me being more comfortable with each successive batch, which makes the process so much more enjoyable.

By the time I finished, I had it all said and done in easy 3.5 hours and felt pretty satisfied. The color, a nice amber color, is exactly what I was aiming for and the hops mingled together nicely, even if they were not the particular varieties I originally had incorporated into the recipe.

To ensure this big of a batch was managed properly, I downplayed some of the fermentables by only adding half of the rock sugar at flame out, which will be rejoined with the other half right about the peak of fermentation (dissolved in some boiling water and cooled, of course). This was something I picked up online as a way to ensure the yeast had a chance to make it through the growth phase, which I suppose was already in action for a while, but I saw no harm in it. Additionally, I made a growler’s worth of a yeast starter with the dry yeast it came with and pitched a smack pack of liquid yeast (Wyeast rules!), just because of how big of a batch this was.

The fermentation was not only active when I got up the following morning, but I had a full blown krausen-saurus on my hands! Anyone that needs advice on the use of a blow-out hose, let me advise you thusly: ALWAYS USE ONE! If I hadn’t, the brew room would have several ounces of ruined beer all over it.

When I get home, I’m going to probably set up the rest of the rock sugar and pitch it. As of now, I’m pretty happy with this run, but I want to make my recipe next time, so be prepared for this one to make another appearance in 2013 with a whole different profile.

As always, drink well and be merry. Slainte!

Update 1: Ok, hands down, this was the best fermentation I have ever had. It lasted at a good rate for well over 5 days, and really only slowed down at the 1 week mark. This was all thanks to adding the extra candi sugar I had left over, which probably puts my OG at closer to 1.080. I wasn't willing to risk taking a sample with such an aggressive fermentation, so we will have to wait and see.

 

Update 2: The fermentation FINALLY is done, and I gave it another 3 days to settle down and get some of the secondary fermentation done. As soon as it was done, I moved it over to my secondary and added the rose & heather flowers. I also added one more ounce of Citra for dry hopping, so watch out!

 

Update 3: The flowers were in for about 5 days when I removed them (so much easier in a muslin bag). I let the hops stick around for a full week before I trainsfered it to the secondary FV. I am looking to bottle this in just about a week or 10 days, allowing the flavors to calm themselves beforehand. I'm hoping for something around 9% ABV, so here is hoping!

 

Update 4: The brew is in the bottles, and even if I did this one on my own (my decision, so don't give Coren a hard time), it went really quickly. I ended up with a yield that was probably closer to 5.5 gal, but I think the ABV is going to be near the 8.5-9% mark, with the possibility of hitting over 9% (I'm smiling as I type this line). The aroma, taste, and color of this couldn't have possibly made me happier. In one week, I'll test the carbonation progress and most likely be putting these in the fridge. Can someone please speed up time/give me a kegging system so I can stop waiting so long?

Brewing Wish List

Good day to you all my fellow zymurgists!

I haven't been online in some time, so I thought I'd take a moment and share my most recent discovery, or rather, my thriftiness.

Having been in the online community for several homebrewing supply stores, I started actually crunching some numbers. Originally, I thought I was stuck paying several thousands of dollars to have the set up for all-grain, with some tasty add-ons, taken care of. Well, that is totally not the case.

After digging around Northern Brewer's site, I found that I could accomplish my goals for a touch over $1,500, and that is including tax & shipping!

The wish list currently stands at this so far, and I don't expect it to change a whole lot:

Megapot-15 Gallon (ball valve, brewmometer, false bottom)

Wort Chiller-3/8"X25'

Yeast Starter Kit 2L

Vortx Stir Plate

5 Gallon Keg System

CO2 Cylinder 10 lbs.

Double-mesh Stainless Strainer

Bayou Cooker

Deluxe All-Grain System-10 Gallon

JSP MaltMill Model A (Case Hardened Rollers)

Granted, that is still quite a bit of money, but I can very easily begin the process of saving up for it all, or do it piecemeal. I know the kegging, all-grain, and new kettle are the top of my list, but the rest of it are just ways for me to make the process, especially the end product, better.

I am also contemplating buying a old keg from a bar or distributor, taking it to a machine shop so someone can plasma cut the top out and use that as my new kettle. Considering that is dependant on the whim of the universe, I am not holding my breath for a quick turn around. Should anyone reading know someone that could help, I would gladly repay them with some home brew (wink wink).

Well, that is all I have for this post, but stay tuned. I have a few recipes I'm working on and some updates to old ones coming soon.

As always, drink well and be merry. Slainte!

Coren's Corner: Schlafly Fresh Hop Festival Review

I'd like to first of apologize for not posting in a bit. I've been crazy busy, and I have a post about our most recent beer to add, plus some updates to the white house porter.

That aside, this is the debut post from Coren. When she posts in the future it will be with the tagline Coren's Corner, so why not start with her first review?!

Without further ado...here is her post.
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         Why hello beautiful beer people.  My name is Coren and I confess...I am a beer geek.  Brian, the main blogger, has mentioned me a few times with some of the recommendations of beer (I am the big fan of Three Floyds Beer, and his occasional muse).
He has given me the opportunity to review a recent trip to the great city of St. Louis for Schlafly’s Fresh Hop Fest.  This event happened on October 27, 2012 and it was definitely one to remember.
Being the great guy that he is, Brian got me on the list to volunteer at this yearly event. Now, I have been to a couple beer tastings and festivals in the past, but I have never seen the other side.  Some of those events were good, a few were pretty bad and others left me wondering, WTF?  So, I had a pretty good idea of what was to be expected from an attendee.  However, being a volunteer for the first time, I was a little nervous, but anxiously optimistic.
Schlafly is well known in the St. Louis area, and to me as well: I am in love with their Oatmeal Stout.  If I remember correctly, the brewery has been around for over 20 years.  What makes the Fresh Hops Fest special is the fact Schlafly invites other breweries from around Missouri to participate and serve their own beers.  The only catch is each brewery must come up with a beer that is made with a special sort of fresh hop, hence the title of the festival.  For example, Urban Chestnut altered the recipe of their flag ship beer called Winged Nut by adding St. Louis-grown Canadian Red Vine hops.
Well, let’s get back to me volunteering.  My position was to man the Hefeweizen station (it is an American wheat ale, not a traditional hefeweizen, but never mind that). Now, you may be asking, “Why was there a Hefeweizen at a Fresh Hops Fest?”  It is as simple as this:  not everyone that attends these festivals is all about hoppy beer.
With me wearing my Schlafly Winter ESB shirt, I was ready to take on the masses as the festival opened at 2pm.  Beer geeks, homebrewers, hop heads, and beer festival-virgins started to head into the patio at Schlafly’s Bottleworks.  The weather that day was crisp and very fall like at roughly 40 degrees
With the mix we had in the crowd that day, the first timers would come up to me and ask questions like, “What exactly do I do here?” or “What beers would you recommend?”  I simply told them to just try each beer at least once, the go back to the ones you like.  And if you truly did not like any of the exceptional creations that were made for this day, come back to my station for a “safe” Hefewezein (also provided were Schlafly’s Oatmeal Stout and Pale Ale).
What I found to be somewhat amusing, I kept getting the same people coming back to me, but I figured, whatever floats their boat. I found myself being a bartender for a day, and you know what, I totally rocked it. At one point, I did have a line of about 10 people waiting, which I managed pretty well I think.  I also did kind of take over other stations and started to pour the other beers, when the need arose.  The enjoyment of being at such a fun festival was truly making me a happy girl and this made time fly so fast.
I enjoyed watching how men and women were so serious about tasting each beer.  They would first smell the aroma, look at the color, take an assessment, and finally take a taste.  That is how you figure out the different flavors and complexities the beer has to offer, which I now do unconsciously (thanks, Brian).
Volunteering gave me a radically different idea of what exactly a craft beer community is all about.  This collection of people are about making a good beer, sharing that with the world, getting feedback, and trying again.  You can love a beer and declare it as the most amazing thing since sliced bread, or utterly despise it.  Hell, you can bitch about it all you want and what was gross about it.  But, breweries take such pride in every one of their additions to the craft beer culture.  Craft beer is for sure making an impact in today’s society and it is certainly making “The Big 3” take notice.  And that good cause for that:  people want their beer to taste good, and that is why festivals like Fresh Hop are great to attend.