Giant Freaking Barleywine - Tasting Notes

I finally have my gigantic all-malt barleywine that I posted about here and here kegged, carbed and ready to bottle. The beer went from 1.142 down to 1.024, which is an astonishing 83% attenuation for a beer this big. My initial tastings prior to carbonation and cold-crashing were best summed up as "hot & harsh". But we're now 3 months in, and I have a proper chilled and carbonated sample to taste.

Appearance is a deep chestnut-brown with a thin off-white head that has been holding on surprisingly well. The nose is nutty, rich malt with noticeable booziness. There are some fruity esters that are hard to define, but seem to be in the cherry/peach range. Early samples just hit me with a blast of that Yorkshire Square strain ester profile, but that has (thankfully) mellowed significantly.

On the palate there is some caramel and toffee sweetness. More stonefruit esters are here, but they meld with the sweetness quite well. There's a touch of fig as well. I also get plenty of dark bread crust that is really characteristic of Maris Otter malt. The booze is up front, but surprisingly smooth. There is a balancing hop bitterness, but the malt sweetness definitely takes the lead. Mouthfeel is heavy and slightly viscous, but there is a nice snappy tartness that keeps it from becoming syrupy or cloying. Finish has a long interplay of dark fruit and bread crust.

I am really excited to lay this one down for a while and see how it ages. It really seems like I nailed the ballpark of Thomas Hardy Ale, which is possibly my all-time favorite beers, and ages well seemingly forever. I think after a few years when some sherry notes start to develop this is going to be insanely good.

House IPA Recipe (Partial Mash)

I don't typically brew partial-mash batches, but I just brewed a mini-mash version of my house recipe today to try to save a little time. You may need to adjust or scale for your system. I use 70% efficiency and 3.5 gallons batch size to help account for all the wort lost to hops & dry hops. I'm typically at 80% efficiency on my system.

Note that I use Brewer's Friend's "No Chill" function to estimate the IBU's for my hop stand. I'm estimating a 90-minute hop stand is roughly equivalent to a 30-minute boil addition for calculating IBU's (this is based on experience with my system). Of course, that means nothing since beers usually max out in the 100 IBU range (this one measured at 98 IBU in a lab test).

Note: the hop bill is identical to my all-grain version. The only real difference is the fermentables.

Title: MiniMash IPA

Brew Method: Partial Mash
Style Name: American IPA
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 3.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 4 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.052
Efficiency: 70% (brew house)
No Chill: 30 minute extended hop boil time

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.059
Final Gravity: 1.013
ABV (standard): 6.08%
IBU (tinseth): 512.97
SRM (morey): 5.67

FERMENTABLES:
2 lb - United Kingdom - Maris Otter Pale (34.8%)
4 oz - Belgian - Aromatic (4.3%)
3 lb - Dry Malt Extract - Extra Light (52.2%)
0.5 lb - Cane Sugar (8.7%)

HOPS:
2 oz - Citra, Type: Pellet, AA: 14.8, Use: Boil for 0 min, IBU: 121.33
2 oz - Apollo, Type: Pellet, AA: 18, Use: Boil for 0 min, IBU: 147.56
2 oz - Meridian, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.7, Use: Boil for 0 min, IBU: 54.92
2 oz - Motueka, Type: Pellet, AA: 7.2, Use: Boil for 0 min, IBU: 59.02
2.5 oz - Nelson Sauvin, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.7, Use: Boil for 0 min, IBU: 130.14
1.5 oz - Citra, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 14.8, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days
2 oz - Meridian, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.7, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days
2 oz - Motueka, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 7.2, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days
1 oz - Nelson Sauvin, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.7, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 153 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 7 qt, Sacc Rest

YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - American Ale Yeast US-05

NOTES:
90 minute hop stand

House IPA Recipe (All-grain)

Here's the all-grain version of my House IPA recipe. This is a 3-gallon BIAB recipe. You may need to adjust or scale for your system. I use 70% efficiency and 3.5 gallons batch size to help account for all the wort lost to hops & dry hops. I'm typically at 80% efficiency on my system.

Note that I use Brewer's Friend's "No Chill" function to estimate the IBU's for my hop stand. I'm estimating a 90-minute hop stand is roughly equivalent to a 30-minute boil addition for calculating IBU's (this is based on experience with my system). Of course, that means nothing since beers usually max out in the 100 IBU range (this one measured at 98 IBU in a lab test).

Also note that FG is not 1.019. I'm not sure where the 72% attenuation for US-05 comes from, but I'm usually down around 1.012-1.014 for this beer.

Title: House IPA

Brew Method: BIAB
Style Name: American IPA
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 3.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 4 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.058
Efficiency: 70% (brew house)
No Chill: 30 minute extended hop boil time

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.066
Final Gravity: 1.019
ABV (standard): 6.27%
IBU (tinseth): 475.51
SRM (morey): 7.62

FERMENTABLES:
6.5 lb - American - Pale 2-Row (72.2%)
2 lb - German - Munich Light (22.2%)
8 oz - American - Victory (5.6%)

HOPS:
2 oz - Citra, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 14.8, Use: Boil for 0 min, IBU: 104.49
2 oz - Apollo, Type: Pellet, AA: 18, Use: Boil for 0 min, IBU: 139.79
2 oz - Meridian, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.7, Use: Boil for 0 min, IBU: 52.03
2 oz - Motueka, Type: Pellet, AA: 7.2, Use: Boil for 0 min, IBU: 55.92
2.5 oz - Nelson Sauvin, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.7, Use: Boil for 0 min, IBU: 123.29
1.5 oz - Citra, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 14.8, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days
2 oz - Meridian, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.7, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days
2 oz - Motueka, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 7.2, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days
1 oz - Nelson Sauvin, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.7, Use: Dry Hop for 7 days

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 153 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 18 qt, Sacc Rest

YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - American Ale Yeast US-05

NOTES:
90 minute hop stand

House IPA

It's been a while since I brewed my house IPA recipe, so I'm giving it a go today. Since this blog is called "The Hop Whisperer", it's about time I posted an IPA recipe.

Before I get to the recipe, let me delve a bit into the philosophy behind it. In the end, I'm really more about ideas than specifics when it comes to recipes. Set your goals first, then you can hash out the specifics on how to get there.

I've been pushing the limits with my IPA's since I started homebrewing. I've constantly been looking to max out the hop flavor and aroma. I think I finally hit it. The end result is more like drinking hop juice than a typical IPA. It is pretty much the definition of a fruit bomb IPA, yet it isn't enamel-strippingly bitter (despite the 98 IBUs that this was lab-measured to be).

My grain bill philosophy is simple: don't leave behind any sweetness, but leave a little malt richness to balance the hops. I avoid Crystal malt altogether. I'm not saying that you can't brew a good IPA using judicious amounts of Crystal malt, but that's not my approach. I stick to base malt paired with specialty grains like Munich, Victory, Aromatic, etc.

So, now for the hops. My big secret is simply to add all my boil hops at flameout and do a long hop stand. I also use a very large amount of hops - about 3 oz/gallon in the boil and about 1.5 oz/gal in dry hops. The hop stand addition in particular is where the massive hop flavor comes from. I've tried a lot of other hopping schedules, but it's the hop stand (which approximates a pro brewer's whirlpool) that really pushes the flavor envelope.

As far as hop selection, I'm really shooting for a fruit-bomb in this beer. While there are certainly some hop varieties that would work well as single hops in this type of IPA, I find that to be a bit monotone for my tastes. I'm looking for something like sangria, rather than a mango smoothie (I'm looking at you, Citra). In choosing hops, I want each one to bring something specific and different, but they all need to fit the whole picture. Here's a peek inside my thought process for each hop in the blend:

Nelson Sauvin: White grapefruit citrus in the C-hop ballpark, but also has a white wine character that really goes nicely with the sangria theme. Can overpower other hops, so I'm using a bit less in the dry hops

Motueka: Lime zest and lemongrass. Motueka gets overpowered by oilier hops, so this is really just an accent note despite being used in relatively large amounts.

Apollo: Navel oranges. Apollo also brings some Columbus-like dankness, so I'm just using it in the boil. 

Citra: Mango, mango, mango. So monotonous on its own, but so awesome when paired with citrusy hops. Super potent in the dry hops, so I use a bit less.

Meridian: This is my ace. Meridian has a fantastic sweet stonefruit (apricot/pluot/nectarine) flavor and aroma. It really shines here when paired with citrus hops and the mango from Citra.

Here are links to the posts containing the recipes:

All grain (3-gallon BIAB)
Partial Mash

Quick link

I just came across a link to this page. This will certainly be killing quite a bit of time for me in the near future. This is one of the most comprehensive lists of hop varieties I've seen, and it certainly has a considerable amount of detail as well.

Methods to My Madness (Part 1)

One of the things I enjoy most about the homebrewing hobby is that there are so many different paths to getting tasty beer. Once you understand the basic brewing process, it's really easy to tweak your process to get the results you're looking for within your own particular set of constraints.

I brew indoors on my stovetop in a 5-gallon kettle. According to conventional homebrewing wisdom, this would seem to relegate me to partial-boil extract brewing land. Almost everything in homebrewing seems to be geared toward producing 5-gallon batches. And all-grain brewing requires a full-volume boil, so you can't brew 5 gallons unless you can comfortably bring 6 or 7 gallons (or more) to a boil.

Personally, I drink about 5-6 beers a week, or roughly a case a month. I also like to brew at least once or twice a month. The obvious solution is to brew smaller batches. Brewing 3-gallon batches solves pretty much all my problems. I can manage full-volume boils, which allows me to brew all-grain. I also net about a case at a time, which is perfect for me. If I brew 2 batches a month I get some extra to share, and every 3rd or 4th batch is a big beer to age in the cellar.

Once you break out of the mindset of "1 batch = 5 gallons", then a lot of doors become open. You can brew batches of any size, allowing you to test new ingredients and recipes at a smaller scale. You can also make the move to all-grain brewing while staying within the confines of a small kitchen. The one downfall is that the vast majority of kits are designed for a 5-gallon batch. So, for smaller batches you will need to be working off a recipe rather than a kit, and you'll need to be able to scale it to your particular batch size.

I realize that it may seem a bit daunting to work from a recipe rather than purchasing a pre-built kit, especially if you need to make modifications to the recipe. But it's really quite simple, especially if you're using brewing software that supports scaling recipes. I use Brewer's Friend, but most of the brewing calculators have some function that will allow you to scale a recipe up or down simply.

One thing to keep in mind when scaling a recipe is that everything will change in equal proportions except for one thing - your boiloff rate. You will end up boiling off the same amount of liquid (or a little more) for a smaller batch than you would for a larger one. For example, if you boil off 1 gallon in an hour, you will start with 6 gallons for a 5-gallon batch, and you will start with 4 gallons for a 3-gallon batch. Why do I mention that? Because, depending on how much you scale the recipe down, it could have an impact on your IBU's. The gravity of your boil affects hop utilization. Since a smaller batch starts at a lower gravity than a larger one (i.e., it is more dilute), you may find that your scaled recipe has more IBU's than the original recipe. In most cases the difference will be negligible, but in hoppier beers it may be enough where you might want to decrease your bittering addition a bit.

My specific process is a sort of a hybrid BIAB (Brew-In-A-Bag) process. I wanted to avoid the need to monitor and adjust the temperature during the mash, so I could just walk away once I mashed-in and return at the end of the mash. My solution is to mash in a 5-gallon beverage cooler that I have lined with my BIAB bag. When the mash is done, I pull the bag and run off into my kettle. While this isn't as simple (or as cheap) as the usual 1-vessel BIAB setup, having a separate mash tun is worth my while.

In part two I will go into a bit more specifics. I will also walk you through a typical all-grain brewday so that those of you who want to follow along at home can get the feel of things.

Yep, too much hops.

Here's another update from tonight's Belma IPA. I mentioned that the hot wort was the consistency of peanut butter. Well, things only went downhill as it cooled. The picture below is of the chilled wort. No, that's not a typo. This lump of green modeling clay is actually the wort in the kettle post-chilling.

I was rather surprised at how much liquid I was able to extract from this. The whole mass got dumped into my BIAB bag in a small bucket. I then wrung and squeezed the bejeezus out of the bag, and kept pouring the collected drippin's into a 1-gallon jug. I ended up with over 1/3 gallon of liquid (starting from 0.8 gallons preboil volume). We'll see what happens next...