Building my Own Rye Pale Ale

The move to the south has led me to discover some new great beers, one of which is Terrapin Beer's, Rye Pale Ale. They are a brewery from not too far off in Athens' Georgia. The brew is very tasty, begging to be served with something spicy. One of the fun parts of learning about new brews is that sometimes I find something I want to try brewing myself.

I am already fond of my own Pale Ale recipe, so what if I mixed it up a bit steeping a pound of malted rye along with a half pound of honey malted barley and a quarter pound of rice hulls. On the sugar side of things, 6 lbs. of golden malt extract and a pound or two of sugar in the raw to boost the alcohol yet not add any additional flavoring. As with the SPA, I am trying to achieve a pretty light beer, with lots of alcohol and lots of bitter and flavorful hop to it. I have most of the ingredients for this one, just a matter of time before I get around to brewing it. The biggest hurdle might be emptying some bottles. That means enjoying some brew!


Scott's Rye PA

Brewer:	Scottieie		Email:	-
Beer:	Scott's Rye PA		Style:	American Pale Ale
Type:	Extract w/grain		Size:	5 gallons
Color:	8 HCU (~6 SRM)		Bitterness:	50 IBU
OG:	1.068		FG:	1.010
Alcohol:	7.5% v/v (5.9% w/w)
Grain:	12 oz. Belgian pale 1 lb. Flaked rye
Boil:	minutes	SG 1.113	3 gallons
	6 lb. Light malt extract 2 lb. Cane sugar
Hops:	1 oz. Cascade (6% AA, 60 min.) 1 oz. Northern Brewer (8.5% AA, 60 min.) 1 oz. Cascade (6% AA, 30 min.) 1 oz. Northern Brewer (8.5% AA, 15 min.)

This web page generated by The Beer Recipator.

Racked the Big Honkin' Stout and the Scott's Pale Ale Last Night Too....

Quick note here, after bottling the Hefe', I shifted my other two projects into secondary fermentation vessels. I also took gravity readings on them as well.

The Big Honkin' Stout, originally weighing in at 1.072 is now at 1.020 after just 8 days in the primary. That would be about 7.3% A/V, which is my biggest beer to date. I have shifted it over to the secondary fermentation vessel for a full month of secondary fermentation yeast love in.

The SPA was also moved over into secondary and it has gone from 1.062 to 1.010, which consequently is also 7.3% A/V. Another big beer, only this one started off a bit smaller than the BHStout and has dried up a bit more sugar and turned it into alcohol.

More on these brews come bottling day. Scott's Pale Ale was only racked to clean it up a bit. There really isn't any more fermentation I wanted out of the beer, now just clarity. The BHStout is in for at least a month as it sweats out the sweet some more. I am hoping it arrives somewhere around 1.014, which will be a very rich beverage.

Bottled Batch Number 12 - The Dark Honey Hefe'

This is where the slacker part comes into play. I bottled the Dark Honey Hefe last night. Everything went as planned, but noted that my final gravity before brewing is 1.014, .002 higher than it was when I racked the beer into the secondary two weeks ago or so. Was I a bit tipsy when I racked the beer, I have no idea. Did adding the priming sugar into the brew bump it back up? I only added ~2/3 of a cup of corn sugar and 1 cup of H2O.

Any rate, this beer is pretty big for a Hefe in my book. Alcohol by volume is 6.5%. It is going to quickly turn into a very enjoyable brew!

Bottling Date: 1/30/2010
Batch #: 12
Name: Dark Honey Hefe'
O.G.: 1.060   F.G.: 1.014
Alcohol By Volume: 6.5%

Hop Glut....

What appears to be hops growing along the Franklin, NC Greenway, taken when I was hiking the Appalachian Trail.

I was wondering why hops got so cheap all the sudden. I usually take advantage of supersaver shipping from my two favorite home brew supply stores, which usually means I stock up on ingredients. Since I hadn't shopped in a while, I noticed that hops are much cheaper. Here is why.

According to the article it looks like it won't lower the price of beer however. Guess I will have to keep on home brewing for my brew!

H/T to Brew Blog.

Northern Brewer's Big Honkin' Stout - Slightly Bastardized

Once again, I can't leave well enough alone. I bastardize every recipe I can get my hands on. Betty Crocker says to try it like this, I add something else for kicks. Most of the time success. Sometimes total failure, but I have a good feeling about this recipe. This one is a Northern Brewer kit. I haven't brewed a high gravity beer yet and this one seemed like just the one. My only addition was 1/2 lbs. of rolled oats. I like that silky feeling they create in a stout and I hope I get just enough to let me know it is there, but not enough to detract from the fact that it is a borderline imperial stout.




Big Honkin' Stout - Bastardized (Slightly)

Brewer:	Scottieie		Email:	-
Beer:	Big Honkin' Stout - Bastardized (Slightly)		Style:	Imperial Stout
Type:	Extract w/grain		Size:	5 gallons
Color:	177 HCU		Bitterness:	38 IBU
OG:	1.072		FG:	1.020
Alcohol:	6.7% v/v (5.2% w/w)
Grain:	4 oz. British pale 4 oz. American crystal 40L 8 oz. British black patent 8 oz. Roasted barley 8 oz. Rolled oats
Boil:	minutes	SG 1.119	3 gallons
	9 lb. Dark malt extract
Hops:	2 oz. Willamette (5% AA, 60 min.) 1 oz. Northern Brewer (8.5% AA, 30 min.) 1 oz. Northern Brewer (8.5% AA, 15 min.)

This web page generated by The Beer Recipator.



Brew Date: 1/22/10
Batch #: 14
O.G. 1.072, on par with the Recipator. Yeah!
Initial Reactions: Wow, I have created the thickest, most viscous fluid I have ever had the pleasure to brew. It looked like burnt motor oil, the kind you get when you haven't changed your oil in 10,000 miles. I can only imagine the Dionysian orgy that is going to take place in my fermentation vessel. Sodom and Gomorrah shall reign in my carboy.The wort's taste and smell were spectacular and I can only guess what the finished product is going to bring.

The plan is to ferment in primary for 2 weeks or so. Rack in a secondary for another month or two, then bottle. A beer like this should have time to age and I intend on giving it space to become what it wants to be, almost an imperial stout.

I am guessing that after I bottle I will try it in a couple weeks, but I bet this one will be one that will really be ready in the fall. It might have to sit in the brew cabinet for a while for the flavor to develop fully.

Wine?

Is it blasphemy to drink wine while brewing beer?

Scott's Pale Ale - Redux - The Brew

Batch 13: Since I brewed this beer last summer I have wanted to revisit this brew and now I have my chance. My goal is a light hoppy brew with a very light color, a high percent alcohol and lots of hop bitterness.



Scott's Pale Ale

Brewer:	Scottieie		Email:	-
Beer:	Scott's Pale Ale		Style:	American Pale Ale
Type:	Extract		Size:	5 gallons
Color:	7 HCU (~6 SRM)		Bitterness:	47 IBU
OG:	1.058		FG:	1.010
Alcohol:	6.2% v/v (4.9% w/w)
Boil:	minutes	SG 1.097	3 gallons
	6 lb. Light malt extract 2 lb. Rice extract
Hops:	1 oz. Cascade (6% AA, 60 min.) 1 oz. Northern Brewer (8.5% AA, 45 min.) 1 oz. Cascade (6% AA, 30 min.) 1 oz. Willamette (5% AA, 15 min.)

This recipe was generated by The Beer Recipator.

Comments: Wow, the pilsner malt was a lot lighter than I had anticipated and it will be a very light brew. The next time I brew this beer, I am going to subtract one pound of the rice syrup solids with 1 lbs. of carapils malt barley and and 1/2 lbs. of rice hulls. My guess is the carapils will add some extra flavor to the brew and the hulls will add some head to the beer. Of course I don't have the full scoop on how the beer will turn out, but will save that for a later post. My O.G. turned out to be 1.062 a tad higher than the 1.058 anticipated by the recipator.

Brew date: 1/16/10
Batch #: 13

What going on here?

What can I say, I like to brew beer! I also like to ride my bike, camp, hike and do a bazillion other things. Because I have so many things going on in my life, I am trying to strike the balance between getting so heavily involved in a hobby that I must commit myself fully to the study and perfection of the art and the opposite end of the spectrum, being that you commit so little time to the activity that it isn't worth doing. Somewhere between brewing like a monk & teenagers making wine out of grape juice concentrate is where you will find me.

More on the philosophy of brewing like a slacker in a later post. For now, enjoy the recipes, tips and things that I imported from another blog. This blog will be dedicated to brewing good beer, not getting so heavily involved that it requires a oxyacetylene torch as part of the brewing equipment list and enjoying good beer!

Racked the Dark Honey Hefe'

Gravity Reading was ~1.012 at 66 degrees. The smell was out of this world. When I take a gravity reading I like to taste the wort and it was nice. Wonderful aroma like most hefe's I have had. The color is an amazing brown color, lighter than a traditional porter or stout. I can't wait to try this one!

Here is the link to the brew log for the Dark Honey Hefe'.

 Also, found a nifty little gadget here that calculates the percent alcohol by volume. This one weighs in pretty heavy at 7%. Mind you that I am just racking the beer and it has another week or two in secondary fermentation. Another hydrometer reading will be taken on bottling day to see what the final.....final gravity reading is.

Dark Honey Hefe'

Batch number 12 in the brew log.....

I have no idea how to leave well enough alone. I had a Northern Brewer, Bavarian Hefeweizen kit. Should be simple enough right. Follow directions, make beer. Yum!

Not me. I looked through the shelves and found honey begging to be added to the batch. I had some grains (1/2 lbs. cracked dark wheat and 1/2 lbs. cracked Simpson's Chocolate Malt) left over from another brew that I didn't use. I have had a dark wheat beer before and thought it was great. Now if I can get a good flavor combination from the phenols created by the yeast, the floral aromas from the honey and a bit of that chocolaty malt taste I might be on to something!

What did I end up making?


El Hefe's Bavarian Dark Honey Hefeweizen

Brewer:	Scottieie		Email:	-
Beer:	Bavarian Dark Honey Hefe'		Style:	Weizen/Weissbier
Type:	Extract w/grain		Size:	5 gallons
Color:	50 HCU (~22 SRM)		Bitterness:	14 IBU
OG:	1.063		FG:	1.010
Alcohol:	6.8% v/v (5.4% w/w)
Grain:	8 oz. British chocolate 8 oz. Flaked wheat
Boil:	minutes	SG 1.105	3 gallons
	7 lb. Wheat extract 1 lb. Honey
Hops:	1 oz. Spalt (6.75% AA, 60 min.)

Everything was brewed as you normally would, but in an effort to retain the honey flavors, I added the honey with only 5 minutes left in the boil. Boiling has a tendency to ruin these flavors and I wanted all the honey fragrance and flavor I could get.

Who really knows how this one will pan out, but the wort tasted nice. O.G. came in at 1.060, pretty close to what the recipator above had and it is in the coat closet for two weeks of seclusion with brief visits to observe bubblage activity.

Scott's Light & Hoppy Pale Ale - Reloaded

As you may or may not know, I like to brew beer. I have been brewing for just under 1 year and now that I feel like I am pretty decent brewer. I am an extract brewer meaning that I don't brew with all grain as I don't have the equipment. Most of my batches do have some grain in the brew, but not all of them. This recipe is an example of one that doesn't have any grain in the process.

I am going to start experimenting a bit with some recipes. Thus far I have one under my belt, what I dubbed the Really Light Pale Ale. What I intended with that batch was to create a light and hoppy pale ale through the use of some Rice Sugar in the recipe. You can read all about the old recipe in the link above, but to work towards perfecting that beer, I am going to try and up the gravity a bit on it, by using 6 lbs. of Pilsen Malt Syrup and 2 lbs. of rice syrup solids. I also intend on upping the bitterness, but am very interested in dry hopping 1 oz. of hops in this recipe to get the flowery aroma one gets when dry hopping depending on the type of hops.

Calculations were done using the Beer Recipator, found here.




Scott's Light & Simple Hoppy Pale Ale

Brewer:	Scottieie		Email:	-
Beer:	Scott's Light & Simple Hoppy Pale Ale		Style:	American Pale Ale
Type:	Extract		Size:	5 gallons
Color:	7 HCU (~6 SRM)		Bitterness:	41 IBU
OG:	1.058		FG:	1.011
Alcohol:	6.1% v/v (4.8% w/w)
Boil:	minutes	SG 1.097	3 gallons
	6 lb. Light malt extract 2 lb. Rice extract
Hops:	2 oz. Styrian Goldings (5.5% AA, 60 min.) 1 oz. Styrian Goldings (5.5% AA, 30 min.) 1 oz. Styrian Goldings (5.5% AA, 15 min.) 1 oz. Styrian Goldings (aroma)

I will keep everyone posted as to the results of the brew after I brew it.