Fixed...


Its my first foray into the specialty grains world. I haven't yet bottled the brew, so the wait is KILLING me.

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O&B Dream Team
Bill Barber - Bobby Clarke - Tim Kerr
Mark Howe - Chris Pronger
Bernie Parent
Farm: Giroux

I've just kinda got back into brewing after a many-year hiatus, and getting into specialty grains and partial mash makes such a difference in the flavour of your beer. I think the big two benefits are that it tastes a whole lot fresher than malt extract (even if it's just a portion of the recipe), and that it gives you so much more control over the malt profile of the beer you're making.

Man, I'm really surprised by that hopwired recipe -- putting all the malt extract in at the end will give it a really strong malt character. I guess that's the point though, huh. Interesting to see all the NZ hops in there. I haven't seen a bottle of the real stuff at my local store yet, but I'll keep an eye open. The regional differences would be really interesting!

The crystal 60 in my IPA should give it a nice colour. The intent was that the munich 10 could add some fresh base-type malt, and the crystal 60 would add some depth and character. More than anything, keeping the ABV lower (most hoptastic IPAs sit in the 7+ range) should keep it in check. I think I've changed my mind on the hop bill too -- I'm going to add some Northern Brewer, which has an earthier taste than northwest hops, to fill out the hop bill. In the end it'll be:

Zeus (aka Columbus) for bittering.
Cascade for flavour
Simcoe for aroma (at 0)
Williamette for aroma (at 0)
Northern Brewer for aroma/flavour (gonna make hop tea and add to secondary)
Cascade for aroma (dry hop in secondary)

Should give it a solid depth of hop profile to offset the malt. I'm a fan of a broader hop profile than just the focused citrus/pine that's typical here in the northwest, but we'll see how this turns out. Hopefully the Northern Brewer hops don't make it too earthy.

Let me know how that brew of yours tastes when it makes it out of the bottle -- sounds like an interesting recipe.

I think next on the docket for me will be a simple blonde ale, partial mash with some vienna malt, hopped with Centennial (if I can find some - local shortage) for bittering and cascada for flavour. About an ounce of hops total in the whole batch will seem like nothing compared to the last few brews I've made, but hey -- gotta have a "crowdpleaser" on standby for the non-beer-geek drinkers.

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I didn't know that about the late LME addition. Everything I've read is that boiling it longer will carmelize it more, which is partly why I did it that way. But... with 140 grams of hops going in the brew, with another 80 in dry hop, I'm hoping for a balanced beer.

I'll certainly let you know how it tastes. Bottle in two weeks time, I'll try the first one somewhere around Xmas day. That will be the I cannot wait any longer, I think its carbed tasting...

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O&B Dream Team
Bill Barber - Bobby Clarke - Tim Kerr
Mark Howe - Chris Pronger
Bernie Parent
Farm: Giroux

A couple of years ago, I got into making my own brew. I was only using kits so I didn't delve into recipes. I really should get into it again. Any advice on brewing with recipes as opposed to kits?

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BTW... I'm just about to try and convert a 10 gallon Igloo cooler into a mash tun. The cheapest I can find after a couple of night searching was $99.00 delivered. I tried searching for a used cooler, but didn't find anything suitable for less. It appears that i will be going AG sometime in the next couple months.

__________________
O&B Dream Team
Bill Barber - Bobby Clarke - Tim Kerr
Mark Howe - Chris Pronger
Bernie Parent
Farm: Giroux

FHG, how have you found that hop tea technique? I'm interested in it. Do you steep in a bag? How hot and how long do you steep? Have you got good results in the past like this?

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O&B Dream Team
Bill Barber - Bobby Clarke - Tim Kerr
Mark Howe - Chris Pronger
Bernie Parent
Farm: Giroux

Kits were good for me to learn the terminology and basic equipment. The only advice I would give you is read everything you can on http://www.homebrewtalk.com.

Watch everything you can on http://www.youtube.com/user/BrewingTV/videos?view=0 and http://www.youtube.com/user/basicbrewing/videos?view=0

Dont be afraid to ask questions. Questions are good.

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O&B Dream Team
Bill Barber - Bobby Clarke - Tim Kerr
Mark Howe - Chris Pronger
Bernie Parent
Farm: Giroux

Well, the hooked-on-homebrew continuum looks something like this:

1. Beer kits
2. Extract brew
3. Extract with specialty grains
4. Extract with partial mash
5. All grain

I'd suggest you work your way up, as you need slightly more gear as you come down the scale. I'd say the biggest piece of advice is to find a good local brew store where you can source your supplies and ask questions.

Read www.howtobrew.com over and over. It's a great basic reference.

In short, most kits come pre-hopped. The next step is to hop your own using extract. After you've got a couple brews like that under your belt, you can start playing with the malt a little more, and that gets you on a very rewarding slippery slope.

I could be wrong, but as long as you get a hot break on it, your final beer should come out well.

The hop tea thing has worked out really well, especially for adding a bit more hop aroma without the hassle of wort loss that you'd get if you toss in a whack of hops on flameout. I've just been using a coffee press (clean!!), adding off-the-boil water (say 190ish F?), and steeping for 15 minutes or so. It gives nice aroma but also contributes to the flavour too, and it's a nice way to keep the mess down. More than anything, the heat extracts the flavours much better than a dry hop does, and the lack of time at heat prevents it from bittering.

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I think the hot break happens when the manufacturer is creating the concentrated form of the wort. I'm going to read more about it tho... I hope I'm not missing something.

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O&B Dream Team
Bill Barber - Bobby Clarke - Tim Kerr
Mark Howe - Chris Pronger
Bernie Parent
Farm: Giroux

I might try that hop tea technique on the next beer. Sounds like an interesting way to go about it. Might even make myself a hop tea to drink as well.

__________________
O&B Dream Team
Bill Barber - Bobby Clarke - Tim Kerr
Mark Howe - Chris Pronger
Bernie Parent
Farm: Giroux