White house beer

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mtnagel said:
I brewed the White House ale from Northern Brewer on 10/31. Used a yeast starter and had healthy fermentation for a few days and no more bubbles for at least a week. The temperature was at the low end for the yeast, which is 64F, which I was around or a little higher for the first several days then it got cold and basement dropped to 63F. I wanted to check the gravity but I broke my hydrometer this weekend Got to my LHBS on Monday and got a new one and the gravity is at 1.020. I measured Tuesday and got the same 1.020. Northern said the FG should be about 1.007 - 1.014. There was also a healthy head of krausen on top too when I first took the gravity on Monday and it was less, but still there on Tuesday. I did move it to my dining room, which keeps it around 68F on Monday evening. There has been very slow air lock activity.

I wanted to move the beer to secondary so I could reuse the White House ale yeast to brew a milk stout which I plan to put in a used whiskey barrel. Due to vacations coming up (thanksgiving and xmas), I really wanted to brew yesterday reusing the yeast but I decided to just use the dry yeast that came with the kit because I figured my fermentation was stuck and I didn't want to use questionable yeast. So I'll probably just leave the honey ale in primary until I get back from vacation so it will probably be in primary for about 4 weeks. I will probably take a couple gravity readings before bottling just to see where it's at, but I can't imagine it wouldn't be done by then.

1.020 is a bit high but it is not the end of the world. Just make sure to read the gravity again and confirm the gravity has stopped changing. If the gravity is stable you can safely bottle at 1.020 and the beer will still be great.

You don't need to secondary. Leaving the beer in primary longer has the same effect.
 
Thanks for the info. I only was going to move to secondary so I could reuse the yeast in another beer that I needed to brew now. Now that I'm not reusing the yeast, it will primary for about a month, just like the 10 gallons of White House honey porter I made.
 
I rarely move anything to a secondary. Every now and then, but not often. My White House Porter stayed in the primary 19 days, and turned out great.
 
MtnHiBrewin said:
I rarely move anything to a secondary. Every now and then, but not often. My White House Porter stayed in the primary 19 days, and turned out great.

My only reasons for secondary are 1) to free up a primary fermenter and 2) I'm rather clumsy when it comes to the trub cake while racking so the less of it there is the clearer my beer gets. Not that I really care about clarity.
 
SO, fun day here, Trying to make this honey porter and i miss read the recipe (i thought there was only 3.3 pounds of malt, not 2 cans of 3.3 pounds :drunk:) so in a frantic search for a solution i used approximately 1.5 pounds of brown sugar. may be an interesting result. any ideas on what i can expect. I am more than happy to share the results if anyone is interested.
 
in a frantic search for a solution i used approximately 1.5 pounds of brown sugar. may be an interesting result. any ideas on what i can expect.
the beer will be quite dry (the opposite of sweet), and it will be low on maltiness. you will likely taste the alcohol a little more. the brown sugar should give a subtle caramel flavor, especially if you happened to used dark brown sugar (the typical stuff you bake with is light brown sugar).

3.3 pounds of LME has the same potential as approx 2.75 lb of brown sugar. so technically you needed to add another 1.25 pounds to get back to the same point. however it was a good thing that you limited yourself to 1.5, going with 2.75 would have been too much. my suggestion: if you can, get a pound or a pound and a half of dried extract, boil it in a little water to sterilize it, and add it to your fermenter. liquid will also work, but unless your LHBS sells it in bulk it can be annoying to open a can, use some, then need to re-seal and keep for another brew day. also, it's bad for freshness if you aren't going to brew again soon. DME does a better job of sitting on the shelf.

whatever you do (including leaving it as-is), let us know how it turns out.
 
Thanks for the feedback brotha. It's bubbling nicely now and tasted good (sweet with a good roasted flavor, i had to use 40l crystal malt btw) before i put in the yeast so hopefully it maintains some of that flavor. I'm going to just let it go and see what happens. Call me hopeful. I will keep updating.
 
I am trying my version tonight. It is good. I taste honey up front then a malty sweet finish. Mild fruity hops flavor. I don't get any alcohol taste. It is a pretty heavy beer.

OG 1060
FG 1017

I used wildflower honey from a local bee keeper. The honey was awesome by itself.

I used caramel 60 for the "amber crystal malt."

It seems darker than the pictures from the video. iBrewmaster estimates 10 SRM which seems about right.
 
kehaar said:
I am trying my version tonight. It is good. I taste honey up front then a malty sweet finish. Mild fruity hops flavor. I don't get any alcohol taste. It is a pretty heavy beer.

OG 1060
FG 1017

I used wildflower honey from a local bee keeper. The honey was awesome by itself.

I used caramel 60 for the "amber crystal malt."

It seems darker than the pictures from the video. iBrewmaster estimates 10 SRM which seems about right.

You describe my result to a "T". I thought I did something wrong. Lots of honey upfront, sweet, malty heavy finish. Not really fond of it. Gonna let it sit for a couple of months in the basement. What do you think?
 
hoppybrewster said:
You describe my result to a "T". I thought I did something wrong. Lots of honey upfront, sweet, malty heavy finish. Not really fond of it. Gonna let it sit for a couple of months in the basement. What do you think?

I think it's ok for what it is. Not too much to it really. But drinkable. It was fun to brew the same recipe as the white house. But I will go back to my usual styles now.
 
You describe my result to a "T". I thought I did something wrong. Lots of honey upfront, sweet, malty heavy finish. Not really fond of it. Gonna let it sit for a couple of months in the basement. What do you think?

Here's my tasting notes http://www.singingboysbrewing.com/The-Blog.html?entry=white-house-honey-ale-tasting

A few weeks ago, we invited a group of friends over to brew a beer based on the White House Honey Ale recipe - you can see the recipe, view a White House video and read more about it here. Although it is still relatively young, tonight, I sat down with a glass and wrote down some tasting notes.

Aroma: Honey is prevalent, with jasmine and lavender elements, perfume-like; malt and hops aroma, if present, are overwhelmed by the honey.

Appearance: Deep copper with gold highlights; white head that dissipates and leaves good lacing; some haze, you can see through but it is not brillantly clear; it might be 'chill haze' which would go away if refrigerated for a few days.

Flavor: While the malt and hops were not apparent in the aroma, they do come through in the flavor; they are balanced, with good hop bitterness, as in a good English pale ale; honey flavor is also apparent, very pleasant, again with a lavender or jasmine element, not cloying; there is an underlying earthiness, which might be from either the honey or the English hops, or both.

Mouthfeel: Some alcohol warmth, but not fusel or 'hot'; medium bodied but with an easy-to-drink dryness to it.

Overall Impression: The honey-character of this beer is apparent from the first sniff and on through tasting; it gives the overall impression of an English pale ale but with significant honey aroma and flavor; it is dry and easy-to-drink, but the honey gives an impression of sweetness and fullness, which isn't really there.
 
Overall Impression: The honey-character of this beer is apparent from the first sniff and on through tasting; it gives the overall impression of an English pale ale but with significant honey aroma and flavor; it is dry and easy-to-drink, but the honey gives an impression of sweetness and fullness, which isn't really there.

That is pretty much my impression of it, Pappers.

I made an all-gain version and I have it on tap. Mine is more of a golden color and is not near as clear as my other beers. I thought it might clear after it was in the keezer for a while, but that has not happened.

I have enjoyed it much more than I thought I would and will brew it again

Edit: And... I think it is really cool that they are brewing beer in the White House.

photo-12-1.jpg
 
Pappers_ said:
Here's my tasting notes http://www.singingboysbrewing.com/The-Blog.html?entry=white-house-honey-ale-tasting

A few weeks ago, we invited a group of friends over to brew a beer based on the White House Honey Ale recipe - you can see the recipe, view a White House video and read more about it here. Although it is still relatively young, tonight, I sat down with a glass and wrote down some tasting notes.

Aroma: Honey is prevalent, with jasmine and lavender elements, perfume-like; malt and hops aroma, if present, are overwhelmed by the honey.

Appearance: Deep copper with gold highlights; white head that dissipates and leaves good lacing; some haze, you can see through but it is not brillantly clear; it might be 'chill haze' which would go away if refrigerated for a few days.

Flavor: While the malt and hops were not apparent in the aroma, they do come through in the flavor; they are balanced, with good hop bitterness, as in a good English pale ale; honey flavor is also apparent, very pleasant, again with a lavender or jasmine element, not cloying; there is an underlying earthiness, which might be from either the honey or the English hops, or both.

Mouthfeel: Some alcohol warmth, but not fusel or 'hot'; medium bodied but with an easy-to-drink dryness to it.

Overall Impression: The honey-character of this beer is apparent from the first sniff and on through tasting; it gives the overall impression of an English pale ale but with significant honey aroma and flavor; it is dry and easy-to-drink, but the honey gives an impression of sweetness and fullness, which isn't really there.

The lavender and jasmine (or any specific flower smells/tastes) is what I don't get in my version. I know that will vary with the honey used but I had hoped for some of that in mine. Mine tastes and smells more like generic honey. I did get some flowery tastes in the raw honey I used but I don't think it translated to the beer.

I also wonder if I have some extract twang. This is the first extract beer I have brewed in a long time and it tastes like what I remember from extract beers.

But, I am not much of a beer judge.
 
Here's my first pour. I'm happily surprised by this beer. How about that gorgeous head?!

I did the all grain recipe. It will definitely clear in a few days. As a CGVT mentioned above, this beer is characterized by two traits: It's an English ale with Honey. From the Maris Otter and British yeast you get nice bready/nutty and floral/estery notes. And from the honey, a unique aroma and flavor (and alcohol). If anything, my only criticism with this first pour is the elevated alcohol level for the given grain bill - not quite balanced (you might be fine with that, it's just not my preference).

A few quick notes about brewing and fermentation: I did this using my single vessel electric BIAB rig. Brewed this on 11/9 using Wyeast 1098 British Ale yeast (about a 1L stir plate starter). Fermented at about 65F (wort temp) in my fridge for 10 days, plus a few days of diacetyl rest at about 70. Crash cooled at about 34F for 4 days and kegged today.

I chose to brew this because I'm hosting 4 of favorite family member who LOVE Obama. They are going to drink a lot of this! :)

Cool project. Nice to see the community give it a shot.

Cheers!

image-589291301.jpg
 
I ruined mine because I added WAY too much gypsum to the mash (3 TBS). Entirely my fault. Otherwise, this would have been a great beer. The excessive sulphates gave it a terrible phenolic taste. I had to dump it after drinking about half a gallon. I will definitely do this again, and use S-05 as before. This is an American beer, but I could see doing it English style like the President's staff did. They just don't understand the basics of beer styles, and it is to be expected of noobs.
My favorite part of the whole experience was seeing the picture of the President and a guy drinking a glass on the White House lawn. That guy was a Medal of Honor winner. How cool is that? It is time that our veterans get the recognition they have always deserved.
 
Starderup said:
This is an American beer, but I could see doing it English style like the President's staff did. They just don't understand the basics of beer styles, and it is to be expected of noobs.

Styles are meant to be broken. I went another direction. I tried to reproduce their recipe exactly, including brewing the extract version. I wanted to drink the same beer as the President and the Medal of Honor winner.
 
My favorite part of the whole experience was seeing the picture of the President and a guy drinking a glass on the White House lawn. That guy was a Medal of Honor winner. How cool is that? It is time that our veterans get the recognition they have always deserved.

Hear hear.

I didn't vote for him, but nonetheless it would be an incredible honor to sit on that lawn and have a homebrew with the man. I can't even imagine it.
 
I ruined mine because I added WAY too much gypsum to the mash (3 TBS). Entirely my fault. Otherwise, this would have been a great beer. The excessive sulphates gave it a terrible phenolic taste. I had to dump it after drinking about half a gallon. I will definitely do this again, and use S-05 as before. This is an American beer, but I could see doing it English style like the President's staff did. They just don't understand the basics of beer styles, and it is to be expected of noobs.
My favorite part of the whole experience was seeing the picture of the President and a guy drinking a glass on the White House lawn. That guy was a Medal of Honor winner. How cool is that? It is time that our veterans get the recognition they have always deserved.

I made it with S-04 and didn't add any gypsum. I didn't have the high alcohol level that seatbelt123 had. I used about 11 lbs of malt and a lb of honey for 5.2% abv. It turned out pretty tasty.

And I agree about the MOH recipient and the Prez.
 
I ruined mine because I added WAY too much gypsum to the mash (3 TBS). Entirely my fault. Otherwise, this would have been a great beer. The excessive sulphates gave it a terrible phenolic taste. I had to dump it after drinking about half a gallon. I will definitely do this again, and use S-05 as before. This is an American beer, but I could see doing it English style like the President's staff did. They just don't understand the basics of beer styles, and it is to be expected of noobs.
My favorite part of the whole experience was seeing the picture of the President and a guy drinking a glass on the White House lawn. That guy was a Medal of Honor winner. How cool is that? It is time that our veterans get the recognition they have always deserved.

Yes, I (and I suspect many others) "Americanized" the beer, using Am. 2-row instead of MO and US hop varieties (Cascade and Willamette) rather than British. I did use an English yeast (WLP007), just because it's my favorite ale yeast and I wanted to start with that as a benchmark, though I may try US-05 next time if I brew it again.
 
Styles are meant to be broken. I went another direction. I tried to reproduce their recipe exactly, including brewing the extract version. I wanted to drink the same beer as the President and the Medal of Honor winner.

I definitely agree that styles should not be carved in stone. If I had done mine as an English, though (and that recipe IS English), I'd have called it that.
My all grain translation included All American ingredients. American 2-Row, American Hops, and American yeast.
I am a big fan of the English styles, too. I might try the exact recipe like keehar.
 
I'm reading a lot of reviews regarding the whitehouse honey ale-- has anyone brewed or tried the honey porter?
 
I'll be getting to the porter soon. Would have brewed it first but SWMBO wanted the lighter one. Have to keep her happy--she doesn't complain about all the money I spend, so I brew enough SWMBO-friendly beers to keep her supplied. Works out well.
 
jerrodm said:
I'll be getting to the porter soon. Would have brewed it first but SWMBO wanted the lighter one. Have to keep her happy--she doesn't complain about all the money I spend, so I brew enough SWMBO-friendly beers to keep her supplied. Works out well.

I understand that's why I have a pale ale fermenting vs a brown ale. But the honey porter is my next on deck beer I think.
 
I'm the one that misread the recipe and missed 3.3 pounds of malt and substituted it with 1.5 pounds of brown sugar. bottled today and i have no real complaints. the alcohol taste wasn't to bad it was overrun by some serious sweetness from the honey and brown sugar, not much malty taste to it however. I'll be back in a couple of weeks to give the final tasting notes. Thanks to those providing insight to my mistake.
 
I'm reading a lot of reviews regarding the whitehouse honey ale-- has anyone brewed or tried the honey porter?
Just bottled it last night (did both the ale and the porter) and it doesn't look like any porter I've ever seen. It's more brownish reddish than black like a porter. Tried both right before bottling and not a huge difference. The ale had more honey for sure. I will post reviews and pictures side by side in a couple weeks when I crack them open.
 
mtnagel said:
Just bottled it last night (did both the ale and the porter) and it doesn't look like any porter I've ever seen. It's more brownish reddish than black like a porter. Tried both right before bottling and not a huge difference. The ale had more honey for sure. I will post reviews and pictures side by side in a couple weeks when I crack them open.

Thank you awaiting the pic and review
 
Hey all. So I bottled my honey ale last night but before I did I did a taste test. There was a hint of honey but very bitter. Does this sound right to anyone?
 
Just finished the honey ale 30 min ago. Hit all my numbers on the mark. I've now got 5.5 gal at 1.068 sitting in the fermentation fridge. Made a 1L starter of Windsor and hit it with 2 min of O2 after pitch. So far-so good.
It was a good brew day over all but made some last min adjustments. Added all 1.5 oz Fuggles at 10 min and added the honey at flame out. I used beer smith to convert to a 5.5 gallon all-grain brew with 2row brewers malt as the base malt. Due to the full boil increased hop utilization I used only 1 oz of the EKG for bittering.
So far so good... Can't wait to see how it turns out.
 
jpappilli said:
Hey all. So I bottled my honey ale last night but before I did I did a taste test. There was a hint of honey but very bitter. Does this sound right to anyone?

It sounds like you might have mixed up your hop additions. It is supposed to be a very mild beer.
 
I'm reading a lot of reviews regarding the whitehouse honey ale-- has anyone brewed or tried the honey porter?
See signature. I was going to bottle it tomorrow, actually, but then More Beer put their bottle trees on sale, so now I'll wait for that to get in.
 
Boy, Windsor is a sprinter, eh?

Hour 10 I had to hook up the blow off. I know it's not a very good attenuator, but it sure took off like a bat out of hell...
 
I bottled my WH Ale on 11/11/12. I just cracked one open after letting it sit in the fridge for couple days, and I can't say I'm very pleased. And yes, I realize that at 3 weeks it can still be considered green, but it's got a bitter taste that my tongue can't reconcile. I think it might the gypsum. This is the first recipe I've done using gypsum, and I put the stated 2 tbsp. of it in. Having tasted this I now think that's too much for not only a partial boil (which I did), but perhaps also my local NoVA tapwater profile. (It was after this brew that I began experimenting with bottled water to improve tastes).

All in all, it's not particularly pleasant to drink. I'm half tempted to throw it all out, but then the rational part of me kicks in and says to keep it and check back on it in a few weeks. Only time will tell if it gets any better.

So much for blindly following a recipe... :mad:

Guess it's all part of the learning process, though.
 
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