Thanks Secret Santa!!

So I was going to wait for my friend / brew partner, but he's working 12's for the next week and I couldn't wait that long

I just got my secret santa beer in today and couldn't help but crack one. Especially since I sent my last sixer out to my recipient and all my current beer is still conditioning.

I recieved 2 Ransack Imperial Stouts, 2 Farsight IIPAs, a Zombie Dust clone, a Samhain pumpkin ale, and for the icing.....a Russian River Supplication.

Let me start by saying that homebrew is universal. When I took the first sip, it wasn't like trying a new beer, it was like trying a new recipe

For the first sample I chose the Zombie Dust clone. I actually haven't tried any Three Floyds Yet. I know, I'm from Indiana. They just don't carry much craft beer around here and I don't get out of town much. It's definitely hoppy for a pale ale. I would agree that it is more along the lines of an IPA. I love IPA's so it's all good. This is also my first tasting of Citra. Pretty intense hop. A little musky like cat pi$$ but in a good way

It poured with a nice head that lingered for a bit. Had a musky, hoppy nose. Hop forward with very little malt presence. Slightly sweet (which I think is more from the hops). Clean and crisp with a bitter hoppy aftertaste. Moderate, but pronounced bitterness. Carbonation was good. You can really taste the citrus from the hops with a nice subtle belch through the nose Not sure if it was bottle condtioned or force carbed. It was a bit cloudy, which I expect from an unfiltered, dy hopped beer. I poured it as if it were bottle conditioned and couldn't really tell if there was any sediment due to the cloudyness. If there was, it wasn't much. Overall, excellent beer. Definitely a different spin on what I"m used to which is CTZ for my heavy dry hopping.

Here are some pics. I'll crack another one tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Wow- nice haul! Those look like great beers. The Zombie Dust clone sounds really good. Thanks for the photos.

I see you're from Kokomo. That's only about an hour north from me. My wife loves the MILF n Honey at Half Moon so we go up there once a year. And God knows she guzzles it at all the festivals they pour it at down here. I need to replicate it for her.

Anyways. Looks like you got a pretty impressive haul.

GoldenShowerGladiator said:

I see you're from Kokomo. That's only about an hour north from me. My wife loves the MILF n Honey at Half Moon so we go up there once a year. And God knows she guzzles it at all the festivals they pour it at down here. I need to replicate it for her.

Anyways. Looks like you got a pretty impressive haul.

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I'm not a big fan of Half Moon. The last few times I've gotten a beer from there it just tasted off somehow. Can't explain it. Anyway, good to hear from another Hoosier. Happy Holidays.

Almost all of the beers I've had have tasted watered down there. But eh, she likes the one. I need to hit People's next time we go north. Haven't been to the brewery yet.

Ok, Ladies and Germs....Round two.

Farsight Imperial IPA

The beers are bottle conditioned. I held this one up to a light bulb and there was some sediment. Whispy little yeast too. Had some dust clouds wafting up. Hasn't had enough time to compact back down after the long trip from Cali. He mentioned I might want to age the Imperial Stout a little longer and I assume they are bottled conditioned as well (even though they are very dark with no way to see any sediment) . So I pulled them out of the frige and will let them sit for a couple three weeks before tasting one.

Back to the Farsight. Not much head on this one and what was there disappeared fast. It's a little lighter color wise. Carb is a bit on the low side, which I like. Hoppy nose with a hint of citra. Has a blend of hops that taste much better than the citra only Zombie Dust I think. Neutral yeast, very clean. Although bitter, it doesn't taste harsh at all. The bitterness is balanced well with a sweet, suble matiness. Very nice tasting brew. Has a tart, bitter finish that lingers into a slight puckering sensation. Almost like eating a sweet tart. Very smooth and easy to drink for an 8.3% 120 IBU beer. Good thing I don't have a whole keg of this sitting in front of me right now cuz I would be as hell. Awesome beer man, thanks! You mentioned in the letter that the hops might be starting to fade. IMO, the hop presence is perfect so the age was about right for my taste. Can't wait to try the Imperial Stout! I'm going to save the Supplication for last. I'm still a bit nervous about that one. I'll pop the pumpkin tomorrow.

Cheers

Hey there! Figured i'd chime in and step out as your secret Santa. Glad your enjoying the brews. They aren't bottle conditioned, all off the keg. Those Farsights though may have gotten a bit of yeast due to me moving the keg before bottling. I tried to let it sit a while after moving but I'm sure some of the yeast in the bottom got stirred up so may not be a bad idea to pour em like they are conditioned. The stouts are off the keg as well. I just figured some age may balance them a bit more and let the roastiness subside a bit. If you like em roasty then go for em sooner but to me the last batch seemed more balanced with some age.

The Farsight is dry hopped with a lot of Simcoe and Amarillo with Chinook and Warrior for bittering and Simcoe and Centennial for flavor additions. I went for less bittering and moved most of the additions to the last 15 for some hop bursting on this batch and I like the way it turned out. Lots of hop flavor without the bitter grassy taste.

Don't fear the Supplication, it's a great beer!

Thanks for putting up the reviews and hope you enjoy the rest!

Paramecium said:

Hey there! Figured i'd chime in and step out as your secret Santa. Glad your enjoying the brews. They aren't bottle conditioned, all off the keg. Those Farsights though may have gotten a bit of yeast due to me moving the keg before bottling. I tried to let it sit a while after moving but I'm sure some of the yeast in the bottom got stirred up so may not be a bad idea to pour em like they are conditioned. The stouts are off the keg as well. I just figured some age may balance them a bit more and let the roastiness subside a bit. If you like em roasty then go for em sooner but to me the last batch seemed more balanced with some age.

The Farsight is dry hopped with a lot of Simcoe and Amarillo with Chinook and Warrior for bittering and Simcoe and Centennial for flavor additions. I went for less bittering and moved most of the additions to the last 15 for some hop bursting on this batch and I like the way it turned out. Lots of hop flavor without the bitter grassy taste.

Don't fear the Supplication, it's a great beer!

Thanks for putting up the reviews and hope you enjoy the rest!

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Aha, you fooled me with the sediment. I'll pop the stouts back in the frige then. I'll probably crack one tomorrow instead of the pumpkin. I don't mind em a little roasty. How far along are they?

So no citra in the Farsight? Hmm. Is it the simcoe I'm tasting? I haven't used that hop either. Anyway, great beer. I'll save one for my friend so he'll have something nice to drink after hell week.

Thanks again for the awesome brews!

Cheers

Ya, no Citra in the Farsight, it's the Simcoe and Amarillo your getting. The stouts were brewed in May and after about 3 weeks of primary they sat for 2 months in secondary on medium roast french oak that had soaked in tawny port for a couple weeks. So by now they are almost 7 months along.

Paramecium said:

Ya, no Citra in the Farsight, it's the Simcoe and Amarillo your getting. The stouts were brewed in May and after about 3 weeks of primary they sat for 2 months in secondary on medium roast french oak that had soaked in tawny port for a couple weeks. So by now they are almost 7 months along.

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That's right, I don't know why I even asked. It was all in the letter.

Anyway, I just cracked one. No pics this time. No secret, it's black. Definitely the best so far. This imperial stout is amazing. Very smooth, creamy and choclately with solid body and sweetness. It's a bit roasty, but that's just fine with me. I'm having a hard time picking out the oak as the flavors have blended very nicely. The wine comes through ever so slightly. I like the accent that it adds even though I'm not a big fan of wine. I expected it to be more bitter, but not the case. I'm still tweaking my own stout recipes. If you don't mind, I'd like to get this recipe from you. I suspect I haven't been aging mine long enough for the most part. That and I haven't done an imperial version yet, so I'm using a lot less dark grain. This stuff is thick like used motor oil, I love it! On deck, Supplication. I'll post again when I taste that one.

Cheers

Glad you enjoyed the stout. Here's the recipe.

I mash in a 10 gallon cooler and this thing maxes it out and the efficiency is pretty low but you need it to get a big beer like this. The batch you had the efficiency was worse than normal and i'm not sure why so it's a bit lower abv than the recipe but it still turned out pretty damn good so whatever. I'm gonna grab a glass right now just for kicks actually =) The only thing I may change next time is the port. I want to try a batch on bourbon to see how that goes.

I have beersmith but have never posted a recipe so not sure how to go about the fancy recipe posting that most people do. I'll just write it out.

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast:WLP001 California Ale
Yeast Starter: Yes 4L decanted off before pitching
Batch Size: 4.5 gallons
Original Gravity: 1.112
Final Gravity: 1.028
IBU: 89.2
Boiling Time: 60 Minutes
Color: 69.7 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 4 weeks
Secondary Fermentation (#of Days & Temp): 8 weeks on oak.

Ingredients.
Brewhouse Efficiency 58%

19 lbs Pale Male, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 79.2%
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt 120L (120 SRM) 4.2%
1 lbs Chocolate Malt (250 SRM) 4.2%
1 lbs Chocolate Malt (450 SRM) 4.2%
1 lbs Roasted Barley (300 SRM) 4.2%
1 lbs Special B Malt (180 SRM) 4.2%

1.50 oz Warrior [16.70 %] (60 min) hops 65.1 IBU
2.00 oz Willamette [4.80 %] (30 min) hops 19.2 IBU
2.00 oz Willamette [4.80 %] (5.0 min) hops 5.0 IBU

2 oz medium roast French oak soaked in Tawny port for at least 2 weeks added to secondary for 2 months.


Hopefully that make sense. If not let me know.

Oh, wow. does that sound GOOD. Thanks for the recipe, and the photos, and the nice reviews. I'm drooling!

Beersmith will tell you that the final gravity will be lower but with that big of a beer it tends to quit around the 1.028 mark which is actually fine as you want some body to this thing. Few things I missed. I mash at 152 on this. No need to go higher for body as it will have plenty.

Also I have a ferm cabinet and I usually start it to keep the temp strip on the carboy around 65 then let it work up to 68 through the first week and keep it there for the aging.

Enjoy!

Ok, so I finally got around to trying the Russian River Supplication. Definitely not what I was expecting. It's actually really good. I like the flavor. Problem is, it's soooooo dang tart. Now I know why thery're called sours. It's like drinking a tear jerker. I thought it would have more funk to it, but it's actually quite pleasing and the flavors blend well. I'm not a tart kind of guy though. I'm actually considering blending it with a pint of pale ale because I don't want to waste it. Would that be a crime? My brew buddy gets off work in a couple minutes, I'll have him stop by and try it before I decide what to do. Thank you again for the wonderful offering Paramecium. It looks like I'll steering clear of sours from now on though, or perhaps just a sip or two if it's around.

As it turns out, my buddy really liked the Supplication. Worked out great. It didn't go to waste, and now he wants to try and brew a sour.

BBL_Brewer said:

As it turns out, my buddy really liked the Supplication. Worked out great. It didn't go to waste, and now he wants to try and brew a sour.

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If you ever get a chance give it another try Supplication isn't favorite RR sour, but is definitely an acquired taste!