I confess. I am a hop head. Never thought I would be as for a long time I hated hoppy beers, because for a period there hoppy meant bitter. Then a friend gave me a Heady and the light bulb came on. I have brewed many hoppy beers since then, and I am still chasing the dragon on getting one that is aromatic, flavorful, and lasts more than a few days to a week in the keg with that initial, wonderful taste and aroma. I will chronicle that here as I figure it out. I have been trying for over two years to get there, and one day I will. Until then, I have found a way to drink REALLY hoppy beers anytime I want and will share this with you folks! I will also share my process as I refine it and if I reach my end goal, will document that here as well.
So one thing I am doing lately is fermenting in my corny kegs. So what, you ask? I also bought some 400 mesh screen and I have silver soldered several keg dip tube screens. WHY? Because I dump pellet hops into the keg, no bag, just free float them. The start and end of my kegs are orgasmic! But I wanted more...something happens in the middle that is just plain, well, plain! I lose the aroma and flavor after about a week, and then the last few pours are beyond fantastic.
I am trying to "fix" this. I will find the right answer, whether it is LODO, or water salts, or how I steep, or whatever it turns out to be.
In the mean time, what I really wrote the post for, was to share with you part of my process that produces AWESOMEness from plainness! We all do it! We brew a beer that has flaws, or is not what we intended, or is not what we would love to drink for some reason or the other. It can happen for a lot of reasons and can even be on purpose. For instance, I brewed an Alaskan Amber clone for a company picnic. I made it lower in ABV because of the venue. I made 10 gallons and they drank about 6. What was I going to do with 4 gallons of very "plain" beer??
Well, I mentioned before I use screens and hop pellets, right? Well when that keg kicks, I have a lot of hop matter and a tiny bit of beer left. What if I put that in a growler and then filled the growler with that plain beer? What would happen. Oh man, what happens it awesomeness!! I have been filling that growler each night, shaking it up so as to mix all the hops into suspension, letting it sit overnight in the fridge, and then drinking it the next day. It is so hoppy and fantastically aromatic, I can't even begin to describe it. Try this, my hop head friends!! You won't regret it!
I will find the answer to brewing and kegging a beer that remains awesome from first pour to last, but until then, this method really works well. Hope this help another hop head out there! Cheers!
So one thing I am doing lately is fermenting in my corny kegs. So what, you ask? I also bought some 400 mesh screen and I have silver soldered several keg dip tube screens. WHY? Because I dump pellet hops into the keg, no bag, just free float them. The start and end of my kegs are orgasmic! But I wanted more...something happens in the middle that is just plain, well, plain! I lose the aroma and flavor after about a week, and then the last few pours are beyond fantastic.
I am trying to "fix" this. I will find the right answer, whether it is LODO, or water salts, or how I steep, or whatever it turns out to be.
In the mean time, what I really wrote the post for, was to share with you part of my process that produces AWESOMEness from plainness! We all do it! We brew a beer that has flaws, or is not what we intended, or is not what we would love to drink for some reason or the other. It can happen for a lot of reasons and can even be on purpose. For instance, I brewed an Alaskan Amber clone for a company picnic. I made it lower in ABV because of the venue. I made 10 gallons and they drank about 6. What was I going to do with 4 gallons of very "plain" beer??
Well, I mentioned before I use screens and hop pellets, right? Well when that keg kicks, I have a lot of hop matter and a tiny bit of beer left. What if I put that in a growler and then filled the growler with that plain beer? What would happen. Oh man, what happens it awesomeness!! I have been filling that growler each night, shaking it up so as to mix all the hops into suspension, letting it sit overnight in the fridge, and then drinking it the next day. It is so hoppy and fantastically aromatic, I can't even begin to describe it. Try this, my hop head friends!! You won't regret it!
I will find the answer to brewing and kegging a beer that remains awesome from first pour to last, but until then, this method really works well. Hope this help another hop head out there! Cheers!
