12 Beers of Christmas 2012!

[Draygon]

Been thinking about the Honey Ginger IPA.The recipe says to ad 2lbs of honey to the secondary. Adding sugar at that point would just restart fermentation. Why not just add it to the primary?

Its for flavor, and you are correct that it will kick up fermentation activity ...but it wont restart it as it will still be going when you add it. Think of the honey like hopes...you sometimes add it incrementally to give a different flavor profile than it would have if all added at once.

 

[Draygon]

Hops not hopes...stupid smart phone.

 

[watersr]

I might be down for the juniper lager. I have been thinking of brewing a juniper based beer anyway, can you send me the recipe?

 

[Draygon]

I do a couple of beers (vanilla porter, rye pale ale) using bourbon soaked oak chips, and I would say that bourbon is a pretty readily recognized flavor in beer, at least to me. I'd add incrementally to be sure you don't overshoot what you're looking for in flavor.

We're still looking for a last brewer to do the Juniper Rye Bock.....

I make an amazing Bourbon Vanilla Porter, so i am used to bourbon (which is also why i wanted to brew this christmas beer).

 

[biochemedic]

Its for flavor, and you are correct that it will kick up fermentation activity ...but it wont restart it as it will still be going when you add it. Think of the honey like hopes...you sometimes add it incrementally to give a different flavor profile than it would have if all added at once.

You're correct, but I do agree with RedBeard1 in a sense too...I think it's best to keep fermentation in primary, and use secondary (if you do it at all) for clearing and bulk aging. When I add honey to a brew, I generally add in later primary -- as it is slowing or almost completely finished. I think this helps preserve some of the honey aromatics compared with putting it in from the start, and also reduces some of the stress on the yeast in the beginning (while still keeping the fermentation in one chamber)....

 

[dgez]

My cousin in law, biochemedic, PM'd me asking to do the juniper rye bock. This sounds like a really fun project! I'll need to check and plan my calender because I will also have 2 Octoberfests lagering at the same time, so I don't know if I will have enough real estate for another lager. For now, I will tentatively volunteer for the juniper rye bock. But if someone else comes along and says they can be 100% committed before I can, then by all means they can take it. If push comes to shove and no one else volunteers, I will make it work....so consider the list completed. Give me a couple of weeks to go over a calender to plan a schedule for 3 lagers.

 

[Piratwolf]

Oh, and also the book "Brew Like A Monk" is an awesome resource regarding Belgian brews...

Hah! GMTA, I guess. Actually, I found the book to be more an homage to Belgian brewing history and relatively lacking in specific brewing info... however, the first things I did after volunteering for this were to listen to The Jamil Shows on Belgian ales and re-read the Chapter on Dubbels, Tripels, etc. in BLAM.

I'm excited about this whole experiment & the exchange. I decided to go with 3711 & wlp500, as indicated, and chose 530 for my third yeast. It should be fascinating to see what difference the yeast alone will make in these beers. I'll be brewing Monday or Tuesday, depending on my schedule.

 

[Clanchief]

Hah! GMTA, I guess. Actually, I found the book to be more an homage to Belgian brewing history and relatively lacking in specific brewing info... however, the first things I did after volunteering for this were to listen to The Jamil Shows on Belgian ales and re-read the Chapter on Dubbels, Tripels, etc. in BLAM.

I'm excited about this whole experiment & the exchange. I decided to go with 3711 & wlp500, as indicated, and chose 530 for my third yeast. It should be fascinating to see what difference the yeast alone will make in these beers. I'll be brewing Monday or Tuesday, depending on my schedule.

I actually have to respectfully disagree with you on Brew Like a Monk. Being a big Belgian Ale guy, I found the book really helpful in understanding what makes those phenomenal beers what they are. They discuss their water chemistry, a little bit about recipe formulation, but the biggest piece is understanding the methodology behind them, which the book goes into in good detail.

For my Crabapple Lambicky Ale, I've decided to go with 1214 as my primary yeast, and then the 5526 brett strain for the lambicky part. I also plan on reusing a yeast cake of the 1214 which I'm fermenting a golden strong ale on right now, which may or may not impart any extra character in the beer. We'll see. Once I'm closer to my brew day on this (probably about 2-3 more weeks) I'll post my full recipe.

 

[Piratwolf]

I actually have to respectfully disagree with you on Brew Like a Monk. Being a big Belgian Ale guy, I found the book really helpful in understanding what makes those phenomenal beers what they are. They discuss their water chemistry, a little bit about recipe formulation, but the biggest piece is understanding the methodology behind them, which the book goes into in good detail.

You know, in looking back at my post, I have to agree with your assessment. It IS full of specific info. What I meant to say is that there's not much specific info there that I hadn't seen in studying recipes and/or the BJCP style guide, and therefore what I found most interesting was the background history/stories in the first half of the book. There are some cool tips scattered throughout as well. It may also be that I'm just getting into brewing Belgian styles and won't appreciate the depth of BLAM until I'm better versed.... It'll be fun to see. I am in love with Saisons right now and my BDS is finally (at 5 months) starting to show a glimmer of real beauty. The Tripel and BGS are my next adventures & I can't wait to see how they turn out

 

[usfmikeb]

For me, some of the most useful info in Brew Like a Monk was in the chapter on yeast in the back of the book. Yes, other inputs are part of the flavor of a Belgian beer, but it is the yeast that feels like the most critical.

 

[RedBeard1]

waiting for my kettle to boil now for an english ipa right now. if this recipe turns out to be a good one, it'll be the one i'll brew in early september with honey and ginger to send to you guys!

 

[dgez]

I can do the juniper rye bock, but I see that watersr has expressed interest before I did...so If he doesnt want it I'll take it.

 

[biochemedic]

I can do the juniper rye bock, but I see that watersr has expressed interest before I did...so If he doesnt want it I'll take it.

AFAIK, watersr hasn't definitely committed; I PM'd him the recipe a couple days ago, and I sent him a PM again this morning, if he doesn't reply today, it's yours...

 

[dgez]

I PM'd watersr last night and he said he was going to pass...so mark me down for the JRB.

BTW, does anyone know where I can get juniper branches online? There is a bunch of juniper around where I live, but its not wild, so I dont know if its been sprayed.

Who did the JRB last year? I'd like to get some pointers because brewing this type of beer is outside my comfort zone.

 

[sfrisby]

Who did the JRB last year? I'd like to get some pointers because brewing this type of beer is outside my comfort zone.

Rhoadsrage

 

[Draygon]

I brewed the base for the Spiced Bourbon Stout 2 days ago....OG: 1.110 lol, so this is definitely going to be a Spiced Bourbon Imperial Stout!

Should be getting the spices crushed up and "marinating" within the next few days so that they will be good to go in 3 weeks (all flavors infused into the Vodka and Bourbon). This will be well conditioned come Christmas time.

and DGEZ look at Penzeys (google it) for spices, thats where many people get their spices from.

 

[biochemedic]

BTW, does anyone know where I can get juniper branches online? There is a bunch of juniper around where I live, but its not wild, so I dont know if its been sprayed.

The recipe calls for the berries...It might be cool if you could find some branches...the book describes the beer as a mix between a bock and a traditional sathi, which was generally sparged through juniper branches.

Anyway, you can get the berries at Penzey's Spices...

I think I remember you telling me you have this book, right? If not, let me know and I'll send you all the details of the recipe.

 

[watersr]

Part of the reason I was interested in this brew is that I am Swedish and I have been researching sahti. The juniper berries are easy to come by, and many home brew stores have them so you can probably order them along with your grains. Juniper boughs however have been very elusive. I have not been able to find a source for them as of yet.

 

[dgez]

I think I remember you telling me you have this book, right? If not, let me know and I'll send you all the details of the recipe.

Yes I have the book.

There is a Penzeys in ATL, so I will be paying a visit to acquire the berries. My LHBS, Brewmasters Wearhouse, also has juniper berries, but I think getting them from Penzeys will be better.

I wanted a few juniper branches to boil in the mash water to extract some woody goodness. Although juniper branches are not mandatory, I think it will add a unique character to the beer. I'll search around. I think a few of my friends have juniper bushes/trees in their yards.

 

[Draygon]

I have juniper bushes in my parents backyard. If I were going to visit them anytime soon I could have sent you some branches vacuum packed...but I dont think I will be going down fkr a few weeks.

 

[biggben]

so how does this work and what is it? is this a competition or something?

 

[biochemedic]

so how does this work and what is it? is this a competition or something?

Check out the first post in the thread, it explains what's up...

 

[Draygon]

Took a sample today of the Stout, SG was 1.110 its down to 1.038 this morning and still going, sitting at 9.6% ABV currently.

 

[dgez]

Brew day for the juniper rye bock is scheduled for July 5th.

My neighbor has some juniper bushes in his yard. So Im going to clip some branches to boil in the mash liquor and also use some for lautering. I'll do some small scale testing first to see what the juniper 'tea' tastes like and see what ratios might be needed to get a hint of sappy woodiness. I'm really only using branches to be more traditional than for flavor extraction. If its gross I'll just use them for lautering.

 

[mikeysab]

Is there anyone that wants to take the Abbey weizen from me? Apparently, rebuilding the world trade center is gonna take more of my time than I thought. If not, no biggie, i'll try to squeeze it in on a free sunday

 

[sfrisby]

Apparently, rebuilding the world trade center is gonna take more of my time than I thought.

It's always something, ain't it?

Que the reserve team!

 

[biochemedic]

Is there anyone that wants to take the Abbey weizen from me? Apparently, rebuilding the world trade center is gonna take more of my time than I thought. If not, no biggie, i'll try to squeeze it in on a free sunday

I just PM'd jtakacs to see if he's still interested in doing one...

 

[jtakacs]

anything I don't have to lager and im in... consider me good to go. do you guys have a history w recipes or can I just go for it? thinking of all the abbey weizens I can imagine... nom nom

 

[Piratwolf]

Update on my Saffron Tripel--yesterday was a catastrophic brew day. Started at 6:30 and all was well at first. It wasn't until sparge time that it went off the rails. First, it became clear that my wlp500 yeast starter failed to start. Second, my brew software crapped out and I lost ALL my recipes and notes for the last 30+ brews, including this one... Soooo, I did my calculations in my head, boiled off the appropriate amount, did my hop & spice additions, then chilled the wort to 2 carboys rather than 3. With the 500 dead, I pitched 3711 and 530--both are humming along nicely. Then I woke up this morning realizing I never added the 4# of sugar!!! What a cluster****!

Looks like I'll be boiling and adding the sugar in .5# additions over the next 2 days to get the FG I need.

If nothing else, I'll re-brew 5gal of whichever tastes better and make that the exchange batch. Brewing can be so exciting....

 

[biochemedic]

Update on my Saffron Tripel--yesterday was a catastrophic brew day. Started at 6:30 and all was well at first. It wasn't until sparge time that it went off the rails. First, it became clear that my wlp500 yeast starter failed to start. Second, my brew software crapped out and I lost ALL my recipes and notes for the last 30+ brews, including this one... Soooo, I did my calculations in my head, boiled off the appropriate amount, did my hop & spice additions, then chilled the wort to 2 carboys rather than 3. With the 500 dead, I pitched 3711 and 530--both are humming along nicely. Then I woke up this morning realizing I never added the 4# of sugar!!! What a cluster****!

Looks like I'll be boiling and adding the sugar in .5# additions over the next 2 days to get the FG I need.

If nothing else, I'll re-brew 5gal of whichever tastes better and make that the exchange batch. Brewing can be so exciting....

RDWHAHB...

I pretty routinely add sugar additions during the primary. I'm not sure you even need to break it down into the 1/2 lb increments. I've added 1 lb for sure without any problem. There may even be some advantage to doing it this way...for especially high gravity brews, you're not shocking the yeast right up front with the whole gravity...they can get started with less osmotic stress, then you give them more food once they're rocking. The only thing is that those sugars won't get the full effect of the 60 or 90 min of boiling, and you may miss out on some caramelization that could happen. Also, you need to take into account the effect that the lower boil gravity may have on your hop utilization...