Citrine (Batches 07 & 08): Recipe

My 30th birthday was a few weeks ago, and I wanted to brew something special to mark the occasion.  I decided that I'd do 10 gallons of blonde sour, with half of that being fermented entirely spontaneously.  To assist in the non-spontaneous portion, I consumed the entire Drie Fonteinen Armand'4 set so that I could use their dregs.  For those not familiar with the series, these were blended solely from Drie Fonteinen-brewed lambic and helped raise money after the great thermostat incident that wiped out a gut-wrenching amount of lambic.

A blend was created for each season, and at this point (and also fresh, in my recollection) the blends do resemble their seasonal namesakes.

The summer (Zomer, in Dutch) blend is bright and acidic and full of lemon and other citrus.

The autumn (Herfst) is dry, earthy, and a bit leafy, with more pronounced fund and less acidity.

The recipe itself was pretty straightforward.  I used about 55% pilsner and 45% wheat, with the latter being split between wheat malt and flaked wheat, as I thought I had more flaked on hand than I actually did.  While eventually I'd really like to use raw wheat and do a turbid mash, for this time I used what I had on hand, and then mashed very high (158*F) to keep as many long chain sugars as I could.  I had considered adding some flour (perhaps made by processing pilsner malt until it was flour-like consistency) as others have suggested to have some unconverted dextrins for the bugs to get to over time, but I went with what I know for this one.

Otherwise, I used 5oz. of aged Liberty hops that I ordered from Hops Direct a ways back, and also did some slight water adjustments to get roughly in line with the profile given in Wild Brews.

It was a rough and tumble beginning to the brew process, as it was pouring as I was trying to heat up the mash water.  Luckily, by when it was time to heat the sparge water, it was down to a drizzle, and rain didn't bother me too much during the boil.

I definitely wanted to spontaneously ferment a portion of this batch, and had been thinking about that for some time.  I had to think of the logistics, as our backyard is fairly wild in that we frequently have raccoons, possums, and other creatures of the night milling about (we live about 100 yards from an old railroad track that's been converted to a trail and has 10-20 feet of woods on each side, and also a neighbor who likes to leave out all sorts of food scraps).

I remembered that we still have a fairly large metal dog cage around from when our dogs were younger, so I fished that out and line the plastic bottom with some towels, as I put two pots (5 gallons in each) directly onto those in the cage after the boil.  Knowing that raccoons are crafty little fellows, I also zip-tied the latches for the cage, just in case.  Finally, since there was still the possibility of rain, I put a tarp on top of the cage to keep out any overnight rainfall.  The whole setup was placed beneath a tree in bloom next to our driveway.  Hopefully next year I'll have fruit trees in bloom in the backyard and will be able to use those.

The overnight low was 43*F, plenty cold enough to not have to worry about any thermo bacteria.  The next morning, I transferred each half (there's a second pot on the other side of the picture below) to a Better Bottle, pouring through a funnel.  Half was left to ferment entirely spontaneously, and the other half received the aforementioned Armand'4 series dregs in addition to the spontaneous culture.

My "coolship" sitting underneath a tree in bloom.

The full recipe for the batch:

Batch Number: 85

Brew Date: April 29, 2014

Bottle Date:

Batch Size: 10 Gallon

OG: 1.041

FG: 1.000 (est.)

Fermentation Temperature: Room temperature (60*-70*F)

IBU: 4.3

ABV: 5.2% (est.)

SRM: 3.3

Mash: Single infusion for 60 minutes at 158* F

Boil: 60 minute

Fermentables

10.0 lb Dingeman's Belgian Pilsner

5.5 lb. White Wheat Malt

2.0 lb Wheat, Flaked

Salts & Water

6.0g Sodium Chloride (all into the kettle)

5.5g Gypsum (all into the kettle)

Resulting water profile is as follows:

Mash pH (est.): 5.44

Calcium: 88

Magnesium: 12

Sodium: 7

Chloride: 76

Sulfate: 72

Hops

5.0 oz. Liberty (Aged) at 60 minutes

Yeast

Dregs from the 4 gueuze blends in the Drie Fonteinen Armand'4 Series

Lombard spontaneous culture

Notes

It took a few days, but after 2-3 days, both were fermenting well, and the portion that was entirely spontaneous actually showed signs of fermentation first.  Here are a few pictures from 3-4 days in:

Demeter Rouge: Recipe

For awhile now, I've wanted to brew a beer inspired by Jolly Pumpkin's Sobrehumano Palena'ole, a dark saison with cherries and passion fruit. I finally got around to it a few weeks ago, brewing a reddish saison and then adding cherries and passion fruit puree to the secondary for half the batch, and of course also adding the dregs of my last bottle of the Sobrehumano Palena'ole.  For the other portion, after primary I transferred to a keg with a blend of oak cubes soaked in Pinot Noir and bourbon.

Here are the full details on the new batch:

Batch Number: 84

Brew Date: April 12, 2014.

Bottle Date:

Batch Size: 10 Gallon

OG: 1.049

FG: 1.002 (est.)

Fermentation Temperature: 70* F

IBU: 30.6

ABV: 6.2%

SRM: 15.8 (prior to fruit additions)

Mash: Single infusion for 60 minutes at 150* F

Boil: 60 minute

Fermentables

12.0 lb 2-Row Pale Ale Malt

4.0 lb Munich Malt

1.0 lb Aromatic Malt

12.0 oz CaraMunich Malt (56L)

8.0 oz Carafa II

Salts & Water

5.0g Sodium Chloride (all into the kettle)

3.0g Calcium Chloride (all into the kettle)

1.0g Gypsum (all into the kettle)

Resulting water profile is as follows:

Mash pH (est.): 5.41

Calcium: 54

Magnesium: 12

Sodium: 44

Chloride: 99

Sulfate: 38

5mL lactic acid added to the sparge water to get it to a pH around 5.5.

Hops

5mL HopShot at 60 minutes

2.0 oz. Columbus (17.5 AAU) at flameout

Other

2.0 tsp. Wyeast Yeast Nutrient at 10 minutes

Yeast

White Labs 670 American Farmhouse Blend

Jolly Pumpkin Sobrehumano Palena'ole Dregs

Notes

04.12.2014: Brewday went off without a hitch.  Fermentation split between a carboy and a bucket, each with about 5 gallons.  Each got 30 seconds of aeration and I pitched a few hours after chilling at room temperature.

Original WLP670 vial had an expiration of 01.09.2014.  On 02.18.14, I gave it 750mL of 1.020 wort.  From there, stepped up on 02.23.2014 with 2L of 1.040 wort.  Finally, on 04.11.2014 (about 24 hours before pitching), decanted and then pitched cake with another 2L of 1.040 wort and put on a stir plate for 24 hours to get the approximate count require per yeastcalculator.com.

04.13.2014: No activity after about 12 hours, but removed Batch 083 from the heated water bath and put these both in at 70*F.

04.25.2014: Added 28oz. of passion fruit puree and 36oz. of frozen cherries plus the dregs of a bottle of Jolly Pumpkin Sobrehumano Palena'ole to the bucket, and sealed the lid.  A pellicle had formed in the bucket, but not in the carboy.  The lid had previously not been sealed.

04.30.2014: The carboy portion was transferred to a keg with 21g of oak cubes that had been soaking in Pinot Noir since 03.03.2013 plus 8g of oak cubes that had been soaking in Knob Creek bourbon since 02.16.2013.  Yield is about 4.5 gallons.

Namur (Batch 04): Recipe

This is a short post, as the recipe is just a bit different than the recipe for Namur (Batch 03) that I posted last week with different hops and yeast. Here went with a more lemon and lime character, using Sorachi Ace and and Wakatu. I pitched Wyeast's 3726 Farmhouse Ale, as well as Sanctification dregs to one of the buckets. However, the "clean" bucket ended up getting Brett as well.  I've been fermenting in buckets with the lids loosely set, and didn't think about that this time.  Not surprisingly, some Brett got into each the portion that only received 3726.  At around 4 weeks, each portion looked and tasted basically the same.

 The biggest difference here is that this one is going to secondary with soaked oak cubes. One with white wine-soaked oak cubes, and the other with gin-soaked cubes. The latter may also then get some lime juice and zest at the end.

Here are the full details on the new batch:

Batch Number: 83

Brew Date: April 6, 2014.

Bottle Date:

Batch Size: 10 Gallon

OG: 1.049

FG:

Fermentation Temperature: 70-72* F

IBU: 28.4

ABV: 6.2%

SRM: 3.6

Mash: Single infusion for 60 minutes at 150* F

Boil: 60 minute

Fermentables

10.0 lb Dingeman's Belgian Pilsner

3.0 lb Wheat, Flaked

2.0 lb Spelt, Raw

1.0 lb Oats, Flaked

1.0 lb Rye, Flaked

1.0 lb Acid Malt

Salts & Water

5.0g Sodium Chloride (all into the kettle)

3.0g Calcium Chloride (all into the kettle)

1.0g Gypsum (all into the kettle)

Resulting water profile is as follows:

Mash pH (est.): 5.44

Calcium: 51

Magnesium: 11

Sodium: 39

Chloride: 88

Sulfate: 36

5mL lactic acid added to the sparge water to get it to a pH around 5.5.

Hops

5mL HopShot at 60 minutes

4.0 oz. Wakatu (8.0 AAU) at flameout

2.0 oz. Sorachi Ace (12.0 AAU) at flameout

Other

2.0 tsp. Wyeast Yeast Nutrient at 10 minutes (double the normal amount to provide extra FAN, per the suggestion in Phil Markowski's Farmhouse Ales)

Yeast

Wyeast 3726 Farmhouse Ale

Russian River Sanctification dregs (both eventually, per the notes below)

Notes

04.06.2014: Brewday.  2L starter of Wyeast 3726 has been on stir plate for 24 hours.  Was previously stepped up twice from an old vial, previously having done a 2L starter of 1.020 wort on 02.18.2014.  Should have about 350 billion cells per yeastcalculator.com.  Split the starter evenly between buckets, not decanting.  Added the dregs from a bottle of Russian River Sanctification (Batch 007) to one of the buckets.  Each received 30 seconds of pure oxygen prior to pitching.

Had a big problem with the mash.  The tube between the spigot and the false bottom nipple somehow came off during sparging.  Will find out if hot side aeration is an issue, as eventually had to dump the mash into a pot to find out what the issue was after trying to reach in with Blichmann gloves to no avail.

04.07.2014: At 12 hours, good krausen and sitting at 70* F, with temperature controller at 72* F with +/- 2* differential.  I bumped it up to 74* F on the controller, which should likely set things at 72* F.  At 36 hours, bumped it up another two degrees on the controller, hoping to get fermentation to 74* F.  At 48 and 60 hours, bumped controller setting to 78* F and 80*F, respectively.

04.12.2014: Turned temperature down to 70* F to prepare water bath for Batch 084.

04.13.2014: Removed both portions from water bath and will continue at room temperature.  Portion with straight WY3726 is at 1.008.  Flavor profile is pretty bland with mild melon and a touch of spice.  Portion with Sanctification dregs is at 1.006 and is similar, but has a slightly-stronger profile.

04.30.2014: The straight 3726 portions appears to have a Brett infection, likely because I hadn't sealed the lids and there's quite a bit of Brett floating around that area with other open fermenters.  Today, transferred that straight portion (about 4 gallons) to a keg with 28g of oak cubes that have been soaking in gin since 02.16.2013.  The Sanctification portions was also about 4 gallons, and was transferred to a keg with 28g of oak cubes that have been soaking in Verdejo wine since 03.03.2013.

08.12.2014: At around 3.5 months, I checked in on these batches, which have been sitting in pressurized kegs since the end of April (I had checked a few times before as well).  I think that the gin version needs a bit more time (and I'll likely add some lime zest as well), but the white-wine version was doing quite well.  The last time I did something with these Verdejo cubes -- Dionysus #2 -- it ended up a bit too oak for my tastes, and that was at 5-6 months, so I think this may be the sweet spot.  It also just so happens that I'm nearly out of draft beer, so it was time for this one to transition over.  Tasting notes should be up within the next few weeks.

Farmhouse Mild (Lemon Guava): Tasting Notes

This beer started as a portion of the third batch of Farmhouse Mild that I brewed back in December.  The beer had a bit of a pedio issue, kicking up a lot of diacetyl.  Since it was going to take the Brett a bit to take care of that, I figured I might as well experiment with some fruit that I'd been wanting to try.

Over the summer, I had frozen 5 pounds of chopped lemon guavas, which I find to be highly enjoyable.  They're about the size of a lime, and are a pale yellow, with a "burst" at one end:

The flavor is fantastic.  A combination of lemon and guava, with a bit of pineapple thrown in.  Very tropical, and lightly tart.  The inside has small and hard (yet edible) white seeds.

I let transferred the Farmhouse Mild over to a keg on top of the 5 pounds of chopped, previously frozen fruit, filled the headspace with CO2, and let them sit for about two months.  I got the beer on tap in early March, but am just now finally getting around to posting tasting notes.

Appearance: Hazy bright yellow. Shiny with a fluffy white head. Short retention time with little lacing.

Aroma: Nose is bright guava with hints of pineapple and nice backing lemon. Fruit skin hits there as well. Bit of backing wheat, though the overall grain presence is fairly minuscule.

Flavor: Lemon, guava, light acidity, and a bit of fruit skin. Very faint tannin. Lemon guava in liquid form with a bit of extra pineapple and extra acidity. Mild Brett C induced funk in the background. Can just barely taste the wheat.

Mouthfeel: Very light and crisp. Strong carbonation. Extremely easy drinking. Tartness is more than noticeable, but not quite sour. Berliner level in that regard. Low alcohol making it excessively quaffable.

Overall: One of the best beers that I've done to date. At this point, really can't think of how I would change this up too much. Would perhaps up the sodium and chloride levels up just a touch in the water profile, and maybe use a little more wheat, or change up some of the existing flaked wheat unmalted wheat. Maybe 5% or so of oats, enough to give just a bit more body without taking away from the drinkability.

Namur (Batch 03): Recipe

A bit behind on the posts lately, having been busy with work and getting our garden up and running.  Hopefully the latter translates into plenty of backyard produce being used in my beers over the next few years.  I'll surely find a thing or two that will be ready for use later this summer or in the fall, but am really looking forward to being able to use a wide variety of fruits as those plants progress over the next few years.  At the very least, I'll have plenty of herbs to experiment with in saisons this year.  Over the next few days, I should have up a good number of tasting notes posts, as well as at least three more recipe posts.

This was my third time brewing Namur.  I figured this would a good time to test out the three Yeast Bay saison strains/blends that I'd ordered, as well as East Coast Yeast's Farmhouse Brett (Saison Blend).  From The Yeast Bay, I had Wallonian Farmhouse, Saison Blend, and Saison/Brettanomyces Blend.  I brewed up a 10-gallon batch alongside a late-boil charge of Belma, hoping for nice yeast complexity and a bit of citrus and fruit from a relatively-pungent hop variety.

Here are the full details on the new batch:

Batch Number: 82

Brew Date: March 15, 2014.

Bottle Date: 04.13.2014 (clean strains) and 04.30.2014 (Brett portions)

Batch Size: 10 Gallon

OG: 1.048

FG: Varies (see below)

Fermentation Temperature: 70-72* F

IBU: 28.5

ABV: 5.9%

SRM: 3.4

Mash: Single infusion for 60 minutes at 149* F

Boil: 60 minute

Fermentables

11.0 lb Dingeman's Belgian Pilsner

5.0 lb Wheat, Flaked

2.0 lb Rice, Flaked

1.0 lb Acid Malt

Salts & Water

4.0g Calcium Chloride (all into the kettle)

1.0g Gypsum (all into the kettle)

3.0g Sodium Chloride (all into the kettle)

Mash pH should have been right around 5.4-5.45, though I didn't take a measurement this time.

Resulting water profile is as follows:

Mash pH (est.): 5.43

Calcium: 59

Magnesium: 12

Sodium: 48

Chloride: 84

Sulfate: 38

Hops

5mL HopShot at 60 minutes

4.0 oz. Belma (11.6 AAU) at flameout

Other

2.0 tsp. Wyeast Yeast Nutrient at 10 minutes (double the normal amount to provide extra FAN, per the suggestion in Phil Markowski's Farmhouse Ales)

Yeast

Yeast Bay Wallonian Farmhouse

Yeast Bay Saison Blend

Yeast Bay Saison/Brettanomyces Blend

East Coast Yeast Farmhouse Brett (Saison Blend)

For expiration dates, the Yeast Bay Wallonian Farmhouse had a best by date of 06.17.2014, and pitched full vial into 2 gallon portion, no starter.  The Yeast Bay Saison Blend had a best by of 06.17.2014, and pitched full vial into 2 gallon portion, no starter.  The Yeast Bay Saison/Brettanomyces Blend had a best by date of 08.17.2014, and pitched full vial into 2 gallon portion, no starter.  East Coast Yeast 03 has a prep date of 02.03.2014.  Given the volume of the ECY "vials," I used only half of the vial into the 2 gallon portion.

Notes

03.15.2014 Brew day.  20 seconds of pure oxygen to each.  After 12 hours, small krausen on each and sitting at 67 degrees.  Bumped controlled up to 72F with temperature differential set at 2.  Should stay around 70.

04.05.2014: Moved from water bath to room temperature area to make room for Batch 083.

04.13.2014: Bottling day.  The Wallonian portion was a bit over 2 gallons, and received approximately 52g of priming sugar mixed in heated water, aiming for 2.7 volumes.  Yield is 14 500mL bottles.  FG is 1.004.  Taste is very smooth.  Lots of mango and other tropical fruit with a hint of tangerine.

04.30.2014: Bottling day for the Brett portions.  The Yeast Bay Saison/Brett portion is also over a bit over two gallons, so using approximately 52g of priming sugar with heated water to get at 2.7 volumes.  Yield is 14 500mL bottles.  FG is 1.002.  The East Coast Yeast 03 portion is also over a bit over two gallons, so using approximately 52g of priming sugar with heated water to get at 2.7 volumes.  Yield is 14 500mL bottles.  FG is 1.001.

Ruby (Batch 03): Recipe

This is my third time brewing Ruby, my Flanders Red Ale. The first batch was done in April 2012, and eventually was aged in a whiskey barrel. Unfortunately, this batch pre-dated me posting recipes, though hopefully I'll get tasting notes up for that eventually. The second batch was done in April 2013, and was bottled yesterday. I was really lax with notes on that one, as it was done right before we moved from Alexandria, Virginia back to Chicago last spring, so no post on that one either.

This recipe is quite similar to the base for the previous two, though this time I'm substituting in flaked maize for most of the wheat. I'll be using Roeselare for the entirety of this one, although may add dregs along the way. The first batch also used Roeselare and turned out quite well. The second batch was done with East Coast Yeast Flemish Ale (ECY02), courtesy of my friend Joe. Similar to batch 1, I will hopefully add in tasting notes for that one at some point.

The recipe for the full batch is as follows:

Batch Number: 81

Brew Date: February 23, 2014

Bottle/Keg Date:

Batch Size: 10 Gallon

OG: 1.050 (estimated)

FG: 1.002 (estimated)

Fermentation Temperature: ~65 F (ambient)

IBU: 19.1

ABV: 6.3% (est.)

SRM: 15.6

Mash: Single infusion for 60 minutes at 156 F.

Boil: 60 minute

Fermentables

9lb French Pilsner

4lb Munich Malt

2lb 8oz Maize, Flaked

1lb Wheat, Flaked

1lb Caramunich Malt

1lb Special B Malt

8oz Aromatic Malt

8oz Vienna Malt

Water 

Mash Water: 6.6 gallons 

Sparger Water: 7.7 gallons

Here, I added lactic acid to get the mash pH where I wanted it, and added enough calcium chloride to get the calcium level up past the recommended minimum of 50.

5.0g Calcium Chloride (all added directly to the kettle)

5mL Lactic Acid (88%) in the mash

Resulting water profile (based on EZ Water Calculator v3) is as follows:

Mash pH (est.): 5.44

Calcium: 59

Magnesium: 12

Sodium: 7

Chloride: 59

Sulfate: 27

I used lactic acid to adjust the pH of the sparge water, adding 5mL to the 7.67 gallons of water used for the sparge, which basic on the Homebrewing Physics calculator (available here), should give a sparge water pH around 5.0.

Hops

1.5oz Willamette (7.5 AAU), leaf, at 60 minutes

Other

2 tsp. Wyeast Yeast Nutrient at 10 minutes

Yeast

Wyeast Roeselare (1 packet for each 5-gallon portion)

Notes

02.23.2014: Brewday.  Each carboy got 30 seconds of pure O2.  The Roeselare packets were from October 29, 2013 and December 3, 2013.  I mixed them in a sanitized measuring cup and split evenly between the carboys.

07.28.2014: Took one of the carboys out to the garage for a bit of mixing.  The beer was moderately acidic, with a light lactic character along with a nice berry presence. Gravity was down to 1.008, and pH was 3.8. 3 gallons of it were added onto 6 pounds of black raspberries that we had picked in Michigan (and subsequently froze) over Fourth of July weekend, all into a 3-gallon Better Bottle.

The remaining portion was included in a blend for Science & Art #5.

Picking black raspberries in Southwest Michigan.
Also found a baby bird.

Adding the black raspberries to the carboy.

Nice and purple.

08.04.2014: After coming back from a nice weekend camping in Northern Michigan, the fermentation on fruit had really taken off.  The liquid in the airlock was light purple, and a bit had spilled over onto the garage floor.  Temperature during this time likely ranged from 70-75*F.

There was plenty of fruit pulp at the top that was not submersed in liquid.  Fearing any sort of acetobacter infection due to exposure to oxygen, I utilized the "punch down" technique to get the berries back into liquid, and then replaced with a clean airlock.  The punch down technique has been described on several occasions by Jester King, including here:

The blackberry refermentation involved a traditional wine making practice called a “punch down”. As the blackberries referment, they rise to the top of the oak barrel to form a cap. Several times a day we punched down the cap with a stainless steel mashing tool to break it up. This procedure was important to achieve good flavor and color extraction from the blackberries and to prevent the cap from drying up and becoming oxidized, which can lead to unwanted growth of acetobacter. Acetobacter, while harmless to consume, creates vinegary flavors and aromas that we dislike very much in beer. Punch downs and temperature control in our barrel room were important parts of our effort to keep acetobacter at bay.

11.01.2014: Was aiming to bottle the black raspberry version -- now named Amethyst -- but I had a ton of problems trying to bottle this with the Beer Gun out of the keg.  So now it's sitting under pressure with the bottling sugar, conditioning in the keg.  Based on this, it looks like I'll serve the beer on tap.  In the future, I think fresh juice might be the way to go for raspberries and blackberries.  They simply fall apart when left to ferment, and I'm not sure there's any benefit to having the whole fruit, as there isn't a pit or tannic skin to provide much additional flavor.

Saison Faible: Tasting Notes

Saison Faible is the clean petit saison that I brewed for the first time recently, using solely Saccharomyces as opposed to the blend of Saccharomyces, Brettanomyces, and bacteria that is used in my rustic saison, Farmhouse Mild.  Of course, I can never entirely get away from wild fermentations, so I took the other 5-gallon portion of this batch and fermented it with Ambrosia Blend 003, which utilizes the grown up dregs from a bottle of the November 2013 batch of Hill Farmstead Anna.

This batch of Faible was fermented with East Coast Yeast Saison Brasserie Blend (ECY08), which is described as "both fruity and spicy characteristics accompanied by dryness." It was hopped with Calypso, Citra, and Simcoe.

Appearance: Hazy golden color with just a touch of a peach hue.  Dense, rocky white head with good retention and plenty of lacing as it fades down to a thin cap and collar.

Aroma: Slight tropical fruit notes along with some bread dough.  A very slight hint of bubblegum.  Some mild pear and honeydew.  

Flavor: Juicy Fruit is what immediately comes to mind for me.  Tropical fruit and very light orange peel in the background.  Honeydew and melon.  A touch of pepper and a very mild lingering bitterness in the background.  Dry with a hint of tartness through the finish.  As it warms, there's a touch of bread dough in the background.  I've noticed quite a bit more of the bread dough if I have nearly any other beer ahead of this one.

Mouthfeel: Light with effervescent carbonation.  Just enough body to keep it from seeming thin.  A slight lingering bitterness through the finish.  Very faint pepper in the aftertaste.

Overall: I'm very pleased with how this one came out, especially with it being my first time using this strain/blend.  I'm very curious to see how this is going to perform in subsequent generations, as well as with a bigger beer.  I of course had to mix it with something wild, so I am already using the second generation of this blend, combined with Brett C and Brett Trois, in the new batch of Demeter Auran.