Bottlenecks in my beer

A key moment in my brewing journey was when I drank the first bottle of my second extract brew and realised that home brew could be a drink that you might actually choose to drink because it tasted good. Since then I've worked every brew to try to identify and remove the bottlenecks: the flaws, inconsistencies and practices that limit the quality of my beer.

So since that 2nd extract brew I've: moved to all grain, sorted out fermentation temperature control, gotten access to better quality ingredients, learned about water chemistry & pH adjustment, started oxygenating the wort, began stepped mashing, made a stir plate and began growing yeast starters so I could pitch good rates of yeast. And the result is that I now feel confident with my equipment & process. I can brew with good consistency and the last 10 beers I've brewed have all been very good in terms of process and fermentation (with the exception of the cloudiness of the rushed Playoffs Rye IPA). I could upgrade my brewing equipment and go for an automated system, I could keg my beer and I probably will do that eventually but they will primarily make life easier rather than improve the beer. As far as I can see, there's not much more to improve on that front.

And as I tasted the beer I brewed for the wedding and birthday, I realised that the current bottleneck is me. The best 3 of the 7 were the Pilsch, hefeweizen and Brewdog clone, 2 recipes-by-the-numbers and a recipe created by professional brewers. It's not that my recipes are bad, some of them are of a high standard but there's a lot more variability to them than I want. Sometimes it's because of an ill-advised last minute change and other times it's just because it just needs work.

As I've chewed over this stuff, I've been trying to think about how to improve. At the moment my ideas are: 1. Learn from pro recipes, 2. Learn more about hop varieties & combinations, 3. Brew, refine and re-brew.

1. Learn from pro recipes

I've never been interested in brewing clones. There's plenty of skill in being able to replicate a commercial beer but I guess my interests are more in making something new. However, I think there's probably a lot to be gained from looking at the recipes that are available from great breweries and analysing and sometimes brewing them to get a better sense of how things work. I guess that's what Designing Great Beers does and I should probably have another look at that.

2. Learn about hops

A bigger part of the challenge for me is in learning about hops/hop combinations. I'm more confident with the malt side of things, most of my best recipes are malt/yeast dominant, but I'm finding it difficult to get the hop combinations to really sing. I got For the Love of Hops for my birthday (thanks, Dad!) so hopefully that'll give me a better sense of how to approach it. I'm also going to brew more single hop beers with varieties that are new to me so I can get a feel for each one. 

3. Brew, refine, re-brew

The last and probably most important step is to brew, refine and re-brew. I've brewed a few beers 2 or 3 times but generally I've brewed new recipes. I think I need to spend some time working on a few recipes, at this stage I'm thinking they'll probably mainly be hoppy beers since hops seem to be the big issue and a saison because I've been itching to refine that recipe. I guess we'll see how this goes over the course of the year.

This stuff is in line with what I was thinking when I wrote my goals for the year but the issue is much clearer for me now. I want to end the year with a handful of recipes that are more or less perfected and with a better handle on hop combinations in particular and recipe construction in general.

Tasting notes: Playoffs Rye IPA

The Playoffs Rye IPA was brewed on December 28 for Jason's birthday BBQ, bottled on January 8. This tasting was on January 23.

OG: 1.062
FG: 1.012
IBU: 65
ABV: 6.6%

Aroma: Pine is the main impression then pineapple, mango, light floral notes, some sweet & creamy malt and a generic fruit aroma that's hard to pin down.
Appearance: Cloudy orange, dense white head that persists.
Flavour: fruity and sweet first up that finishes with some earthy rye flavour, some nice malt and a moderate, balanced (for an IPA) bitterness. A little yeastiness.
Mouthfeel: medium carbonation, probably a bit higher than I'd like it. A little chalky in the finish from the yeast in suspension.

I had high expectations for this beer and beneath the flaws, there's a nice IPA lurking. Unfortunately the cloudiness is a big problem. It harms the appearance firstly which is something I'd like to improve in my beers but much more importantly, it leaves a yeasty flavour and a chalky feeling in my mouth that seriously undermines the whole experience. The only bottles I have of this beer were the ones at the start and end of bottling and I'm not sure if these were particularly cloudy or if the whole batch was like this. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to cold crash the beer to get it reasonably clear. Next time, that's a priority.

The hop aroma and flavour are good but not great. The Columbus is dominant and while I like what it brings to the table, I wanted something more from the combination. This isn't the hop profile I had the first time I brewed it and I suspect it's a matter of seasonal variation.

It does have some things going for it though. The bitterness is well balanced, the malt flavour is great although it could do with some more rye. The hop flavour is pretty good even though it's not quite right. It's a shame that the cloudiness compromised it, this beer should be so much better. If I have the time I'll brew it again for the NBA Playoffs and see if I can get it right then.

Next time: Clear the beer! Gelatine, cold crash, time, whatever. That's the big problem with the beer. I'd also increase the rye to 20%, other than that the colour and malt flavour is great. The hop combination isn't bad, it just doesn't do heaps. I think that's because the Columbus dominated the Citra and Amarillo. Next time I'd probably go for a 1:2:2 or 2:3:3 ratio.

Birthday Brews Recap & Photos

Jason's birthday celebration was pretty huge. 30+kg of meat was barbecued over nearly 2 full days including a brisket cooked for 18 hours. Most of the beer was knocked off and was very well received. The Brewdog Hardcore IPA was the star of the show which wasn't surprising to me, I thought it was pretty clearly the best of the bunch. It was an epic weekend, I wish I could have been there!

The following quotes are from texts send by my mates over the course of the weekend. They are way to good to me.

Nelson Sauvin Pale Ale
'It was my favourite of the bunch.'
'...a mouth full of honey and hops...'
'...basically mother's milk.'
'...this pale ale is the best beer I could possibly imagine for the occasion.'
'...perfect for the weather and the event.'

Rye IPA
'...a real victory...'
'...delightful.'

Brewdog Hardcore IPA clone 

'...just gets better and better.'
'I can't believe how good the clone is.'
'...OH MY GOODNESS the hardcore clone is the best of the three.'

Dan and the gang of webers

A bunch of my beers plus a few extras

A couple of the more than 30kg of meat consumed over
the weekend

Glorious meat

Tent city

Tasting notes: Nelson Sauvin Pale Ale

This was the second beer for Jason's birthday BBQ. Brewed on December 14 and bottled on December 28. This tasting was on January 12.

Nelson Sauvin Pale Ale
OG: 1.057
FG: 1.011
IBU: 44
ABV: 6.1%

Aroma: Definite Maris Otter aroma, the 'sharpness' of white grapes/gooseberries, honey, herbal and dank.
Appearance: Gold moving into orange. Fairly hazy. Moderate head that thins out after 5 minutes but leaves some lacing all the way down the glass.
Flavour: Lightly herbal bitterness that's pretty much bang on for style and quite enjoyable. Lots of creamy malt, probably a bit much malt. It has that fruitiness that I can't describe but is very Nelson Sauvin. More malt sweetness than I'd expect for a 1.011 beer.
Mouthfeel: Low-medium carbonation and a creamy mouthfeel.

A normal beer on a kids' seat or a giant beer
on a normal seat?

As I mentioned in my post when I brewed this beer, this is a recreation of an extract brew I made several times back in 2010-2011. Jason and I both feel pretty nostalgic about it so I had high expectations of the beer and my brewing. I haven't used Nelson Sauvin much since those days, partly because I was Sauvined-out for a while and partly because I had bulk supplies of other varieties. It's nice to be reunited with the hop and they certainly provide a nice highlight to the drink but it isn't quite the beer I'd like it to be.

I like Golden Promise in an American Pale Ale, especially if the hopping rate is on the high side. However, I think Maris Otter was a mistake. It's nice but it's just a bit much in this beer. On the positive side, Nelson Sauvin can easily be a bit much all on its own but that isn't a problem in this beer. The malt definitely keeps some of the Nelson Sauvin aggression in check. Some of the rough edges of the hop emerge but not in an unpleasant way. They're flavours that are interesting and can be safely explored which might not be the case in a less malty beer.

Overall I'm a bit disappointed with it but it's a decent beer with no production faults, just one or two recipe weaknesses. It's bigger than I was intending and the Maris Otter was a last minute inclusion to the recipe so this it's a bit different to what I had in mind. It did the job for the BBQ and the next one will be better.

Next time: use Golden Promise or an Australian pale malt. If I did that I'd probably use a gentler hop for the 60 minute addition and maybe reduce the other additions a little bit so the Nelson Sauvin doesn't overwhelm the malt completely. I don't think it'd take much effort to make this a great beer.

Brewday: JFK Berliner Weisse

After mash out, I covered the surface with
gladwrap to keep oxygen out

My first all grain brew was a berliner weisse. It was light, wheaty and sour and I didn't like it much at first. It took me several bottles before I got the taste for it but then I came to crave it. I've never had a commercial berliner so I have nothing to compare it to but I've enjoyed the ones I've made and it's come to be a yearly brew for me. In fact, it's the only brew that I've consistently brewed at a seasonally appropriate time over the last few years.

My process has evolved each time I've brewed it but each time I've gone with souring the wort. It makes for a good sourness and a beer that's ready to drink within 3 weeks. It's probably not the most complex sourness but I'm ok with that, the wheat and pils malt along with the sourness make it plenty interesting enough as well as light and refreshing.

I've soured the wort in an esky for 2 days, gone with a 15 minute boil before chilling and fermenting, I've used temperature control so I soured the wort at 38C in my urn and then pasteurised it at 70C for 30 minutes before chilling and fermenting, no boil. This time I'm sticking with the temp controlled souring and pasteurisation but no boil. This time though I'll add brettanomyces to some bottles for a bit of added complexity as it ages. I'm also toying with the idea of dry hopping 1/2 of it with Aramis and possibly something like ginger and lemongrass.

The great thing about this beer is that the brewing is spread over a few days so I could do the whole thing on my own. It's nice to have the freedom to brew by myself midweek.

It sat at around 40C for 46 hours. I used the
temp controller to maintain the heat.

JFK Berliner Weisse (20L batch)
OG: 1.032
FG: 1.006
IBU: N/A
EBC: 4.1
ABV: 3.4%

Recipe
60% Best Malz Wheat
40% Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner

20g Aramis @ pasteurisation

US-05 yeast


Process
Mash:
Stepped mash: 68C (40 minutes), 72C (15 minutes) and a 78C mash out.

I added 2g CaSO4, 5g CaCl2 and 2g MgSO4 to the mash along with 3.5ml of lactic acid for pH correction.

Transferred to a better bottle after
pasteurising and chilling.

Souring:
After the mash out I hooked up my STC-1000 and left it to cool to 40C, around 7 hours. Once it was down to 42C I chucked in a handful of grain and laid gladwrap on the surface of the wort.

There was visible activity by the time I woke up the next day and the aroma was the same as the other times I've brewed berliners.


Pasteurisation:
After Added the hops and heated to 70C and held there for 20 minutes. Then cooled.


Fermentation:
Pitched a packet of US-05 and fermented at 18C


07/01/14 - brewed

09/01/14 - pasteurised & pitched yeast

Tasting notes: Mr Darcy Hefeweizen

Mr Darcy is a hefeweizen I brewed for my friend Adam's wedding on December 7 and bottled on December 21. This tasting was on January 14. No photo for this one because I was too busy drinking it.

OG: 1.043
FG: 1.011
IBU: 13
ABV: 4.2%

Aroma: Banana city, y'all! Of course there's banana. There's also a hint of clove and some decent wheat notes. There's no mistaking what it is.
Appearance: A thick, creamy white head with a cloudy yellow body verging on gold where the glass is a bit thicker. Beautiful.
Flavour: The clove gets a bit more space in the flavour of the beer. Banana, wheat and pilsner malt all tied up in a delicious way. The bitterness is very light and strictly complementary.
Mouthfeel: A creamy mouthfeel that somehow exists despite a moderately high level of carbonation.

There's a divide among people who like hefeweizens. It's between those who are fans of banana and those who love the clove. This beer would make the banana fans happy but would leave the clove fanciers wanting a more. As far as I can tell, this beer has no off flavours from the fermentation, the banana is not subtle but it's not out of control and the malt flavours are delicious. Overall, it's a good version of the style without quite hitting the Platonic hefeweizen. I think I'd like a little less banana.

The thing I really like about this one is what it looks like. Some people get weak knees at the sight of a beer that's so crystal clear you can read a newspaper through it. That's fine I guess but I much prefer the texture and depth of colour of a cloudy hefeweizen. Top that with a large, dense head and that's just about perfect. Weird since hefeweizens aren't even in my top 10 favourite beer styles.

It's a little embarrassing but I have always had my temperature controller set at the temperature I wanted to ferment at. For this beer it was 17 celsius. My temperature probe is taped to the side of the fermenter and insulated with some wetsuit material. I didn't take into account the heat developed during active fermentation and I've since read that inside the fermenter is generally a 2-3C higher than outside. So I was really fermenting at 19-20C instead of 17. Clever. That's where the banana was coming from and probably meant that the extra clove I was after was suppressed. Next time, Gadget.

Next time: ferment a couple of degrees cooler to lower the banana a little and let the clove come out a bit more. I'd also like try one or two different strains since all of my wheat beers so far have been with WLP300/WY3068.

Birthday Beer Labels

I didn't have the time or energy to label all the beers for Jason's birthday but I wanted to give Jason a few that were nicely packaged. So I made up a template that I'll use when I want to label my brews and filled in the details. It's not especially pretty, it turns out I'm not a graphic designer, but it is neat.

Dinosaur wrapping paper. Because every
6 pack holder should have dinosaurs.

Tasting notes: Johnnie Rico Pilsch

This was the first beer I brewed for Adam's wedding. Brewed with Huw on November 14, bottled on November 30 and this tasting on January 10.

Johnnie Rico Pilsch
OG: 1.035
FG: 1.009
IBU: 25
ABV: 3.4%

Aroma: Lemon wafts up from the glass. A closer inspection also reveals spice, honey, pils malt.
Appearance: It pours crystal clear and a sparkling pale straw-yellow colour with a dense and sticky white head. It looks very nice.
Flavour: Very clean flavours. Light pilsner malt sweetness with spicy Saaz, lemon, hints of honey and firm but smooth bitterness. There isn't any lingering aftertaste, it fades very quickly and demands another sip.
Mouthfeel: Fairly light mouthfeel, relatively high, prickly carbonation which accentuates the bitterness.

The Pilsch also goes well with cricket

I'm delighted with how this one turned out. It's spot on. So easy to drink, light and refreshing. It's perfect Summer beer. It wouldn't do anything for a beer geek obsessed with hops and exotic ingredients but it's a really nice beer. It feels weird and wrong to talk up my own beer like this but it's delicious.

The subtlety of this beer is what really makes it. Even though it's just using one malt (Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner) and one hop (Saaz), it's got a depth that goes far beyond that simplicity. It's a beer that rewards drinking, there's something new in each glass.

I spend an unreasonable amount of time reading about beer and brewing on the internet. I tend to read and then get excited and then write up recipes inspired by people's descriptions. The problem* is that some of these descriptions are really well written and they raise my expectations to the point where I get disappointed with the resulting beer. The Pilsch is one of those but fortunately it clears the expectations comfortably.

Next time: As far as I'm concerned this recipe is essentially spot on but it might be interesting to try it with a hop like Styrian Goldings or First Gold for an orange/mandarin dose of citrus rather than lemon.

* Using the word 'problem' quite loosely.

Tasting notes: The Lorax Pale Ale

This was the 3rd beer I brewed for Adam's wedding but the first I've gotten around to writing tasting notes for. It was brewed on November 30th and bottled on December 14th.

Aroma: Pine and passionfruit greet you at the door. There's a little dankness with them.
Appearance: Very nice clear gold colour with a couple of fingers of clean white head that diminishes slowly. Lots of happy little bubbles shooting to the surface.
Flavour: Nice maltiness that supports the hops but doesn't take away from them. With the hops there's a herbal quality there along with more of the same hop flavours as in the aroma.
Mouthfeel: Carbonation on the high side of medium and moderate bitterness for a pale ale.

The kind of quality photography I bring
every time

It's not high praise but this beer more or less does what it's meant to do. There are no fermentation-related off flavours or off flavours of any kind that I can detect. It's clean, the malt is good and the hops are decent. The problem is that the hops aren't exactly what I'm after. It's easy to find a good hop combination, it's much harder to find a great one. I have a hunch that the Simcoe I used was past it's prime. The overwhelming impression I get with the hop aroma and flavour is of Columbus. There's some Simcoe in there but it's not as assertive as it should have been. And the result is nice, but it's not stellar.

I'm pleased with the malt character. The Golden Promise and biscuit malt work really well together. It's not very prominent but it does let you know that it's there. I'm very happy with what Bill, my malt guy in Launceston, has produced. I hope he goes all the way and starts his own malting business one day.

It's a nice beer. A pleasant beer. At a wedding in a garden on a Summer's day, it's not far off from where it should be. But I'm drinking this in my bedroom on my own and it's a setting for a more critical assessment. If I bought this at a bottleshop I'd enjoy it but not be impressed by it.

Next time: Use hops that are absolutely fresh! Refine the combination or work out a different combination of hops in pursuit of that winning blend.

Brewday: Hansard's Delight Red IPA

My friend Luke enjoyed the Shepherd's Delight Red IPA, a Little Creatures Single Batch released sometime in 2013. He has a hunger for hoppy beers and asked me if I could brew a Red IPA. I said 'sure' and whipped up a recipe. That was at least 6 months ago and I never got around to brewing it. So I'm trying to mend my ways with my first brew for 2014.

The idea for this one is a deep red colour leaning towards black. People on the AHB forum recommend a combination of 5% CaraAroma and 1% Roast Barley to achieve a red colour so I went with that and made up the remaining 94% with Golden Promise and some munich malt. This was a chance to focus on presentation both in terms of colour and clarity so I hope it comes out with something that can be legitimately called red, not brown. The results during the brew looked promising.

For hops I went with a modest first wort hop addition and then added a heap of Galaxy and Centennial at the end of the boil for a hit of passionfruit, citrus and floral hops. Then there was another heavy dose of Centennial alongside Columbus for the dry hopping. I went for bitterness on the high end of the IPA scale (it's got an estimated 70 IBUs) to give it a decent bitter kick with the high level of malt flavour.

This was Luke's first experience of the brewing process from start to finish and it was fun to introduce him to the process behind the beer he drinks.

Hansard's Delight Red IPA (21L batch)

Luke very seriously adding the final hops

OG: 1.063 (1.061 measured)
FG: 1.011
IBU: 70 (estimated)
EBC: 34.2
ABV: 6.6%

79% Golden Promise malt
15% Best Malz Munich malt
5% Weyermann CaraAroma
1% Roast Barley

25g Columbus @ FWH min
60g Centennial @ 0 min
40g Galaxy @ 0 min
50g Centennial @ dry hop
50g Columbus @ dry hop

Starter of WLP 090, for an estimated pitch of 300 billion cells

8g CaSO4, 3g CaCl2, 3g MgSO4 went into the mash to get calcium up and raise the sulphate level to enhance the perception of the bitterness. I also added 2.5ml of lactic acid for pH correction.

Stepped mash: 64C (45 minutes), 72C (15 minutes) with a mash out at 78C

90 seconds of O2

04/01/14 - Brewed with Luke