Still Brewing
So it's been quite some time since I last posted and during that time I have managed to brew a further 10 batches of beer which brings my total up to 14 batches. At an average of 20 litres per batch it amounts to about 280 litres of brew...sounds quite a lot when put that way.
All the batches were brewed the same way from start to finish with the only differences being the amount and type of malt extract, grains, and hops used. There are even a few recipes with additional special ingredients that were added to impart a certain quality to the finished product.
So with that said here is a list of the batches, in order, that I have produced since my attempt at a Porter(my last post).
Honey Pale Ale - Honey is added to the boil, and is used as the priming sugar which is added to the beer just prior to bottling to help the beer carbonate. Light bodied ale, quite fizzy, with a big head, and noticeable honey flavours. Good but a bit too light & fizzy for me. *** 4.5% ABV
Grapefruit Bitter - A Pacific North-West style English bitter. The use of Centennial hops gave this beer a citrucy-grapefruit flavour. Nice bite and not too bitter, with a touch of citrus in the nose and on the tongue. Very tasty and got good reviews. **** 5.0% ABV
Red Razer IPA - An attempt to copy a Red Racer IPA which is one of my favorite beers, and which is brewed by Central City Brewers & Distillers located in Surrey B.C., Canada. They make very good beer.
This recipe uses a lot of hops which are added full boil (60 min), mid boil (15 min), finishing (3min), and gave me my first experience in dry-hopping by calling for dry hop pellets to be added to the beer while it was being transferred into the secondary fermenter. Very Good and hoppy! The nose is full of citrusy notes common with IPA's and a reflection of the Centennial hops used.
Taste is intensely hoppy with a nice refreshing bite. Very tasty and got good reviews. ***** 6.5% ABV
Scotch Ale - A dark strong ale that while tasty had very little carbonation which for me left something to be desired. This beer was very rich and quite sweet wiith a strong malt flavour...would be much better with more carbonation. Maybe conditioning the beer in the bottle longer would have improved this batch. My eagerness to sample the beer may have led to my less than stellar impression of the final results. Must practice patience. The only batch that I have brewed that I have been disappointed with. Although I did drink it all. ** 8.5% ABV
Shirley's Nutbrown Ale - This was my second attempt at brewing a Nutbrown ale, and I was eager to try the same recipe again given the success I had with my first attempt...which was very good. The second time around the beer was tasty although it didn't have as much of the chocolaty richness as the first time I brewed it. So still a tasty batch just not quite as good as my earlier attempt at Nutbrown ale. **** 5.0% ABV
Owen Meany Bitter Ale - Uses Magnum hops as opposed to the more citrusy Centennial used in the Grapefruit Bitter I brewed earlier. While quite bitter the use of the Magnum hops makes the bitterness a little less aggressive, and produced a very drinkable and tasty brew. **** 5.25% ABV
Licorice Strathcona Porter 2 - This beer is sort of the big brother of the first Strathcona porter I brewed, and is quite a bit stronger. Also for an added twist I decided to make this a licorice flavoured beer and so I added Star Anise, Fennel seeds, and shredded licorice root into my brew pot with about 20 mins left in the boil. It turned out to be a tasty porter with a hint of liquorice. I thought the licorice flavour would be more noticeable although had one friend who thought that the liquorice flavour was quite pronounced. It also had a good mouth feel and thick creamy head. **** 6.0% ABV
Strathcona Pale Ale - A slightly bitter Pale Ale with a good head and a nice rich amber colour
Crisp mouth feel. Very drinkable pale ale although nothing special.*** 5.0% ABV
Red Razer IPA - See above review. This batch differs from the first one with a slightly more bitter aftertaste. A good beer with compliments from those who've tried it. ***** 6.5% ABV
Christmas Spiced Ale - Darkbrown Ale Christmas Ale recipe that called for the addition of 500 gms of golden syrup to the boil for added fermentables, and to add a caramel flavour to the beer. Also steeped the following spices in water: cinamon sticks, fresh ginger, ground ginger, allspice, and ground nutmeg, and then added the liquid, and a sac with the solid pieces into the wort with 15 min left in boil. Have yet to taste this batch as the recipe calls for at least 2 months conditioning in the bottle and I am determined to wait.
7.0% ABV
So that's the list and there will be more to come. Question is what to brew next? Perhaps something with chillies!
Lastly for this post a big thanks goes out to Dan's Homebrewing Supplies, in Vancouver, B.C., and their knowledgeable and helpful staff. They have patiently answered all my questions, given suggestions, and provided me with both the recipes and the ingredients to some very tasty beer. Brew On!
All the batches were brewed the same way from start to finish with the only differences being the amount and type of malt extract, grains, and hops used. There are even a few recipes with additional special ingredients that were added to impart a certain quality to the finished product.
So with that said here is a list of the batches, in order, that I have produced since my attempt at a Porter(my last post).
Honey Pale Ale - Honey is added to the boil, and is used as the priming sugar which is added to the beer just prior to bottling to help the beer carbonate. Light bodied ale, quite fizzy, with a big head, and noticeable honey flavours. Good but a bit too light & fizzy for me. *** 4.5% ABV
Grapefruit Bitter - A Pacific North-West style English bitter. The use of Centennial hops gave this beer a citrucy-grapefruit flavour. Nice bite and not too bitter, with a touch of citrus in the nose and on the tongue. Very tasty and got good reviews. **** 5.0% ABV
Red Razer IPA - An attempt to copy a Red Racer IPA which is one of my favorite beers, and which is brewed by Central City Brewers & Distillers located in Surrey B.C., Canada. They make very good beer.
This recipe uses a lot of hops which are added full boil (60 min), mid boil (15 min), finishing (3min), and gave me my first experience in dry-hopping by calling for dry hop pellets to be added to the beer while it was being transferred into the secondary fermenter. Very Good and hoppy! The nose is full of citrusy notes common with IPA's and a reflection of the Centennial hops used.
Taste is intensely hoppy with a nice refreshing bite. Very tasty and got good reviews. ***** 6.5% ABV
Scotch Ale - A dark strong ale that while tasty had very little carbonation which for me left something to be desired. This beer was very rich and quite sweet wiith a strong malt flavour...would be much better with more carbonation. Maybe conditioning the beer in the bottle longer would have improved this batch. My eagerness to sample the beer may have led to my less than stellar impression of the final results. Must practice patience. The only batch that I have brewed that I have been disappointed with. Although I did drink it all. ** 8.5% ABV
Shirley's Nutbrown Ale - This was my second attempt at brewing a Nutbrown ale, and I was eager to try the same recipe again given the success I had with my first attempt...which was very good. The second time around the beer was tasty although it didn't have as much of the chocolaty richness as the first time I brewed it. So still a tasty batch just not quite as good as my earlier attempt at Nutbrown ale. **** 5.0% ABV
Owen Meany Bitter Ale - Uses Magnum hops as opposed to the more citrusy Centennial used in the Grapefruit Bitter I brewed earlier. While quite bitter the use of the Magnum hops makes the bitterness a little less aggressive, and produced a very drinkable and tasty brew. **** 5.25% ABV
Licorice Strathcona Porter 2 - This beer is sort of the big brother of the first Strathcona porter I brewed, and is quite a bit stronger. Also for an added twist I decided to make this a licorice flavoured beer and so I added Star Anise, Fennel seeds, and shredded licorice root into my brew pot with about 20 mins left in the boil. It turned out to be a tasty porter with a hint of liquorice. I thought the licorice flavour would be more noticeable although had one friend who thought that the liquorice flavour was quite pronounced. It also had a good mouth feel and thick creamy head. **** 6.0% ABV
Strathcona Pale Ale - A slightly bitter Pale Ale with a good head and a nice rich amber colour
Crisp mouth feel. Very drinkable pale ale although nothing special.*** 5.0% ABV
Red Razer IPA - See above review. This batch differs from the first one with a slightly more bitter aftertaste. A good beer with compliments from those who've tried it. ***** 6.5% ABV
Christmas Spiced Ale - Darkbrown Ale Christmas Ale recipe that called for the addition of 500 gms of golden syrup to the boil for added fermentables, and to add a caramel flavour to the beer. Also steeped the following spices in water: cinamon sticks, fresh ginger, ground ginger, allspice, and ground nutmeg, and then added the liquid, and a sac with the solid pieces into the wort with 15 min left in boil. Have yet to taste this batch as the recipe calls for at least 2 months conditioning in the bottle and I am determined to wait.
7.0% ABV
So that's the list and there will be more to come. Question is what to brew next? Perhaps something with chillies!
Lastly for this post a big thanks goes out to Dan's Homebrewing Supplies, in Vancouver, B.C., and their knowledgeable and helpful staff. They have patiently answered all my questions, given suggestions, and provided me with both the recipes and the ingredients to some very tasty beer. Brew On!
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