Brew Day - Pumpkin Ale

Forethought is the key to good seasonal beer brewing. Seasonals often contain spices, fruit, or other unique flavors. Without the benefits of aging, these flavors don't get the chance to mature. As such, time is the brewer's friend in these beers.

Today we brewed our Boo-ya Pumpkin Ale. Our last version two years ago was not as "pumpkin-y" as I would have liked. This time I added 30 oz. of canned organic pumpkin to the boil and I intend to add another 30 oz. to the secondary. Hopefully, I will achieve my flavor goal this time.

O.G. - 1.045

Ingredients:

6 lbs. Gold LME
8 oz. Carapils and 8 oz. Caramel 10L speciality grains
1 oz. Mt. Hood hops (bittering)
1 oz. Cascade hops (aroma)
30 oz. canned organic pumpkin
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg

Holiday Beer Update

The addition of the new yeast definitely re-started fermentation. The finishing gravity was 1.020 - not a phenomenal end result but reasonable. Essentially, this leaves us with an ABV of about 5%. The flavors (or potential off-flavors) won't be evident until later though, once the aging period is over. We'll see.

Kilju - The Good and the Bad

Following tradition, let's start with the bad: We moved the kilju this weekend and the final gravity was 1.040. Basically, it means that the ABV is about 4.2%. Not exactly what we were expecting.

The good news: it tastes good. It's sweet with a slight citrus aroma and flavor.

What's next: Well, we will let this batch sit another week to settle out any remaining yeast (we already filtered out most of the yeast and whatnot through coffee filters) and then bottle it.

I think it was one of those and/or situations. First, I used older dry yeast. Second, since it was basic beer yeast, it may not have been able to handle the high sugar content. As such, this weekend I will pick up some champagne yeast and try again. Champagne yeast has a much higher tolerance for sugar and alcohol.

Kilju (or is it Kill You?)

A random "brew" experiment: I came across a recipe for Finnish "sugar wine" (Kilju). Basically, this is a cheap, highly alcoholic (around 10-20%) beverage that some people (read: not the classy crowd) make to get buzzed. I figured I would give it a shot but I am not expecting anything spectacular (more likely the opposite). Essentially, it is just water and white sugar with some beer yeast.

Based on the negatives that were listed for this drink, I took some minor precautions: For example, the recipe says to use two washed milk cartons. I am using sanitized glass jugs, since I assume the milk residue may have leeched into the plastic and bacteria would remained. Also, lemons were suggested as flavoring. I chose to use a clementine, since orange flavoring is a bit less harsh. My thoughts: if Kilju has a natural bitter taste, I assume the lemons would only increase that. Finally, I plan to double filter it during transfers (using coffee filters) to remove as much of the yeast as possible - drinking Kilju with yeast remaining supposedly results in serious hangovers and upset stomachs.

I can't say I have a lot of hope for this but, hey, experimenting is the key to finding new styles and flavors. Starting gravity is 1.066 so watch out. Kippis!

Bottling the Saison and Holiday Beer Troubles

Yesterday we bottled the Saison du Grassklippare (Lawnmower Saison). Forty-one 12-oz bottles and one mini-keg (since I plan on uncapping this at our end of the summer BBQ). A quick taste expressed positive results - nice, medium hops and light-body will mean a very refreshing beer. A little time for carbonation and we likely have a winner.

Final gravity: 1.010
Estimated ABV: 4.5%

And now for the dissapointing news: The yeast did not fully attenuate the holiday beer. I moved it from the primary fermenter into another vessel and added some dry yeast. We now have renewed fermentation but not with the same yeast strain. Hopefully, this doesn't result in off flavors. Only time will tell.

Brew Day - Holiday Brew

It's time again to plan for the winter seasonal beer here at Snyderson Brew Hus! I know it seems ridiculous to start thinking about ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg just as summer is beginning but, holiday beers need plenty of time to age into perfection. This weekend we brewed the 2011 batch of Tomten's Jul Ol and most things went smoothly. (We did run out of propane right before the boil began, requiring us to run out and grab a refill.)

Frankly, this is one of my favorite beers. The aromas and flavors are so reminiscent of Christmas and it is perfect out of a wide mouth goblet. It also stores well (even though the bulk of the stock is gone by New Years.)

O.G. - 1.058

Ingredients:

6 lbs. Dark LME
3.3 lbs Amber LME
8 oz. Caramel 60L and 8 oz. Special B speciality grains
1 oz. Vanguard hops (bittering)
1 oz. Cascade hops (aroma)
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. nutmeg

Moving the Saison

This weekend we moved the saison into a secondary vessel for a brief aging period (actually, more of a settling period). A very healthy fermentation period left us with a finishing gravity of 1.010 (around 4.5% alcohol). In a few weeks we will bottle this refreshing thirst quencher to help us get through the hot August and September months. Until then....