Dark Mild

This mild was beer number two this year, brewed in April, following the Schlafly pale ale recipe. I pitched on the same yeast cake, Mangrove Jacks M36 Liberty Bell, a pretty good yeast. It ferments well and cleanly.

This mild is based on the SS Minnow Mild kit from Northern Brewer. It made a great beer and I am very pleased with it. It's hard to go wrong with tried and true recipes. Great dark malt flavor without being overly alcoholic or watery. Definitely worth brewing this recipe again.

Schlafly pale ale clone

First brew of the year. I’d been kicking around the idea of brewing an English bitter for awhile and settled on a Schlafly pale ale clone. Beer & Brewing had a post on the beer, but it had two different recipes. The original put out by the actual brewery would’ve put me way under the gravity I can achieve with my system. They anticipate 85% efficiency, 10 percentage points above what I get. 

Beer and brewing recommended more grain, so I did increase the malt to achieve the ideal gravity, but they also substantially increased the amount of hops too. More than would’ve been proportional to the amount of extra grain. Unfortunately I didn’t recognize this issue and in fact went above even the modified hop schedule. B&B advised about 2.5 Oz of hops but I had three since I bought three one ounce bags. I didn’t want to have a half ounce left over so I used it all. 

So the result is what I call a sort of hop saturation issue. It’s not overly bitter. It’s just that there’s a lot of hop flavor and not enough residual sweetness in this low gravity beer to support the amount of hops. In the end it leaves the beer tasting very dry, almost astringent. There’s really not any detectable malt flavor. 

Yet it’s a clean beer, no yeast defects. Pretty drinkable. If I were to make this again, I would substantially decrease the amount of hops. I also had to make substitutions based on hops that were available, so if I were able to find the specified varieties that would probably make it taste more like the real thing.

A bunch of helles

In summer 2021, I went to Bierstadt in Denver, which sort of triggered that itch to brew and drink German lagers again. I made a lot of helles. At least four different batches. I modeled the recipe off of information I found online. Based on that information, I used acidulated malt, which I had never used before. Overall, these beers turned out pretty good. I was turning these beers around in a week though. Counting a failed batch of ale with homegrown hops, I think I brewed 7 weekends in a row in fall 2021.

That first batch of helles was good, but I remember that toward the end it seemed to turn bland. I think that my have been a sensory issue though, as subsequent batches have been pretty flavorful.

My second helles batch, and I think third or fourth lager in this group of beers, was interesting. First, I think I forgot to install the manifold before mashing in, so I had to pour everything out into my kettle and put it all back. Then, I had to run an errand for something important, and the mash was extended. I think that manifold issue and the extended mash led to a lower mash temp and extra fermentability, as that particular beer ended at 1.007. I love to "daisy chain" beers together, brewing and then reusing the yeast as many times as I can until I fill my kegs. So given that particular gravity issue, I was nervous about using the yeast again, but I went for it without any glaring issues. 

But the beers following that initial helles batch seemed to taste a little off on occasion, like some noticeable alcohol here and there. I think that actually cleared up over time though. Even the 1.007 beer turned out to be pretty drinkable. 

Lately, I've been brewing ales, and I needed keg space, so I've been drinking the heck out of the next to last beer, a helles made with Weyermann pils malt. This beer had occasional noticeable alcohol, but overall it was pretty clean. However, the acidulated malt seemed to contribute some modestly unpleasant tanginess, to the extent that I've reconsidered whether I want to continue using that malt, or at least in the amount I did for this beer. This keg just kicked today, April 30, just in time for my homegrown centennial hop ale I brewed last weekend. Overall, not a bad beer, had that Weyermann's pilsner malt flavor, sort of grainy/corny, but I didn't love this one. 

The Avangard version I've had here and there. It was never a favorite. I didn't use gelatin so it stayed pretty cloudy for a long time. Recently it's cleared up pretty well. I think I prefer Weyermann pils malt, as this doesn't have the bready, corny flavor I associate with Weyermann, but this has rounded out pretty nicely to a pretty solidly drinkable lager. 

Recipe for 5 gallons:

8 lbs Pilsner

.75 lb Vienna

.4 lb Acid malt

1 oz Hallertau 60 minutes

The real Bierstadt Slow Pour Pils v. Clone

I had Slow Pour Pils for the first time at the brewery in Denver in July 2021 and was amazed. I bought a four pack, along with their helles as well, and their Dunkel glass. Back home, I set about trying to figure out how to brew it. Interestingly, BYO magazine has what is described as the actual recipe. It's quite involved, though, calling for a decoction, step mashing, etc. It's also confusing, since it talks about a whirlpool but has no late addition hops in the recipe.

Having brewed the recipe and now tried it side by side with my last can of the real thing, I can say I am waaaay off the mark. True, I didn't step mash, didn't do a decoction, and used 2308 instead of 2124 yeast. I also missed the 5 minute hop and put it in at flameout instead. But somehow I'm not sure those things would make the difference. There seems to be something in there that may not be achievable on the homebrew scale, at least with my setup. This was beer #3 in a series of beers, with the first, a helles, also sort of based on Bierstadt's recipe, on Labor Day. 

My beer is actually a tasty beer, it's just no where near the real thing. The real thing has a penetrating, drying (but pleasant) bitterness, whereas the bitterness in mine, at least comparatively, is barely perceptible. Mine has 100% Hallertau mittlelfruh hops, per the recipe, but the real thing tastes way different. The aroma of mine is a sort of muted floral hops; theirs an almost skunky aroma that I associate with a lot of German lagers. Not a lot of malt flavor in either. Mine is a hair darker and more cloudy; theirs extremely pale and crystal clear. I also didn't treat my water, aside from using 3 gallons distilled water. Gelatin added to aid clarity, though this is not the clearest beer I've ever made.

In the end, no, I didn't follow the recipe exactly. In fact, I deviated substantially. But I guess I thought I'd be closer to the real thing, since the basics of the recipe remained intact: Weyermann pils, Hallertau hops, German lager yeast. Oh well, a fun experiment, and perhaps these German lagers -- helles, pilsner -- can be something to continue to strive for, my sort of "white whale." 

Unfortunately, I don't make it out to Colorado often, so it will probably be quite some time before I get to try the Slow Pour Pils again. So, for fun, I opened a can of a more local beer, Stammtisch from Urban Chestnut in St. Louis. They're close, but I think Slow Pour edges out Stammtisch just slightly. Slow Pour has a cleaner, crisper flavor. Stammtisch has a heavier flavor, with a hint of toasty malt in the background. So Stammtisch could be a close approximation of Slow Pour and more easily attainable, though even it has been somewhat hard to obtain in recent years, as it is no longer distributed in my corner of Missouri. 

All in all, a fun experiment, but I realize I need to keep trying when it comes to brewing a German pils. Cheers!

Brewed: 9/19/21

Kegged: 9/26/21

OG: 1.050

FG: 1.011-12

5 gallons

2021 festbier

I've grown to really like festbier, probably more than marzen. The latter tends to be sweet, which limits drinkability. Once again inspired by German imports, I made this one with the aim of approximating something like Paulaner festbier (aka wiesn). I read somewhere that it was 70% pilsner and 30% Munich, so that's what I went with. Unfortunately, the shop did not have light Munich, only dark, which at 10LV did not seem terribly dark.

 
In looking at it, I suppose it's not. It's sort of a burnt orange color, not red or brown like some marzens, notwithstanding the above photo. However, the real failing with this beer is the drinkability. It ended at 1.014, which is in line with what my software, brewer's friend, said Wyeast 2308 would produce. But it just has a very strong, almost overwhelming caramelly sweetness. There's also an occasional hint of booziness in the finish.

In the end, not the worst beer I've made, but certainly not the best, and not better than the beer in the festbier 1.0 post below. I find myself wishing I had re-brewed that beer instead. It would be interesting to taste this beer with light Munich with the same proportion, to see how much difference that would make. The dark Munich version is so caramelly sweet and rich. Something a little more bready sounds better. 

Recipe:

7.5 Weyermann pils
3.5 Weyermann Munich

1.25 oz Hallertau Mittelfruh (4.2 AA) at 60 minutes, for 21 IBU

OG: 1.062
FG: 1.017 (estimated); 1.014 actual.

Wyeast 2308.

Festbier 1.0

I had tasted few festbiers before going to Munich in September 2019. I think Weihenstephaner was the only one. Instead, I drank a lot of marzen, probably the most common version of the Oktoberfest style beer here in the USA. I remember really liking the Augustiner and Hofbrau versions (pretty sure I also had Paulaner from a can purchased at Aldi in Munich), so I wanted to emulate them in my own beer. I recall them tasting like a heftier helles, which is how the beer is described. This was the second beer I brewed following the tiny helles. 

Aroma: all pilsner malt. maybe a little corn. Tettnanger hops are pretty fruity in flavor but don't really pick those up in the aroma; maybe just a hint. Tettnanger hops are from 2014. I was going to make a "Dragonmead" Tripel recipe I found on homebrewtalk but never got around to it. I held on to the hops and finally used them. They still smelled very fresh. 

Appearance: gold. pretty clear with gelatin. 

Flavor: In terms of malts, pretty much all pilsner. It has a fair amount of Munich malt and just a touch of melanoidin, but this is all pilsner. The Tettnanger hops are pretty fruity. Good body, evenly balanced between bitterness and sweetness. I've had a stray thought here and there that it's almost too sweet, but mostly it's very quaffable. 

9/6/21: This was overall a good beer and one thta I would drink again. 

5 gallon recipe:

8.5 lb Pilsner (Weyermann)

1 lb Munich light

.25 lb Melanoidin

Wyeast 2633 Octoberfest blend

Festbier 2.0 / helles brew day and tasting

10/4/2020:

When I first sampled the first festbier, I noticed it was pretty fruity. I wondered if it was due to a fermentation issue or the hops. In doing research, I think the fruitiness came from the Tettnanger hops. I did not desire or anticipate such a fruity flavor, so I decided I would brew another version.

This one has slightly more grain and no melanoidin. And it has Hersbrucker hops. And just a touch of Galena to up the bitterness. 

The actual brewing went very smoothly, but I missed my numbers. First, I had just a bit over 5 gallons of wort post-boil. I attribute this to my propane running low midway through the boil. So at least for a few minutes it was not actually boiling. Second, I believe I saw a fair amount of uncrushed grain. This is the second of two sacks of grain I bought at the same time at the same shop. The first beer had that issue as well.

So, instead of 1.058, I ended up at 1.052. This festbier will likely be a helles instead. That's not a big problem, since I love helles, but I don't like not achieving what I set out to do. Beautiful beer though. Nice golden, clear wort. Should make for a tasty helles or festbier or whatever I want to call it!

I also kegged the club Oktoberfest today and added gelatin. It is now in the fridge conditioning. 

3/23/2021:

This second festbier has been in the keg for several months now. Not sure what went wrong, but it just doesn't have the delicious grainy, bready flavor I associate with pilsner malt. I used Avangard pils this time instead of Weyermann. There are a few different possibilities. Either Avangard pils is not as I remember it, there was a fermentation issue, or I was given the wrong malt. I tend to think I was given pale malt instead, since this beer doesn't really have any off flavors and based on other blog posts, Avangard pilsner malt has a similar flavor to Weyermann's.

In the end, it's just not that good of a beer. It really reminds me of Budweiser. It has that similar sweet blandness. I used the same malt in my club Oktoberfest, which had a similar blandness.

8/4/2021:

This beer is still hanging around nearly a year later, which says something about what I think of it. It looks good and smells pretty good, a kind of sweet, bready, malty aroma. But it just doesn't taste that good. It's bland and maybe overly bitter too. On the plus side, it looks great in my new Bierstadt glass that I just got over the weekend in Denver!

---

8.5 lb pilsner

1.75 lb light Munich

Wyeast Oktoberfest blend

Mandarina Bavaria Pilsner

I think I was inspired by a commercial beer, the name of which escapes me. Plus I wanted to play around with Mandarina Bavaria hops, which I had never used. 100% Weyermann pils. Wyeast oktoberfest blend. 5 gallons. I think I used some filtered water from a special tap I have in my house.

Didn't love this beer at first, and I still don't, technically. It has a certain rough bitterness. But the bitterness that is there balances nicely with the malt sweetness. It's also pretty refreshing on a hot day.

Brewed 11/1/20. Kegged 11/17/20.

9 lbs Weyermann Pils

14.2 g Galena hops (15.6 AA) at 60 minutes

2 oz Mandarina Bavaria hops at 5 minutes

43.49 IBU

Tiny Helles tasting

Kegged just two weeks ago, this beer is really hitting its stride. It's crisp and super clear with the aid of gelatin. I've been drinking it steadily and sadly the keg is about empty. That's sort of the downside of 5-gallon batches; by the time the beer is really drinking good, it's nearly gone. I suppose I could wait a little bit longer before drinking it, but I can never resist sampling after kegging a new beer. And it tastes pretty good, I'll just start drinking it, like I did with this one. 

When it was brand new, it had a much stronger grainy, bready flavor. But as it's cleared up, the bready/grainy character is more of a background flavor. No apparent hop flavor, so it's all German pilsner malt. This beer finished at 1.010-12, so based on a 1.040 OG, it's under 4% ABV, perhaps substantially so. The great thing is that you can drink a lot of these and not get overly tipsy. The beer has a fairly moderate body, despite being such a small beer. It's not thin and there are no weird flavors from the touch of chiller discharge water that ended up in the kettle. Aroma is somewhat low, but there are hints of that bready graininess. Overall, this is a great beer and served as a great warmup for the yeast, which has been used in additional beers. Speaking of the yeast, 2633 Oktoberfest, I'm not sure I pick up anything unique about it compared to other lager yeasts I've used. 

Tiny smash Helles

Right before the lockdown hit my community, I rushed to the homebrew store to buy some grain. I intended to try making a Kolsch-like beer with US-05 yeast, but unfortunately I never got around to brewing it. Since then, my kegs have emptied and with plans to make an Oktoberfest beer, I decided I would use this grain to make a small Helles-like lager. 

I went to two different shops looking for a German lager strain, and the only one I could find is Wyeast 2633 Oktoberfest. I had intended to use Wyeast 2308 as I had good luck with it two years ago. I would have settled for 2124 as well, but both were out of stock. I've never used 2633 before and could not find a lot of information about it, but some posts I read on forums indicated it works well.

This is the first beer in my new house and the first non-Pickwick beer I've ever made. Overall, things went pretty smoothly, but I did have a few mishaps. The output end of my wort chiller somehow got in the wort for a second, so that increased the volume. I think I ended up with 5.5 gallons and an OG of 1.040 instead of 1.043. My wort chiller also came apart after one of the clamps evidently loosened. So I had to take it out and put it back together. 

In the end, this beer is a warmup for some Oktoberfest beers I'll be brewing in the coming weeks. Wort tastes pretty good. A little thin. But a good grainy, bready flavor. 

Recipe:

7.5 lbs Weyermann Pils

1 oz Hersbrucker at 60 minutes

2633 Oktoberfest yeast

Brulosophy Tiny Bottom Pale Ale

I rarely brew other people's recipes as I like the feeling of creativity and anticipation I feel when I write and brew my own. However, sometimes it pays to follow something tried and true, as sometimes things don't work out as intended. I scaled down my recipe manually one Saturday afternoon while sitting outside the homebrew shop. I didn't want to make it too complex with weird amounts, so I ballparked it. It's pretty close to the original. I got the ingredients at the brew shop in ozark one Saturday afternoon and tried to quickly scale the recipe out in the parking lot using the brewers friend app. I tried to manually scale the recipe to 5 gallons as best I could while also trying not to make it too complicated for the employee selecting, weighing, and crushing the grains for me. I have some old Fuggles on hand, but decided it’d be best to purchase fresh hops. So I got an ounce of Fuggles and Perle, a hop I’ve never used before. 

I read about this beer a pretty long time ago and somehow it got back on my radar earlier tis year. It sounded like an easy drinking pale ale, which is what I've been wanting to drink lately. Don’t really remember how I decided to add this one to the rotation. I’ve been watching a lot of homebrewing videos lately though, and one channel I subscribe to, clawhammer supply, made this beer. And I had read about it on brulosophy’s site. Anyway, here we are. 

It's the fourth in a series of beers I brewed this past winter, all using a single sachet of US-05. The original recipe calls for a different strain - San Diego Super yeast or something - but I was already using US-05, and it has never let me down.

Routine brew day, although I mixed up some hop additions. I substituted galena for magnum. And the original recipe calls for 1.5 oz or so total, but I had purchased two 1 oz hops packets and didn't feel like keeping around just .5 oz, so I put it all in.

Appearance: Golden, amber. Pretty clear without use of gelatin, just time. Off white, foamy head.

Aroma: Malt. No discernible hops. Bready?

Flavor: moderate body, good balance. Light bitterness. It had some earthy, herbal, noble hop flavor early on but those seem to have faded. It's mostly malt now, with maybe a hint of that herbal flavor in the background. Vienna malt is pretty prominent.

Overall: Very solid beer. I'm glad I brewed it. I like beers that I can drink without being overwhelmed with sweetness, bitterness, or alcohol. This strikes the perfect balance of all three.

Brew date: 2/1/2020

Keg date: 2/16/2020

OG 1.049-50

FG 1.010

~5.25 gallons

US-05