Blonde Ale Gone Bad (BAGB)

Well it's obvious by the name, what was supposed too be a simple brew day went dramatically wrong! So wrong that I will not even begin too document here in this post. But a quick run down would go something like this, no ice, dirty equipment and most importantly I forgot too purchase new strain (batch) of yeast. One of the best things I can say about brewing is the amount of creativity you are aloud too have with YOUR creation. I've never been a person to change my own oil or too even change my own tire. But I will say this I can make delicious great beer.....


Blonde Ale Gone Bad
Blonde Ale

Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (G):                     5.0
Total Grain (lb):                    12.000
Total Hops (oz):                   2.08
Original Gravity (OG):          1.062  (°P): 15.2
Final Gravity (FG):               1.016  (°P): 4.1
Alcohol by Volume (ABV):  6.09 %
Colour (SRM):                     7.3   (EBC): 14.4
Bitterness (IBU):                   17.3   (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%):     70
Boil Time (Minutes):              60

Grain Bill
----------------
11.500 lb American 2-Row (95.83%)
0.500 lb Crystal 60 (4.17%)

Hop Bill
----------------
0.42 oz Willamette Pellet (7.1% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (0.1 oz/Gal)
1.66 oz Styrian Golding Pellet (4.4% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Boil) (0.3 oz/Gal)

Misc Bill
----------------

Single step Infusion at 151°F for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at 64°F with Safale US-05

People's Brewing Company (Old Derby Ale Clone)

Awhile back I did a post regarding People's Brewing and the one time owner Theodore Mack, the first African American owned brewery in the United States and still (to my knowledge and research) the only ever since the closing of the brewery. I decided back in December that I would (if plausible) attempt to find and recreate what I believed to be these national treasures of brewing. The toughest part by fa was locating someone (anyone) who worked at the brewery who had any knowledge of recipes or the process in which these beers were developed, formulated and packaged. With luck and many emails I did find someone in Wisconsin (Madison) who knew of family members who could assist in my crazy research project that consumed my email and weeknights. With her help I was able to obtain two recipes that are from the brewery along with a test recipe that unfortunately was never produced due to the closing of the brewery. Below is the first recipe I attempted "Old Derby Ale".

Recipe Specs

----------------

Batch Size (G): 5.0

Total Grain (lb): 13.500

Total Hops (oz): 1.50

Original Gravity (OG): 1.067 (°P): 16.4

Final Gravity (FG): 1.017 (°P): 4.3

Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 6.58 %

Colour (SRM): 4.2 (EBC): 8.3

Bitterness (IBU): 26.7 (Average)

Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70

Boil Time (Minutes): 60

Grain Bill

----------------

10.500 lb American 6-Row (77.78%)

3.000 lb Flaked Corn (22.22%)

Hop Bill

----------------

1.00 oz Cluster Pellet (5.7% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (0.2 oz/Gal)

0.50 oz Cluster Pellet (5.7% Alpha) @ 20 Minutes (Boil) (0.1 oz/Gal)

Misc Bill

----------------

Single step Infusion at 153°F for 60 Minutes.

Fermented at 64°F with Danstar Nottingham

Though I do not have anyway of obtaining he original beers I would like to think this is a well representation of what Theodore Mack was producing during the height of People's Brewing. A light golden ale with easy characteristics on the tongue that would go well after a long day of work or enjoyed during the city nights with family!

Fruit Beers

Fruit beers! What can you say...Most people hate them or even believe they have no place in beers at all. I on the other hand believe fruit if well placed can even enhance a beer if done with the right fruit combination and recipe process. Slapping fruit into a beer just will not work (trust me I've tried) after many lessons and friends/family telling me to try again I now have a clear understanding of what will work and what fruit helps enhance my beers. Fruits such as cherries, kiwi's, strawberries and even bananas. What's also important is making sure you have a small/medium alcohol presence but is well balanced with the everything else.

Mixed Berry Wheat

Fruit Beer

Recipe Specs

----------------

Batch Size (G): 5.0

Total Grain (lb): 8.800

Total Hops (oz): 1.00

Original Gravity (OG): 1.064 (°P): 15.7

Final Gravity (FG): 1.016 (°P): 4.1

Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 6.29 %

Colour (SRM): 5.4 (EBC): 10.6

Bitterness (IBU): 27.6 (Average)

Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70

Boil Time (Minutes): 60

Grain Bill

----------------

8.300 lb Liquid Malt Extract - Wheat (94.32%)

0.500 lb Crystal 15 (5.68%)

Hop Bill

----------------

1.00 oz Willamette Pellet (7.1% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (0.2 oz/Gal)

Misc Bill

----------------

Fresh mixed berries (frozen then boiled/added 7 days after primary fermentation occurred)

Single step Infusion at 151°F for 60 Minutes.

Fermented at 73°F with Safale US-05

Xmas Beer (2011)

The holidays! Well i'm not much of a holiday person but when given the opportunity to make a holiday beer I suddenly became excited. So with a new found appreciation for being in a holiday spirit I began to formulate a recipe for a holiday beer. With no prior knowledge of this new landscape I completely "winged" it with a little help from "Brewing Classic Styles".

The recipe is as follows:


Xmas 2011 Recipe
Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer

Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (G): 2.4
Total Grain (lb): 3.500
Total Hops (oz): 0.92
Original Gravity (OG): 1.051 (°P): 12.6
Final Gravity (FG): 1.013 (°P): 3.3
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 5.01 %
Colour (SRM): 27.3 (EBC): 53.8
Bitterness (IBU): 45.2 (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes): 90

Grain Bill
----------------
3.000 lb Liquid Malt Extract - Light (85.71%)
0.250 lb Black Patent (7.14%)
0.250 lb Crystal 80 (7.14%)

Hop Bill
----------------
0.42 oz Magnum Pellet (12.5% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (0.2 oz/Gal)
0.50 oz Magnum Pellet (12.5% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Boil) (0.2 oz/Gal)

Misc Bill
----------------

Single step Infusion at 151°F for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at 73°F with Danstar Nottingham

The beer tastes great but has some really low carbonation, The alcohol comes on a small note with the nutmeg and cinnamon coming right at the tip of the tongue. But with time this should wrap up the holiday season on a high note!

"Ego"

Let's face it we all have a "Ego"! The size of of your ego will vary from time too time and it will vary on how an drinks you have consumed during the day and for some who are influencing you at the time!

My latest request was a beer for a friend who needed help, one of the great things of Facebook is that it will allow you to peak into the drinking habits of others. One night while on that randomness of a website one of my dear friends was spotted drinking a Bud Light (oh dear)! I quickly protested and demanded she thew that can way, after probing and thorough questioning I finally was able to button down the source of her drinking habits and I took on the brewing challenge of brewing her own beer (small batch).

The recipe is as follows:

"Ego Ale"

Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (G): 2.4
Total Grain (lb): 4.224
Total Hops (oz): 1.00
Original Gravity (OG): 1.064 (°P): 15.7
Final Gravity (FG): 1.016 (°P): 4.1
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 6.29 %
Colour (SRM): 7.1 (EBC): 14.0
Bitterness (IBU): 16.9 (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

Grain Bill
----------------
3.984 lb Liquid Malt Extract - Light (94.32%)
0.240 lb Crystal 15 (5.68%)

Hop Bill
----------------
0.20 oz Willamette Pellet (7.1% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (0.1 oz/Gal)
0.80 oz Styrian Golding Pellet (4.4% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Boil) (0.3 oz/Gal)

Misc Bill
----------------

Single step Infusion at 151°F for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at 70°F with Danstar Nottingham

The smell comes through with a faint floating smell of strawberries and finishes with a small hop finish, the beer has a great golden ale color and finishes smooth on the tongue.

Contract Brewing (Friend Requests)

For over a year now, I inevitably always here the same over and over, "hey can you make this for me"? Probably so but why? Though I have never replied with that answer (I'm jus way to nice to say no). More often than not I find myself completing these requests but now I hav found mself education my friends who request one of my beers. Whenever I see one of my kick ball friends of fellow co-workers drinking a mass market beer wth no flavor/taste I cringe the very moment that golden liquid hits their lips.

When good ideas (beer) go horribly wrong...

About 6 weeks ago while watching a few (YouTube) videos I came across a video discussing using other types of liquids to use in extract beers or in the grain bill for mashing and other purposes. Later on I watched a video using watermelon in the process instead of using water for the mash/boil process, at the time of the video I was very skeptical of using anything but water. But for fun and only risking 1 gallon on the process I decided to take a risk but with a twist. I thought of the videos on YouTube and watched people used pretty much anything they could extract juice (watermelon, oranges etc) so i decided to use cucumbers (why not?). The recipe is as follows (below)

Grains: 8.5 lbs Dingemans Belgian Pils 1.6L

.5 lbs Gambrinus Honey Malt 28L

Boiled Cucumber peeled and pressed for juice

Hops: 1 oz German Tradition 6.9% AA 60 min

Yeast: Nottingham

Tasting Notes: It's well interesting...well it's horrible and when i say horrible i mean it, i completely misjudged the taste of cucumber in beer, and well i am conceding that this was a first run of the idea, confidence is not high on this one!