Brew Dudes

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Homebrew Jar of Destiny: The Twelfth Pick

We’re back with another pick from the infamous Jar of Destiny! We’ve been doing this for a while now and it’s hard to believe we are on pick number 12! For those of you who are new here, the Jar of Destiny is our way of pushing ourselves to brew outside our comfort zones. We pick a random beer style based on the 2015 BJCP guidelines and use this leap of faith to brew something we might not typically make. Let’s see what the Jar has in store for us in this round!

The 12th Pick!

John’s Pick – 34A Classic Style Smoked Beer

So, I pulled the 32A Classic Style Smoked Beer chip from the Jar. It’s been a while since I’ve brewed a smoked beer, and honestly, I have mixed feelings about it. Smoked beers can be fun, but they’re definitely an acquired taste. You sip on a pint, maybe two, and then you’re ready to move on. That said, I’m thinking of brewing a larger batch just in case we end up hosting a big winter solstice party or something—I mean, the Druids and elves are bound to show up, right? I’ll be diving into the BJCP guidelines to figure out the best approach here, probably leaning on some cherry wood-smoked malt for that nice, balanced smokiness. Stay tuned to see how it turns out.

Mike’s Pick – 26A Trappist Single

While I’m gearing up for the smoky brew, Mike pulled something on a different end of the spectrum—a Trappist Single, style 26A. This is a lower-alcohol Belgian beer that monks would traditionally brew for themselves. Think of it as a table beer: light, crisp, and perfect for everyday drinking at the monastery. It’s not as well-known as some of the heavier Belgian ales, but that’s part of the fun. Mike’s going to dive into the history and brewing techniques for this one, and I’m excited to see what he comes up with. It’s all about getting that subtle balance of flavors, and he’s got a good start with this pick.

All in all, we’ve got our work cut out for us, but that’s the beauty of the Jar of Destiny—pushing ourselves to brew styles we wouldn’t normally try. We’ve got a few months to research, plan, and brew these beers, so stay tuned for updates. Who knows, maybe the smoked beer will surprise me, and Mike’s Trappist Single will turn into a new house favorite. Either way, we’re excited to keep experimenting and sharing our results with you.

Cheers and Brew ON!

Check out the First Pick and the start of it all!
Check out the Second Pick
Check out the Third Pick
Check out the Fourth Pick
Check out the Fifth Pick
Check out the Sixth Pick
Check out the Seventh Pick
Check out the Eighth Pick
Check out the Ninth Pick
Check out the Tenth Pick
Check out the Eleventh Pick

Belgian Pale Ale – Jar of Destiny

We’re back at it with another entry in the Jar of Destiny Challenge, and this time, we brewed a Belgian Pale Ale from the 2015 BJCP guidelines, specifically category 24B. This is the second beer from the 11th of our random picks, and we’re excited to share how it turned out. Belgian Pale Ales are a unique style, balancing some of the expected fruity esters and spicy phenolics of Belgian yeast with more restrained hop bitterness and malt sweetness. In this video, we’ll dive into the recipe, talk about the brewing process, and share our thoughts on the final beer.

Oooh Belgian Pale Ale

Recipe

Batch Size: 3.5 gallons
Style: Belgian Pale Ale (Category 24B)
Original Gravity (OG): 1.052
Final Gravity (FG): 1.009
ABV: ~6%
IBU: Medium (unspecified exact value)
Color: Amber (darker than typical Belgian Pale Ale)

Grains:
Dingemans Pale Ale Malt: 83% (approximately 5.6 lbs or 2.54 kg)
Caravienne Malt: 17% (approximately 1.1 lbs or 0.50 kg)

Hops:
Styrian Goldings (60 minutes): 21 grams
Styrian Goldings (5 minutes): 14 grams

Yeast:
Wyeast 3522 Belgian Ardennes (liquid yeast)

Process:
Mash Temperature: 152°F (66°C) for 60 minutes

Fermentation Temperature: 68°F (20°C)
The beer started fermenting within 8 hours, and the yeast produced a clean profile with balanced esters and phenols. If looking to reduce yeast character slightly, fermenting cooler or under slight pressure might be beneficial.

Starting Gravity (OG): 1.052
Final Gravity (FG): 1.009
ABV (Alcohol by Volume): ~6%

Belgian Pale Ale Tasting Notes

On tasting, this Belgian Pale Ale delivers what we were hoping for: a beautiful amber color, subtle yeast esters, and a balanced blend of malt and hop character. The nose has hints of yeast and floral hop aromas, but the real star here is the malt bill. Caravienne brings a nice brown bread and biscuit quality, with just a touch of brown sugar sweetness. The yeast esters are there, but they’re not overwhelming—everything is in harmony. There’s a touch of sulfur on the aroma, likely due to the beer being a little young.

As the beer warmed up, the flavors continued to meld together, and the balance between malt, hops, and yeast became even more apparent. The beer has a smooth finish and medium body, and at 6% ABV, it’s drinkable but still has enough heft to be satisfying. I think this one will only improve with a little more conditioning time. In a couple of weeks, as the yeast drops out, it should clear up and become even more refined. Overall, this is another strong addition to the Jar of Destiny series.

Brew ON!

Pale Kellerbier – Jar of Destiny

Hey – we are back with more result videos of our Jar of Destiny series. The Pale Kellerbier is the first from our 11th picks. From the 2015 BJCP category 7c, this lager is more of a serving technique than a beer style but it doesn’t matter. We brew in accordance to that year’s guidelines. Check out how we fared this time around in our ongoing homebrew challenge series.

Thanks, Jar.

Pale Kellerbier Recipe

According to the guidelines, this beer is a “very common seasonal summer beer brewed by many of the Munich area breweries and served in the beer gardens…” Reading and researching more, I came up with this recipe.

Yield – 5 gallon batch

Grains:
11 pounds (4.99 kg) of Dingemans Pilsner Malt – 88% of the bill
1 pound (454 g) of Weyermann Vienna Malt – 8% of the bill
8 ounces (227 g) of Dingemans Biscuit Malt – 4% of the bill

Hops:
2 ounces (57 g) of Homegrown Magnum hops (2023 harvest)

Yeast:
1 packet of Saflager W-34/70 Lager yeast
(1 liter starter the day before brew session)

Water:
Spring water with 4 grams of gypsum added to the boil

Instructions:
Mashed grains at 150°F (66°C) for 60 minutes
Boiled for 75 minutes

Hops added with 60 minutes to go in boil
Chilled to 60°F (16°C) and pitched yeast

Fermented in keg for 2 weeks in fridge at 60°F (16°C)
Cold crashed over 3 days – 33°F (1°C)
Closed transfer to clean and sanitized keg.
Forced carbonated to 2 volumes of CO2

Outcomes:
Original Gravity: 1.052
Final Gravity: 1.012
ABV: 5.25%

The Results

This Pale Kellerbier hit all the right notes. On the nose, we got a pleasant mix of graininess, reminiscent of cereal grains with a touch of floral and herbal hops. The taste followed through with a rounded malt sweetness that was balanced by a moderate hop bitterness, giving it just enough bite to keep things interesting. The malt profile brought hints of bread and a subtle nuttiness from the biscuit malt. The beer was crisp and drinkable, with just enough carbonation to make it feel lively on the palate.

One of the standout features was the use of our homegrown Magnum hops. They provided a unique bittering experience that wasn’t overly aggressive but still noticeable, adding a spicy herbal note that lingered pleasantly after each sip. The slight mineral character from the gypsum addition worked harmoniously with the hop profile, enhancing the beer’s overall crispness. Despite its quick turnaround, this Kellerbier showcased the freshness and unfiltered charm that defines the style. It was easy to drink with a refreshing finish.

Overall, we were really pleased with how this Pale Kellerbier turned out. Thanks, Jar of Destiny, for another great brewing adventure. Stay tuned for the next beer in our series!

BREW ON!

Links To The Jar of Destiny Series Results
Check out the British Strong Ale post
Check out the Black IPA post
Check out the International Amber Lager post
Check out the Belgian Tripel post
Check out the Double IPA post
Check out the Kölsch post
Check out the English IPA post
Check out the Wood-Aged Beer post
Check out the Belgian Golden Strong Ale post
Check out the American Amber Ale post
Check out the German Pils post
Check out the Brett Beer post
Check out the Munich Helles post
Check out the Imperial Stout post
Check out the Foreign Extra Stout post
Check out the Belgian IPA post
Check out the Eisbock post
Check out the Czech Dark Lager post
Check out the California Common post
Check out the American Light Lager post

Elani Hops SMaSH Review and Tasting

In this SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hop) experiment, we wanted to test the flavor profile of Elani hops. I picked up 2 ounces from Yakama Valley Hops, though we only used 1 ounce in our typical one-gallon batch. The brew consisted of two pounds of Rahr two-row malt, spring water, and US-05 yeast. After fermenting for about two weeks, we packaged the beer and prepared to dive into what these hops could bring to the table.

Elani hops review!

How We Brewed It

For this brew, I followed our usual hop schedule: 7 grams of Elani hops at the beginning of the boil, another 7 grams at 10 minutes, 7 grams at flameout, and finally 7 grams for dry hopping. Based on the description from the 2022 crop on the Yakama Valley website, we expected aromas and flavors of tropical fruits like pineapple, guava, and lime, along with some stone fruit and citrus. However, when we tasted the beer, it didn’t quite match up to the descriptors. The bitterness was strong and the flavors were dominated by grassy and earthy notes with a touch of celery. Any promised fruit or bright character was completely missing.

Our Final Thoughts

Mike and I both agreed that this batch didn’t live up to our expectations. The Elani hops brought more of a bitter, harsh grassy profile rather than the tropical or fruity notes we had hoped for. Even as the beer warmed up, it failed to develop any of those lighter, delicate flavors. In the end, this batch left us thinking that maybe the selection of hops we received weren’t the best from that crop year. Overall, if you’re looking for tropical flavors, this might not be the hop for you. Hopefully, future crops of Elani will deliver better results, but for now, we’ll be sticking to more reliable varieties for our brewing experiments.

Brew ON!

Pinter Review 3 – Peach Seltzer Kit

Hey! We’re back with another Pinter review. This time, we’re stepping away from beer and trying out their new hard seltzer kits. Recently, our friends at Pinter reached out and asked us to give one of them a shot, so we decided to test their Peach Hard Seltzer kit. They offer two seltzer choices – peach and lemon-lime – and since we’ve worked with lemon-lime in the past, we figured it was time to see how the peach flavor stacks up.

Making A Hard Seltzer On The Pinter

The brewing process for the seltzer is similar to how Pinter’s beer kits work. It starts by adding about a gallon and a half of water to the vessel, then mix in the syrup, which in this case was dextrose. After that, the yeast provided in the kit is added, a clean, neutral strain designed to ferment sugar efficiently.

The fermentation lasted about a week, although I extended it for a couple of days just to be sure. After that, I removed the bottom that collects the trub and added the peach-flavored syrup. Unfortunately, some of the extract leaked out when I put the screw top back in place, so I’m not entirely sure we got the full flavoring in there. After a week of conditioning, the seltzer was ready to pour!

Final Thoughts on Pinter Peach Seltzer

So, how did it turn out? It’s definitely peachy, though we’d describe the flavor as more of an artificial peach, reminiscent of peach ring candies. There’s a touch of sweetness, likely due to some residual sugars that didn’t fully ferment, and a subtle vanilla note that pairs well with the peach flavor. The seltzer itself is clean and easy to drink, though it’s slightly cloudy—something that could have been improved with a cold crash, which I skipped this time around. All in all, it’s a fruity, enjoyable seltzer. If you’re looking for something different to brew in your Pinter, this could be a fun and refreshing option.

Cheers!

If you’re looking to get a Pinter for yourself, you can use this offer.

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