Brew Dudes Homebrewing Blog

Valley Malt – American Pale Ale Experiment

On April 23, 2025

At Brew Dudes, we’re always looking for ways to support local craft and experiment with new ingredients. This week, Mike brewed up a special American Pale Ale (APA) with malt sourced entirely from Valley Malt, one of the original craft maltsters right here in Massachusetts. Thanks to their new online shop, Ground Up, getting their small-batch malt was easier (and cheaper) than ever. Mike got free shipping on 40-pound sacks! With two different malts in hand (Pale 2-Row and Light Munich), Mike put together a simple recipe to see what these local grains are all about.

Look at that APA.

Brewing With Valley Malt: Recipe Details

For this experimental APA, we kept it simple to really let the malt flavors shine. Here’s the full recipe for the brew:

Grain Bill:

80% Valley Malt Pale Two Row
20% Valley Malt Light Munich (8°L)

Hops:

Nugget hops at 60 minutes (for bitterness only)
No late addition or dry hops (so we could taste the malt)

Yeast:

Nottingham Dry Ale Yeast

Mash:

152°F for 75 minutes
Mashout at 168°F for 10 minutes

Batch Details:

3.5-gallon batch
OG: 1.046
FG: 1.010
ABV: ~4.7%
IBUs: ~33
SRM: ~4.5

Mike wanted a clean fermentation to highlight the base malt character, and that’s exactly what he got. No fancy hop aromas or complicated schedules — just good old-fashioned malt-forward beer.

Tasting Notes and Next Steps

This little APA turned out to be a great way to showcase what Valley Malt brings to the table. The beer poured a light golden color and gave off a distinct cereal and biscuit flavor. The flavors are more reminiscent of English pale ales than the super-clean American versions we’ve brewed with bigger maltsters like Briess. The Munich definitely adds a touch of richness, but the backbone is all about that locally malted Pale 2-row. It’s got just a bit more character compared to standard American malts.

From here, the possibilities are wide open. Mike is already dreaming of using this malt combo as a base for a classic American pale ale loaded with C-hops, or maybe even tweaking it into a brown ale recipe. And since Mike impulsively bought a full sack of light Munich, you better believe a Munich-forward summer lager might be coming down the pipeline soon. Stay tuned for more local malt experiments are definitely on the way.

Brew ON!

Simcoe Hops SMaSH Beer Review and Tasting

By John Krochune

On April 16, 2025

In Hops, Videos

Sometimes you think you know a hop, and then it surprises you. That’s exactly what happened when Mike and I finally brewed up a SMaSH (Single Malt And Single Hop) beer with Simcoe hops. We’d somehow skipped over it in our series even though we’ve used Simcoe in many IPAs over the years. Thanks to a few viewers who called us out (you know who you are), we circled back and gave this classic hop its own spotlight.

It’s about time!

Simcoe Hops SMaSH Beer Recipe

As always with our SMASH experiments, we kept it simple so the hop could shine on its own. Here’s how we brewed it:

Batch Size: 1 gallon
Malt: 2 lbs Pale Malt
Water Volume: 2 gallons
Hops: 1 oz (28g) of Simcoe hops

3.5g @ 60 minutes (bittering addition)
17.5g @ whirlpool (10 minutes at 180°F)
7g dry hop (after cold crashing for a day)

We fermented as usual and gave it a quick crash before packaging.

The Tasting Notes

Well, Mike was surprised and pleasantly so. He expected Simcoe to be more resinous, dank, maybe even a little diesel-y. Those West Coast IPAs from 10 – 15 years ago had those flavors.

What we got instead was a subtle, sweet, fruity character. The aroma had a muted, candied pineapple vibe. It was like dried pineapple or a pineapple hard candy. On the flavor side, there were hints of underripe white peach and citrus peel, but nothing overly sharp or tart. Just a nice, mellow profile with soft bitterness and a really clean finish.

This particular lot (2024 harvest from Yakima Valley Hops, 14.4% AA) felt more refined than we remember. It makes me think this hop really shines when used as a late addition or dry hop. It’s less of a bittering workhorse and more as a flavor booster.

We would use it again – We’re putting it it on our list of go-to hops for building a balanced IPA base.

BREW ON!

A generated image of two Irish beers: an Irish Red Ale and an Irish Stout. Only the tops of the pint glasses are visible to see the detail of each beer's head.

2025 Irish Beers – Recipes and Tasting Notes

By John Krochune

On April 9, 2025

In Experiments, Recipes, Videos

Every year around St. Patrick’s Day, Mike throws a big family meal at his house with corned beef, cabbage, and other Irish-American foods. Of course, he is in charge of the beer. For 2025, he decided to brew two classic Irish styles: a red ale and a stout. What made this year different was trying to take a single base recipe and branch it off into two different beers. Let’s see how his plan turned out.

Irish Beers – the 2025 edition

One Base Recipe For Two Styles

At the core each recipe was Maris Otter and flaked barley, and using Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale yeast.

2025 Irish Red Ale

Grains:
Maris Otter – 85%
Flaked Barley – 11%
Extra Special Malt (130°L) – 3%
Roasted Barley – 1.5%

Hops:
60-minute addition of a 50/50 blend of Bramling Cross and East Kent Goldings

Yeast:
Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale Yeast

Process and Outcomes:
Mash at 147°F to 152°F over 40 minutes, mash out at 168°F for 20 minutes

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

2025 Irish Stout (Chocolate-Malt Variant)

Grains:
Maris Otter – 73%
Flaked Barley – 11%
Dark Chocolate Malt (450°L) – 10%
Pale Chocolate Malt – 4%
Crystal 60 – 2%

Hops:
Same as above, 60-minute addition of Bramling Cross and EKG

Yeast:
Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale Yeast

Process and Outcomes:
Mashed at 155°F for 45 minutes, mash out at 168°F for 15 minutes

Original Gravity: 1.054
Final Gravity: 1.018
ABV: 4.7%

The 2025 Irish Beers Notes

Both beers came out nicely, though very different despite sharing some ingredients. The Irish red was smooth and malty with a firm hop presence that came through a bit more than in the stout. The flaked barley added a good mouthfeel, and the hops had a slight earthy, minty quality.

The stout was where another experiment came in. Without roasted barley, Mike was curious how much “stout character” would come from just chocolate malts. The outcome was positive. There was a distinct roastiness from the dark chocolate malt. Thankfully, it lacked the sharpness or ashy notes you get from roasted barley. It was smoother overall, which we liked.

Hopefully, there is still some on tap when we tasted the stouts from the 14th pick.

BREW ON!

Elani Hops Revisited – American Pale Ale Rebrew

By John Krochune

On April 2, 2025

In Experiments, Hops, Videos

Back in September 2024, we brewed a SMaSH beer featuring Elani hops, and our evaluation of the variety was not flattering. The descriptors on the package didn’t match what ended up in our glass, and we shared our honest take.

Well, that caught the attention of Yakima Quality Hops who graciously offered to send us a fresh batch of Elani.

With multiple products in hand, we decided to give the hop variety a second shot. I crafted a full-on American Pale Ale to revisit Elani. Using a more layered malt base, we’ll see if we can tease out more of its potential.

Elani hops revisited and re-brewed.

Elani Hops APA Recipe

This time around, I brewed what we’re calling the Elani APA, using Cryo hops. The recipe is a little more complex from our typical SMaSH experiments.

Ingredients

Water:
Spring water
2 grams of gypsum per gallon

Grain Bill:
85% Pilsner malt
15% Flaked barley

Hops:
All Elani Cryo hops (13.6% AA)
Bittering: Add enough for 60 minute boil to reach 30 IBUs
Whirlpool: 5x the bittering charge at 170°F (77°C)
Dry hop: 2x the bittering charge for 1 day at 40°F (4°C)

Yeast:
Wyeast 1318 London Ale III

Procedures

Mash: 1 hour at 150°F
Boil: 1 hour
Primary Fermentation: 10 days at 72°F (22°C)
Cold crash: 1 day
Dry hop: 1 day

Outcomes

Original Gravity: 1.050
Final Gravity: 1.012
ABV: ~5%

Was It Worth the Rebrew?

Absolutely. This time around, the beer came out clean, bright, and surprisingly citrusy. The dominant aroma and flavor notes were lime zest with a bit of lemon. It had some soft earthiness, and a fleeting note of cucumber or even coconut flesh.

It wasn’t the tropical bomb that Elani is sometimes described. Mike and I didn’t really pick up much of the guava or pineapple that’s mentioned in the official descriptors, but the lime character was solidly present.

Compared to our first try with standard T90 pellets, this batch was worlds better. Cryo hops clearly reduced some of the vegetal harshness we got the first time. I could see Elani working nicely in a supporting role alongside hops that bring more of the tropical fruit action, or even in a blend for a New England IPA. On its own, it’s drinkable and unique—zesty without being overwhelming, and interesting enough to keep sipping.

BREW ON!

Homebrew Jar of Destiny: The Fourteenth Pick

By John Krochune

On March 26, 2025

In Style Profiles, Videos

Is there something thrilling about leaving your next homebrew up to chance?

Maybe.

These Brew Dudes let the Homebrew Jar of Destiny force us to brew styles we might not otherwise attempt. For our 14th pick, we let fate guide us once again. This time, the jar handed us two stout styles: a 15B Irish Stout for me and a 16C Tropical Stout for Mike.

I guess stout season is not wrapping up for us.

15B – Irish Stout

We have been drinking these for many years. Now, it’s time to brew a spectacular version of one. I have brewed a couple of these in my life. They have been ok but I am up for the challenge. The true measure of success for this Jar of Destiny pick will be to impress Brew Dude Mike. If that happens, rest assured that my Irish Stout is tremendous.

16C – Tropical Stout

Mike, on the other hand, will be tackling a Tropical Stout. It’s a style neither of us has brewed before. While Irish Stouts are dry and roasty, Tropical Stouts lean towards the sweeter side, originally brewed to suit warmer climates. Arguably an underappreciated style, Mike is diving into the guidelines to figure out how to balance the malt sweetness with just the right level of roast and body.

Wrapping It Up

So, the Jar of Destiny has spoken—stouts are on the horizon! We’ll check back in a few months when both beers are ready for tasting. Until then, we will be researching these styles. Let us know if you’ve ever brewed a Tropical Stout as Mike has asked for some pointers!,

Cheers and Brew on!

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