Brew Dudes Homebrewing Blog

A beautifully crafted Irish Stout sitting on a countertop just waiting to be enjoyed.

Irish Stout – Jar of Destiny

On June 11, 2025

It’s time for another Jar of Destiny beer. This round, we brewed a classic Irish stout. We followed the 2015 BJCP guidelines for 15B Irish Stout, focusing on a balanced roasted flavor with a dry finish. I tried a couple of new things with this batch, including a step mash and grinding the roasted barley to a fine powder. Here’s how it went.

Irish Stout JoD Recipe

Batch Size – 5 US Gallons

Water:
Half Distilled / Half Filtered Tap with a half Campden tablet for good measure

Grains:
7 Pounds of Crisp British 2-Row Malt
2 Pounds of Flaked Barley
1 Pound of Roasted Barley, ground to a fine powder (quite hydrophobic)

Hops:
2 Ounces of Kent Goldings hops (5.2% AA), 60 minute boil

Yeast:
1 packet of Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale (1 liter starter)

Instructions:
Mashed at 120°F (49°C) for 15 minutes
Mashed at 150°F (66C) for 75 minutes
Mashed Out at 170°F (77°C)

Boiled for 75 minutes

Chilled to 62°F (17°C) and pitched starter.
Fermented for two weeks, slowly rising the temperature. Kegged and slowly carbonated for two weeks

Outcome:

Original Gravity: 1.044
Final Gravity 1.010
ABV: 4.46%

Here’s a photo of the ground up roasted barley.

Roasted Barley ground up into a fine powder in a blue bowl. This recipe called for this ingredient to be processed differently so that the color and flavor of the beer would suit the guidelines.

It looks like cocoa powder.

Final Thoughts

This Irish stout turned out exactly how I hoped. It’s simple, dry, and easy to drink. It has enough depth to keep things interesting. The grain bill didn’t need adjustments. The classic 70-20-10 blend provided a perfect foundation. Fermentation was clean, producing a smooth mouthfeel. It offered subtle roast and chocolate notes without harsh bitterness. Grinding the roasted barley into a fine powder didn’t create excessive roast character. Instead, it introduced pleasant chocolate hints and a nuanced coffee aroma. I also tried a step mash. Paired with a healthy yeast starter, fermentation was quick and effective. Overall, this stout embodies exactly what I enjoy about the style. It’s balanced, flavorful, and sessionable for everyday drinking in any season. I’d confidently brew this recipe again. The simplicity is what makes Irish stout so enjoyable.

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
Check out the Pale Kellerbier post
Check out the Belgian Pale Ale post
Check out the Trappist Single post
Check out the Classic Style Smoked Beer post
Check out the Czech Amber Lager post
Check out the Gueuze post

Scottish Heavy Recipe and Tasting Notes

By John Krochune

On June 4, 2025

In Recipes, Style Profiles, Videos

Mike took a family trip to Scotland and had a handful of memorable pints. When he got home, he realized it’d been way too long since I brewed any Scottish ales. He wasn’t sure why. He loves those easy drinking, low carbonation, packed with malty flavor beers. He decided to try his hand at a Scottish Heavy, a style that sits right in the middle between the Scottish Light and the Export. Long time homebrewers might remember the old BJCP naming convention with schilling in the title. This beer is also known as a Scottish 70-Shilling ale. With his plan set, Mike brewed his recipe and brought to the studio to taste.

Scottish Heavy Homebrew Recipe

3.5 US Gallon Batch Size

Water:
Mostly tap, with Campden and ½ tsp gypsum

Grain Bill:
72% Maris Otter
13% Crystal 80
13% Flaked corn
1.7% Roasted barley

Hops:
0.5 ounces of Target (60 min) – 17 IBUs

Yeast:
Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale

Instructions:

Mash at 154°F for 45 minutes with ramp up to mash out at 60 minutes.
Fermented at basement temperatures for 2 weeks.
Forced carbonated to a low level for cask/pub ale vibes

Outcomes:

OG: 1.042
FG: 1.005
ABV: ~4%

Our Impressions

Tasting this beer took Mike right back to a cozy Scottish pub. It had a nice amber, tea color. The aroma was full of bready malt and the low carbonation makes you want to keep sipping. The Maris Otter malt is the star, layered with deeper caramel notes from the Crystal 80.The “just enough” roasted barley brought a beautiful color without any roasted flavors. Lastly, the flaked corn rounds out the mouthfeel, making it smooth and a little lighter than you might expect.

There’s barely a whisper of hops, just enough to keep the malt in check. There is no peat and no smoke. It’s just classic, clean, easy-drinking malt-forward beer. Mike thinks bottle conditioning or serving on cask would push it even closer to the real deal. Even force carbonated and kegged, it’s the kind of beer you want on tap all fall and winter long (or late spring!) If you’re a fan of pub session ales, give this one a shot and let us know what you think.

BREW ON!

Cashmere, Calypso, & Mandarina Bavaria Hops IPA

By John Krochune

On May 28, 2025

In Hops, Recipes, Videos

In this post, we discuss Mike’s latest homebrewed IPA. It showcases the unique characteristics of three distinct hop varieties: Cashmere, Calypso, and Mandarina Bavaria. His goal was to explore how these hops contribute individually and collectively to the beer’s flavor profile. The video provides an overview of our brewing process and the insights we gained from this experiment.

3 Hops IPA Recipe

As Mike said, this is his “standard, sort of go-to IPA recipe” base.

Batch size: 3.5 US Gallons

Grain Bill:
6 pounds (2.72 kg) of Pilsner Malt
1 pound (0.45 kg) of White Wheat Malt
4 ounces (113 g) of CaraPils Malt
4 ounces (113 g) of Honey Malt

Hops:
0.36 ounces (10 g) Nugget hops added at 60 minutes to go in boil

0.36 ounces (10 g) Cashmere hops added at 10 minutes to go in the boil
0.36 ounces (10 g) Calypso hops added at 10 minutes to go in the boil
0.36 ounces (10 g) Mandarina Bavaria hops added at 10 minutes to go in the boil

0.64 ounces (18 g) Cashmere hops – Whirlpool addition at 180°F (82°C) for 20 minutes
0.64 ounces (18 g) Calypso hops – Whirlpool addition at 180°F (82°C) for 20 minutes
0.64 ounces (18 g) Mandarina Bavaria hops- Whirlpool addition at 180°F (82°C) for 20 minutes

1.0 oz (28 g) Cashmere hops – Dry hop addition for 3 days
1.0 oz (28 g) Calypso hops – Dry hop addition for 3 days
1.0 oz (28 g) Mandarina Bavaria hops – Dry hop addition for 3 days

Yeast:
1 packet of LalBrew Pomona Hybrid IPA Dry Yeast

Brewing Notes:
Mash at 145°F (63°C) for 40 minutes
Mash at 155°F (68°C) for 15 minutes
Mash at 168°F (76°C) for 15 minutes (Mash Out)
Boil for 60 minutes, following the hop schedule above
Cool wort to 68°F (20°C) and pitch yeast
Ferment at 68°F (20°C) for two weeks
Cold crash after primary fermentation
Dry hop for 3 days

Outcomes:
Original Gravity (OG): 1.066
Final Gravity (FG): 1.015
Estimated ABV: 6.69%

Our Tasting Notes

This IPA finished dry at 1.015 but drank even drier. It with a surprisingly soft mouthfeel. The combination of the malt bill and the Pomona yeast strain seemed to create a smooth, almost pillowy texture. It reminded Mike of a Kölsch. Certainly not in flavor, but how the beer sat on the palate. Fermentation was clean with a subtle ester profile. Overall, the beer came out well-attenuated and easy to drink.

This hop blend was chosen for its potential to showcase citrus and tropical fruit notes. What we actually got leaned more toward citrus pith and tangerine, especially from the Mandarina. The Calypso didn’t contribute much of its advertised pear or melon character. Mike talked about how hop flavor can shift over time. As varieties age or respond to different growing conditions, the flavor profile can change.

In this beer, the Pomona yeast didn’t deliver a bold fruit-forward punch. It offered something worth exploring further. Its impact on mouthfeel and fermentation performance was clear. We are curious how it would compare side-by-side with a more expressive strain. This was a solid, drinkable IPA with balanced bitterness and restrained hop character. It was not a fruit bomb, but something Mike would revisit with a few tweaks.

BREW ON!

Simcoe and Centennial Hops American Pale Ale

American Pale Ale With Simcoe & Centennial Hops

By John Krochune

On May 21, 2025

In Hops, Recipes, Videos

When you have a big bag of locally grown malt, you have to use it. Mike recently brewed up an American Pale Ale, and we’re excited to share the journey with you. This brew was one of the last ones Mike brewed following his cold weather, no chill brewing method this year. He aimed for a classic American Pale Ale profile that’s bright, hoppy, and refreshing. Let’s dive into the details of the recipe and our tasting experience.

Brewing the Simcoe & Centennial APA

Mike kept the grain bill straightforward, using Valley Malt Pale Malt and a touch of Munich to provide a solid backbone for the hops. The simplicity of the malt bill allows the hops to shine, which is exactly what we wanted. Here’s the recipe he followed:

Simcoe & Centennial American Pale Ale

Batch size: 3.5 US gallons

Grain Bill:

83% Valley Malt Pale Malt (~2°L)
17% Valley Malt Light Munich (~8°L)

Hops:
2 ounces of Simcoe hops at flameout
2 ounces of Centennial hops at flameout
1 ounce of Simcoe hops – dry hopped for 3 days at 45°F
1 ounce of Centennial hops – dry hopped for 3 days at 45°F

Yeast:
1 packet of LalBrew Nottingham English Ale Dry Yeast

Process:
Boil:
40-minute boil for gravity and sanitation

Mash Schedule:
40 minutes at 148°F for
15 minutes at 168°F (mash out)

Fermented at 20°C for two weeks.

Outcomes:

Original Gravity: 1.048
Final Gravity: 1.013
ABV: 4.6%

Tasting Notes

Right off the bat, the aroma was surprisingly fruity for a beer with hops added only at flameout and during dry hopping. We picked up notes of papaya, apricot, and clementine, along with a noticeable lemon rind character. That brightness worked well with the lightly malty backbone provided by the Munich malt.

The bitterness was balanced and restrained, which is interesting considering the no-chill approach and the full hop addition happening at flameout. Mike was looking to see how much flavor and bitterness could pull out without a traditional bittering charge and it worked. We likened it to a reverse first wort hopping technique, where hops are steeped at high temperature without a boil, preserving aroma without blowing out flavor.

Simcoe and Centennial ended up being a strong pairing. The Centennial provided citrus and orange peel notes, while Simcoe brought in subtle tropical tones without the overwhelming dankness we expected. The Nottingham yeast may have also contributed to some esters and biotransformation character that enhanced the overall fruitiness.

This was a solid APA that hit the mark in terms of flavor, balance, and drinkability. Mike is going to keep playing with this malt and hop combination to see where else it can go.

BREW ON!

Lager Yeast Showdown: W-34/70 vs. S-23 vs. S-189

By John Krochune

On May 14, 2025

In Videos, Yeast

In this video, Mike and I dive into a head-to-head-to-head taste test of three popular dry lager yeast strains: W-34/70, S-23, and S-189. All of them come from Fermentis, and we wanted to find out how different or similar they really are when brewed under the same conditions. This experiment came straight from a viewer request (cheers to that!), and we set it up to keep everything the same but the yeast so we could really focus on how each one performed.

The Brew Setup: Same Wort But 3 Yeast Strains

For this comparison, I brewed a single wort using American 2-row malt and a combination of Hallertauer and Loral hops for some noble hop flavor. I used spring water to keep the profile clean and neutral.

Here’s the homebrew recipe I followed:

Batch Size: 4 gallon boil; transferred into 3 one-gallon jugs

Water:
Spring water

Grain Bill:
100% American 2-Row Pale Malt

Hops:
1 ounce (28 g) of Hallertau hops (2.4%AA)
0.5 ounces (14 g) of Loral hops (10.5%AA) 30 minutes to go in the boil

Yeast:
Jug A: SafLager S-189
Jug B: SafLager W-34/70
Jug C: SafLager S-23
Yeast Amount: 3 grams per jug

Process:
Fermentation Temp: 65°F for one week
Lagering: 1 week in the fridge before tasting

We fermented all three beers at ale-like temps (65°F), which is totally doable with modern dry lager strains, especially W-34/70. The result? Fast fermentation, minimal off flavors, and beers that were ready to sample within two weeks.

The Results: Subtle Differences and a Clear Favorite

So how did they taste? Honestly, we were surprised by how distinct each one turned out.
S-189 (Beer A) gave us a soft nose, doughy aroma, and clean malt character. It a yeast we would like to try again in a Baltic Porter or malty lager.
W-34/70 (Beer B), the crowd favorite, delivered the cleanest, most balanced beer. It really let the noble hop character shine and had the best drinkability. That’s probably why Mike keeps coming back to it in his own brewing. It just works.
S-23 (Beer C) had a stronger bite and a lingering aftertaste, likely due to its ester-friendly profile. I’d consider it for styles where a little extra complexity is welcome, maybe even a tropical stout fermented warm.

In the end, you can make great beer with any of these strains. Your choice may depend on what you’re aiming for. If you want reliable and clean, go W-34/70. If you want something a little more estery or malt-driven, S-23 or S-189 could be the ticket. Cheers to experimenting, learning, and brewing better beer.

BREW ON!