Brew Dudes Homebrewing Blog

Muntons Brewery In A Bag Pale Ale Tasting

On May 13, 2020

Ok – here’s the moment you may or may not have been waiting for. Mike showed you how to brew by just adding water. Then, he did a check-in to show us that the bag hadn’t exploded. Now the beer is ready and it’s time to drink it. Here is the Muntons Brewery In A Bag Pale Ale Tasting!

How Did It Taste?

For starters, we knew the beer would be like a cask-conditioned brew. The carbonation was light and the head was pretty non-existent. The color was a nice dark copper to amber. The aroma had some bready notes but also had some notes of green apple.

The bready notes were in the flavor along with the green apple flavor like a Jolly Rancher candy. We thought that this flavor was coming from Acetaldehyde in the beer, probably because the fermentation was incomplete.

Other than that, the beer was drinkable and would be cool to crush with your friends watching a sporting event (if they ever get back to playing professional sports in these COVID days). It’s simplicity and it all-in-one set up makes it a cool gift for someone trying to brew beer at home.

BREW ON!

Comparing Crystal 40°L & 60°L Malt

By John

On May 6, 2020

In General

Mike got his malt experiments going. Here he brewed three beers to make a video where we get to learn more about the differences between Crystal 40°L and Crystal 60°L malts. Take a look at this video!

Malt Experiment Thoughts

Even though we were comparing two malts, Mike brewed a base beer as a starting off point – a foundation to which we could compare the other two beers. The base beer was just a simple beer using Great Western 2-row malt. Then, he brewed one beer with Crystal 40°L malt and one beer with Crystal 60°L malt.

The tasting between the three beers was an interesting process. I learned what flavors the base malt brought to the beer first. Then, I focused on what each of the Crystal malts taste profiles were.

I expected 40 to be “sweeter” than 60 but that really didn’t play out. I don’t think there was much sweetness to the beers with Crystal malt in them. What I found was a milder caramel, burnt sugar flavor in the 40 beer than the 60 beer. The 60 beer had more notes of toast, more of that Mallard reaction, than the 40.

The difference between the two was really quite subtle. This experiment really nailed home that fact that either of the Crystal malts would bring very similar flavor components to your beer. Yes, they were different but just slightly so.

When we start comparing the darker Crystal malts to the lighter ones, then we will detect bigger differences.

BREW ON!

Cloning Hoegaarden From Bottle Dregs – The Tasting

By John

On April 29, 2020

In Experiments, Videos, Yeast

The process of brewing this beer was discussed a few weeks ago – the cultivating of yeast from a six pack of Hoegaarden. If I believed what I read online, I would have not tried this experiment.

“Probably not the same yeast they use for fermentation.”, they said.

“The brewery pasteurizes the bottles before shipping them out.”, they said.

Sometimes, and for my homebrewing life most times, you just have to see for yourself. That’s why we brewed us this Hoegaarden White Beer using the bottle dregs for fermentation.

How Did It Taste?

It sounds like hyperbole but it’s really a fact: this beer is the best Belgian White Ale I have ever brewed. Without question, the dregs gave my recipe something that the other witbiers just didn’t have. There was a silkiness to the mouthfeel, a rockiness to the head, and a yeast-derived flavor component that I haven’t been able to get from commercial examples of the same yeast profile.

Now the first two components on my mini-review above didn’t come from the dregs. No – it came from the flaked wheat that made up 50% of the grain bill. Never again will I use malted wheat for a witbier. I have seen the light and it is clear that this style needs to use flaked wheat.

Mike says I should try to brew this beer again using the dregs from the keg. That is an idea I’d like to try and instead of coriander and bitter orange peel, I’d like to brew it with some chamomile and fresh orange zest. I don’t have a direct line to fresh oranges but maybe with enough time, I can zest a bunch of oranges while the brew kettle is boiling away.

BREW ON!

Mosaic SMaSH Showdown – Cryo vs. Regular

By John

On April 22, 2020

In Hops, Videos

Here’s something that you haven’t been waiting for but you may still be interested in learning more. This post gives us the showdown between Cryo vs. Regular hop pellets. We brewed two simple beers the same way with the only difference being the hops. Check out this video to see and hear our thoughts:

What Did We Think?

Well, it is clear that Cyro hops are what they claim to be – more intense in terms of flavor and aroma. The Mosaic character seemed fresher and more powerful in every component – the aroma, the flavor, and the aftertaste.

Comparing the Cryo beer to the beer brewed with just regular pellets gave us a good understanding of what this processing allows for homebrewers to do. You can definitely use half the amount of Cryo hops in your recipes.

If you’re really looking for the best application, use Cryo hops late in your brewing process. These types of hops are made for the whirlpool portion of your brew day. Add them after flameout for maximum results and awesome taste.

BREW ON!

Muntons BIB Update

By John

On April 15, 2020

In Beginner, Equipment, Videos

Now that we’re two weeks into fermenting with the Brewery In A Bag from Muntons, Mike thought it would be good to provide an update. Here we are with the check on how the bag is progressing with this video:

That Bag is Swole

So after adding water and sealing up the bag, the yeast took off inside with the malt extract mixture. The mylar bag became swollen and Mike was able to have it stand on its own. You can tell that there is enough space for sediment to sit below the spigot, so, in theory, each pour should be clear of the yeast and other particulates at the bottom of the bag.

We continue to wait, following the instructions that came with the bag. Then, we will be able to taste the beer that is fermenting in this thing. Mike’s comment to me last week was, “If I were going to tell someone an easy way to start to brew, this BIB would be it. There no need for equipment – it’s all self contained.”

I think we agree it would be a good place to start, but to stay? I guess we’ll find out.

Brew on!

Check out the tasting video!