The first couple weeks of 2011 I have spent some significant time thinking about my 2011 brewing goals/resolutions. I have come up with a couple revelations that I think I will use to drive my 2011 brewing aspirations:
1. I love brewing. So much so, that I actually love it more than drinking it (GASP! I know). I usually actually have beer sitting around in kegs so long that I never even drink all of it (Double Gasp).
2. I love thinking about recipes. I spend a lot of time pondering what different ingredients really taste like in a finished beer. When I am tasting new beers I wonder things like: Is that chocolate malt? Is this a yeast derived flavor? Is water to blame for this flavor?
3. I love to experiment. More importantly, I like to break apart a system and fully understand it. Get to know the parts and how they all work together.
I was preparing to brew an Oatmeal Stout this month, but I think I am going to change my approach to brewing and put styles on the back burner.
I am going to start doing more brewing for experimental purposes and really focus in on point 2 and 3.
To that end, my first brew session is going to experiment with the core of beer, base malts.
My first series of brews with be small batch (1 gallon) base malt only beers with a single bittering charge of hops. From there I have thoughts on doing a side by side mash temp comparisons, yeast strain comparisons, fermentation temp comparisons, hop flavor comparisons and on and on.
Last year I collected 15 gallon glass jugs out of my neighbors recycling bin of the course of several weeks (apparently someone over there really loves “Rhine Valley” jug wine. Poor souls.) Its time to press these jugs into service and start splitting worts and doing interesting stuff.
I am open to ideas of comparisons you’d like to see tried. After I get rolling with my first couple sessions maybe I’ll attempt to take on some reader ideas as well.
Happy Brewing in 2011. I hope someone else will brew beer for me to drink while I screw around with ingredients and process!
Cheers
BREW ON!
Señor Brew™
Or you could just start a 15-man jug band. Happy New Year!
chris
Well, that should keep you busy. I’ve been comparing british grown fuggles and Kent Goldings with the american varieties. I could keep on doing this all year (flavour vs aroma etc) so i have decided to cram in as much experimentation as possible in the first 6 months then ace the Ohio State Fair homebrew competition English Pale ale category all three styles.
Following the fair I shall relax in the cellar.
Big Rob
I believe that is the only true way to ever fully grasp brewing as a craft and art. I’m a chef by trade, and when I started out as an apprentice it was all about tasting and smelling ingredients, so you get a feel for how things taste, and train your brain to make these unconscious connections between ingredients that tend to play well together.
I started this brewing thing about a year ago, and my first few beers were haphazardly modified recipes I’d found somewhere, some were disastrous, others turned out amazing, I kept concise notes, so replicating my successes hasn’t been the issue. Knowing why the dumped beers were unpalatable, why the good ones were gone in a week, these frustrations led me to the exact conclusion you’ve just written about.
To truly understand, you need to start from the beginning, don’t be in a rush to clone someone elses brew, in the end you’ll end up a better brewer if you have a mental library of flavours and aromas. Definitely keep reaching skyward, just realize it’s much easier with a solid foundation under you.
Mike
I love the ambition and the effort Chris. I am getting tired of thinking I know how ingredients taste with out actually using them in different ways, so I KNOW what they taste like.
chris
Commendable. Are you a scientist?
chris
Ah yes…i see you are…that explains it. The devil is in the details.
Lauren
Are you people married? If I brought 15 of anything home I’d get my ass kicked. Ha ha
John
Yeah, we’re both married. I think Mike must have done something nice that day to get away with it.