Brew Dudes Homebrewing Blog

Alt and Oatmeal Stout Brew Night

On October 16, 2012

Ok, so a small miracle happened late Friday afternoon. The brewing ingredients that I ordered from Northern Brewer appeared at my doorstep only 2 days later than UPS stated they did. There was much rejoicing and maybe some forgiveness.

Although our Friday night plans had been thwarted; the Saturday night plans stayed golden, Ponyboy. It was time for an Alt and Oatmeal Stout Brew Night.

I brewed a Dusseldorf Alt with my homegrown hops.

Brew Dude Mike brewed an oatmeal stout that he split in half and pitched two different yeast strain into two separate fermentors.

Take a look at some of the photos from the session:

After the session, I brought all my equipment and fermentor back to my house. I aerated the wort while I cleaned up and stored everything back into its proper place.

The yeast starter had been taken out of the fridge and had warmed up somewhat. The yeast clung to the bottom of my glass jug. I had to swirl it vigorously to get all the critters back in suspension. I pitched it and went to bed.

When I got up the next morning, signs of fermentation were apparent. The same milky white head that I have seen on lager fermentations was present. I checked it again at the 18 hour mark and the airlock was clacking away with a nice hop aroma coming out of it. Exciting stuff!

Homebrewing Ingredients Delivery Mishap

By John Krochune

On October 12, 2012

In General

These two Brew Dudes were supposed to have an epic (ok – just slightly less than epic) brew session tonight. At the end of it, we would have a Dusseldorf Alt with homegrown hops and an 8 gallon oatmeal stout batch that would be split in half, racked to two separate vessels, and fermented using two different yeast strains.

Alas, not tonight. UPS has done me wrong. I have had a homebrewing ingredients delivery mishap.

I can’t say I know what happened. In the eyes of Brown, they have delivered the malts I bought from Northern Brewer. The online proof of delivery states they left it on my porch but it was nowhere to be found when I got home from work. I have three porches and all of them were clear of any boxes.

My wife was home at the time and no delivery was made.

So instead of focusing on the yes-we-did/no-you-didn’t argument (slightly better than a he said/she said one), I am stuck with solving the stone cold fact if not having any malts to brew my Altbier.

A frustrating situation to be sure, but I think it’s impacting me more because I want to have this Alt done by Thanksgiving. It’s becoming a sort of tradition to have the homegrown hop beer ready for that holiday.

Traditions – why do you have to do them every year?

Let’s solve the problem: The latest solution I have is to buy the malts again – somewhere nearby where I can physically take them home with me and brew some time soon. Man, I hate paying for something twice.

The package has been reported lost and UPS is searching for it. I guess if they find it, they will deliver it to me. Northern Brewer has told me they would ship out another box if UPS can’t find it, which is awesome. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.

If they do send out another shipment (and it actually gets to me), I will have to figure out what malts I can use for the Dopplebock that I plan to brew before the end of the year. I guess I could brew another Alt but I would rather stick to the plan…

Until this sitch is resolved, my mood remains to be:

Have you ever had a homebrewing supplies shipment go missing?

UPDATE: UPS came through and delivered my package late Friday afternoon a few hours after this post went up.

The lost package tracer did work!

Click here for the sorta epic brew session.

Düsseldorf Alt Recipe

By John Krochune

On October 8, 2012

In Recipes

Another homegrown hop harvest is complete and this year, I got a good yield of aroma hops. Although similar to the Northern German Alt recipe, this one has more hops in it. Note the late boil addition. I’ve wanted to brew an Alt for a while.

The recipe below is what I would use if I were buying hop pellets from the shop. Since I am going to use homegrown hops, I am not sure of the alpha acid content and I am not going to find out. I am taking a leap of faith. Plus, I am not using Hallertauer for my 30 minute addition; I am using Mt. Hood – which is similar but not the same. Again, if I didn’t have all these hop cones in my freezer – I would follow this recipe.

Düsseldorf Alt Recipe:

Recipe Version: All grain
Boil Volume: 6.5 gal
Batch Size: 5 gal

Ingredients:

8 lbs Pilsner Malt
1.5 lbs Munich 10°L Malt
0.5 lbs CaraMunich® 60°L
3 oz Carafa Type II
0.5 oz Magnum (14.5% AA) boiled 60 mins
0.5 oz Hallertauer (4.50% AA) boiled 30 mins
Yeast: White Labs WLP036 Dusseldorf Alt

Predictions:

Original Gravity: 1.051
Terminal Gravity: 1.012
Color: 15.93 °SRM
Bitterness: 43.7 IBUs
Alcohol (%volume): 5.1 %

Instructions:

Mash at 150° F for 60 minutes. According to Jamil, you should keep your evaporation rate in check for this style. I plan to boil not as vigorously as I usually do. Chill to 60° F and pitch yeast from a 3 liter starter. Ferment at 60° F for 2 weeks. Style calls for a lagering period so I plant to rack to a secondary vessel and lager for 4 weeks at 35° F. Bottle/keg and carbonate to 2.5 volumes.

Motueka Hops

By John Krochune

On October 3, 2012

In Hops

You searched for it so you get it – Motueka Hops!

This variety is closely related to the other New Zealand aroma hop – Riwaka hops

They were bred by HortResearch and are a combination of Saaz (one-third) and NZ varieties (two-thirds).

Originally named “Belgian Saaz” because a famous Belgian brewery chose to use them in one of their beers. The name was then shorted to B Saaz because they aren’t really fro Belgium.

Motueka is the name of a town in New Zealand, which is near the town of Riwaka.

Aroma: Motueka hops have a noble aroma with citrus/tropical fruit notes. Lemon and Lime with the spiciness of Saaz.

Alpha Acid: 6.5 to 7.5%

Typical Usage: Pitched as a dual purpose. Could make an interesting single hop brew.

Beer Styles: Since I just brewed a Bohemian Pilsner, I think they would make for a punchy version of the style. English Bitters were mentioned. Belgian Ales.

How Long To Lager

By John Krochune

On September 27, 2012

In Brew Log, General

If you follow this blog, we have been becoming masters of lagers. I still have a dopplebock to brew but that will be the seventh brew of the series and we only set out to brew 6.

The topic of lagering time came up in conversation as we were drinking a very fresh Munich Helles that Mike had in his keg.

Although it was a little hazy, the beer tasted great – soft, crisp, bready/grainy.

It got us to thinking – if we’re pitching a mighty amount of healthy, clean yeast into the wort, does one need the lengthy 2 month lagering time for light lagers or lagers of a medium starting gravity in the 1.050 to 1.060 range?

Yeah, the Munich Helles could have been clearer and that would have been accomplished with time with the beer stored at lager temperatures, but why wait when the beer tastes great? If the appearance is a minor attribute to your enjoyment of the beer, why lager longer than 2 weeks?

So I guess the main question is: How long do you lager?

But also:

Have you experimented with lagering times?

Does lagering really need to be at least 4 weeks?

Please leave your comments below.