Brew Dudes Homebrewing Blog

Brett Beer – Jar of Destiny

On June 28, 2023

We wrap up this round of the Jar of Destiny challenge with two beers for the price of one. The category is 28A that is simply Brett Beer. The guideline for this category stipulate that you are to brew a known beer style and then ferment with brettanomyces. Well, that’s what Mike did. He brewed a Belgian Dubbel and then fermented half of the batch with Brett. Let’s see how both beers turned out.

Belgian Dubbel With Brett Recipe

Base Beer:

11 pounds of Belgian pilsner malt
12 ounces of Aromatic malt
8 ounces of Biscuit malt
8 ounces of Caravienne malt
1.5 ounces of Carafa Special III malt (for color)
1 pound of D90 syrup
1 pound of table sugar

Yeast:

WYeast 1762 Belgian Abbey yeast

Brettanomyces Fermentation:

After three days of WYeast 1762 fermentation with the Belgian Abbey yeast, add Brettanomyces bruxellensis to one of the beers. Allow the beer to ferment with Brettanomyces for about a month and a half.
ABV: 7.75%.

The Comparison

The non-Brett base beer Belgian Dubbel, is dry with a nice copper-amber color. It has a pleasant flavor profile with dark fruit notes. The beer fermented with Brettanomyces is noticeably different. The dark fruit flavors are muted, and instead, it has a pleasant tinge of leather and a slightly spicier and more phenolic quality. The finish is cleaner, making it more drinkable compared to the base beer. The Brett beer has a refined flavor profile. A “smoothing out” of the strong flavors of the base beer makes it highly drinkable and enjoyable. With more time, the Brett character may mature even further. Mike’s plan is to bottle the beers with priming sugar to allow for aging and see how they develop over time.

If you are looking to brew for a competition, understand that the guidelines emphasize the beer should have Brett fermenting as a companion organism rather than a solo organism. The subcategory falls under the larger BJCP category of American Wild Ales. When considering judging guidelines, the focus is on how well the Brett character plays with the base style. The judges will be looking for a harmonious integration of the Brett character. In this case, we feel like the Brett character plays well with the Belgian Dubbel style, resulting in a unique and highly drinkable beer.

BREW ON!

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
Check out the Irish Stout post
Check out the Tropical Stout post
Check out the Schwarzbier post
Check out the American Wheat Beer post

German Pils – Jar of Destiny

By John Krochune

On June 21, 2023

In Brew Log, Style Profiles, Videos

Welcome to another exciting episode of the “Jar of Destiny” series! In this installment, they delve into German Pils, categorized as 5D on the 2015 BJCP guidelines. As per usual, we will discuss our process, the recipe, and the results of this homebrew challenge. Light lagers are hard to brew well at home. Let’s see how we did with this one.

German Pils Recipe

As the overall impression from the BJCP guidelines state, we’re going for a light colored and highly attenuated beer using quality German ingredients. It should finish crisp, clean, and be a refreshing beer.

WATER

Spring water with 7 grams of gypsum added to the boil

GRAINS

91% Weyermann Pilsner malt
9% Briess Carapils malt.

HOPS

1.25 ounces (35 g) of Perle hops (5.1% AA) added with 60 minutes to go in the boil
1 ounce (28 g) of Hallertauer hops (4.0% AA) added with 20 minutes to go in the boil
1 ounce (28 g)of Hallertauer hops (4.0% AA) added at flameout

YEAST

Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager yeast (1 pouch in a 2-liter starter)

DETAILS

Mashed for 1 hour at 148° F (64° C)
Fermented in keg at a temperature: 50°F (10°C) for two weeks
Chilled to 33°F (1°C) for 3 days then closed transferred another keg for more conditioning.
I added gelatin to clarify the beer 3 days before we tasted it on camera.

Original Gravity: 1.050
Final Gravity: 1.012
ABV: 4.99%

Did We Meet The Challenge Of The Jar?

The beer has a medium to medium-low body, with a soft and gentle malt profile. The hop profile includes spicy herbal qualities and we feel it is a balanced hop aroma. The beer shows off its malt and hops qualities in harmony with each other. It is drinkable and slightly malty sweet. Gypsum is used to enhance crispness without imparting a mineral taste. We think this beer pairs well with salty pretzels, bratwurst, mustard, and sauerkraut. With six more weeks of conditioning, the beer will only improve!

Thanks for reading – check out our other Jar of Destiny posts!

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
Check out the Irish Stout post
Check out the Tropical Stout post
Check out the Schwarzbier post
Check out the American Wheat Beer post

BREW ON!

Mexican Style Lager – Brewed With NovaLager Yeast

By John Krochune

On June 14, 2023

In Recipes, Videos, Yeast

As the summer season approaches, you might find your fridge filled with Modelo and Dos Equis brought by friends. We had a couple of things lined up for this episode. First, I purchased ingredients for a German lager, but there’s more. A viewer sent us packages of a new modern hybrid lager yeast called Nova Lager from Alalaman. Intrigued by these developments and the beers in my fridge, I decided to create my own version, a Mexican lager. Let’s dive into the details of the recipe and the brewing process.

A “Couple Of Equis” Mexican Lager Recipe

Using leftover hops from my German Pils and an updated grain bill, I crafted this recipe for a tasty summer beer.

WATER

Spring water with 7 grams of gypsum added to the boil

GRAINS

66% Weyermann Vienna malt
22% Briess Pilsner Malt
11% Flaked Rice
1% Dehusked Weyermann Carafa Special II malt
(These percentages were updated after the fact since I steeped the Carafa Special II malt as the boil got started.)

HOPS

23 g of Perle hops (5.1% AA) added with 60 minutes to go in the boil
12 g of Saaz hops (4.5% AA) added with 20 minutes to go in the boil
28 g of Hallertauer hops (4.0% AA) added with 20 minutes to go in the boil
Whirlpool addition of 28 g of Hallertauer hops (4.0% AA) – I chilled the wort to 185° F (85° C) and let it sit there for 10 minutes before chilling down to fermentation temperatures.

YEAST

1 packet of LalBrew NovaLager yeast

DETAILS

Fermented at 62°F (17°C) for one week
I used of a water bath for temperature control during fermentation
Transferred to the fridge for one week at 33°F (1°C) for yeast settling
When I transferred to the keg, I added gelatin to clarify the beer

Original Gravity: 1.042
Final Gravity: 1.009
ABV: 4.3%

Our Tasting Notes

Off the nose, this beer has a strong Vienna malt aroma. Mike thinks the flavor was toasty and has a mild wheat bread flavor. Overall, the flavor has a clean and relaxed profile with a balanced hop character. He thought the beer’s clarity and color is outstanding and the light body fit the season.

We give two big thumbs up in our review of the LalBrew NovaLager yeast. It fermented fast and cleared very quickly. If you are looking to brew a lager soon, check out this strain!

BREW ON!

The House Brown Ale Series – Part 2

By John Krochune

On June 7, 2023

In Brew Log, Recipes, Videos

Mike has an idea for house beers or beers that you always have on hand for yourself or guests. Creating a house beer allows you to brew a style many times until you get it just right. The latest house beer project is focused on Brown Ale. Back in January, we tasted the first attempt in this series. In this post, we review his second take on house brown ale project. It uses all the adjustments he noted from our discussion of the first one. Let’s get into it.

English Brown Ale 2 – Electric Boogaloo

Vacay Brown Ale Recipe II

Since the first one was brewed during his December vacation time, we’re keeping the name for this next installment.

Batch size: 3.5 US gallons post boil

GRAINS
84% Maris Otter pale malt – 5 pounds or 2.27 kg
5% Chocolate Malt (350° L) – 5 ounces or 142 g
4% Flaked Barley – 4 ounces or 113 g
4% Crisp Light Crystal malt (50° L) – 4 ounces or 113 g
2% Briess Special Roast malt (50° L) – 2 ounces or 57 g

HOPS
1 ounce (28g) of Challenger hops (7.5% AA) at 60 minutes to go in the boil
1.5 ounces (42g) of East Kent Goldings hops (5% AA) at 10 minutes to go in the boil

YEAST
1 packet of Cellar Science Dry English Beer Yeast

WATER
Spring water with 2 g of calcium chloride and 0.5 g of magnesium sulfate added

DETAILS
Mashed at 152° F ( 67° C) for 60 minutes
Fermented for 2 weeks at room temperature
Original Gravity: 1.048
Final Gravity: 1.014
ABV: 4.46%

How Did Take 2 Fare?

Well, Mike nailed the color on this one. It is brown as it should be. The flavor doesn’t have the extra toasty flavor as the first one did since he removed the Extra Special malt from the grain bill. Tasty caramel notes from the Crystal malt take center stage in this beer. The Maris Otter brought bready, biscuit support to the flavor.

Overall, he improved on his recipe. If the house brown ale project continues, the next version may have more bitterness from hops.

Stay tuned and BREW ON!

Drink Or Dump – Checking In On Old Beer Projects

By John Krochune

On May 31, 2023

In Brew Log, Videos

During your homebrewing adventure, some beers will be enjoyed right away while others are aged for a better experience later. In this post, we review some of those aged beers and figure out if they are worth keeping or not. We call this session, “Drink or Dump!”

6 Aged Beers To Taste

We each brought three beers to the party to taste and decide their fate. Here is the judgement of our stashed beers.

Imperial Nut Brown Ale with Cocoa – this beer was brewing in late 2020 and we reviewed it for the first in December of 2021. Imagined as an Imperial Stout, it doesn’t have the color or the roast for the style. The mark on the cap is a simple “SB 2020”, shorthand for special beer. This beer still has potential. We’ll drink it again in December 2023.

Raspberry Cider – This cider is over 10 years old and held up nicely. The aroma has sour beer notes but it is an enjoyable dry cider with raspberry notes. It finished dry and it made our keeper list.

Lambic Style Beer – This sour beer brewed in the style of a lambic is from aa single fermentation. I blended most of the batch with other beers for a nice gueuze we tasted in 2017. Although the gueuze is great, this beer is not. We’re dumping it!

Orange Blossom Mead – This mead from 2012 has a chardonnay aroma and a sweet honey taste. Since it did not have any indication of refermentation, we are surprised how it has held up. Mike may cook with it.

Blended Sour Beer – The beer is the product of blending three sour beers together but I didn’t add a yeast strain like CBC-1 at bottling. It hasn’t carbonated and I thought it would with age. Because of lack of carbonation and weird flabor, it’s getting dumped!

Black Plum Sour Beer – Mike presents the last beer of our set, his sour beer conditioned on black plums. The aroma did not feature plums, but it was strong in the flavor. The beer appeared a little purple too.

That is our wrap-up of our drink or dump session. We are glad you came along.

BREW ON!