Brew Dudes Homebrewing Blog

Homebrew Jar of Destiny: The Fifth Pick

On December 28, 2022

How about that? The Homebrew Jar of Destiny series has been picked up for another year of beer style exploration and homebrewing challenges. The Jar started us on this path early in 2022 and will continue for at least another year. Here are the fifth picks to start off 2023!

The Fifth Pick From The Homebrew Jar of Destiny

What Beer Styles Were Picked?

This time around, we got a couple of interesting selections:

25 C – Belgian Golden Strong Ale

From category 25, it’s another Strong Belgian Ale for me. This time, its the Belgian Golden Strong Ale. It’s similar to the Tripel (see the link below) so I will need to figure out the differences before I brew. I still have some of the former beer so we will need to taste them side by side too.

19 A – American Amber Ale

From the Amber and Brown American Beer category, we have the challenge of brewing an American Amber Ale that can stand out from the beers we have in our memories and the ones that are still available today. Can Mike brew an excellent version of the style? We shall see.

Thanks for following along on this path of homebrewing righteousness. We will have the outcome of our brews before March 31, 2023.

Here are all the links to the JoD series as of the posting date.

See All The Picks

Check out the First Pick and the start of it all!
Check out the Second Pick
Check out the Third Pick
Check out the Fourth Pick

See All The Results

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

Homegrown Hops Harvest Ale 2022

By John Krochune

On December 21, 2022

In Hops, Recipes, Videos

Another year, another harvest, another harvest ale.

Yes, it’s the Harvest Ale 2022!

Using homegrown Chinook hops from the backyard, we brewed this beer that has some interesting grains and an Omega yeast. Here’s the video where we talk about it.

If you’re following along at home, check out this Harvest Ale 2022 recipe:

2022 Harvest Ale Recipe

WATER

Tap Water treated with a Campden Tablet

GRAINS

5 pounds of Rahr Pale Malt (2.3 kg – 44% of the bill)

5 pounds of Simpsons Golden Promise Malt (2.3 kg – 44% of the bill)

12 ounces of Briess Blonde RoastOat Malt (340 g – 7% of the bill)

8 ounces of Flaked Barley (227 g – 4% of the bill)

HOPS

2 ounces (56 g) of Homegrown Chinook Hops at 11.8%AA for 60 minutes

Another 2 ounces (56 g of Homegrown Chinook Hops at 11.8% AA for 20 minutes

Yet another 2 ounces (56 g) of Homegrown Chinook Hops at 11.8% AA at flameout

YEAST

Omega Yeast OYL052 DIPA

DETAILS

Mashed at 150 °F (66 °C) for 60 minutes

Fermented 2 weeks at 68°F (20° C)

Original Gravity: 1.056

Final Gravity: 1.011

ABV: 5.91%

What Did We Think? – Tasting Notes

The summer was a hot dry one but the hops grew well. The harvest was plentiful, yielding more cones than I will use. This beer has a hazy yellow color with a rocky white head. The aroma has soft malt tones with grassy hops and some yeast esters. The flavor is focused on resiny hops but finishes with a smooth, pillowy malt mouthfeel that is coming from the oat malt and the flaked barley.

Someday I will stop fooling around with the grains and stick with one standard bill. Until then, let’s appreciate each harvest with something different every year. May the next growing season be ever in our favor.

BREW ON!

Learn To Homebrew Day 2022 Beer Results

By John Krochune

On December 14, 2022

In Extract, Recipes

On November 5, we brew the AHA’s Learn to Homebrew Day recipe for 2022. We also livestreamed the brew day and if you caught that, we apologize. It was fairly disastrous from a video perspective with wind and insect problems. After a month, we’re ready to talk about this beer. Check out this video that has our takes on this Hoppy Amber Ale!

Hoppy Amber Ale Recipe

Here’s the recipe from the AHA website:

Ingredients

Fermentables
14 oz. (400 g) Pilsner dry malt extract
10 oz. (280 g) Pale dry malt extract
5 oz. (140 g) Crystal 40 malt
5 oz. (140 g) Crystal 80 malt
Hops
0.4 oz. (11 g) Nugget hops (60 minutes)
0.25 oz. (7 g) Amarillo hops (15 min)
0.25 oz. (7 g) East Kent Goldings hops (0 minute)
Yeast
1/2 packet dry ale yeast (ex: Mangrove Jack’s M42 New World Strong Ale)
Miscellaneous
0.8 oz. (23 g) corn sugar (for bottling)

Specifications

Yield: 1 gallon (3.8 L)
ABV: 4-5%
IBU: 45-60
SRM: 14

Now, Mike scaled this recipe up to be 3 US gallons (11.4 L). He did have it boil a bit too long in his estimation as his gravity was higher than he expected it to be. No matter – we had these thoughts on this Learn to Homebrew Day 2022 beer.

Our Tasting Notes

It has a strong color. It hasn’t cleared yet but the amber visuals are pleasing. The aroma is filled with strong caramel notes. With the flavor, the strong caramel malt note hits hard. It’s cloying, as Mike put it. The amounts of Crystal malt in this recipe are much higher than we would suggest using in a recipe. The American hops come through in the aftertaste but they don’t balance out the malt presence.

Mike had a suggest of using table sugar to dry this flavor out and I agree.

If you had a better experience with this recipe, we’d love to hear it.

Brew ON!

Olive Nation Milk Chocolate Stout brewed with cacao nibs

Chocolate Milk Stout Recipe & Tasting Notes

By John Krochune

On December 7, 2022

In General, Partial Mash, Recipes, Videos

The holidays are a good time to give the gift of beer. Specialty beers are the best kind to give as gifts. With help from our friends at OliveNation, we brewed up a Chocolate Milk Stout using cacao nibs and lactose. In this post and video, we provide the recipe and our thoughts of the beer.

You can see the reflection of the iPhone in this glass of Chocolate Milk Stout

Recipe Details

Let’s get to the recipe. I lifted most of it from Northern Brewer, but I needed to use 6 pounds of liquid malt extract (LME) that was sent to me by mistake from my local homebrew shop (LHBS). Homebrewers have to problem solve all the time. My solution is delicious, just so you know.

OliveNation Milk Chocolate Stout

5 US Gallon Batch

WATER

Tap Water treated with a Campden Tablet

GRAINS & EXTRACT

6 pounds of Pilsen Liquid Malt Extract (LME)

2 pounds Rahr Pale Malt (907 g)
0.75 pounds. Fawcett Pale Chocolate Malt (340 g)
0.25 pounds. English Extra Dark Crystal (113 g)
0.75 pounds. Weyermann Carafa III (340 g)

SPECIAL INGREDIENTS

1 pound of lactose
4 ounces of Cacao Nibs soaked in 10 ounces of vodka added at kegging

HOPS

1 ounce (28 g) of Nugget Hops at 15.3% AA for 60 minutes

YEAST

1 packet of Safale S-04

Mini-mashed the grains at 150 °F (66 °C) for 60 minutes in 2.5 US gallons (9.5 L) of water. Add wort to 4 US gallons (15 L) of water and LME in kettle and boiled for 60 minutes.
Fermented 2 weeks at 68°F (20° C)

Original Gravity: 1.072
Final Gravity: 1.025
ABV: 6.17%

Chocolate Milk Stout Tasting Notes

The appearance of stout is black. None more black, one may say. It’s dark. There does not seem to be any highlight. The head is dark brown and thick.

The aroma hints at some chocolate goodness that awaits in the first sip. We detected some dark fruits and sugars. Mike got some smoke notes too.

The taste has chocolate notes and some caramel sweetness. There is a lack of roast. Without roasted barley, the flavors are a bit different in this stout.

The lactose is bringing a full mouthfeel. This beer is a sipper – just the right pint to have at the end of the day in front of a fire.

Thanks to our friends at OliveNation. They have been kind to us over the years and sent us the Cacao nibs to use in this recipe. You can browse all of their brewing flavorings and ingredients.

BREW ON!

English IPA – Jar of Destiny

By John Krochune

On November 30, 2022

In Brew Log, Style Profiles, Videos

Some beer styles are appreciated. Some are not. The Jar of Destiny forced us to revisit one of those underappreciated styles. From their guidelines listed at 12 C, we brew up this English IPA for our enjoyment and yours.

Well, what went into this beer? Let’s see:

JoD English IPA Recipe

This recipe for 5 US Gallons in the fermentor.

WATER

Spring water with 4 g of Gypsum added during the boil

GRAINS

12 pounds of Crisp Maris Otter Malt (5.4 Kg – 94% of the bill)
12 ounces of Briess 80°L Crystal Malt (340 g – 6% of the bill)

HOPS

1.5 ounces (42 g) of Target Hops at 11.6% AA for 60 minutes
1 ounce (28 g) of East Kent Goldings Hops at 5.6% AA for 20 minutes
2 ounces (56 g) of East Kent Goldings Hops at 5.6% AA for dry hopping for 3 days

YEAST
2 packets of Wyeast 1098 British Ale

Mashed at 152 °F (67 °C) for 60 minutes
Fermented 2 weeks at 68°F (20° C)

Original Gravity: 1.064
Final Gravity: 1.014
ABV: 6.56%

The Notes on This Beer

Mike really likes the color of this beer. He is a big fan of English styles and for him to say he really enjoyed this beer is saying a lot.

Here are my thoughts on the experience. I wanted to nail the water so I went with a clean water source which I enhanced with Gypsum.

The hops and yeast were imperative to get right so the recipe has a high alpha acid English hop and finishes with East Kent Goldings.

The grain bill is simple. We like the biscuit notes that Maris Otter brings and the 80° Lovibond crystal malt gave the beer the color and caramel notes it needed.

With all the IPAs in the world, it’s good to go back to the original. Hope you can revisit this style soon.

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