Brew Dudes Homebrewing Blog

International Amber Lager – Jar of Destiny

On June 8, 2022

We are proud to present Mike’s second pick from the Jar of Destiny – International Amber Lager. It’s style 2B on the old 2015 BJCP guidelines. He did the research, came up with a plan, and brewed from the heart. Here’s the video:

International Amber Lager Plan

Mike’s take on the style is a beer that is an adjunct style lager. It has an amber, red-light brownish color.

The flavor profile should be clean and crisp like a lager but have a noticeable bread crust and biscuit note to it.

In researching commercial styles of this beer, Mike was inspired by Yuengling Amber Lager and wanted to brew something similar to that beer.

Jar of Destiny Recipe

Grains:

4.5 pounds (2 kg) of Rahr Pilsner Malt
4.5 pounds (2 kg) of Weyermann Vienna Malt
2 pounds (907g) of Flaked Corn
12 ounces (340 g) of CaraCrystal Wheat Malt (55°L)
2 ounce (57 g) of Midnight Wheat Malt (550°L)

Hops:

0.7 ounces (20g) Cluster Hops (7% AA) at 60 minutes left to go in the boil (~15 IBUs)
0.5 ounces (14g) Cascade Hops (6.5% AA) at 15 minutes left to go in the boil

Yeast:

Saflager Fermentis W34/70 Dry German Yeast

Instructions:

Step mashed for 60 minutes:
148°F (64°C) for 30 minutes
158°F (70°C) for 20 minutes
168°F (76°C) for 10 minutes
Fermented at 55°F/12.7° C for 6 days
Then, ramped up the temperature to 65°F/18° C and then let it sit for another 10 days.

Outcome

We think Mike hit the nail on the head here with a crisp drinkable lager, but one with just enough character malt flavor to keep bringing you in for more.

Thanks for following the Jar of Destiny Series. We have other posts for you to check out.

Check out the British Strong Ale post
Check out the Black IPA post
Check out the Belgian Tripel post

BREW ON!

A Call For Viewer Recipe Submissions

By John Krochune

On June 1, 2022

In Homebrew Club, Videos

Hey, did you see the video? Wait, what you didn’t? Well, thanks for coming here because we’re putting out a call for viewer recipe submissions. Yep – we that’s right.

We have an idea. We’re not sure it’s a good idea, but our will to act cannot be denied. Here’s the video to learn more.

Viewer Recipe Submissions Details

So, it’s pretty simple concept, really. You send us a beer recipe and we’ll brew it (at some point). It should be a beer recipe that you like a lot or it’s one that you’d like to share.

This concept was born as I was leaving Mike’s house after we shot the video about the Canadian Blonde Ale. He said, “You know, instead of people sending us beer to review, they could send us their recipes so we could brew them.” We had just tasted a beer that Sean had sent us in recipe form. Why couldn’t we do it more often?

It hit me as genius. There’s no monetary cost for the person to send us their recipe. It’s another great way to share beer with this community that we have built up since 2007.

I mean, we would need to buy the ingredients so the cost is on us.

Maybe we can get that subsidized by a home brew shop or something.

In any case, we don’t have infinite funds or time so, at this point, we’re planning to collect the recipes and building a plan to brew them.

Bringing It All Home

So, what do you think? Is this a good idea? Are we totally crazy? Well, I know the answer to that last question.

Outside of some wacky bloggers/vloggers brewing your recipe, what else do you want to get out of this project? Is there aspects we should focus on?

Let us know – and if you have a recipe to submit, don’t hesitate.

BREW ON!

Close up of our Canadian Cascade Blonde Ale

Canadian Cascade Blonde Ale – Recipe & Review

By John Krochune

On May 25, 2022

In Brew Log, Videos

Sean from Manitoba had sent us hops from his neck of the woods and we explored them in a SMaSH beer comparison format. Then, he sent over his house recipe that calls for the same hops. Since we wanted to learn more, we brewed this Canadian Cascade Blonde Ale. Check out this video to get all the details.

The Recipe

The actual name for this beer is Bombastic Blonde Ale. He sent over the top line details and I brewed it based on my system and my idea of the final product.

Grains:

7 pounds, 13 ounces (3.54 kg) of US 2-row Pale Malt
2 pounds, 3 ounces (1 kg) of Golden Promise Malt

Hops:

0.5 ounces (14 g) of Canadian Cascade hops – First Wort Hopping
1 ounce (28 g) of Canadian Cascade hops at 10 minutes to go in the boil
1 ounce (28 g) of Canadian Cascade hops at Flameout

Added 1 Whirfloc tablet and a pinch of yeast nutrient at 10 minutes to go in the boil

Yeast: A repitch of Cosmic Punch from the parti gyle beer.

Mashed for 60 minutes at 152°F (66.7°C) and boiled for 1 hour.

Our Canadian Cascade Blonde Ale Review

All right – let’s start with the look. Sean calls for pristine clarity in his beer. Let’s just say that I am not sure the Cosmic Punch is going to allow it. Maybe in a few weeks it will clear up, but for right now, it’s hazy.

It has a nice color and I have read the Golden Promise does make for an orange juice looking beer. It gives me an idea or two for an experiment or comparison of some sort.

The aroma had some fruity notes but not citrus ones. We came to expect that the Canadian grown hops would express themselves differently. The flavor had Juicy Fruit gum essence and some hints to a lemon lime taste. The malts melded well with the hop flavors.

Overall, this beer is pretty bombastic. Thanks for the Canadian Cascade blonde ale recipe, Sean. It’s gonna taste great over the next few weeks.

BREW ON!

NewAir Single Tap Kegerator Review

By John Krochune

On May 18, 2022

In Equipment, Videos

These Brew Dudes were sent a single tap kegerator from NewAir and asked to review it. Being homebrewers, we’re well versed in beer dispensing systems so we felt we could be a credible source. Once we received it, Mike set it up on his back porch so we could enjoy it in the late Spring weather.

Top Features of The NewAir Kegerator

Spring Loaded Tap Faucet – The faucet has a spring in it. It closes quickly after you open it without intervention. Mike thinks this feature is great for your party guests who may not be experienced in using taps.

Nice Drip Tray – TWSS? Anyway, having a drip tray included with the kegerator is a nice feature. It helps contain those wayward drips. Just be sure to clean it out after use.

Chrome Railing – To keep your glasses from falling off the top of the kegerator, it has a nice looking railing. For those gatherings where tap wielders may get a little clumsy, this railing can prevent some nasty breakages.

Sweet C02 Bracket – In the back, there is a bracket to keep the tank in place. Although you can’t push the kegerator flush to a wall, it makes up for the convenience of connecting the CO2 tank to the keg.

Quick Cooling – Mike set up the kegerator outside in the sun. It only took an hour to get to serving temperatures. We think that’s big plus.

Insulated Tap Tower – To ensure the beer stays cold from the keg to the faucet, the tap tower is fully insulated. You don’t want the beer to get warm in that ‘last mile’ to your glass.

Easy Set Up – Mike remarked how easy it was to get from opening the package to getting beer poured. That’s great for anybody who looking to get it set up quickly.

Optional Shelving – Now if you didn’t have beer in kegs ready for serving, you could make it a beer fridge. The kegerator comes with shelving for storing beer and other items.

Wide Temperature Range – For those of you looking for a fermentation chamber, this NewAir Kegerator has the ability to keep things a little warmer than near freezing temps. For lager brewing, it could come in handy.

Discount Code For You

If you are in the market for a kegerator, this NewAir model may be for you. Here’s the information that you need to get yours at a discount.

Affiliate Link: https://glnk.io/m2pj/brewdashdudesbrew-dudes

Code for 10% off: BREWDUDES10

SKU: NKR058MB00

BREW ON!

Parti-gyle Beer Experiment

By John Krochune

On May 11, 2022

In Experiments, Videos

When you make a lot of wort, do you think to yourself that you could brew more than one beer with it? That’s what I thought. For my Jar of Destiny beer, I brewed more wort than I needed for the high gravity Belgian Tripel. Using only a portion of that wort, I had enough left over for a one gallon experimental batch. Learn more about what I brewed in this Parti-gyle Beer Experiment video:

Parti-gyle Beer Details

So, on the Belgian Tripel brew day, I made my typical amount of wort. Because of the need for a 1.085 gravity starting point and the lack of needing 5 US gallons of Jar of Destiny beer, I only used 5/7th of the available wort.

The 2/7th I had left over is what I used for this experimental beer.

The wort was built off of Pilsner malt and some Flaked Wheat. With the 2 gallon of wort, I boiled it for 60 minutes and added 3 ounces of Mosiac hops and 1 ounce of El Dorado hops at flameout. After the hops were added, I chilled my beer to room temperature. Once the wort was cooled, I added a dose of yeast I collected after my Cosmic Punch NEIPA. With the hops and the yeast added, I was hoping for hoppy greatness.

What Did We Learn?

This beer has a hazy look and a light blonde color to it. Its appearance screamed out a juicy bomb of a beer.

The aroma, to me, had a note of baby aspirin – a soft orange, creamsicle smell that reminded me of childhood.

The taste, well, it is different from the aroma. There is papaya and mango but a strong bite from the hops. I used too much. I don’t think the wort was strong enough to handle the amount of hops I put in it. Next time, less hops, more enjoyment.

The experiment was fun but not overly successful. The real success came from building a starter for another beer that I have ready to keg and taste soon enough.

I will try this parti-gyle beer experiment again but with less hops.

BREW ON!