Brew Dudes Homebrewing Blog

NewAir Single Tap Kegerator Review

On May 18, 2022

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!

Cascade & Azacca Hopped American Pale Ale

By John Krochune

On May 4, 2022

In Brew Log, Hops, Videos

Mike brews his APA number 5. It is a Cascade & Azacca Hopped American Pale Ale. From his experiments using grains that make lighter-bodied beers, he brews this beer to really showcase the hop aroma and flavor of these varieties. With a lower ABV than a typical NEIPA, Mike thinks he has a great late Spring beer. Watch this video for all the details.

What Is APA #5?

As Mike says, he really loves a good Sierra Nevada pale ale. He typically brews American Pale Ales with this beer in mind. With that stated, he really likes the tropical fruit hops that are all the rage these days.

His approach to the brew involves using a suitable malt bill to give it a nice backbone for the hops. The amount of malt is key so he can keep his ABV in the 5 to 6% range. Along with malts, he adds in adjuncts to make the beer very drinkable and finish with a dryness. Making a very fermentable wort is key for Mike to reach his goals.

In his grain bill, he has Maris Otter and Briess Brewer’s Malt as his base, some Flaked Wheat and Flaked Corn for crispness, and Crystal 40°L Malt for color and flavor.

For the hops, he uses Nugget for bittering. Then for flavoring, he adds Cascade and Azacca hops with 10 minutes to go in the boil. Lastly, he dropped in Cascade and Azacca again at flameout.

For yeast, he selected the LalBrew New England – American East Coast Ale Yeast. With his step mash profile, he started the gravity at 1.055 and finished at 1.006.

Our APA Tasting Notes

For the appearance, Mike nails the color with a slight brownish copper color. Because of its freshness in the keg, the haze was prominent but with time, the clarity will come through.

Aroma has a classic American hop bouquet. There are notes of grapefruit pith with no malt notes.

The flavor was super pleasant. The flaked corn really dries out the beer and gave it a crispness in the aftertaste where the hops show off. There are more tropical fruit notes in the flavor stemming from the late Azacca additions.

Overall, we really liked this Cascade & Azacca Hopped American Pale Ale. Our take is with a focus on fermentability of your wort, you don’t need as much hops to get great aroma and flavor in your beer.

Brew ON!

Brew Dudes Homebrew Swap – Exchange #46

By John Krochune

On April 27, 2022

In Homebrew Club, Videos

You know the drill – we get sent beers from people who follow our blog. After they send them to us, we drink them on camera. Phil from Rhode Island, USA sent us a few of his Belgian ales. Here’s the video evidence of this homebrew swap – exchange 46!

Here’s What Phil Sent

Phil sent us three beers and we tasted two for the show. Here are the two we tasted and discussed.

Belgian Quadruple – Bottled March 13th, 2022

Base Malts: Belgian Pale Malt (45%), Belgian Pilsner Malt (23%), Munich Light Malt (11%)

Specialty Malts: Special B Malt (3%), Carapils Malt (2%), 20° L Caramel Malt (3%), Coffee Malt (2%)

Other – D-180 Candi Syrup (11%)

Hops: Styrian Goldings and Tettnanger added at 60 minutes to go in the boil
Styrian Goldings added at 30 minutes to go in the boil
Tettnanger added at 15 minutes to go in the boil

Yeast: SafBrew BE-256 Abbaye Dry Yeast

ABV: 10.6%

Spring Saison – Bottled February 11, 2022

Base Malts: Eraclea Pilsner Malt (44%), Munich Light Malt (9%), Vienna Malt (17.5%), Rye Malt (13%)

Specialty Malts: Carapils Malt (3.5%)

Other: Malted Oats (4%), Dextrose (9%)

Hops: Waimea added at 60 minutes to go in the boil
Motueka added at 30 minutes to go in the boil
Waimea and Motueka added for 20 minute hop stand after the boil

Yeast: Lallemand Belle Saison

Exchange #46 Tasting Notes

Let’s start with the Quad and I won’t bury the lead. Mike said it is the best one he has ever tasted. This beer is extremely easy to drink, even with its high alcohol content. There are no harsh flavors and the main aspects of the overall flavor profile was a tasty cherry candy. No phenols to take away from that note so it was all good. I looked over my Belgian Tripel recipe recently for the Jar of Destiny challenge. There’s some work to be done here.

The Spring Saison was good too. I think I liked it more than Mike did. The Down Under hops worked for me. The tropical fruit flavors are muted. for sure. They did present little hints of themselves amongst the yeast-derived flavors in the beer. Mike wanted more of the traditional notes in this Saison but since this style is wide open, the hops work to bring a fresh take.

Thanks Phil for the beer – we appreciate it.

BREW ON!

SMaSH Beer Comparison – Cascade Vs. Cascade

By John Krochune

On April 20, 2022

In Hops, Videos

Our audience likes to send us hops. My brother likes to grow hops. These two truths converged when we were sent Cascade hops grown in Canada and my sibling’s Cascade plant produced a substantial harvest of cones. We brewed two SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hops) beer – one for each type of Cascade. See how this Cascade Vs. Cascade comparison went down in this video!

Cascade Vs. Cascade Tasting Notes

When it comes to classic American hop varieties, Cascade is one of, if not the, best known. It’s been showcased in Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and as American beer drinkers, Mike and I know the hop quite well.

That’s what made this comparison so interesting. The Cascade we know is grown in the Pacific Northwest of the USA. Beyond just comparing these two examples of the variety against each other, we were examining if they would be different from the classic version of the hop.

Here’s what we thought of each variety from the different grow locations.

Canadian Cascade: We thought this version had aroma and flavor notes very much like Juicy Fruit gum with a bit of floral essence mixed in there.

Homegrown Massachusetts Cascade: When we tasted the beer brewed with this version, we got more of a Froot Loops cereal aroma with a strong geranium note in the flavor.

As you can see, the traditional grapefruit descriptors were not detected in these beers. They were more fruit forward – and artificial fruit at that.

Although we have tested it before, it’s still fascinating that a well-known variety grown in a different part of the world can impart different aromas and flavors in a beer. These examples of Cascade are remarkably different from the Pacific Northwest grown version.

We did like the Canadian Cascade SMaSH beer better, which is promising since I have more of those hops to use in an upcoming pale ale.

BREW ON!