Brew Dudes Homebrewing Blog

Homebrew Con 2022 Recap

On June 29, 2022

After a long hiatus since the last in-person one, Homebrew Con 2022 offered these Brew Dudes a chance to take in a few educational sessions, see the latest offerings from different homebrewing vendors, and be amongst our people in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA. Here’s our recap video of our experiences at the convention this year.

Key Takeaways

As compared to the one we attended in Providence, RI, this Homebrew Con was smaller. Smaller in terms of the number of attendees, the number of vendors on the exposition floor, and the number of sessions. Coming out of a pandemic, we understood that in-person participation would be lower. Seeing the smaller scale does support the notion that the hobby is in decline, but we’re hoping that by next year, we’ll see numbers back to 2019 levels.

The sessions they did have were informative – that’s something that has not changed. Like the last time, you get a bit tired of the information overload. It’s all well and good but when you go to this convention as a true student of the craft, you find yourself pretty spent after 3 sessions in the day.

The vendors who were there were great. It’s always nice to meet people who make a living either selling homebrew ingredients or equipment. Special shout out to Yakima Valley Hops as they were quite welcoming and gave out some much free hops to the attendees. There were always long lines for their booth.

Other Homebrew Con 2022 Thoughts

Lastly, it’s always tremendous when people you don’t know say hello and say nice things about the content that you put out on the internet. I am always surprised to hear it but appreciative. We Brew Dudes starting this blog back in July of 2007 and to be still typing out to you right now is pretty shocking. Especially when you think about the blogs that have come and gone in those 15 years, I get a sense that if we have anything – it’s persistence.

So, if you like what you see and read, let us know. Thank to all the people who said hey. It’s always great to talk to others who love brewing beer at home. Maybe we’ll see you at next year’s convention?

Cheers and BREW ON!

Blonde Ale Recipe With Fermentis K-97 Yeast

By John Krochune

On June 22, 2022

In Recipes, Videos, Yeast

Sometimes, when you want to try something new, it’s best to keep some of the things you do familiar. I think that’s what Mike was doing when he tried out SafAle K-97 German Ale Dry Yeast from Fermentis. He used it in an American Blonde Ale that he brewed and here’s how it turned out.

American Blonde Ale Recipe

Here is the recipe that Mike put together. It’s based on previous recipes he has created with an eye to try out this dry yeast strain.

This is for a 6.5 US Gallon – post-boil batch:

Ingredients:

8 pounds (3.63 kg) of Weyermann Pilsner Malt
1 pound (453 g) of Flaked Barley
1 pound (453 g) of Weyermann CaraHell Malt – 13 °L

0.5 ounces (14 g) of Cascade hops (6% AA) – added at 60 minutes left to go in the boil
2 ounces (56 g) Loral hops (10% AA) – added at 10 minutes left to go in the boil

Yeast: SafAle K-97 German Ale Dry Yeast

Instructions:

Mash at 150°F (65.5 °C) for 75 minutes
Mash out at 168°F (75.5°) for 10 minutes
Ferment at 60°F (15.5 °C) for 10 days, raise temp to 68°F (20°C) for an additional 3 days

Original Gravity: 1.052
Final Gravity: 1.009

Our Tasting Notes

The beer was freshly kegged so it was a bit hazy still. Mike was confident it would clear in the keg. From the Loral, I was getting a lot of woody notes.

The body was a little heavier from the flaked barley and the CaraHell malt. The finish was still crisp and provided a pillow-y aftertaste that we enjoy in a Kölsch.

We think this yeast strain did well in this beer style. If you’re looking for an alternative to an American strain like US-05, try out K-97. It makes a great blonde ale.

BREW ON!

Belgian Tripel – Jar of Destiny

By John Krochune

On June 15, 2022

In Brew Log, Style Profiles, Videos

You put your hand in the jar – The Homebrew Jar of Destiny – and pull out a style. This time, I received 26C from the 2015 BJCP guidelines – Belgian Tripel.

Once you are melded to the style, you have to do your research, maybe look up a recipe on your own blog, certainly taste a commercial example of the beer. All of these steps lead to a recipe formulation, a purchase of brewing ingredients, and a brew day.

Then, you get a video like this one that sums it all up with the payoff of a tasting.

First, let’s examine the recipe I put together.

Belgian Tripel Recipe

Recipe:
Boil Size: 5 US Gallons (18.9 L)
Batch Size (in fermentor): 3.5 Gallons (13.2 L)

Grains:
9 pounds (4.8kg) of Dingemans Pilsen Malt
0.5 pounds (.23 kg) of Rahr White Wheat
1 pound (.45 kg) of White Table Sugar (Sucrose)

Hops:
1.5 ounces (43 g) Saaz Hops (2.7 %AA) boiled for 60 minutes
1 ounce (28 g) Styrian Goldings Hops (4.2 %AA) boiled 15 minutes

Yeast: Wyeast 3787 Trappist High Gravity™

Water: Spring water from Maine was used for this beer

Mash at 149°F (65° C) for 60 minutes. Boil for 90 minutes. Ferment at 64° F (18°C) for 10 days or until active fermentation appears over. Slowly raise temperature to 72°F (22°C) over 4 days and hold for another 7 days. Package in bottles and prime to get 3.5 volumes of CO2.

Original Gravity: 1.085
Final Gravity: 1.008
Color: 4.44 °SRM
Bitterness: 35.2 IBU
Alcohol (%volume): 10.11%

Our Tasting Notes

This beer came out as a golden ale. The video doesn’t do it justice. I wanted to hit the color and it looks pretty good. It needs a few months in the bottle to clear.

I was trying to hit the bitterness note with the hops. The amount of Saaz is more than I expected to use. The finishing hops blend well with the yeast flavors.

Not too much clove flavor or other phenols, the cool fermentation worked well for me. This beer finishes dry and is deceptive. I can sense the high alcohol in this beer without any taste of it.

By this winter, the flavors should smooth out and I am excited to taste it then.

BREW ON!

Check out the British Strong Ale post
Check out the Black IPA post
Check out the International Amber Lager post

International Amber Lager – Jar of Destiny

By John Krochune

On June 8, 2022

In Brew Log, Style Profiles, Videos

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!