Brew Dudes Homebrewing Blog

Saison Brewing – Partial Open Fermentation

On July 22, 2020

In the warmer months, these Brew Dudes like brewing a saison. The hotter temperatures work well with the style’s fermentation profile and the beer is a good one for quenching thirsts. Even though we like to brew these kinds of beers, it doesn’t mean we have been 100 percent happy with the results. Mike brewed this saison with a bit of a twist. He opened up his fermentor to let the local bugs join in with the commercial yeast added to the wort. The resulting beer is a fantastic example of the style. Watch this video to learn more!

How Did This Saison Turn Out?

Although it’s fun to play with open fermentation, Mike left the lid on his stainless steel bucket loose so that more CO2 could escape from the beer. He thinks that the reason why saison fermentations stall is due to too much carbon dioxide in the beer which leads to the yeast to slow its process. Opening the lid a bit let more CO2 out and let some wild yeasts in (perhaps).

This beer had all the good flavors of the saison style without the bad ones. I typically get some fusel alcohols in mine since I am fermenting at high temperatures (82F or 28C). Mike’s saison was tart and crisp with a light bit of funk. It was extremely drinkable and enjoyable.

The next time you’re doing some Saison brewing, try to let more CO2 out while you’re fermenting. We had great results with this nuance to the process.

BREW ON!

Brewing a Low ABV NEIPA

By John Krochune

On July 15, 2020

In Hops, Style Profiles, Videos

I am not sure what to call this beer. The style guidelines haven’t been adjusted for this type of beer. Mike was asked to brew a juicy hop bomb for his brother-in-law. The guy wanted all the fruity, hoppy flavors along with the haze of an NEIPA but with an alcohol by volume (ABV) of less than 5%. Is this a session IPA? An American Pale Ale (APA)? Is it something that shouldn’t be named? No matter – watch this video to learn about this beer that Mike brewed.

Tasting Notes

Mike brewed this beer using many great NEIPA varieties:

All these hops were added late in the brewing process. The resulting flavor was fruity but had a strong citrus note as well. We were picking up some piney notes too, which we think came from the Simcoe hops.

Mike is happy with this beer but he is going to adjust the recipe a bit for the final delivery to his brother-in-law.

The real goal of this beer was to get as much hop punch into this beer without the larger grain bill that would boost the alcohol. Mike succeeded with flying colors on that aspect of this brew.

What do you think? Do all NEIPAs have to be over 8% ABV or what?

Let us know in the comments below – BREW ON!

Kveik vs. US-05 Yeast Showdown

By John Krochune

On July 9, 2020

In Videos, Yeast

We finally got on the Kveik yeast strain train. We knew about the performance about this yeast, but we didn’t know what kind of flavor it would bring to a beer. So, we compared it to a neutral strain to learn more. Beyond just comparing yeast, we’ve also learned that Kveik is not just a yeast strain packaged for our homebrew use but a whole brewing tradition and experience that maybe we can grow to appreciate. Watch our showdown video to see what we thought:

What Did We Think?

So here was the premise: I wanted to brew two beers where the only variable was the yeast strain. The beer I built up was an American Pale Ale. I talked about Farmhouse in the video and in discussion with Mike but that just threw everyone off. The Farmhouse angle came from my thought of sourcing local ingredients like in the Kveik tradition, but even with local ingredients the beer was still in the style of the APA.

The grain bill consisted of American Pale Malt with small amounts of Pilsner and Flaked Barley. The hops included Medusa and Rakau. Both beers were mashed, sparged, and boiled the same way along with the hop additions.

The Kveik beer was dry, clean, and tasty. The US-05 beer was softer and Mike seemed to like it better.

There will be more Kveik beer experiments in the future – stay tuned.

BREW ON!

English Yeast Comparison – 3 Strain Experiment Series (Part 1)

By John Krochune

On July 1, 2020

In Videos, Yeast

We said we would get to yeast experiments this year and we finally did. Here’s a comparison of three different well known English ale yeasts. Mike brewed a big batch of English Brown Ale wort and split it between three different fermentors. He pitched one yeast strain into each of them and he got three different beers from them. Let’s watch!

What Did We Think Of These Yeasts?

Safale S-04: We liked this beer the least. It was first in the flight and last in our hearts. The beer brought a buttery coating to my palate. Mike said he picked up a phenol quality to the taste. It was an OK beer but not great.

Wyeast 1187 Ringwood Ale Yeast: This beer came out the driest of the three. It had a minerally aftertaste with some nice English yeast esters.

WLP007 Dry English Ale Yeast: – The beer that was brewed with this yeast was the one we liked the most. It had a lot of fruity notes in the aroma with a strong malt flavor. Mike was pleased with this beer as it hit all the notes he is looking for in an English Brown Ale.

BREW ON!

Check out Part 2 of this English Yeast Comparison Series

Kettle Soured Berliner Weiss

By John Krochune

On June 24, 2020

In Style Profiles, Videos

If you have read our blog before, you know we like beers for the summer time. This summer, Mike brewed up a Berliner Weiss in which he used a kettle souring technique to bring to the beer a nice lactic acid flavoring. Watch this tasting video!

Berliner Weiss Tasting Notes

If you have ever tasted a Berliner Weiss before, you know that they are a tart beer with a light body. They should have high carbonation and provide a wonderful sense of refreshment in each sip.

Traditionally, this beer is fermented with an ale yeast and Lactobacillus to get the clean tartness. Instead of that, Mike soured his wort in the kettle before boiling using a commercially available Lactobacillus blend (Omega Yeast 605) for 48 hours and then boiled as usual.

The beer was a little higher in alcohol that the standard range but the flavor was spot on. The tartness was on point and there was no funk to be found. The gain bill of Pilsner malt, Wheat, and Flaked Oats gave the beer the bready background it needed to support the sourness.

Even with the improvised blueberry syrup, it tasted great. This style is one to try for the hot months of the year.

BREW ON!