Big Brew Day 2013 - Hop Stoopid IPA

Saturday was National Homebrew Day and in celebration we hosted a Big Brew Day event. We brewed two batches, an extract-based Nut Brown Ale and an IPA based on Lagunitas Brewing's Hop Stoopid. As for the Hop Stoopid clone, I'm pretty sure this is the most hops I've used in a single recipe...definitely the most whole hops ever used.

This recipe is based on the Brewing Network's CYBI recipe adjusted for my system efficiency. I also changed the flameout and dry hop additions a bit in order to perform a hop stand. I've never tried doing a hop stand before, but the basic idea is to kill the flame, add your hops and let them steep for an extended period of time (probably minimum of 20-30 minutes) before chilling. When I first read about this technique it surprised me because of my experience with a hop back where the thought is you chill ASAP in order to lock in the hop flavor/aroma. Then I saw some posts on Homebrewtalk where other brewers claimed they made their best ever IPA's when doing hop stands, so I figured I'd give it a try. Here's a link to a BYO Magazine article on the subject.

Below is the recipe as we made it.

11# 10.6 oz Briess Pale Malt
6.4 oz Briess Victory Malt
71g Columbus (90 min)
33g Cascade (12 min)
33g Chinook (12 min)
56g Simcoe (Hop stand)
44g Columbus (Hop stand)
11g Chinook (Hop stand)
1/2 Whirlfloc
1/2 t Wyeast Yeast Nutrient
White Labs WLP002 English Ale in a 1.4L starter
56g Simcoe (Dry hop)
44g Columbus (Dry hop)
11g Chinook (Dry hop)

Mash at 152F for 60 min. 90 min boil. Ferment at 65F, raising to 67F over a few days.

Brewing Notes

Brew session went well. Big Brew Days are fun but there's also a lot going on so we had one minor hiccup...I forgot to check the post-boil gravity. I did remember to check the pre-boil gravity; it came in at 1.055, just one point higher than the Brewsmith prediction of 1.054. We used about 40% RO water and 60% filtered tap water.

Update 5/6/2013

This brew smells incredible. So far I'm very happy with the results from the hop stand. I had to remove the lid this morning because the krausen was starting to push up through the airlock. With both batches of beer in my ferm chamber, there isn't enough room for a blow-off tube and another container.

Update 5/18/2013
Dropped in the dry hops today.

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Berliner Weisse 4/2013

24 hours after pitching lacto

Time for yet another sour beer; next weekend I'll be brewing a Berliner Weisse. I finished brewing my Saison a couple hours ago, so now I'm kicking off the lactobacillus starter.

I tried making a Berliner Weisse a few years ago. It wasn't bad but it wasn't all that great either. The level of tartness/sourness was much lower than I was shooting for. It really ended up tasting like a bland low ABV wheat beer with a slight "Belgian" character.

This style should be noticeably tart with a fairly intense sourness. I've heard stories of people visiting Germany and ordering a straight Berliner Weisse (minus the traditional Woodruff or Raspberry syrup) and the waiters refusing to serve them. My goal is to make it sour enough to make a German waiter want to shake his head at the silly Americans.

I did a little more research for this recipe including studying various other recipes and reviewing an NHC presentation on how to brew this style. Traditionally, Berliner Weisse's use a no-boil method. I don't like the idea of potential unknowns making their way into my fermenter, so I'll be using a short-boil (15 min) method. My plan is to use the following process:

1. I'll be using 1/2 carbon filtered tap water and 1/2 RO water. This should help prevent any weird mineral/lactic acid flavors.
2. Seven days prior to brew day, add one packet of Wyeast 5335 Lactobacillus to 1L of 1.020 starter wort. Do not aerate! No stir plate! In fact, if possible, purge your starter container with CO2. Keep warm, preferably between 80-90F for a week.
3. On brew day after cooling wort, pitch  the 5335 starter and allow it to ferment for one week at 68F. Again, do not aerate!
4. After one week, add Wyeast 3191 Berliner Weisse blend and continue to ferment at 68F until finished.

The grain bill on this style is pretty simple and typically consists of only base malt and wheat malt. Gravity is also low; this is a light, spritzy, and refreshing style. I prefer to use aged hops in my sours as bitterness from hops can really clash with the sourness from the acid-producing bacteria. Below is the grain bill along with some additional process info.

3.75 # Belgian Pilsner Malt

3.00 # Weyermann Pale Wheat Malt

1.0 oz Aged Debittered Hops (Mash hops, 0.0 IBU's)

1 package Wyeast 5335 Lactobacillus in 1L starter

1 package Wyeast 3191 Berliner Weisse Blend

Mash at 150F for 90 minutes. Mashout at 168F. 

Collect 5.5 gallons and boil for 15 min. Chill to 68F and pitch 5335. Ferment at 68F for 7 days before pitching 3191.

Brewing Notes 4/21/2013
Brew session went well with no issues. The 5335 Lactobacillus was pitched and will get a 7 day head start on the 3191 Berliner Weisse yeast blend. I tasted a small sample of the starter wort and it had a nice lemony tartness, so I think we're headed in the right direction. My ferm chamber still has my Saison in it so this one is fermenting in my basement which is pretty close to 68F.

Update 4/28/2013
I pitched the 3191 Berliner Weisse Blend today. The krausen from the lacto has dropped from a couple inches to about a quarter inch.

Update 5/6/2013
I pulled a sample today to get a gravity reading and do a little taste test. There's a bit of brett character in the nose...more than I expected considering it's only been in there for a week. More dominant than the brett is the lacto character. This brew has some absolutely fantastic tartness especially considering it was just brewed back on 4/21/2013. It's not as intense as my Flanders Reds but it's definitely noticeable. The flavor reminds me a lot of lemonade, but unsweetened. Even my wife who isn't a real big sour fan said she really liked it. Starting gravity on this batch was 9.8P (1.040) and it's currently at 5.8P (1.014) with an ABV of 3.32%. One thing really surprised me was the clarity of this brew. The recipe wasn't quite 50/50, but there was a lot of wheat malt in it so I was expecting it to be hazy. As you can see below, it's awfully bright for such a young wheat beer.

Berliner Weiss at 15 days old

Update 5/18/2013
Pulled another sample today. Gravity has dropped to 5P (1.009). I'm really happy with the level of tartness; this attempt is so much better than the first one. It looks like a hint of a pellicle is starting to form. I'm trying to decide whether to bottle it soon and let it age in the bottle for a bit or let it age in the fermenter. I'm leaning towards giving it another week in the fermenter then bottling.

Update 5/21/2013
I was in my basement this morning for a call with an offshore team from work and peaked in on the Berliner Weisse. This batch definitely has a dusty lacto pellicle forming. I may have to give it a bit longer than a week longer in the fermenter. I hope my most recent Saison finishes soon because I'm running short on fermenters.

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Saison 4/2013

First runnings

Today I'm brewing another Saison. I'm excited about this one because it uses a few ingredients I haven't used. First up is Golden Naked Oats which are described as follows:

This unique product is a huskless oat crystal malt. It has a special sweet berry-nut flavor and will add a deep golden color with light caramel flavors to the finished beer. The usage rate is 4-15% of the grain bill.

I'm also using Grains of Paradise or Paradise Seeds in this brew. They are described as:

These small seeds look like cardamom, but have their own unique character. The spice is native to West Africa and during medieval times it was used to flavor food. It has also been used as a pepper substitute. While it does have a peppery zing, paradise seeds also have notes of citrus and an earthy pine aroma.

Lastly, I'll be using Wyeast 3724 Belgian Saison yeast. This yeast has a reputation for stalling out a little early, but with proper temperature control it will usually start back up after a short pause. It is described as:

Classic farmhouse ale yeast.  Spicy, complex aromatics including bubble gum.  Tart and dry on the palate with mild fruitiness.  Finishes crisp and mildly acidic.  Ferment at warm temperature.  May have vigorous fermentation start.

My last three Saisons were pushing the ABV limits for the style (9+%), so the goal with this one is to come in closer to 6.5%. The grain bill and procedure are as follows:

8.25 # Dingemans Belgian Pilsner Malt
10 oz Weyermann Acid Malt
10 oz Castle Aromatic Malt
10 oz Simpson Golden Naked Oats
0.46 oz (13g) CTZ Hops (FWH)
12 oz Amber Candi Sugar (15 min)
2 g Grains of Paradise (5 min)
1.75 oz (49.6g) Styrian Goldings (0 min)
Wyeast 3724 Belgian Saison in 1L starter
Whirlfloc
Wyeast Yeast Nutrient

Mash at 148F for 75 minutes. Mash out at 168F. 90 minute boil. Start Fermentation at 70F then ramp up to 92F over a few days. If fermentation stalls, maintain temp around 92F.

Brewing Notes
Everything went well. The only problem was I was shooting for an OG of 1.056 but ended up with 1.067. The color on this brew was awesome going into the boil kettle.

Update 4/24/2013
Sure enough, the 3724 yeast seems to have stalled out at 1.034. I gently roused the yeast today and I'm continuing to hold it at 92F. I'll probably check the gravity again over the weekend to see where it's at.

Update 5/6/2013
I had to move this out of the ferm chamber to make room for the Hop Stoopid IPA. The Saison definitely wasn't finished, but sometimes you gots to make room. I'll probably let this go another week or so and check the gravity again. If it's still not done, I'll probably add some WLP001 or maybe Wyeast 3711.

Update 5/18/2013
As I mentioned in the previous update, this one has been chilling in my basement. There's still a ton of yeast in suspension and it looks like fermentation has restarted. I think I'll move this back into the fermenter (and bump the temp back up) in about a week to try to get this to finish.

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