Lemon Fractal Fruit Ale

Welcome back, I have some exciting news!  You may remember a little over a year ago Steve Childs created an American Barley Wine recipe that we brewed.  The Ye Ole Jabberwocky, and it brought home a gold medal from the Slurp and Burp 17th annual homebrew competition!  Other highlights included, Rob Woodruff (fellow Portland Brewers Collective member) won a silver for a mead and my Rum aged Stout was judged for best in show, but unfortunately did not place.  Overall, I consider it a great success, so Cheers to the PBC! 

Spring is a season for renewal and a time to renew ale with innovation, creativity and the human spirit.  All week I had planned on making a Smoked Cherry Whiskey Russian Imperial Stout, however yesterday, I woke up and all I could think about was the warm weather and a refreshing beer.  So, I developed a layered lemon beer.

My friend Jordan introduced me to a new experimental hop, ADHA 871 the "Lemon Zest Hop."  He made a single hopped pale ale with this hop that I found to be quite unique.  It came out of a breeding program in Yakima Valley.  It is described as having flavors which include, clean, pleasant, floral, citrus, huge mint, herbal, mellow spice, thyme, Saaz like, cucumber, sage, and a touch of lemon.  This innovation in hops is changing the ever evolving landscape of beer, which I deem to be a step in the right direction.

I purchased a pound of Lemon Zest hops after tasting Jordan's brew.  When the hops had arrived the ideas were raging.  I am a firm believer in using similar tasting items in one dish to achieve a range of depth in flavor, so I decided I wanted to bring out the refreshing elements of the lemon. 

I am enamored by the creativity and hard work that goes into the beer making process.  There are so many connections in the process from our ancestors of 10,000 years ago who propagated the barley fields, the modern retailer who sells the beer and everyone in between.  The connections are like the Fibonacci Number Sequence, for instance, 1 connection leads to 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21... and so on.  This idea also created a creative spin I put into this beer.  Using the Fibonacci Sequence for the hop Schedule.  This was not only to be more creative, but also a homage to the human spirit and the connectedness of the universe.

My outdoor brewing partner

Now, that I have romanticized the process let us move on to the brass knuckles of this beer.  First off, I really enjoyed the malt bill and yeast strain of my Mango Cedar Belgian Blonde.  That being said, I used a similar grist only changing the US 2-row for Belgian 2-row.  I have never used the Belgian malt so, I figured why not try it out?  The yeast will be the same as the Mango beer, which was Wyeast's Forbidden Fruit 3463.  This strain tends to leave a little sweetness, which I hope will balance the 6 oz of hops I used.  

You may be wondering what other flavors did I use to add depth?  I talked earlier about using similar tasting items to achieve depth these ingredients include, Lemon Grass that I grew last year and a small touch of real Lemon zest.  That is about it the fermentor is going off, so that is a good sign.  Remember to drink good beer responsibly and be merry.  Cheers!

  

New wort chiller

Snowpocalypse Pale Ale

The 17^th annual Slurp and Burp is coming up this March!  The 16^th annual competition was my first time entering a competition and I had such a great time with my wife and friends that I have to do it again.  Plus, this year it is taking place in my hood!  I wanted to brew one of my favorite styles for the event, which is Pale Ale.  

A side note, I will also be entering my Eastern Promise Baltic Porter, Pirate Hooker Stout, Year of the Horse IPA (maybe), Manneken Golden Strong (Tripel, opps!), and possibly the Ye Ole Jabberwocky Barley Wine.

I had everything planned out and the unexpected snow fall did not slow down the progress of this pale.  If you live in Portland, you know that just about everything shuts down with snow fall.  Fortunately, the homebrew shop was still open waiting for a delivery.  I thought about remaking my Whirlpool Wheat, which has a great tropical flavor.  I decided to create something similar, with less wheat and more variety as far as the hop profile.  A whopping 2 more hops!

My Brewing bud Gracie

My hope is that it will be a tropical citrus fruit bomb of a pale.  I first wort hopped with Amarillo.  Amarillo can be used for bittering because of the low cohumulone percentage, although it is often used for aroma purposes.  Cohumulone is one of the three alpha acids found in a hop cone, which are associated with harsh bitterness.  Amarillo has orange characters along with floral notes.  

The second hop I used is Meridian.  I have only used it once in the Year of The Horse IPA.  So, I don't know how it holds up yet, however I am confident it will be good due to the aroma.  According to firstwefeast.com, This Oregon hop was suppose to be a resurrection of an old forgotten hop Columbia, which is similar to Willamette.  What they found was something completely different.  The profile has been described as, sugar-sprinkled lemons and fresh fruit punch.  I don't know about you, but that sounds awesome.  

   

I used Mosaic for the whirlpool and I will dry hop also with Mosaic.  This hop is my favorite!  Tons of tropical notes along with cedar, blueberry, peach, and bubblegum.  Can't wait to taste how they all come together.

Rehydrating Yeast

I have recently been using dry yeast.  It is cheaper and you get more cells than you would with liquid.  It is easy to rehydrate.  To rehydrate boil 1 cup of water per packet of yeast.  Cool the water down to about 95-105 degrees f and pitch in your yeast and stir it up.  Why not just pitch straight into the beer?  Well, you can and it will most likely work, yet you will lose cell count.  John Palmer author of 'How to Brew' explains, "Dry yeast should be re-hydrated in water before pitching. Often the concentration of sugars in wort is high enough that the yeast can not draw enough water across the cell membranes to restart their metabolism. For best results, re-hydrate 2 packets of dry yeast in warm water (95-105°F) and then proof the yeast by adding some sugar to see if they are still alive after de-hydration and storage." 

Cooling down with no wort chiller just snow

It is going off right now, which is a great sign.  When you walk into my fermatarium the smell is something else.  If it taste like it smells right now I will be pleased.  That is all I got for today,  remember to drink good beer responsibly and be merry!

Cheers,

Year of The Horse IPA

Logo for the IPA

The Chinese New Year is one of my favorite holidays, mainly because it gives me an excuse to eat great Chinese food with my lovely wife!  I felt inspired to create a majestic beer with flavors resembling the day.  Hopefully this ale mimics the beauty and strength of the horse and the culinary gifts from the Far East. 

Citrus is often gifted during the New Year to bring wealth, luck and prosperity.  Keeping that in mind, my hophead went straight to IPA.  Also, due to the season I wanted something strong and decided to imperialize this citrus bomb.  I think this beer will bring luck to anyone who gets to drink this.  All kidding aside, I am very excited about this one.  

I added citrus zest from a Pamelo and an Orange.  I added ginger, because I love the way it compliments citrus and is also used in many Chinese dishes.  Double IPA's often use dextrose to reduce the malt presence, which helps to bring forth the hop flavors.  The sugar also dries out the beer and gives it a light body, which also promotes the hop profile (some people are afraid to use sugar in their beer because it can cause a green apple off flavors, however this usually only happens when the amount of sugar is 10% or more of the malt bill).   I decided not to use corn sugar, but instead I used rice syrup solids to stick with the flavors I associate with New Year.  This will do the same as corn sugar and probably will not add flavor, but I must stick with the theme. 

SOME DETAILS

Malt bill

                15 lbs. of 2 Row

                1 lb of Rice Syrup Solids

                3/4 lb of Crystal 40L

                1/2 lb of Cara Pils

Hop bill

               Horizon 14.5%AA

               Meridian 14.5% AA

               Citra  14.5% AA

               Mosaic 11.5% AA

               Nelson Sauvin 11.4%AA

Yeast

              Safale US 05 (x2)

Mash

              90 mins. @ 150 degrees f

Boil 

              90 mins.

I want to give a shout out to Steven Childs for his help.  Can't wait to share this beer with you lucky folks.  Remember to drink good beer responsibly and be merry.  

新年好!

Manneken's Belgium Strong Gold

I decided I should make a label for every beer I brew...

I just finished a great book, 'Brew like a Monk.'  You should read this if you are a brewer or into esoteric stuff.  The book inspired me to make a Belgian beer, which I have never attempted alone.  Why?  I have no clue.  I love the country and everything Belgian...Yes, that includes Jean Claud Van Damme.  It only makes sense that I get my hands dirty just like JCVD.

Why Manneken's Golden Strong Ale?  Manneken Pis is a fabled statue in Brussels, Belgium.  There are many legends about him, and on special days the townspeople hook him up to different Belgian beers and the little boy urinates wonderful beer to all the people of the city.  Pee that never tasted so good...

I wanted this beer to be unique, so with the Belgian spirit and inspiration from Russian River's, 'Damnation & Temptation,'  I developed a recipe that pays homage to both Belgium, California and my own ideas.  'Damnation,' is a Golden Strong ale aged on oak chips.  'Temptation,' is an American wild ale aged in Chardonnay barrels.  I wanted this ale to mirror some of those flavors without the tannins from the oak and Brett (Brettanomyces) from the barrel.

Serious business

I used a traditional malt bill of Pilsner malt and Sugar.  As for the hops, I used one semi traditional hop 'Savinja Goldings.'  This will add a touch of spice.  The other hop is nontraditional, 'Nelson Sauvin.'  This hop will mimic the wine character and add some fruit notes.  I used Belgian Ardennes yeast.  This strain is highly flocculent, attenuates nicely, has mild fruit esters, and a subtle spicy character.  All that means in a nutshell is that the beer will be bright, dry, well balanced, and refreshing.  Remember to drink good beer responsibly and be merry!  Cherrio

Deck The Hall N' Oats IPA

Possible Label?

Here are some updates.  Firstly, Pirate Hooker Ale won a silver medal in the first Portland Brewers Collective Stout Competition called, 'Stout Bout.'  I got home from Spain and found out there would be a stout competition in a couple months.  What better reason to brew some more beer!  I did not have much time, so I went to the drawing board and developed a recipe.  I wanted to enter more than one beer.  Time was against me so, I had to experiment by splitting a single 5 gallon batch into 3 different beers.  The first carboy consisted of one gallon with a sprig of rosemarry, the other gallon of stout had smoked black tea in it, and the last carboy had 3 gallons infused with rum soaked oak chips (Pirate Hooker Ale).  There was a great turnout with 34 entries!  I am already excited about next year.  I also wanted to thank Mark Gillette and the Portland Ubrew for making it all happen!  

Secondly, I just bought a beer gun!  Which, is an awesome device that allows one to bottle from the keg.  It also has a trigger which allows you to purge the bottles with Co2.  This pushes out the oxygen in the bottle and limits the possibility of oxidation.  Oxidation creates off flavors of wet cardboard and sherry-like flavors according to, John Palmer.  I just bottled the rest of my 'Stonemad Scotch Ale,' which is a delicious nutty Scottish ale.  Bottling with the new gun was a bit of trial and error, but worked out quite well.

Lastly,  I cleaned out the keg and filled it with a Baltic Porter that Steve and I made.  The stout competition and the weather were telling me that I needed to make another dark malty beer!  It finished a little on the sweet side at 1.022, which is fine and still in the guidelines of the style (1.024 is the highest Final Gravity for the style).  The Original gravity was 1.078 right on target, so it is still a strong beer at about 7.4%.  Can't wait to taste it carbonated. Further details to come...

I also made a bunch of mead, but I will save that for another time.

This weekend I collaborated with some fellow PBC members, Jordan Folks/ Michael Stinson/ Aaron Bach.  We decided on an Oat IPA.  The first I have ever brewed.  It was a great brew session and look forward to this awesome smelling libation!

The grain bill consisted of - 2row Pale malt, Melanoiden malt, Munich malt, Flaked Oats, and Honey.
The Hop bill included - Warrior for bittering, Simcoe, Homegrown Centennial, and a lot of Amarillo!

 

 

We split a ten gallon batch and Jordan opted to use Pac Man (1764) yeast from Wyeast and I chose British Ale (1098) yeast from Wyeast.  The Pac Man yeast is a private collection yeast with a limited release.  Rouge Brewery uses that strain.  According to Wyeast,  "This is a versatile yeast strain from one of Oregon’s leading craft breweries.  Pacman is alcohol tolerant, flocculent, attenuates well and will produce beers with little to no diacetyl.  Very mild fruit complements a dry, mineral finish making this a fairly neutral strain.  Pacman’s flavor profile and performance makes it a great choice for use in many different beer styles."  The 1098 profile on the Wyeast website states, "This yeast allows malt and hop character to dominate the profile. It ferments dry and crisp, producing well-balanced beers with a clean and neutral finish. Ferments well down to 64°F (18°C).  Till next time, remember to drink good beer responsibly and be merry.  Cheers!

Still Brewing

A lot has happened since June!  Instead of rehashing all the excuses in the book as to why I have not posted any articles, I have decided it would be best to skip it and get back to the important stuff.  Yes, I am talking about beer.  I may have taken a vacation from writing, but I have been busy brewing up some killer brews.

Harvest

I took all of September and some of October off work and walked across Spain.  I kegged my fresh hop ale for Tracey (my wife) before I left.  Although, I did not get to drink it fresh, it was quite tasty when I did try the backyard brew.  My wife claims it was better early on.  I used most of the hops and barley I grew in the backyard.  It was the longest beer project I have attempted.  I have to be honest, the pay off was lackluster.  The beer was good, but that much work and care demands better than good.  I do not regret doing it, but next year I am just growing hops!

Weighing the bounty

Also, before I left Steve and I brewed a special wheat beer.  Peanut butter Jelly Time!  Guess what kind of beer?  Yes, it was a Peanut butter Jelly beer.  We bottled it when I got back and dang is it good!  When you crack a bottle the smell of a PB&J sandwich wafts into your nostrils and takes you back to grade school.  This deconstructed sandwich has a strong fruit profile up front and peanut butter toward the back.  Some people claim they only get fruit and the other half only get peanut butter.  

There is more news, but I will get to that later on.  I just wanted you all to know I did not forget about you!  I can't wait to write more on the wonders of brewing and beer!  Till next time, remember to drink good beer responsibly and be merry!
  

Kiwi (not the fruit) inspired beer

Welcome back to Off The Hinge Brewing!  I first want to give a shout out to Steven Childs.  He was asked to provide a keg of his Hot Fuzz beer for the Portland Fruit Beer Festival Dinner.  This beer is a great tasting peach beer with some heat from jalapeno peppers, good work sir!  I entered my Mango Cedar Belgian into the Fruit beer homebrewer's contest, which may be a little under carbonated.  I think it taste good.  The mango hits you in the beginning and the cedar hits you in the end.  The good thing about entering the comp is that you get a glass and three drink tickets so it is a win win!  I also want to wish everyone from the collective good luck with their entries, should be a good time.

Just bottled up the Rhubarb Saison, and I believe it is going to be good.  I ran into a huge problem while fermenting this beast of a beer.  The Belgian Saison 3724 is a tricky yeast, and it has a reputation for stalling out before fully attenuating.  I read that if you bump up the heat it will fully attenuate with time.  So, I bumped up the heat (this strain can ferment up to 95 degrees F).  I came back to check on it the following day to find it was 110 degrees, Oh shit!  I thought that I ruined the beer.  I cold crashed it as fast as I could (I don't have a refrigeration system) then transferred and repitched 3711, which is the French Saison strain and it chewed up all those sugars and got down to 1.003!  I tasted it while bottling and it was tart, sweet and bitter.  Can't wait to try the final product, I have a good feeling about this one.

Cold steeped 

Adding the darkness

Steve stirring the mash

Lastly, yesterday I brewed my first Cascadian Dark Ale (Black IPA) with Steve.  I cold Steeped my dark grains (these grains are debittered, so this step is not a necessity) this is done to try and subdue the roastiness, plus this was a new process I wanted to attempt.  The hops are the star of this style, so if you attempt this beer you do not want much roastiness to it.


You maybe curious about the title of this post?  I decided to try all New Zealand hops, which have been getting great reviews.  I call it, All Blacks CDA, this is a reference to their national rugby team.

Steve brought over some Pacific Jade hops, which I used for bittering.  They are a high alpha acid hop with a slight spice of pepper, very clean and no harsh aroma's.  there is some citrus in this hop, grapefruit and lemon.  I also used Motueka and Wakatu, which are dual purpose hops that have a great oil profile with flavors of lime zest, lemon, and tropical fruit.  I have not decided what I will dry hop it with?  I used American II yeast strain, which I really liked in the Stars and Bars Pale ale.  Time will tell the results, however it is bubbling away and smells fantastic!  Till later, remember to drink good beer responsibly and be merry!

P.S.  Here are some pics of the garden...

Chinook is sprouting

Blowin' up

New addition, 'Lemon Grass'