Pistachio Nut Brown Ale

Nailed my mash temperature of 155F.  Awesome aromas of roasted malt and nutty goodness!  About 50 minutes to go on the mash, then I'll sparge with 170F water, then it's off to the boil.  I'll be using Northern Brewer hops for bittering and Fuggles hops for flavor and aroma.  I wanted to stay along the lines of "earthy" type flavors to compliment the nuttiness.  (Rated at 28 IBU by calculation.) 
I'll use Fermentis US-05 yeast for it's clean crisp finish, also to promote the overall flavors of the beer.
Projected gravity: 1.059.  Actual measured: 1.054.  (My sparge calculation was off due to my error and not inputting the proper measurement in a field.)  Color: deep amber/dark golden/medium brown.  Tastes good already.  Malty and nutty with a slight caramel like flavor.
I'll update in a week.

Cheers!  

Pistachio Nut Brown Ale

O.k.  I know it sounds weird, but I have a friend that keeps saying how it would be awesome to have a beer that tastes like pistachios.  So I came up with this idea of making a Nut Brown Ale flavored with pistachio.  I didn't really want to figure out how to use real pistachios by de-fatting them so I am opting to use a high grade pistachio flavored extract instead.  (smells amazing by the way!) 

So it will be brew day, 6/24/12.  The Nut Brown Ale will be brewed, and just before bottling, the flavoring extract will be added, depending on a taste test.  I have a nice nutty malt bill utilzing Maris Otter, Victory, Carabrown, Amber, a little Carapils for body, and a little Pale Wheat for smoothness and head retention.  I'm using US-05 yeast for a clean, crisp finish to highlight the nutty flavors.

I'll keep you posted!
Cheers!

Summer Wheat White IPA

Definitely a new style, mine is modeled after Deshutes Brewery Chainbreaker White IPA.  My wife actually loves Chainbreaker and she doesn't usually like IPA's. 
I changed mine up just a tad, highlighting the grapefruit flavors and aromas, and utilizing grapefruit zest instead of orange peel.  My wife enjoys this one too!
Big hop aroma with citrus with floral notes, flavor of smooth wheat, citrus, and tropical fruit, with a slight hops bitterness and a lingering flavor of ruby red grapefruit.  Slightly spicy from coriander, ginger, and Safbrew T-58 yeast.
I think this will remain one of my house brews as quite a few friends say it is absolutely delicious!  Possibly because it is different from anything else out there right now.
Thanks for reading!
Cheers!

White IPA, bottled

Bottled this morning.  FG 1.016: ABV 5.7.  Aroma of tropical fruit and citrus, especially grapefruit.  Flavor: smooth, some tropical fruit, slight spiciness, moderate hops bitterness, with a lingering flavor of pink grapefruit. 
I opted to carbonate this one a little higher since it is a wheat based IPA.  (2.7 volumes CO2).  Two weeks to go for carbonation and conditioning.  Can't wait to taste this one when it's completed!
Cheers!

White IPA

Racked to secondary today with the gravity of 1.016 placing ABV at 5.7%.  Dry hopped with 1 oz of the following: Citra, Cascade, and Cluster. 

Flavor is good at this point.  The grapefruit notes are subtle so far, but I feel will emerge with aging and conditioning.  I do get some slight bitterness from the grapefruit zest at the finish, nice.

 Thanks for reading and I'll keep you posted!

Cheers!

White IPA

After enjoying Deschutes Chainbreaker White IPA immensely and not being able to locate it here in Colorado, I decided to try and make my own version of a White IPA.

What I am aiming for is a smooth wheat beer complimented by the citrus, especially grapefruit notes, from the hops, as well as the overwhelmingly awesome hop aroma.

I brewed early a.m. on May 19th before I had to go to the Colorado State Bowling Tournament.  I chose a malt bill for flavor and smoothness which consisted of Rahr Red Wheat Malt, Rahr White Wheat Malt, Weyermann Vienna Malt, and Weyermann Pilsner Malt.

I chose the hops, based on flavor characteristics, for what I am aiming for.  I chose CTZ, Chinook, Centennial, and Challenger for the boil, opting for late hop additions to tame the bitter bite, but still have the gusto of an IPA.  I will dry hop with Cluster, Citra, and Cascade to finish it out.

I also added some ground coriander, ground ginger, and fresh grapefruit zest to draw on the grapefruit/citrus flavor and a little spiciness.

I used Fermentis Safebrew T-58 yeast for it's spiciness and phenolics which would be great for a wheat beer.  (I love this yeast by the way.)

Brew stats:  5 gallons, IBU 51, OG at primary 1.060.  Already fermenting nicely and the basement smells of delicious hops, citrusy, and floral.  AWESOME!

Thanks for reading!  I'll keep you posted!

CHEERS!

Bottling the Smoke Beer

I bottled 2.5 gallons and ended up with 25 - 12 oz bottles.  FG is 1.014 which is 6% ABV.  Color is a beautiful copper/red.  Aroma at this time is sweet malt and sweet smoke.  Flavor is smooth sweet malt finishing with a sweet smokiness and slight hops bitterness.  Quite balanced.  It should dry out slighty in the bottle.  This will be a very tasty smoke beer! 
I'll post on this one in two weeks when it is carbonated.

Cheers!