Wednesday, December 31, 2014

A New Year, A New Beer

Hello all! Just a quick note about ringing in the new year by brewing a style of beer I have not brewed before. For those that know me, you know Altbier and Stout are two of my favorite styles. Well, I decided to go big and picked up the ingredients for a Russian Imperial Stout. And for those who know me in the brewing realm, you know I like to play with flavors and go outside the box. Well, this brew will be no exception. I picked up 18.25 lbs of malt for this brew which will be the biggest beer I have brewed to date. I'll be using Gambrinus ESB malt as the base, Briess Roasted Barley, Dingeman's Special B Malt, Weyermann Melaniodin Malt, Weyermann Rye Malt, and Weyermann Chocolate Rye Malt. I'm seeking the raisin/prune flavors from the Special B, and the spiciness from the Weyermann Rye to add some uniqueness to this Russian Imperial Stout. It will be pushing 10% ABV, so it will indeed require some aging. This may be my holiday beer for 2015! I'll be posting again when I brew. Thanks for reading!
CHEERS!

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Halter Top, Dusseldorf Style Altbier

Hello! Bottled today with an final gravity of 1.016, which is higher than I was expecting. Projected was 1.009. The ABV on this one will be lower than expected at about 4%. (This will be easy an easy drinking beer!)

Aromas of caramel, toffee, and brown sugar, with some spice and floral notes from the hops. Flavor is good, nice smooth malty backbone, with flavors of toffee and sweet malt, which gives way to a moderate but smooth bitterness with hints of spice.

Color is an orange/amber with ruby hues to it. Quite pretty!

I'll post again in a few weeks at tasting time after conditioning has completed.

CHEERS!