Cherry Bomb Blonde

Racked to secondary onto 3 lbs Vintners Harvest Sweet Cherry puree.  Current gravity 1.014 placing ABV at 4.98%.  I had to get a taste of this beer before the adding the cherry puree and it is quite good!  I only used three malts and it is a lot maltier than I was expecting with a nice residual sweetness from the caramel 20L malt.  The black currant aroma from the hops is quite nice as well, though it may not be evident after the cherry addition.  I think this would be a good lawnmower beer minus the cherry, but we'll see how much cherry comes through in the end product.
Thanks for reading.  CHEERS!

Cherry Bomb Blonde

Brew day went well.  Projected OG 1.047.  Measured OG 1.052.  5 gallons in the fermenter with Fermentis US-05 yeast.  I chose the yeast for its neutral flavor properties. I used Weyermann Vienna and Weyermann Pilsner malts with some Briess Caramel 20.  I opted for UK Bramling Cross hops for the flavor of black-currant and its spiciness.  I'll add the cherry puree to secondary in a week.
CHEERS!  

Cherry Bomb Blonde

Next up on the brew list will be a fruit version of a blonde ale.  I love cherries so I thought I would brew a blonde ale and add cherry puree to the fermentation process.  I'll be adding the cherry puree to secondary to try and preserve the flavor and aroma.  I'll use a flavor-neutral yeast to let the fruit come through.

I'm a little late in getting started on this brew as it would have been great for Valentines day.  It will be a nice Spring beer nonetheless.  

Planning on brewing this Sunday morning on 2/2/14.

CHEERS!

S.O.S. (Oak) Smoked Oatmeal Stout

This beer turned out quite good as reviewed from the crew at The Brew Hut in Aurora, CO.  They liked the way I used the Weyermann Oak Smoked Wheat malt in this recipe.  The aroma has oak on the nose as well as some chocolate notes.  The flavor of chocolate gives way to very mild sweetness and a semi-dry finish with a hint of smoke coming in on the back-end.  There is a nice mild bitterness that rounds out the brew.
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S.O.S. Smoked Oatmeal Stout

I've been really wanting to taste the fruits of my labor, so after one week in the bottle, I decided to dive in!  (Albeit a week early.)  Aromas of chocolate, sweet malt, oak, and smoke.  (The oak aroma really comes through.)  Flavors of chocolate, smoke, and an oak richness on the finish.  Wow!  That richness lends an almost barrel aged flavor, without any aging whatsoever.  This recipe was spot on for what I was aiming to achieve utilizing Weyermann Oak Smoked wheat malt.
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S.O.S. Smoked Oatmeal Stout

Final gravity of 1.016 placing ABV at 6%.  Aromas of chocolate, sweet malt, and oak.  Taste: Big, smooth mouth-feel, roasted malt, chocolate, and oak, and a light smokiness on the back-end, with a slight lingering bitterness, which should smooth out with a little age in the bottle.  I think the oak smoked malt lends an interesting richness to this brew.  Two weeks to go for carbonation.
CHEERS!

S.O.S. Smoked Oatmeal Stout

Happy New Year everyone!  It is currently snowing lightly, but my brew day is underway at 7:00 a.m. I mashed in at 157-158F.  Smells tasty already!  I'll be batch sparging in about 45 minutes.  Original projected gravity is 1.060.  My measured gravity ended up being 1.062.

This is the first time I've used Weyermann Oak Smoked Wheat Malt.  As you all know I am a lover of smoke beers, and thought this might be an interesting way to add some oakiness and light smoke flavor to an everyday oatmeal stout without having to age my beer.  Nothing wrong with barrel aging, don't get me wrong.  Sometimes I just like a little subtlety with aging as some barrel aged beers are a little overpowering from the spirits they once contained.  (If I choose to drink a barrel aged beer, I still expect it to taste like a beer with some hints of what the beer was aged in.  I expect oak flavor, and some of the spirit flavor, but not just the oak and spirit flavor only.)

On to the batch sparge.  It takes me 45 minutes to an hour to batch sparge.  The hardest part is the wait.  I want to get on to the boil, but patience is a virtue I have learned.

I am old school when it comes to measuring gravity.  I still use a hydrometer after my boil.  I know that a brix refractometer can be used throughout the process, even with hot wort, pre-boil, but I enjoy taking the gravity the way I learned.  (Plus the refractometer can be pricey for a good quality one.)

I will boil for 90 minutes, cool my wort with an immersion chiller, then pitch my dry yeast.  (I think I am too lazy to make starters, and have never had any problems with dry yeast.)

Well, my brew day concluded around 12:30 and everything seems to be on track.  I taught my friend Brian how I brew.  Many thanks for his interest and desire to learn!

I'll post again on bottling day in about two weeks.

CHEERS!