Magnum, Cascade, and Nugget

We had a little window of sunshine this afternoon and managed to get the hop rhizomes in the ground before the rain returned. The soil looked good when we turned it yesterday, and with the addition of a little compost, peat moss, and sand, the young plants should have a healthy start. All we need now is some good growing weather! I organized them left-to-right (looking south) in an easy-to-remember M-C-N scheme. If M.C. O'Connor can't keep that straight, even after many homebrews, he should quit now. I wrapped the name tags that the rhizomes came with on the redwood trellis frame that I built years ago for peas, beans, and the like, but I expect they'll suffer the ravages of time. M-C-N is my fail-safe. The material that came with the hops from Freshops says not to expect much in the first year as the plants are mostly developing roots. The varieties I chose were recommended by Freshops as the best for beginners due to their hardiness and resistance to major hop diseases. They list Magnum hops as dual-purpose, Cascade as aroma, and Nugget as alpha (bittering). Freshops is in Philomath, Oregon, in the heart of the Willamette Valley. It's just west of Corvallis, home to Oregon State University. I'm a Cal man, but OSU has two things going for it: an orange-and-black color scheme and a Brewing Science major!



a.d. X Kal. Apr.

Ready for the festival!

I tapped the St. Patrick's Day Stout today. It was smooth, dry, creamy, and delicious. The batch is ready for the exclusive invitation-only Lá Fhéile Pádraig that FSB attends here in the State of Jefferson. I would tell you the particulars of this particular festival, but then I'd have to kill you. Nonetheless, I'll think of you, kind readers, when I'm slaking my thirst with my stout.

Today is also the start of a new adventure here at FSB--I'm going to plant hops! I placed an order with Freshops for three rhizomes: Cascade, Nugget, and Magnum. They should be here in a week or so and they will be in the ground right around the Vernal Equinox!

Wish me luck.

Beware the Ides, and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

a.d. VI Id. Mar.

What is a stout?

A stout is a black beer. There are lots of variations and categories and styles and whatnot, but that is the essence of stout--dark. I decided to make this year's version of St. Patrick's Day Stout with some black malt and not much else. I skipped the roast barley. I didn't use chocolate malt. I stayed away from oats, too. I kept this one very simple. Took the first runnings and made one hop addition--that was it. The yield was five gallons at 1.048 (12ºP) and I pitched a sachet of Safale-05. It was a mild and mostly sunny day here in the State of Jefferson despite the calendar saying it is January.  I don't usually brew for Lá Fhéile Pádraig this early, but a little aging in the keg never hurt any beer, especially a stout. If you go to this website, it will tell you about different kinds of stout. If you go to Ireland and drink Guinness, Murphy's, and Beamish, you will find out about those kinds of stouts. Around here we get lovely beers like Obsidian Stout from Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon, and Sierra Nevada Stout from Chico, California. Stout beer has many possibilities. I suggest that you brew up your own version, or at least encourage a homebrewing friend to brew one you'll like.

Non. Ian.

Amber obscura

Amber's Amber came out quite dark, a rich red-brown, but that's just fine. It flashes lovely amber-red highlights when a pint glass is held to the late afternoon winter sunlight streaming in the window. The flavor is very smooth, sweet and bready, and there is just enough hops to make the finish dry and clean. I like the balance on this beer here at First Tasting. It is Xmas Eve--a good time to tap a fresh keg. The carbonation is light and creamy, like a cask ale, always a good thing. I think we've got a winner!

HAPPY HOLIDAZE!


a.d. VIII Kal. Ian.

Amber's Amber

Yesterday my pal Amber--an aspiring homebrewer--came over to help me make a fresh batch. I was intending to make a brown ale as my lovely bride is fond of brown ales, but I didn't have the right combination of ingredients. I went with an amber and named it for my assistant. I've been experimenting with making beers from only the first runnings off the mash and skipping the sparge step. It's a bit wasteful as I have to nearly double the amount of grains I'd normally use, but I am curious about the flavor possibilities. I like to concentrate sometimes on one aspect of the process in order to learn a bit for another batch down the road. Grain flavors are complex and require much study and experimenting! We mashed 17 pounds of Briess 2-row pale malt and a half-pound each of Victory and Carafa 2 . Five gallons of liquor in the mash tun at 175ºF settled out at 152ºF for an hour. Then we simply drained the wort and we got about three gallons which the refractometer told us was 23% sugar (23ºP) or about 1.092 SG. John Palmer's wort calculator told us to expect 11ºP (1.044) when it was diluted in the kettle to seven gallons and 14ºP (1.056) when the boil reduced it to five gallons. We wound up with 13ºP (1.052) which I though was just dandy. I used a new hop, a California-grown organic variety called Horizon. We gave the brew 20 grams of whole cones (10.2% α-acids) for 60 minutes and 20 grams again for 30 minutes. We pitched it with Safale-04 at just about 4:00 in the afternoon and it was fermenting vigorously a few hours later. I think we've got a winner. Thanks, Amber!

Id. Nov.