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On-Deck for brewing / Recipe Sharing

webdevsoup
webdevsoup Posts: 384 Member
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So I kind of wanted to start this one. Not sure if you have a thread for this yet, but I thought "HEY!! What a good idea!" So, this would be a great place to share recipes, as well as tell what's next to brew!!

For me, I'm brewing my "Independence Ale" on the 4th of July. This will be a nice, dramatic IPA with some AMAZING Mosaic Hops and Citra (because they didn't have enough Mosaic at my LHBS).

Cheers!!!!

Replies

  • wmbrett
    wmbrett Posts: 31 Member
    I've got a Brewer's Best Double IPA in my secondary - going on 3 weeks now - about time to bottle it. Sorry, my first batch, don't have the knowledge to go beyond kits at this time. Let me know if you know of any great kits for heavy (non-stout, non-porter beers).
  • webdevsoup
    webdevsoup Posts: 384 Member
    I've got a Brewer's Best Double IPA in my secondary - going on 3 weeks now - about time to bottle it. Sorry, my first batch, don't have the knowledge to go beyond kits at this time. Let me know if you know of any great kits for heavy (non-stout, non-porter beers).

    Nothing wrong with brewing from kits! Gotta start somewhere, I know I did. Kits for heavier beers. Hmmmm, let me think on that. Or I could throw something together for you if you'd like. Do you enjoy Unibroue's "Trois Pistoles"? I might be able to do an extract kit of that, and you just order the stuff from LHBS or online. Although that may be a little advanced. It's got some interesting ingredients, like Belgian Candy Sugar, in it.

    Good luck man!
  • deadwax
    deadwax Posts: 27
    Unibroue's "Trois Pistoles"

    That is similar to Unibroue's Terrible is it not? They also brew something for Trader Joes(?) that is similar too I believe.
  • webdevsoup
    webdevsoup Posts: 384 Member

    That is similar to Unibroue's Terrible is it not? They also brew something for Trader Joes(?) that is similar too I believe.

    Have not had their Terrible, will have to seek it out now. And I had no idea they brewed something for Trader Joes! I will have to do some googling later. I love a lot of Unibroue's stuff, like Ephemere.
  • deadwax
    deadwax Posts: 27

    That is similar to Unibroue's Terrible is it not? They also brew something for Trader Joes(?) that is similar too I believe.

    Have not had their Terrible, will have to seek it out now. And I had no idea they brewed something for Trader Joes! I will have to do some googling later. I love a lot of Unibroue's stuff, like Ephemere.

    Pretty sure Trader Joes 2012 Vintage Ale is Trois Pistoles. La Terrible is supposedly similar just more complex.
  • kevokie
    kevokie Posts: 53 Member
    Howdy! I have a couple of brews on "deck". One is an ESB and the other is gonna be a Maris Otter and Citra, Amarillo, or Sorachi Ace SMASH. The last thing I brewed was a quickie partial mash kit from AHS, Belgian Golden ale. Ended up pretty good. I Americanized it quite a bit by adding some citra and amarillo at the end boil.

    So much beer, so little weight loss.
  • TheViperMan
    TheViperMan Posts: 235 Member
    Oh man... Let's talk about beer on decks and recipes!!

    First up is my 0.0 Black IPA - named after the EVE Online video game!
    zUcEJl0l.jpg

    Then there's Crazy Cooter's Apple Ale - a tart Fruit Beer made with real apples! I served this to my friends at the 2013 All-Chrysler Nationals in Carlisle, PA!
    XWI1flil.jpg

    I also have these just now ready to drink - Super (Honey Nut) Bee and Super (Honey Nut) Bee Brown - an experiment on doubling the recommended amount of Honey Malt: 20%!!
    N0Jinzkl.jpg

    This weekend I'll get to crack open these two:
    sGrBhOLl.jpg
    I Fugged Your Mom - an English IPA with toasted grains and Fuggle hops, and

    oD5g3dhl.jpg
    Warrior Goddess - a Citra Pale Ale with Maris Otter, Amarillo and Citra hops.

    All my recipes are homemade - I use BeerSmith 2.0 to keep things organized. I make my own labels and have them printed at a local sign shop.
  • webdevsoup
    webdevsoup Posts: 384 Member
    Oh man... Let's talk about beer on decks and recipes!!

    Holy crap man! Nice work! How is your black IPA? I need to brew mine again. Mine has this great hop/malt balance, followed by a nice back-end bitterness, which is then followed by a nice chocolate "glaze" on your tongue. It's awesome. Would love to try yours!
    Then there's Crazy Cooter's Apple Ale - a tart Fruit Beer made with real apples! I served this to my friends at the 2013 All-Chrysler Nationals in Carlisle, PA!

    I have to bottle my 4th Wit (Apple Cinnamon Wheat) for my father and step-mother. They requested it after trying only one. It's a crowd pleaser.
    I Fugged Your Mom - an English IPA with toasted grains and Fuggle hops

    Bwa ha ha ha ha.... Nice name!
    All my recipes are homemade - I use BeerSmith 2.0 to keep things organized. I make my own labels and have them printed at a local sign shop.

    Love BeerSmith 2.0. I bought it a while back, had been using BeerSmith 1 since I started brewing and got off kits. Yesterday I did a Shock Top Clone I found online. I don't like Shock Top, but preggers GF does, and since the due date is right around the corner, I wanted to brew her favorite beer so she had some after the baby comes.

    Other than that, I'm not sure what's on deck for me. I'm thinking an Oktoberfest for some aging (lagering), and then perhaps something for the fall, like my smoked porter. I'll probably also do an Irish Stout, and a Blueberry Sweet Stout with local heirloom blueberries.

    Anyone ever done a blueberry Sweet Stout before? I'm going to do a 5 gallon batch, but split it up. 1 gallon with .5 lb blueberries, another with 1lb, and another with 1.5lbs. Then, leave the other 2 gallons just plain to see if I have to modify the base recipe at all.

    CHEERS!!! :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:
  • TheViperMan
    TheViperMan Posts: 235 Member
    Anyone ever done a blueberry Sweet Stout before? I'm going to do a 5 gallon batch, but split it up. 1 gallon with .5 lb blueberries, another with 1lb, and another with 1.5lbs. Then, leave the other 2 gallons just plain to see if I have to modify the base recipe at all.

    That's a really good way to do experimental recipes.

    A handful of my beers have been experiments like that - here's one of them:
    4j4kCkOl.jpg
    Far right - The Chocolate Grapevine. The first time I aimed for a "Brown Fruit Beer" of sorts. It come out REALLY boozy, and if you let it sit out, it'd taste better but then seemed too thin. So I rebrewed it as a 3-gallon batch (another great thing about Beersmith - lettin you scale recipes with ease.) I then separated the final 3 gallon wort into 3 one-gallon batches, and pitched a different yeast into each - a stout yeast, and two different belgian yeasts. One of the Belgians came out the clear winner. (BigDog on this site has one in his possession!)

    I've never done a blueberry stout, but then again I'm not a big blueberry guy in general. I am however planning to brew a Strawberry wheat this weekend, using some tips I got from a brewer in Ohio who had two of the most amazing-smelling beers I've ever whiffed... His strawberry wheat smelled just like strawberry preserves, and his coffee porter smelled like a Starbucks. They were incredible. He gave me some pointers I'm going to try out.

    Here's the label for it - gotta get some new label stock and get them printed:
    fSYMU8el.jpg

    And also I hope to bottle this beer today - my first attempt at a S'Mores Stout. I got the wife to help me with this one. I hear that Short's Brewery in Michigan makes an epic S'Mores beer, but it's currently out of season. I have a friend up there with strict instructions to clear out the store when they show up again! Here's the label for it:

    1nB2kRSl.jpg

    (You might need to be a child of at least the 80's to get that one!)

    Oh - the Black IPA... Well, here's one review it got on Untappd:
    IUAYURhl.png

    And it's received one other 4.5 star rating from a hop-head buddy of mine. Then another big beer drinker said the hops were pretty mild. Personally I really like it - has a subtle roastiness to it, though others have said it's a bit more of an American Stout than a Black IPA. But I follow the advice of the BrewsBros website (I think that was it...) that said a Black IPA should be "more than the name." It SHOULD have a little chocolate, a little roast, but just not cross into full-blown "Stout" or "Porter" territory. Personally I REALLY like it, but I think those who like lawn-clipping beers won't be as satisfied with it.
  • webdevsoup
    webdevsoup Posts: 384 Member

    And it's received one other 4.5 star rating from a hop-head buddy of mine. Then another big beer drinker said the hops were pretty mild. Personally I really like it - has a subtle roastiness to it, though others have said it's a bit more of an American Stout than a Black IPA. But I follow the advice of the BrewsBros website (I think that was it...) that said a Black IPA should be "more than the name." It SHOULD have a little chocolate, a little roast, but just not cross into full-blown "Stout" or "Porter" territory. Personally I REALLY like it, but I think those who like lawn-clipping beers won't be as satisfied with it.

    Sounds like I'd really like it. I'm up in Michigan, so I could possibly get my hands on some Shorts too, if it came down to it. I'm in Beer City (Grand Rapids). Perhaps a trade is in order? I'd love to try some of your brews.
  • TheViperMan
    TheViperMan Posts: 235 Member
    That's funny - I shoulda found this topic a week ago. I was just in Grand Rapids - had a few beers at Founders. I started my weekend at the Michigan Beer Fest (see BigDog's post on that) and ended up with Founders and Schmohz in Grand Rapids. Schmohz was surprisingly good for being such a hole-in-the-wall!

    I've traded with BigDog, and one other guy in Indiana. I like to think I have a good rep going on so far. :)

    I'll probably be brewing a fresh batch of the 0.0 Black IPA pretty soon as it's been rather popular. It might require a larger batch this time!
  • webdevsoup
    webdevsoup Posts: 384 Member
    That's funny - I shoulda found this topic a week ago. I was just in Grand Rapids - had a few beers at Founders. I started my weekend at the Michigan Beer Fest (see BigDog's post on that) and ended up with Founders and Schmohz in Grand Rapids. Schmohz was surprisingly good for being such a hole-in-the-wall!

    I've traded with BigDog, and one other guy in Indiana. I like to think I have a good rep going on so far. :)

    I'll probably be brewing a fresh batch of the 0.0 Black IPA pretty soon as it's been rather popular. It might require a larger batch this time!

    Well crap!!! Too bad I just missed it.

    I just brewed up a little shock top clone for the woman, and am about to finish off a very basic, clean pale ale that I kegged a bit ago.
  • TheViperMan
    TheViperMan Posts: 235 Member
    I bottled that S'Mores beer last night as planned. Took a sample of it - it sure is interesting! It has a VERY boozy nose which has me a little worried (the last beer that did this was that chocolate raisin beer and it never got better in the bottle.) But as you sip, the graham crackers comes through strongly, the chocolate is very present on the tongue, and the marshmallow is hinted at but just doesn't really shine. Still not sure what to do about that...

    Anxious to try it again in about 2 weeks!
  • webdevsoup
    webdevsoup Posts: 384 Member
    I bottled that S'Mores beer last night as planned. Took a sample of it - it sure is interesting! It has a VERY boozy nose which has me a little worried (the last beer that did this was that chocolate raisin beer and it never got better in the bottle.) But as you sip, the graham crackers comes through strongly, the chocolate is very present on the tongue, and the marshmallow is hinted at but just doesn't really shine. Still not sure what to do about that...

    Anxious to try it again in about 2 weeks!

    I'm not big on sweet beers. That's what S'Mores says to me. Try it with Peanut Butter, like making a smore with a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup instead of Hershey's Chocolate, bet that would be awesome.

    I made a crazy hop-complex beer a few weeks back that I just sampled out of the keg... OH MAN!!!! It has Citra and Mosaic hops in it, and it's INSANE.
  • TheViperMan
    TheViperMan Posts: 235 Member
    Yeah I on the other hand am a big fan of the sweet beers. Here's the bottle!
    1acQTLwl.jpg

    Oh - and these are my custom caps. :smile:
    jC0VLyJl.jpg
  • webdevsoup
    webdevsoup Posts: 384 Member
    Well, I'm getting ready to do my next brew. I will probably double up on brew day, and do a Ghost Chili Pepper Russian Imperial Stout for one of them, and an Irish Stout for the other.
  • TheViperMan
    TheViperMan Posts: 235 Member
    I had every intention of making my Strawberry Blonde this past weekend, but my 7-month old had other plans... Not only did I not brew, I hardly slept all weekend, either!
  • webdevsoup
    webdevsoup Posts: 384 Member
    I had every intention of making my Strawberry Blonde this past weekend, but my 7-month old had other plans... Not only did I not brew, I hardly slept all weekend, either!

    Oh no!!! I hope all is ok!
  • webdevsoup
    webdevsoup Posts: 384 Member
    Well, my 2 kegs were cashed out at the party I brought them to. The American Pale Ale, and my Mosaic IPA. Now I've got the Shocktop clone in the keg, and just kegged my Irish Dry Stout last night. It tasted good coming out of primary, so I'm excited to drink it in a few weeks!
  • TheViperMan
    TheViperMan Posts: 235 Member
    Haven't been around in a while, but the Strawberry Blonde is delicious!!! Doesn't have quite the aroma I was aiming for, but has a nice, well-detectable taste of strawberries. I used preserves to really punch it up. I love it!
  • webdevsoup
    webdevsoup Posts: 384 Member
    Nice dude! Sounds good! I still have my Shocktop Clone in the fridge, but it's almost gone. And I have my Irish Stout almost gone too! In Primary I have my SMaSH IPA - Single Malt (Pale 2-Row) and Single Hop (Zythos). On October 5, I'm doing a double brew day. One of them is going to be my Pigs in a Blanket Stout (Bacon Maple Stout). The other one hasn't been decided. And then this Saturday, I'm picking up the first 5 gallons of my 15 gallon order for cider.

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