UPDATE: Folks, Crooked Brews is on hiatus for the time being. What with having a kid and getting back in shape, I've decided that I need to to cut way back on my drinking. Which means that having 5 gallons of beer in the house at all times is no longer an option. It was fun, but it's time to move on. I might try a batch at some point in the future, but we'll see.


The latest batch:

July 26, 2008: Honey Blonde Ale

It's awfully hot in Montgomery these days, so what better brew to drink than a honey blonde? For this batch I moved into the murky and slightly intimidating world of grain brewing, which means 'mashing' (or heating) the grains prior to boiling to release enzymes which break down the starch in the grain into sugars. As this was my first grain brew, I did a 'mini-mash,' meaning I brewed using half grain and half extract. Mashing isn't hard, it just adds more time (about an hour) to the brew process and involves careful attention to temperature. Brewing with grains assures that the freshest malt sugars go into the beer, so all the serious brewers use them.

My mashing process was quite rudimentary. I simply heated everything in the brewpot and sparged the grains into the brewpot as well. You can see my ghetto brew style here. I hope I haven't screwed it up. I did forget to add the adjunct sugars and Irish moss until the boil was almost over, though, so I am an idiot. Anyway, here's the recipe:

  • Mash: Soak 1/4 lb. Honey Malt, 2 lbs. 2-Row barley, and 1/2 lb. Flaked barley in 2 1/2 gallons of water at 155°F for 45 minutes. Then sparge the grains by placing a strainer over the brewpot, placing the grainbag on the strainer, and pouring a quart of 170° water over the grainbag. Let drip thoroughly, then discard grainbag.
  • Bring to boil, then add 4 lbs. Extra Pale extract, 1 lb. honey. Also add 14 oz. Brewvint Alcohol Boost (corn sugar).
  • Bring back to boiling, add 1 oz. New Zealand Riwaka hops and start 60-minute timer.
  • Last 10 minutes of boil, add 1 tbsp. Irish Moss.
  • After the boil is completed, cool wort rapidly to 75°F, pitch one tube White Labs California Ale V 051. Shake vigorously, add blowoff tube and store.

Tips for the next brew:

  • Learn how to mash/sparge properly.
  • Let the yeast stay at room temperature for up to 24 hours before brewing--this prevents 'shocking' the yeast when pitched into the wort.
  • Try and cool wort to 75° within 15-20 minutes.
  • Put the cat outside for the whole process.
  • Remember to add the alcohol boost sugar at the beginning, and the Irish moss at the end!

Update: 8-6-08
I bottled the beer tonight, and everything went well. Except that the final gravity was well below 1.040. More like 1.020. No telling how this batch will turn out.





July 19, 2008: 'Gold Seal' California Pale Ale

After the Fat Tire Ale fiasco, I decided to go with a simpler pale ale. The kit I wanted wasn't available, so I let the salesman at Austin Homebrew talk me into an unknown recipe. It is very different from what I've been brewing.

All the books warn homebrewers away from using too many unmalted grains, otherwise known as "adjunct sugars." Corn sugar is a prime example. While adjunct grains can be used to add flavor, color, and body, you don't want to use too much. Well, that's sort of what this recipe does, using 5 lbs. of malt extract and a few pounds of "Gold Seal" sugars. The Gold Seal sugars are a combination of malto dextrin ('to improve body'), yeast hulls ('to improve fermentation'), and corn sugar. What's weird is that the malt extract is not boiled at all--you add it to the hot water after the boil is finished. So I'm skeptical about this batch. Here's the recipe:

  • Steep 1/2 lb. Crystal 60L grain is 2 1/2 gallons of 155°F for 20 minutes.
  • Add "Gold Seal Add Pack," mix thoroughly and add 2 1/2 gallons of water. Bring to boil.
  • Once boiling, add 1 oz. Columbus hop pellets (bittering hops) and start 60-minute timer.
  • Last 15 minutes of boil: add 1/2 oz. Amarillo hop pellets (flavoring hops).
  • Last 5 minutes of boil, add 1/2 oz. Amarillo hops (aroma hops).
  • After 60 minutes, remove from heat and stir in 5 lbs. Extra Pale malt extract, let sit for 10 minutes to sanitize the sugars.
  • Cool to 75°F, pitch 16 oz. Nottingham Ale dry yeast.
Although it was a strange recipe to me, everything went well and I got a strong fermentation. We'll see how she turns out.

Tips for the next brew:

  • Keep boil covered with fine mesh screen, no lid.
  • Mark 5-gallon point on glass carboy.
  • Boil supplemental water FAR in advance and let cool.
  • Sprinkle yeast in slowly, shake and then sprinkle more.
  • Save 4-5 cups of sanitizer for blowoff bucket.
  • Have 6-8 bags of ice handy to cool wort faster.
  • Use hop bags for ALL hop additions.
  • Use Irish moss.
  • Never use plastic fermenter again.

Update: 7-30-08
I waited ten days and bottled the beer. Fermentation appeared to be over, but I can't be totally sure because I kept the blowoff tube and didn't use a bubbler. Not sure of blowoff tube bubbles differently. Anyway, there were only about four gallons of beer in the fermenter--looks like this is going to be a stout batch. The sanitized bottles (I use Star San) had not finished drying, so I rinsed them out with boiled/boiling water. I hope this didn't de-sanitize them somehow.





May 11, 2008: Fat Tire Amber Ale

After talking with Burton Benkwith a couple of weeks ago, I decided to try another clone brew, Fat Tire Ale. I’d also learned of a good brew supplier in Texas, Austin Homebrew Supply, so I ordered a kit from them (I highly recommend Austin Homebrew by the way).

So yesterday, Sunday May 11, our friends John and Erika came over, and while Mary Pat and Erika were doing baby stuff, John and I commenced to brewin’. Good times were had, and the beer looks like it might be a winner. Here’s the recipe:

Malt:
A. Specialty grains steeped for 15 minutes:
- 3 oz Biscuit Malt
- 1/2 lb. Crystal 90L
- 1/4 lb. Victory Malt
- 6 oz. Munich Malt

B. 7 lbs. ale extract

Hops:
3/4 oz. Perle - 60 min.
1/2 oz. M. Hood - 15 min.
1/4 oz. Glacier - 5 min.

Yeast:
White labs California Ale Yeast

Update: 7-18-08
Well this one was a bust. Very weak fermentation. It was very flat and had a very soapy taste. I thought the yeast malfunctioned but I'm really not sure what happened. I brewed it outside in the yard, so contamination is a likely culprit. Some of the beers, after sitting for almost two months, have shown increased fermentation but still taste bad. Burton was disappointed, I'm afraid.

Update: 7-21-08
I've discovered that the dull, soapy flavor is due to oxidation. A better explanation of oxidation can be found here. I've concluded that one of the reasons my beer has been oxidizing is because I've been using a plastic bucket for the primary fermenter. The problem is that the bucket seal isn't hermetic, a fact I discovered when I recently filled the bucket with water and turned it upside down, and the water leaked profusely. Only glass fermenters for now on.





April 5, 2008: Cream Stout

I've always liked cream stout ever since Sam Adams begin producing them as a seasonal beer several years ago. My last stout came out pretty well, so I decided to give it another go. The problem is with the recipe I used. I found it online in the recipe library at beertools.com, and must admit I was beguiled by the fact that it is called a Sam Adams Cream Stout Clone. Here's the recipe which I followed more or less:

1 lb. English Chocolate Malt
.75 lbs. Crystal Malt
.5 lbs Roasted Barley
4.5 Munton's Dry Amber Malt Extract
1 lb. Munton's Dry Wheat Malt Extract
1.5 oz. Fuggle pellets hops (bittering)
.5 oz East Kent Goldings pellet hops (flavoring)
1 tube White Labs Irish Stout liquid yeast

Update: 4-21-08
Bottled the beer tonight with no problems and had a sip. It tastes good, if I do say so myself. It really does have a rich sweetness to it. I could taste the alcohol, so I’m pretty sure I didn’t botch this batch like I did the last one. Party in two weeks at my crib, folks.





March 16, 2008: classic India Pale Ale

Back to the classic pale ale again. This time I wanted to try a high gravity, heavily hopped ale using high-quality liquid yeast. Jim and I kicked back on Sunday and brewed this batch up easily. Here’s my recipe:

4 lbs INDIA PALE ALE Muntons Malt Extract
4 lbs Alexander PALE Malt Extract
2 oz. Cascade LEAF Hops (AAU 7.4 )
one teaspoon Irish Moss
one tube White Labs British Ale Yeast

I added one ounce of hops at the beginning of the boil, and another ounce with ten minutes left. Added the moss with second batch of hops.

After some research I learned that it is sometimes not enough to simply pour the wort into the fermenting bucket and let it splash around. This can result in low amounts of oxygen in the wort, meaning the yeast eventually starves and the beer never gets a crisp taste. So I went ahead and purchased an Oxynator, which forces oxygen through the wort right before pitching the yeast. It works sort of like an aerator in your fish tank. I’ll try it on the next batch and see how it works.

Thanks for helping, Jim!

Update: 4-4-08
Bottled the beer into my cool new 32 oz. blue bottles. Beer looked fine. Must remember to not spurt the beer into the bottles and risk oxidizing it.

Update: 4-22-08

OH NOES!

I goofed on this batch. I must have forgotten to aerate the beer after I pitched the yeast because the beer is flat, flat, flat. It tastes good, but very little alcohol is present and very little carbonation. I’m guessing the lack of oxygen caused a weak fermentation.

On the good side, it’s the best tasting non-alcoholic beer I’ve ever had..





January 12, 2008: American Cream Ale

After doing the stout I wanted to go for a lighter beer, so I perused the homebrewit.com kits until I found the right recipe: American Cream Ale. I’ve always liked the Samuel Adams Cream Ale so I figured this was the right choice — plus, the ale is described as “All malt, straw in color, medium bodied with a lightly hopped flavor. By using the Hallertau hop, it is very easy to drink and a crowd favorite.” Nothing wrong with that.

The recipe:

  • 3.3 lbs.Thomas Cooper’s malt extract
  • 2 lbs. L.D. Carlson light spray-dried malt extract
  • 1 1/2 oz. Hallertau bittering hops 4.2%
  • 1/2 oz. Hallertau finishing hops 4.2%
  • 11 grams Nottingham Brewing Yeast
  • 3-4 grams Munton’s Active Brewing Yeast

This brew involved adding the bittering hops at the beginning of the boil and the finishing hops in the last ten minutes. Everything went fine until I poured the cooled wort into the carboy, when I realized that I needed to add about half a gallon of water to compensate for the water that boiled off. The only clean water I had was too hot, so I was forced to add about a third of a gallon of cold tap water. I also didn’t have a good way to take a hydrometer reading, so I have no idea what the original gravity is. I also wasn’t able to correctly strain the hops from the wort, so it has a greenish tint to it. Maybe it’ll be a good Saint Patrick’s day batch.

I used dry yeast this time and proofed it with boiled sugar water. It seemed to be active, but just to be sure I pitched another 3-4 grams of unproofed dry yeast. As of this morning, 1/13/08, primary fermentation had begun and was quite active, so I was pleased. I haven’t decided whether I like the liquid yeast best.

Lessons learned:

1. When brewing with hops, strain the wort as you pour it into the carboy.
2. Have a small funnel in a testtube ready so you can pour a small bit of the wort off for gravity testing. Stabilize the test tube so it doesn’t fall over while pouring.
3. When sanitizing, boil about 3/4 gallon of water and let it cool to room temperature. Use this to top off the fermenter.
4. Use a 6.5 gallon carboy for primary fermentation rather than a 5 gallon. A 5 gallon doesn’t allow enough oxidation and the yeast will starve. Crap.

Update

3-16-08 - Well, it came out quite well. Tastes a little soapy to me but everyone else seems to like it. The fermentation went nicely as it turns out. Overall a lighter beer, but solid. Slightly bitter finish. Must figure out the soapy taste though.





January 7, 2008: Irish Stout

For my second beer I wanted to try my favorite, an Irish stout. I used the following recipe:

  • 4 lbs. Mountmellick hopped Irish stout malt extract
  • 3 lbs Crosby and Baker Munton’s Dark dried malt Extract
  • One tube of White Labs liquid Irish ale yeast
  • 1/4 teaspoon Irish Moss
  • 1/2 oz Kent Golding hop pellets, 5.5%

For this brew I used my shiny new turkey fryer, which allowed a full 5-gallon boil. No problems at all. I really like the propane heater, too, as it can be quickly adjusted during the hot break to avoid a boilover. I added the Kent Golding hops in the last 15 minutes of the boil, and the Irish moss during the last 10 minutes. For the last ten minutes I also let the immersion chiller sanitize in the boiling wort. The chiller ended up working too well–after 20 minutes the wort was down to 66 degrees rather than the ideal 70-75, although my thermomenter could have been wrong. My original gravity calculation was around 1.055, but again this may be off since I’m not confident my thermometer reading was corect. Anyway, as of Tuesday morning, 1/8/08, fermentation had begun in the bucket.

Lessons learned:

1. When cooling the wort, immerse the pot in ice water and use the immersion chiller. Watch the temperature like a hawk.
2. During the boil, only partially cover the pot, if at all. According to the experts, the sulfur compounds in the wort need to be boiled off, and if they condense on the pot lid and fall back into the boil they can form dimethyl sulfide which contributes a cooked cabbage or corn-like flavor to the beer.
3. If it looks like the wort is going to boil over, either lower the heat or spray the surface with water from a spray bottle.

    Update #1

Wednesday, 1/23/08 - Racked the beer with no problems at all. The wort looked clean and smelled, well, like fermented Irish stout is supposed to smell, I hope. I filled just shy of 48 bottles, almost two whole cases. For now on I’m going to use a springless bottle filler wand to make sure the beer doesn’t get oxygenated as it pours into the bottles. I’ve been using the spigot on the bottling bucket but little bubbles keep forming. I’m going to have patience and not try this batch until a full two weeks has passed.

    Update #2

Wednesday, 3/16/08 - This one turned out great. Nice head, darker than cough syrup but with an easy taste, light bitter aftertaste. The bottle will start foaming slowly as I open it. Not sure if this is good but whatever. Very smooth finish. Stouts take a long time to mature, so these later few have been far better than the initial tastes. Can’t help but face the reality of the caloric intake, though, so the stouts may not get much rotation in the Crook household. But dang, good beer. The only thing is that the head is dark brown rather than light brown like Murphy’s. I love the way Murphy’s separates so cleanly, so light and smooth. Anyway, chalk up a successful stout.

Still have no idea what the specific gravity was. Forgot to write it down.





See the 2007 brews here.

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Delectably dubious hombrew brought to you by your friendly crooked brewmeister, McDowell Crook. Herein are recorded my misadventures in brewing ale, barley pop, belly wash, bock, brew, brown bottle, porter, slops, stout, suds, or what have you. Join me each month as I heat up the kettle, or stop by anytime and we'll drink mash and talk trash.

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