Niagra Grape Wine

I recently got about 40 pounds of niagra grapes from a friend of mine.  Yesterday, I went through them to pick out the bad one and get them off the stem.  I did it by hand.  It took four hours!  I had spiders try biting me, earwigs crawling on me, and lady bugs.  I didn't have a fruit press so I ended up using a blender.  So, what was supposed to be crushed grapes turned into a grape puree.  I added some water, bentonite, two camden tablets, and hopefully a little luck.

I have brewed many beers.  I don't have bugs crawling on me when I brew.....  Oh well.  It was an experience.  Hopefully it turns out well and it is worth the effort.

Red Pale Ale

Ok... So my last batch of pale ale is gone already.  So, I decided to make a variation to it.

5 lbs German Pilsner malt
5 lbs Cargill 2 Row Pale Malt
1 lb German Melanoidin Malt
0.5 lb Flaked Corn
1 oz Sterling Pellet
1 oz Liberty

and the yeast is dry Nottingham. 

I wanted a nice red hue to this one.  I am brewing it now and it smells sooooooo good!

Black IPA is fermenting!

I made a black IPA yesterday.  I used 4 ounces of Chinook at 12.0% Alpha Acid and 4 ounces of Nugget at 11.7% Alpha Acid.  I think it is gonna be a good one!

I added 1 pound of German Melanoidin malt to this.  Oddly, I think it gave it a little bit of a purple (ish) hue!  Oh well, let's see how it comes out.

Black IPA is next!

I just bought the ingredients to make a black IPA.  I am going to use a full pound of chocolate malt and a pound of German Melanoidin malt.  I love using Melanoidin malt.

10 lbs 2 row pale malt
1 lb german melanoidin malt
1 lb chocolate malt
1 lb crystal malt 60 lovibond
1 lb cara pils malt (dextrine malt)
4 oz chinook alpha acid 11.7%
4 oz nugget alpha acid 12.0%
safale us-05 dry yeast

ok... So i'm deviating a bit from the standard black IPA by using the dextine malt, but I wanted to!  This brew is going to be tasty!  IPA's are my favorite.

On the search for an eisbock craft beer....

I am looking for a good eisbock craft beer.  Anybody know of one available in retail stores?  I would like to buy a couple as I am thinking of making one.  I want to get a feel for the style and give it a shot!

Please let me know!

Eisbock

I am doing some research on different beer styles for my new book and ran into one I haven't tried yet.  It is basically the same recipe as a Bock or a Dopplebock but they slowly freeze the beer and yank out the frozen water.  This gives the beer a lot of body, flavor, and alcohol.  I don't currently have the equipment to make one so I am looking for a good one to try.  Please make a recommendation for me.

Also, I think I will make a Bock or Dopplebock soon.  Here is the recipe I'm thinking of:

Amt.	Unit	Ingredient	Form	Time
6.0	LBS	Pilsner Malt	Grain	90
7.0	LBS	Munich Malt	Grain	90
0.5	LBS	CaraVienna Malt	Grain	90
1.75	OZ	Tettnanger (Alpha Acid 3.6%)	Pellet	60
0.75	OZ	Mt. Hood (Alpha Acid 4.0%)	Pellet	15
0.50	OZ	Tettnanger (Alpha Acid 3.6%)	Pellet	2
1.0	TSP	Irish Moss
1.0	Vial	White Labs German Bock Lager (WLP833)	Liquid Yeast

Dry Hopping - Carefull!!!!

Ok... so I made an ESB and decided to dry hop it with East Kent Goldings whole leaf hops.  I put the hops in about one day after putting the yeast in.  It hadn't activated fully yet but I thought I was fine.  I should've been as my plan was to dry hop for three days and then get the beer moved to a secondary fermenting vessel.  However, I forgot about it.  I wasn't home for a few days and by the time I got back, fermentation was pretty much done.  On day NINE, I remembered I needed to move the beer.  I took a sample and it has a good flavor, but it has now become an IPA!  LOL!  Oh well, I guess I'll have to try making it again to get it right.  It's fine though.  I love IPA's as well.

Extra Special Bitter

I made an all grain Extra Special Bitter (ESB) on Sunday.  It was a lot of fun.  My modified cooler worked fantastically.  The only downside was that I had to tilt it a bit to get the rest of the wort out.  But that was easy enough!  I mashed for about 2 1/2 hours to see how long I could hold the temperature in the mashtun.  I started at 150 degrees F and ended at 148 degrees 2 1/2 hours later.  It was pretty cool.
Here's my recipe:

Amt.	Unit	Ingredient	Form	Time
12.0	LBS	Maris Otter Malt	Grain	250
1.0	LBS	American Crystal Malt 80L	Grain	250
1.0	LBS	American Wheat Malt 40L	Grain	250
0.75	OZ	Perle (Alpha Acid 7.0%)	Pellet	60
0.50	OZ	Perle (Alpha Acid 7.0%)	Pellet	45
0.50	OZ	Fuggles (Alpha Acid 4.5%)	Pellet	30
0.50	OZ	Fuggles (Alpha Acid 4.5%)	Pellet	15
0.50	OZ	Fuggles (Alpha Acid 4.5%)	Pellet	10
0.50	OZ	Fuggles (Alpha Acid 4.5%)	Pellet	5
1.0	OZ	East Kent Goldings(Alpha Acid 4.5%)	Whole Leaf	Dry Hop for 3 Days
1.0	TSP	Irish Moss
1.0	PKG	Danstar Nottingham Ale Yeast

Belgian Tripel Recipe All Grain

Here is a good recipe for a Belgian Tripel.  If you brew them, and you aren't a Trappist Monk, you can't call it a Trappist Ale.  However, if you are a Trappist Monk, you'd already know how to brew a Trappist Ale, right? 

Anyway, here is a recipe for a Belgian Tripel.  I'd like to know what you think.

Amt.	Unit	Ingredient	Form	Time
19.0	LBS	German Pilsner Malt	Grain	90
1.0	LBS	Vienna Malt	Grain	90
1.5	LBS	Light Belgian Candy Sugar	Sugar	10
1.5	OZ	Tettnanger (4.5% Alpha Acid)	Pellet	60
1.0	OZ	Saaz (3.75% Alpha Acid)	Pellet	30
0.50	OZ	Saaz (3.75% Alpha Acid)	Pellet	15
0.75	OZ	Cascade (7.1% Alpha Acid)	Pellet	10
1.0	TSP	Irish Moss
1.0	Vial	White Labs Abbey Ale (WLP530)	Liquid Yeast

Mash at 152 Degrees F for 90 minutes minimum if you are doing a single stage infusion. Add the sugar to the boil in the last 10 minutes but before adding the Cascade hops.  The sugar will need to be stirred and desolved well.

A Dunkelweizen???

What is a Dunkelweizen?

This is pronounced “doonn-kel vite-sen”.  The “oo” sounds the same as the “oo” in the word “foot”.   This is a dark version of a hefewiezen.  The beer tends to be a bit cloudy and can range in color from a dark yellow to brown.  They are highly carbonated with a long lasting head.  These are not heavily hopped and tend to have a fruity flavor.  However, this type of beer can also have the flavor hints of clove, vanilla, banana, apple, bubblegum and nutmeg.  The alcohol content can range from 4.0% to 7.0%.

Belgian Tripel

I am researching the different types of beers for my new book.  I found this interesting about the Belgian Tripel. 

The Belgian Tripel is very similar to the Belgian Strong Dark Ale.  It is called a Tripel because it is brewed with up to three times the malt of a standard Belgian Ale.  This type of beer would be called a Trappist Ale if it were actually brewed by the Trappist Monks.  But, since it isn’t, you can’t call it a Trappist Ale.  These are bright gold in color and have a thick dense head.  The aroma is spicy, but can be powdery or fruity as well.  These tend to be rather high in alcohol.  The alcohol content can range from 7.0% to 12.0%.