Category: Homebrew

Yakima IPA 3

I reformulated my Yakima IPA for a 3rd time this weekend. I’m taking advantage of my abundant hop supply to experiment with different boil times and post boil techniques. This time I used 2oz of Centennials for 60 minutes, 1.5 oz of Cascade at 15 minutes, and .5 ounces more at 5 minutes. Then I used .5 ounces of Cascades in a pseudo-hop-back, by putting the hops into a strainer and pouring the warm wort over them into the carboy. We’ll see what happens. Here’s the Recipe.

Bert on Tap

I’ve moved my Yakima IPA 2 and Michelle’s Scotch Ale into the kegs, and they’re carbonating.

Also, we’ve got a new addition to the kegerator: a bronzed Bert Grant tap handle. Its cool. Pictures forthcoming.

Yakima IPA 2

Michelle and I are both doing a batch this time. Its the first time she’s brewed since 2000. She’s doing a Scotch Ale, and I’m doing a variation on a previous IPA.

Here’s the revised Yakima IPA:

  • 6lb light malt extract
  • 1 lb. Victory Malt
  • 1 lb. Munich Malt
  • 1 lb. Domestic 2-Row Malt
  • 1.5 oz. Nugget Hops (14% alpha)
  • 1.0 oz. Cascade Hops (5.3% alpha)
  • 1.0 oz Cascade Hops (dry hopping)
  • White Labs English Ale Yeast WLP005

You know the rest…

Chocolate Stout

Last weekend I moved the chocolate stout to secondary, and like I expeted the gravity was at about 1.020 after adding the extra gallon of espresso. A little high but thats ok because I want it to be sweet since the espresso obviously will add some bitterness. I think that I am going to let it mature a little longer than usual before bottling. This will help reduce the strong bite of the espresso. I want to esspresso taste to be there but right now its a little to much.

Hop Heaven

My father-in-law gave me ~5 lbs of brewer’s cut hops for christmas. Imagine how that package smelled as you unwrapped it.

Brewer’s cuts shipped from growers/packers to brewers for sampling. I got some Cascade, Willamette, and Centennial. Yum.

Blackbeard Oatmeal Stout Update

When I moved my stout from primary to secondary fermentation, the gravity had dropped from 1.050 to 1.020. Not quite what I wanted, so hopefully secondary will keep the process going.

I’m skeptical however, since below the layer of yeast trub was a dark layer of settled malt sediments. It was kind of pretty, but I fear it may have weakened my beer. So far its good, but a little sweet.

Double Chocolate Espresso

This weekend I brewed a stout that I think I am going to call Hells Bells Stout, but I’ll wait until its done to make that decision. Its a double chocolate espresso stout that I found the recipe for in last months Brew Your Own magazine (byo.com). I changed the recipe slightly (different yeast) but for the most part I held true to the recipe in the mag. The wort tasted very good (it had a pound of Ghiradelli chocolate powder in it, mmmm…), so I hope it turns out well. Next weekend I will move to secondary and add the espresso. I will let you know how it turns out.

~posted by Scott Dunlap

Blackbeard Oatmeal Stout

I just brewed an Oatmeal stout that was my own recipe. I’m still somewhat concerned because the OG was only 1.050, but I’m hoping it was due to malt settling. Its a beautiful color, but we’ll have to wait and see how it turns out. I’ll add the recipe once I make sure its worth repeating.