Holiday Gift Ideas
17/11/13 16:02 Filed in: Brewing Gifts
If you are looking for a gift idea for someone who enjoys drink in beer, try given him or her a beer brewing starter kit.
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Organic Dunkelweizen
I love wheat beer. I’ve brewed many types, from a tankard Hefe Weizen to a Wheat IPA to a Jalapeño Wheat. However, I just realized I have never brewed a Dunkleweizen. So I set out to change that.
These days I am pretty much a partial mash brewer. I don’t have the equipment to do full grain brewing, but like the variety that flavors that using grains provides me. So I set out to find a partial mash Dunkelweizen recipe. I could not find one that I liked, so I set out to modify my existing Hefe Weizen partial mash recipe. After some research, I developed this recipe. I will brew it soon and report back how it turns out.
Ingredients
Instructions
Soak crushed grains in 1.9 gallons of water at 150 degrees F for 40-60 minutes. Use a grain bag in which the grains can fit loosely in. Strain and rinse with another 1 gallon of water at 165 degrees F. Add rest of water for brewing and bring to a boil. Remove heat, add DME, and return to a boil. Add hops, and then boil for 60 minutes. Cool, add wort to fermentor, add water until wort is at 5 gallons, aerate and pitch yeast when wort is below 75 degrees F.
These days I am pretty much a partial mash brewer. I don’t have the equipment to do full grain brewing, but like the variety that flavors that using grains provides me. So I set out to find a partial mash Dunkelweizen recipe. I could not find one that I liked, so I set out to modify my existing Hefe Weizen partial mash recipe. After some research, I developed this recipe. I will brew it soon and report back how it turns out.
Ingredients
- 3.5 pounds of organic White Wheat Malt
- 2 pounds of organic German Munich Type II Malt
- 4 ounces of organic Vienna Malt
- 4 ounces of organic CaraMunich® Malt
- 2 ounces of organic Black Malt
- 2 pounds of organic DME
- 1 ounce of organic German Hallertauer Tradition 6% hops (6 HBU) at 60 minutes
- 2 11g packs of Danstar Munich Wheat Beer Yeast
Instructions
Soak crushed grains in 1.9 gallons of water at 150 degrees F for 40-60 minutes. Use a grain bag in which the grains can fit loosely in. Strain and rinse with another 1 gallon of water at 165 degrees F. Add rest of water for brewing and bring to a boil. Remove heat, add DME, and return to a boil. Add hops, and then boil for 60 minutes. Cool, add wort to fermentor, add water until wort is at 5 gallons, aerate and pitch yeast when wort is below 75 degrees F.
Jalapeño Wheat
Last year I was introduced to a beer that at first sip I absolutely loved. It was a Jalapeño Wheat beer. That’s right, jalapeños were added to the beer. It had a wonderful warmth to it. It definitely had a spicy bight, but not so spicy as to be uncomfortable. And that spice was nicely balanced by the sweetness of a wheat beer. It was a great combination of flavors. So I set out to make my own version of the beer.
I started off with my organic hefe weizen beer, but to balance the strong jalapeño flavor, I added slightly more hops and Munich Malt. I had no idea how many jalapeños to add, so I tried about 2 ounces of chopped jalapeños in the boil. After putting the wort in the fermentor, I tasted the wort. While I could taste jalapeño, I could not feel any spice. So I decided to “dry jalapeño” beer in a secondary. When I racked the fermenting beer to a secondary, I added about 8-10 jalapeños that I had sliced in half and build for 15 minutes (and subsequently cooled) to the secondary fermenter. I let it sit for 3 weeks. After that, I bottled conditioned the beer with corn sugar, and 3 weeks later I tried my creation. I was even better than I remembered. I really liked this beer.
Here is the complete recipe if you want to create it yourself:
Ingredients
Instructions
Soak crushed wheat malt and munich malt grains in 1.3 gallons of water at 150 degrees F for 40-60 minutes. Use a grain bag in which the grains can fit loosely in. Strain and rinse with another 1 gallon of water at 165 degrees F. Add rest of water for brewing and bring to a boil. Remove heat, add DME, and return to a boil. Add 1/2 ounce Hallertauer hops, and then boil for 60 minutes. At 15 minutes remaining, add another 1/2 ounce Hallertauer hops and 2 sliced jalapeños. You may also add some irish moss at 15 minutes if you like. Cool, add wort to fermentor, add water until wort is at 5 gallons, aerate and pitch yeast when wort is below 75 degrees F. After 5-7 days, transfer fermenting beer to a secondary. Slice 10 jalapeños in half (getting rid of stems) and boil them in water for 15 minutes to sanitize them and soften their flesh. Cool the jalapeños to the beer’s temperature. Add the jalapeños to the secondary, and let sit for 2-3 weeks. Bottle with corn sugar.
I started off with my organic hefe weizen beer, but to balance the strong jalapeño flavor, I added slightly more hops and Munich Malt. I had no idea how many jalapeños to add, so I tried about 2 ounces of chopped jalapeños in the boil. After putting the wort in the fermentor, I tasted the wort. While I could taste jalapeño, I could not feel any spice. So I decided to “dry jalapeño” beer in a secondary. When I racked the fermenting beer to a secondary, I added about 8-10 jalapeños that I had sliced in half and build for 15 minutes (and subsequently cooled) to the secondary fermenter. I let it sit for 3 weeks. After that, I bottled conditioned the beer with corn sugar, and 3 weeks later I tried my creation. I was even better than I remembered. I really liked this beer.
Here is the complete recipe if you want to create it yourself:
Ingredients
- 3.5 pounds of organic White Wheat Malt
- 12 ounces of organic German Munich Malt
- 3 pounds of organic DME
- 0.5 ounce of organic German Hallertauer Tradition 6% hops (3 HBU) at 60 minutes remaining
- 0.5 ounce of organic German Hallertauer Tradition 6% hops (3 HBU) at 15 minutes remaining
- 12-20 organic jalapeños
- 2 sliced and added to the boil at 15 minutes remaining
- White Labs 300 Hefe Weissen Ale yeast. Starter is recommended.
Instructions
Soak crushed wheat malt and munich malt grains in 1.3 gallons of water at 150 degrees F for 40-60 minutes. Use a grain bag in which the grains can fit loosely in. Strain and rinse with another 1 gallon of water at 165 degrees F. Add rest of water for brewing and bring to a boil. Remove heat, add DME, and return to a boil. Add 1/2 ounce Hallertauer hops, and then boil for 60 minutes. At 15 minutes remaining, add another 1/2 ounce Hallertauer hops and 2 sliced jalapeños. You may also add some irish moss at 15 minutes if you like. Cool, add wort to fermentor, add water until wort is at 5 gallons, aerate and pitch yeast when wort is below 75 degrees F. After 5-7 days, transfer fermenting beer to a secondary. Slice 10 jalapeños in half (getting rid of stems) and boil them in water for 15 minutes to sanitize them and soften their flesh. Cool the jalapeños to the beer’s temperature. Add the jalapeños to the secondary, and let sit for 2-3 weeks. Bottle with corn sugar.
Hallucinogenic Shakes
I recently tried the beer named Delirium Tremens for the first time. I was impressed. So impressed that I had to brew it. I searched for a recipe and finally found the one below. Unlike my other recent brews, I did not brew with 100% organic ingredients. This was because I couldn't find organic versions of some of the ingredients. So I brewed this beer mostly organic, switching only some of the ingredients in the recipe I found for the closest available organic equivalent. The beer is still in the secondary, so I cannot speak to this recipe's accuracy yet. My loca
One thing I did try that was new (for me) when brewing this beer was to make my own invert sugar. I followed this recipe using organic sugar and organic lemon juice for the citric acid, and used that instead of buying the invert sugar.
Delirium Tremens
7 oz. German Munich Malt
5 oz. Belgian Biscuit Malt
3 oz. Belgian Aromatic Malt
7½ lbs. Extra Light DME
1½ lbs. Belgian Clear Candi Sugar
1 lb. Invert Sugar (Lyle’s Golden Syrup)
1½ oz. Styrian Goldings @ 4.7% AA (7.1 HBU) (bittering hop)
¼ oz. Styrian Goldings (flavor hop)
¼ oz. Czech Saaz (flavor hop)
1 tsp. Irish Moss
¼ oz. Czech Saaz (aroma hop)
¼ tsp. Grains of Paradise
1 pkg. Wyeast 1214 Belgian Abbey Ale or 1 pkg. Wyeast 1388 Belgian Strong Ale
½ cup Corn Sugar (priming)
⅓ cup Belgian Clear Candi Sugar (priming)
OG: 1.084 – 1.085
FG: 1.013 – 1.015
SRM: ~7
IBU: 26
ABV: 9.1%
Method
Heat 1 gallon of water to 155°F. Remove the pot from the heat and steep the specialty grains at 150°F for 30 minutes. Strain the water into the brew pot. Sparge the grains with ½ gallon of 150°F water. Bring the water to a boil, remove from the heat and add the Malt Extract, Candi Sugar, Syrup, and bittering hop. Add water until the total volume in the brew pot is 3½ gallons. Boil for 45 minutes then add the flavor hops and Irish Moss. Boil for 11 minutes and add the aroma hop and Grains of Paradise. Boil for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Strain the cooled wort into the primary fermenter and add cold water to obtain 5⅛ gallons. When the wort temperature is below 80°F, pitch the yeast. Ferment in the primary fermenter for 7 days or until fermentation slows, then siphon into the secondary fermenter and add dry hops. Prime the beer in the second stage with another dose of the same strain of fresh yeast 3 days before bottling. Bottle when fermentation is complete, target gravity is reached and beer has cleared (approximately 6 weeks) with priming Sugar and Candi that has been boiled for 10 minutes in 2 cups of water. Let prime at 70°F for approximately 6 weeks until carbonated, then store at cellar temperature.
One thing I did try that was new (for me) when brewing this beer was to make my own invert sugar. I followed this recipe using organic sugar and organic lemon juice for the citric acid, and used that instead of buying the invert sugar.
Delirium Tremens
7 oz. German Munich Malt
5 oz. Belgian Biscuit Malt
3 oz. Belgian Aromatic Malt
7½ lbs. Extra Light DME
1½ lbs. Belgian Clear Candi Sugar
1 lb. Invert Sugar (Lyle’s Golden Syrup)
1½ oz. Styrian Goldings @ 4.7% AA (7.1 HBU) (bittering hop)
¼ oz. Styrian Goldings (flavor hop)
¼ oz. Czech Saaz (flavor hop)
1 tsp. Irish Moss
¼ oz. Czech Saaz (aroma hop)
¼ tsp. Grains of Paradise
1 pkg. Wyeast 1214 Belgian Abbey Ale or 1 pkg. Wyeast 1388 Belgian Strong Ale
½ cup Corn Sugar (priming)
⅓ cup Belgian Clear Candi Sugar (priming)
OG: 1.084 – 1.085
FG: 1.013 – 1.015
SRM: ~7
IBU: 26
ABV: 9.1%
Method
Heat 1 gallon of water to 155°F. Remove the pot from the heat and steep the specialty grains at 150°F for 30 minutes. Strain the water into the brew pot. Sparge the grains with ½ gallon of 150°F water. Bring the water to a boil, remove from the heat and add the Malt Extract, Candi Sugar, Syrup, and bittering hop. Add water until the total volume in the brew pot is 3½ gallons. Boil for 45 minutes then add the flavor hops and Irish Moss. Boil for 11 minutes and add the aroma hop and Grains of Paradise. Boil for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Strain the cooled wort into the primary fermenter and add cold water to obtain 5⅛ gallons. When the wort temperature is below 80°F, pitch the yeast. Ferment in the primary fermenter for 7 days or until fermentation slows, then siphon into the secondary fermenter and add dry hops. Prime the beer in the second stage with another dose of the same strain of fresh yeast 3 days before bottling. Bottle when fermentation is complete, target gravity is reached and beer has cleared (approximately 6 weeks) with priming Sugar and Candi that has been boiled for 10 minutes in 2 cups of water. Let prime at 70°F for approximately 6 weeks until carbonated, then store at cellar temperature.
RTFM
17/11/10 23:29
So all my complaining about my final gravities being low were due to my own cluelessness. I have been using my new refractometer to measure both my original and final gravities, but I never knew exactly how to use it. The device looked simple enough, how hard could it be? Turns out that using a refractometer for the final gravity measurement is affected by the alcohol in the brew, so one has to correct the measurement for the alcohol content. Of course, you don't know the alcohol content, that's why you are measuring it. But, you do know your original gravity. So, to correct your final gravity you can either use the formula found here, or use one of the many brix correction calculators out there.
