beer recipes

Jalapeño Business Pale Ale

Posted on by mrwesleyjohnson

I had a really tasty beer with Serrano peppers from Headflyer Brewing, it was crisp, fruity, and full of pepper flavor and aroma with very little to no heat.  They describe it as “a combination of light heat from Serrano peppers paired with the citrus backdrop of pineapple” and it was bangin! This reminded me of some habanero peppers I put in vodka to make a tincture a while ago. When using peppers, a lot of people suggest using tinctures so you can start with a little and adjust the flavor\heat. I’ve also heard of using peppers in the boil to get deeper flavor. After some research on how to go about using the peppers, I wanted something easy drinking with nice pepper flavor so I settled on a Jalapeno Pale Ale.

To get the pepper flavor I wanted, I used them in the boil and also made a tincture to dose at kegging. For the boil peppers, I split and roasted them in the oven for about 20 minutes and threw them in the for last 15 minutes of the boil (1 deseeded). I ended up using all of the tincture at kegging to get maximum pepper flavor. Halfway through the keg I threw in a chopped jalapeno I froze in case I needed more. It added some nice spice and fresh pepper flavor. I wanted to use fruity hops, since it paired well in the beer that inspired this recipe so I used El Dorado and Citra hops. I’m quite pleased how this beer came out and it’s all gone as I write this. Check the recipe.

Jalapeño Business Pale Ale

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
3 gal 60 min  35.15 IBUs 7.32 SRM 1.047 1.010 5.17 %

Fermentablesgrains

Name Amount %
Pale Ale Malt 4 lbs 72.7
Red Wheat 1 lbs 18.2
Crystal 40L .3 lbs 5.5
Golden Naked Oats .2 lbs 3.6

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
El Dorado 3 g 60 min Boil pellet 14.4
El Dorado .5 oz 8 min Boil pellet 14.4
Citra .5 oz 5 min Boil pellet 13.1
El Dorado .5 oz 3 days Dry hop pellet 14.4
Citra .5 oz 3 days Dry hop pellet 13.1
jalapeños
Split jalapeños (1 deseeded) before roasting.

Other

Name Amount Time Use Form
Jalapeño peppers 2 each 15 min Boil Spice
Jalapeno tincture ~1.5 oz 0 days Keg Spice

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
American Ale Yeast US-05 Fermentis/Safale 74-76% 64°F-82°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash 150°F 60 min

jalapeños in the boil

Water

Calcium Magnesium Sodium Chloride Sulfate
129 2 12 109 151

Fermentation

Step Time Temperature
Primary  10 days Ambient (~68)

Notes

Brewed: 4/4/19 | OG: 1.046 | FG: 1.008 | ABV: 5%

Water: Minneapolis tap water,  campden added, 2.5 g gypsum, 2 g calcium chloride

70% efficiency| Mash ph: 5.1 (adjusted) | whirfloc/yeast nutrient @15

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Blueberry Muffin IPA

Posted on by mrwesleyjohnson
Infected!

In my early days of brewing I found a post on Homebrewtalk about a Blueberry Oatmeal IPA and I tweaked the recipe a bit and brewed it. Everything was going well until I added fresh blueberries to the secondary and that’s when I got my first infection! Ever since I’ve always used frozen fruit and haven’t had any issues.

I rarely brew the exact same beer twice, but I often make tweaks and brew a similar recipe which brought up the Blueberry Muffin Ale. For this beer I used a base of 2 row, a bunch of oats (malted and flaked), a little Munich malt for some clean maltiness, and added some victory malt for that biscuity, toasy, bready component. I added a dash of maltodextrine for mouthfeel and mosaic hops later in the boil for aroma. I then added 3 lbs of blueberries for 7 days in the secondary and opted out (forgot) the dry hop. It was nice to revisit the idea of this beer and add what I felt the recipe needed. Check it out!

Blueberry Muffin IPA

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
3 gal 60 min 42.87 IBUs 7.6 SRM 1.065 1.015 6.53 %

grain

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Rahr 2 row malt 5 lbs 62.5
Fawcett Oat malt 1 lbs 12.5
Flaked Oats 1 lbs 12.5
Munich malt 10L .5 lbs 6.3
Victory .5 lbs 6.3
Maltodextrin (3% fermentable) 2 oz 1.7

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Enigma 4 g 60 min Boil pellet 17.8
Mosaic .5 oz 15min Boil pellet 13.1
Mosaic .5 oz 5 min Boil pellet 13.1

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
English Ale Yeast S-04 Fermentis/Safale 74-76% ~68 (Ambient)

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash 153°F 60 min

Water

Calcium Magnesium Sodium Chloride Sulfate
116 2 14 52 183

Fermentation

Step Time Temperature
Primary 14 days Ambient (~68)
Secondary 7 days Ambient (~68)

Blueberries in the secondary

Notes

Brewed: 12/17/18 | OG: 1.062 | FG: 1.008 | ABV: 7.74%

Water: Minneapolis tap water,  campden added, 3.3 g gypsum, .6 g calcium chloride to mash

70% efficiency| Mash ph: 5.3 (adjusted) | whirfloc/yeast nutrient @15 | +.65 abv for fruit |15 sec pure O2

Tasting notes to follow.

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Enigma Oat Coat

Posted on by mrwesleyjohnson

I love enigma hops. Enigma hops are an Australian variety that are descendants of the Swiss Tettnang hop. Their descriptors are “pinot gris, raspberries, red currant, and light tropical fruit.” In the hop spectrum, they’re heavy on the fruit and they’re close to galaxy and vic secret, but lean more toward spice (see pic).

I had my first taste when I got my hands on a fresh can of Other Half‘s Enigma IPA. I loved how the hops were a little spicy, but also really fruity, tropical, and slightly dank. I was then on the search to get some of these hops. At that time, they weren’t easy to get, but I kept searching. I then got my hands on Other Half’s DDH All Enigma Everything and that really showcased the hops juiciness and fruitiness and I was even further hooked! Once I was finally able to get some Enigma hops I brewed an all Enigma IPA and it was bomb. Later I brewed Enigmanilla, with all enigma hops. Now on to the Enigma Oat Coat.

This beer has a simple base of Pale Ale malt and Fawcett Oat malt. I love brewing with oats, and now that I can regularly get oat malt, I’ve been using it quite a bit. I feel it gives the beer a distinct “oat” flavor and does wonders for head retention and body. Hopped exclusively with enigma hops, this has all the fruity, lightly spicy goodness. Check the recipe! 

Enigma Oat Coat

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
3 gal 60 min 40 IBUs 5.94 SRM 1.060 1.015 5.87 %

Fermentables

Fawcett Oat Malt
Name Amount %
American Pale malt 5 lbs 66.7
Fawcett Oat malt 2.5 lbs 33.3

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Enigma 2.5 g 60 min Boil pellet 17.8
Enigma .5 oz 5 min Boil pellet 17.8
Enigma .5 oz 0 min Flamemout pellet 17.8
Enigma .5 oz 20 min Whirlpool 150°F pellet 17.8
Enigma .5 oz 14 days Dry hop pellet 17.8
Enigma 1 oz 7 days Dry hop pellet 17.8
Enigma .5 oz N/A Keg hop pellet 17.8

enigma hops

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
1318 London III slurry (3rd gen) Wyeast 71-75% 64°F-74°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash 150°F 60 min

Water

Calcium Magnesium Sodium Chloride Sulfate
104 2 14 111 70

Fermentation

Step Time Temperature
Primary 18 days Ambient (~68)

Notes

Brewed: 12/4/18 | OG:1.052 | FG: 1.005 | ABV: 6.2%

Water: Minneapolis tap water| campden, 1 g gypsum, 2 g calc chloride to mash

70% efficiency | whirfloc/yeast nutrient @15

Got horrible efficiency due to crush, FG was abnormally low for this yeast, time for a new generation.

Tasting notes to follow.

 

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Bobby Brown Holiday Brown

Posted on by mrwesleyjohnson

A little while back I brewed and American brown ale (Bobby Brown Ale) and it was really nice. It had chocolate and caramel flavors, but was really clean and drinkable. It’s the season for darker beers and I love a good American brown, so I wanted to revisit and revamp that beer. The BJCP describes a brown ale as “A malty but hoppy beer frequently with chocolate and caramel flavors. The hop flavor and aroma complements and enhances the malt rather than clashing with it.” That’s what I love about brown ales, the balance, the flavors, and the fact that they’re darker, but supremely drinkable.

For the base, I added Maris otter instead of just 2 row. I used Crystal 80 instead of 60, upped the chocolate malt a touch, and added maple syrup in the boil. I wanted to spice it up for the holidays, so i added two cinnamon sticks and some ground allspice, ginger, and nutmeg to the boil. I wanted a silkier mouthfeel so I added some maltodextrin to boost the body. Check the recipe:

Bobby Brown Holiday Brown

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
3 gal 60 min 24.62 IBUs 24.29 SRM 1.061 1.015 5.96 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Rahr 2 row malt 5 lbs 66.5
Maris Otter pale malt 1.5 lbs 20
American Chocolate malt 6 oz 5
Crystal 80L malt 4 oz 3.3
Maple Syrup 4.25 oz 3.5
Maltodextrin (3% fermentable) 2 oz 1.7

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Chinook 8 g 60 min Boil pellet 13.1

Other

Name Amount Time Use Form
Cinnamon stick 2 each 15 min Boil Spice
Dried ginger 1 tsp 15 min Boil Spice
Dried nutmeg .5 tsp 15 min Boil Spice
Dried allspice .5 tsp 15 min Boil Spice

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
Denny’s Favorite 50 Ale Slurry (1450) Wyeast 74-76% 60°F – 70°F

maltodextrin & maple syrup

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash 154°F 60 min

Fermentation

Step Time Temperature
Primary 14 days Ambient (~66)

Notes

Brewed: 11/21/18 | OG: 1.051 | FG: 1.008 | ABV: 5.64%

Water: Minneapolis tap water,  campden added.

65% efficiency | whirfloc/yeast nutrient @15

Tasting notes here.

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The Mad Saison

Posted on by mrwesleyjohnson

If you’re here, then I’m sure you’ve heard of The Mad Fermentationist, Michael Tonsmeire. He literally wrote the book on sour beers (a very informative and great read) and his blog is full of recipes, tasting notes, and all kinds of goodness. I’m a frequent visitor and really enjoy his work, so when I got the chance to buy his yeast, I jumped on it.He had a house brett-saison culture that he created over the years and Bootleg Biology isolated selected microbes and put together a culture for brewers to use, The Mad Fermentationist Saison Blend. They describe the yeast as “Fine tuned over two years, this blend morphed over time to become an elegant powerhouse of classic saison spice, stone-fruit Brett, lactic tartness and a dry but well-rounded body. The final master blend consists of saison yeast, wild Saccharomyces, rare brettanomyces and an opportunistic lactobacillus culture.” Yes, I can dig that!

They suggest you dry hop during the tail end of fermentation, since it plays well with fruity and tropical hops. I wanted the yeast and bacteria to shine and was looking for some tartness. Michael says the lacto wasn’t very hop tolerant, so I was added some fruity hops at flameout and forewent the dry hop. Check the recipe:

The Mad Saison

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
3 gal 70 min low IBUs 3.66 SRM 1.054 1.005 6.43 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Belgian Pilsner malt 5 lbs 76.9
Red wheat malt 1 lbs 15.4
Rye malt .5 lb 7.7

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Rakau 10 g 0 min flameout Pellet 10

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
The Mad Fermentationist Saison Blend Bootleg Biology high 60°F – 80+°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash 150°F 60 min

Fermentation

Step Time Temperature
Primary 51 days ~80°F

Notes

Brewed: 9/7/18 | OG: 1.050 | FG:1.002 | ABV: 6.3%

Water: Minneapolis tap water, camdpen added.

70% efficiency | Mash ph adjusted to ~5.6 | whirfloc/yeast nutrient @15

21 days @ 80°F  with heating pad, 30 days ambient.

Tasting notes to follow.

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