Brewing Activities (2020)

Toasting up some lentils for tomorrow's gluten free passion fruit Witbier. What madness is this?!?

Lentils add protein for body and head retention as well as a light peppery note. Toasting them removes the 'beany' flavor.

Biscuit Rice
Red Lentils
Goldfinch Millet
Sterling hops
Lalbrew Wit (Munich rebranded)

Gotta get this guy fermented and kegged before we move across town.

 

Good pull. Haven’t watched that show in a very very long time. Didn’t think there were many fans.

 

How did you settle on red lentils? Have you ever tried other varieties? I am a big fan of Puy lentils (also known as Beluga or Black French) for eating, mainly because they hold their shape after cooking.

The episode where they go on the game show and Motorhead plays in their living room is my favorite.

 

Up Scumbag!

 

Really, it's just based on rec's from the rest of the GF community. Before we had GF malts, brewers were using all kinds of stuff (chestnuts, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, etc). Red seems to be the best option.

 

Cool, thanks.

There are a lot of references out there to old English, as well as other northern European, styles of beer that have some sort of legume (beans, peas, lentils) involved, and I wonder if this is perhaps why they used them. Mumm perhaps being the prime example. Mostly pre-1700 or so. Back then, recipes where written as mostly a checklist, so perhaps the toasting of the beans or whatever were a given?

Thinking along those lines, there is a whole world of legumes you could explore, for a variety of styles, as they all have a slightly different, subtle flavor. Peanuts would be an obvious choice.

Also thinking along those lines, various tree nuts would be interesting to use if you can afford using them in large quantities. I could see black walnuts making a very interesting pLambic.

@OldSock messed around with acorns once at home, but TTB kept him from using them commercially, IIRC.

 

Going to be brewing the Suarez Kinda Classic Saison recipe from CB&B tomorrow afternoon.

My Italian pils is diacetyl resting right now and I'll start crashing it for "maturation" tomorrow. Tasting great, finished at 1.008 for an even 5% ABV.

 

Kicked my Witbier and my Kveik Pale the other day, so just cleaned those lines and kegs and ready to tap my new Pils this weekend.

Comes in at 5.8% and 38 IBU. Grist of just Pils and Acidulated. Bittered with Hallertau Magnum and the late boil hops include Saaz, Tettnang and Perle at various points.

This Pils had a pretty hefty whirlpool/flameout addition and was dry hopped as well a few days before heading into the spunding keg. It's been a while since I had a Pils on, excited to get this thing tapped! Will join my American Stout and Kolsch currently on tap.

Next weekend, the final vacant tap handle will see my new Rauchbier. Finished at 5.1% and 22 IBU. Was basically 48% Barke Pils, 48% Smoked Vienna (I smoked it a few hours over Oak and Hickory). Touch of Acidulated and Caramunich I. Fermented with WY2124. Rauchbier are probably a favorite style of mine to brew, especially once I start smoking my own malt for them. The intensity and flavor of the malt over commercial malts just take me right to Bamberg! I plan to get another Rauchbier in process soon, after I brew Oktoberfest 2020 in the next week or two. Will just pitch onto that yeast cake once Oktoberfest is transferred off. Will be smoking some Munich malts this weekend for that, going more toward the Marzen end of the spectrum for that one.

My huge imperial stout hit an FG of 1.026 (from 1.114) with WLP002, or about 75% attenuation which is great. Finished ABV of around 12%-13% before the bourbon additions via the vanilla bean and charred oak tinctures, around 8oz total. Also will be adding 2-3oz into the keg directly, so doing the dilution calc it will bump up another 0.5% give or take. The final ABV will be somewhere around 12.5%-13.5%. This has officially become the highest ABV I have brewed.

Once I added the vanilla and oak tinctures, the samples from the fermenter have been fantastic. Almost smells like melted chocolate ice cream. I don't think it will have to sit on the oak/vanilla long due to the tinctures which had been extracting a few weeks already, so I am thinking I will be kegging that up this weekend at some point. Then it will condition until Sept/Oct.

 

Brewed up ten gallons of Hornindal Kviek blonde ale. Grain bill was 15lb 2 row, 5 pound Vienna. Hopped with 1oz Bravo at 60 minute. Whirlpooled 6oz of experimental hop HS 1228. Will dry hop with 3 oz of the same When fermentation ends.

 

Now you are thinking like a brewer from Utah.

 

Brewed up a 3 Gal batch of my house saison today. Planning to split into three 1 Gal batches with different fruit/herbs mid July. I’m planning on Red Plums, Pineapple Weed, and possibly the leftover Cabernet Grape pomace I have left in the freezer.

 

Brewing a Hazy Pale ale today. Using up the last of my Mosaic and Citra, complementing with some Centennial. Going to have to order a few more pounds of hops now, finishing up the last of my first bulk order this year.

 

Bottled Biere de Garde with Omega Gulo. That stuff does not mess around! Went from 1.058 to 1.003. Flocced nicely. Beer itself is so far better than I thought it would be: sweet, toasty biscuit, a hint of anise-like spice, earthy, and nutty. We'll see how it is once it carbs and gets as close to bottle lagering as I can currently pull off.

 

built one of these during COVID

Took 5 cans to dial it in

 

^ Awesome

 

This is where I order bulk hops. Tried Fresh Hops once, was pretty disappointed.