What Homebrew Are You Drinking Now? (2023)

In late 2022 I brewed 2 10 gallon batches-an IPA using Columbus and Centennial hops, and an oatmeal stout. One keg of the IPA as dryhopped with Columbus, one was dryhopped with Cascade giving me 2 very different IPAs in the kegerator. One keg of the stout is unaltered. For the other I soaked 2 vanilla beans in bourbon and added the liquid for a pleasant vanilla stout.

 

My oatmeal stout right now with dinner, then the vanilla stout with dessert.

 

Hoppy saison from last spring: crystal-clear gold, big, fluffy white head that won't quit. Fruity hops have faded a bit to meld perfectly with Saison esters and the emerging Brett. Sweet, toasty malt and oats with a smooth oaty mouthfeel. It's great.

 

Amber Saison
Bottle conditioned for 9 months
Cheers all

 

My latest stout. A variation of a recipe in the book "How To Brew" by John Palmer. 5.5 % ABV. I split the batch into two 2.5 gallon kegs. Tapped the first keg last month and it was good. The second keg, tapped yesterday, is better conditioned, with a creamy feel.

 

Tomorrow is the Homebrew competition at Orange Hat Brewery. Super excited to be taking this brown ale. It is very delicious, I definitely will be keg conditioning more often.

 

Well the Brown Ale took 2nd place out of 20 brewers. Our local weatherman won first place and the brewers choice won 3rd place. That was probably the best brown I have made to date and I’m kinda a little disappointed the keg kicked and I didn’t get to bring some back home lol. Oh we’ll need to brew it again for sure. I did win the coolest shirt award though lol.

 

That's awesome! Congratulations on placing in the upper 10%.

 

Found an old bottle of the annual Rye Saison from back when I tried to make it brown. Sourdough bread, a bit of spice, some fruitiness, very bready, slightly tart. If you've gotten the Kvass soft drink from an Eastern European market, think that, but remove any sweetness.

 

Trying a week old bottle of Cold IPA to see how it's coming along, even though it's just cellar temp, so not currently cold. Getting a lot of red berry, not entirely sure where that is coming from, because the hops are Loral, Simcoe, and Pacific Jade. Maybe the tomato leaf I've always kinda gotten from Loral evolved in the presence of the other hops and cooler temperatures?

Other than that, exactly what I was hoping for: an IPA that drinks like a pilsner.

 

IPA w/ all NZ hops. Nailed the color, carb and mouthfeel. The aroma and flavor are a bit muddled though. Not sure if it was the hops or my process. On my list of things for 2023 is to brew consistent hoppy beers.

 

Thiolized pale ale, 100% pale malt. Whole cone Chinook/cascade mash hop, and Nelson/mosaic on the hot side, with Omega star party. Good beer, but something in the hop combo, (or thiols?) was clashing. Lots of guava but some pine/mint that makes it a bit weird. Maybe I’ll nix the chinook if I brew this again

 

All Pilsner malt 2 additions of Saaz and Hallertau. One at 60 another at 15. I cheated and used US-05. Fermented for 2 weeks in the low 60’s. Bottled last Sunday. Still slightly green, probably needs another couple weeks in the fridge, otherwise it came out really good. More like a faux Helles than a Pilsner. The IBU’s are 22 and the abv is 5.15.

 

A big Mai Bock fan here. Have brewed lagers from the get-go back in the early 80's. Not much of an IPA guy, not much of an ale guy period... sacreligious though that may sound.
Jumped the gun a little and opened up one of the bottles of my recently brewed and bottled Mai Bock's. Brewed in late November, aged through late January. Bottled just on January 27th. Needs more "bottle time," but can already tell it'll be ready come closer to May, if it makes it that far!
The long bottling time really smoothes this style out nicely!
Did a partial mash this go-round due to lack of time.
Ingredients:
Malt: 8 pounds pilsner m.e.
1 pound dry light m.e.
1/2 pound carapils, crushed, put in muslin bag, leave in pot, pulling out before initial boil starts.
Hops: 1 oz. Hallertauer Mittlefruh boil
1 oz. American Tettnanger, add 1/2 15 minutes bfore shut off, add remaing at shutoff
Yeast: Two packets WYeast Bohemian Lager strain.

While I can't vouch for the final results just yet, did brew it the same way 3 Mai Bocks ago (3 years) and it turned out very smooth, very deceptive too, I might add. At just under 7%, it drank like a tasty milkshake... then, "whammo!"

 

Kicking off the Super Bowl with this gf NEIPA w/ Nelson Sauvin, Enigma, Barbe Rouge and Brewer's Gold. I was going for a red fruit/white wine vibe and this definitely delivers...

 

Amber ale, west coast C hops, east coast haze? Clarity is over-rated.

 

“Ode To Lude” Blended Mixed Culture Super Saison. I gotta say, I’m super happy with this one. This was a long wait and see and it’s pretty much exactly what I was hoping for. The OG’s characteristics are present. Tropical fruit cup, oak tannins, light spicy phenols, barely their acidity, with graham cracker on the finish. The only thing that isn’t as prominent is the vinous character I always get and love from Interlude, but I’m hoping extra time in the bottle will let the mixed culture shine.

 

Cold IPA is drinking great EXCEPT that it now has the tomato leaf taste that I always get from Loral. I gotta stop buying a pound of it and thinking "it'll be different this time, it says lemon and flowers". The bones of the beer are great, though.

This is the third pound of Loral that I've worked through over the years, and I'm glad to be done with it.