Cream Ale Homebrew Recipe and Review

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Nick Ladd

It’s with a heavy dose of irony that I admit that the largest proportion of beer I drink is industrial American lager. Much of this is attributable to the fact that my go-to after-work happy hour bar serves inexpensive buckets of Narragansett tall boys, but I can honestly say (without much irony) that I frequently enjoy drinking cold, effervescent, dry, and nearly flavorless adjunct lager. I am a firm believer that there is a beer for all occasions, and this is especially true for adjunct lager. The fact of the matter is there are very few craft breweries producing any sort of light American lager so when a situation calls for this type of beer, I am often reaching for an industrial macro lager. Whether it is the economics of tying up tank space or a reaction against Big Beer, it is somewhat sad to me that no one is taking up this style. The closest thing that can be found are cream ales or ‘blonds’; often feeling like they want to be an adjunct lager, but are too self-conscious to describe themselves as such. It’s along these lines that I brewed the recipe below—essentially an ale version of Budweiser with a little extra gravity and flavor. I really enjoyed drinking this beer, and apparently so did the judges at the National Homebrew Competition who gave it a second place ribbon in the first round.

Cream Ale Recipe

Specifications:
Size: 3.25 gal
Efficiency: 74%
Attenuation: 82.7%

Original Gravity: 1.052
Terminal Gravity: 1.009
Color: 3.0 SRM
Alcohol: 5.6% ABV
Bitterness: 17.0 IBUs

Malt Bill:
3lb (46.2%) Weyermann Pilsner Malt
2lb (30.8%) Briess 2-Row Brewers Malt
1lb (15.4%) Briess Flaked Corn
0.5lb (7.7%) Corn Sugar

Mash Profile:
151°F – 60m
170°F – 5m

Water Treatment:
Extremely Soft NYC Water
3g Gypsum (to mash)
3g Calcium Chloride (to mash)

Hopping:
22g Hallertauer Mittelfrüher (3.8% AA) – 90m

Kettle Additions:
0.5ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) – 15m
0.5tsp Wyeast Nutrient – 10m

Yeast:
Safale US-05 Dry Yeast – 1 Packet

Tasting Notes:

Judged as 2015 BJCP Category 1C Cream Ale

Aroma (10/12):
Overall, the aroma is very muted. Malt is apparent with just a hint of bready pilsner character and a touch of graininess. There is a very low pear ester that reminds you this is an ale fermentation. I find a touch of corn in the aroma which I doubt I would have noticed it if I hadn’t brewed the beer myself. Surprisingly, there is a touch of herbal hop character that comes through against the generally muted aroma.

Appearance (2/3):
The beer strikes a very light straw hue with just a hint of haze. The beer is capped by a big white frothy foam with moderate to low persistence.

Flavor (18/20):
The beer is exceptionally clean with a very minimal malt character—just a hint more flavor than the beer’s adjunct lager cousins. There is a very low bready malt component that finishes with a touch of sweet corn and grainy husk. There is a very low bitterness, just enough to balance the slight sweetness attributable to the flaked corn addition. Overall, the beer is exceptionally dry, clean, and refreshing.

Mouthfeel (5/5):
This is an exceptionally lean beer with a spritzy level of carbonation. The beer finishes perhaps a touch watery, but not less than the style would dictate.

Overall Impression (9/10):
This is a great quenching and dry beer with enough snappy carbonation to make it very refreshing. A tall pint of this would be a great choice for hot summer days when you’re looking for a light lager, but want perhaps a touch more flavor.

Excellent (44/50)

The Homebrew Wife Brews Her First Batch

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Nick Ladd

Hello! It’s Jessie, the homebrew wife here at The Pour Report, and I have some exciting news to share. I’ve brewed my first batch of beer!

The homebrew wife’s first mash!

Having been tangentially involved over the years, the thought of actually brewing up a batch of my own is a recent occurrence. I have attended various beer-centric events, gone on many a beercation, and chatted endlessly with Nick, but had mostly stayed out of the brewery. When I attended my first full national homebrewers conference in 2015, it was the history seminars that piqued most of my interest. Although I attended some of the more technical seminars, I did find them a bit over my head. So in preparation for Homebrew Con 2016, I decided to read Randy Mosher’s “Mastering Homebrew”. (Thanks for the book, Sarah!) Doing most of my reading while riding the subway to and from work, I found myself thinking over and over how much better the information would stick if I could get some hands-on experience. While I was able to conjure up images of Nick doing what Randy was describing, there’s nothing quite like getting your hands dirty. So it was decided that I was going to have my first brew day.

Going in, I knew that I wanted something light with a very low ABV (I’ve been “blessed” with wonky genes, which makes me a bit of a featherweight). And as I hold tart beers close to my heart, why not make one for my first brew? With my newly gained knowledge from Randy and some consultation from Nick, I put together my recipe (see below) with the hopes of creating a tart, crisp, and slightly fruity beer. You’ll see Clarity Ferm listed in my recipe. In addition to having poor drinking genes, I was also told about a year ago I have a gluten sensitivity. (No, the irony of a homebrew wife who doesn’t do well with either alcohol or gluten is not lost on me.) And since Nick has been wanting to play with Clarity Ferm but has not yet had the chance, we thought it fitting to use it in my beer.

With a date picked and ingredients ordered, a bit of nervousness started to set it. Headed into my first brew day, I had some minor concerns about how it would all play out the day of.
1) My complete and utter lack of culinary prowess: I can make a mean scrambled egg (and once made penne vodka from scratch), but that’s about where my capabilities max out. I’d like to think I have a pretty good feel for certain things, but I know for sure that I have zero instinct when it comes to cooking. As I have often said to Nick, I need “very explicit instructions” when in the kitchen (or in this case, the brewery).
2) Stepping into Nick’s domain: despite being both excited for me and very encouraging, I also know that Nick has very specific ways of doing things and a very high standard for everything that he does (as evidenced by his numerous accolades). The actual working together part of it didn’t really worry me (we’ve collaborated on various projects in the past); it was more about not living up to his very high brewing standards. Plus, I didn’t want to be responsible for breaking any of his equipment.
3) Lack of technical knowledge: while I had no problem conceptualizing the beer I wanted to brew, I wasn’t quite sure how I was actually going to get from recipe to fermented beverage. Luckily, my first brew day was going to be a tandem brew with Nick.

The brew day itself actually went remarkably smoothly (just one of the benefits of brewing with someone who knows what they’re doing!). Slightly flustered by the initial mise en place and set up of the brewery, the bulk of the brew day went pretty much according to plan. I have to admit I was a little surprised at how much down time there was (I’m looking at you, 90-minute boil). But it did feel like the cleaning of equipment was endless and, boy, that hot water sure is HOT (even through those Blichmann rubber gloves). But cleanliness is next to godliness and a must for any decent brewer.

A couple things of note about this beer in particular:
1) Mashing in high: because we started at such a low gravity (1.038), we mashed in at a higher than typical temperature (158°F) to try and keep the attenuation from being too high.
2) Tracking the mash: our initial mash pH was 5.3. Post boil, the wort was further acidified to pH 4.5 to prevent the lacto from enzymatically degrading the foam positive proteins. By Day 2, the lacto had acidified the wort to pH 3.24 and dropped the gravity to 1.019.
3) The fermentation schedule: pre acidification on Day 1 with the French Saison yeast + Clarity Ferm being pitched on Day 3. And to finish off the beer, three days sitting on one ounce of Galaxy hops post-fermentation.

Having survived my first brew day, I am now even more impressed with all of the homebrewers out there pursuing this hobby. Cheers and Happy Homebrewing!

: Beautiful boiling wort on a sunny afternoon.

: Downtime during the boil gives you the chance to play on your phone and take photos for blog posts.

: Watching recirculating wort can be quite mesmerizing.

: All rinsed out.

: Pre acidifying the wort.

: Sun Shower meets the rest of the Pour Report family.

Sun Shower Saison Recipe

Specifications: 
Size: 3.25gal
Efficiency: 70%
Attenuation: 76%
Original Gravity: 1.038
Terminal Gravity: 1.009 (estimated)
Color: 3.18 SRM (estimated)
 Alcohol: 3.93% ABV (estimated)
Bitterness: 0 IBU

Malt Bill:
4lb (76.2%) Weyermann Pilsner Malt
0.75lb (14.3%) Flaked Wheat
0.5lb (9.5%) Briess Cara-Pils Malt

Mash Profile: 
158°F – 60m

Water Treatment:
Extremely Soft NYC Water
Added to mash:
4g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate)
2g Calcium Chloride

Hopping:
1oz Galaxy – secondary fermentation

Kettle Additions:
0.5tsp Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) – added during boil, boiled 15m
0.5tsp Wyeast Nutrient – added during boil, boiled 10m

Yeast/Bacteria:
Wyeast 3711 French Saison
White Labs WLP672 Lacto Brevis

Additional Ingredients:
Clarity Ferm – added with yeast

Vienna Lager 5.0 Recipe and Review

Posted on June 1, 2016 by Nick Ladd

How time flies! My apologies for the radio silence over the past two months. Between moving apartments, a trip to CBC, the announcement of a brewery that I’ve working on, and an awesome trip to Asheville, NC, things have been crazy! More information on all of those things to come, but in the meantime, here’s a quick post about my latest batch of Vienna Lager. Cheers!

It’s a little baffling to realize that this is the fifth iteration of Vienna Lager which I have brewed. Not only does this make me do a double take in terms of realizing how much I’ve brewed over the past 6.5 years (over 150 batches and counting), but also illustrates how much I love this style.

Considering the number of different batches I brew, the breadth of styles that I have attempted to master, and the period of time that a lager like this occupies my fermentation space, it speaks volumes about the amount of respect I give a humble beer like this.

In many ways, Vienna Lager is the perfect beer for my tastes. I find it somewhat intangible trying to pinpoint why I love this beer as much as I do. It circumvents reason and defies cogent prose, but the closest I can get to describing why I enjoy this beer so much has to do with malt’s ability to be delicate and nuanced, while maintaining a quenching minimalistic lager dryness and boundless sessionability.

Being the constant tinkerer that I am, I made a couple tweaks over previous versions of this beer. As time has progressed, I’ve consistently lowered the amount of crystal malt in this beer. This version eschews crystal malts completely, making the beer a pure expression of the high-quality German base malts of which it is solely comprised.

Vienna Lager 5.0 Recipe

Specifications:
Size: 3.25gal
Efficiency: 76%
Attenuation: 76.0%

Original Gravity: 1.052
Terminal Gravity: 1.013
Color: 13.35 SRM
Alcohol: 5.21% ABV
Bitterness: 23.0 IBUs

Malt Bill:
4lb (61.0%) Weyermann Vienna Malt
1lb (15.2%) Weyermann Pilsner Malt
1.5lb (22.9%) Weyermann Munich TYPE II
1oz (1.0%) Weyermann Carafa® TYPE II

Mash Profile:
144°F – 30m
151°F – 30m
170°F – 5m

Water Treatment:
Extremely Soft NYC Water
2g Gypsum (to mash)
4g Calcium Chloride (to mash)

Hopping:
42g Hallertauer Mittelfrüher (2.7% AA) – 60m

Kettle Additions:
0.5ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) – 15m
0.5tsp Wyeast Nutrient – 10m

Yeast:
White Labs WLP833 German Bock Lager – Decanted 2L Starter on Stir Plate

Tasting Notes:

Judged as 2015 BJCP Category 7A Vienna Lager.

Aroma (10/12):
Bready malt wafts from the glass accompanied by complimentary amounts of toasty crust and just a hint of toffee. There is some slight malt sweetness coming through on the nose. There isn’t any real apparent fermentation character, although there is a touch of grape-like fruitiness. It is unclear if this is a fermentation by-product or coming from the Munich malt. No apparent hop aroma.

Appearance (3/3):
Medium copper color with pristine clarity. Tightly spaced, off-white bubbles form a great foam cap which persists.

Flavor (17/20):
Beautifully balanced malt with nuanced layers of toasty malt and just a hint of caramel or toffee. The malt is balanced far more towards toasty and dry rather than sweet and caramel-rich. A touch of hop bitterness balances out the slight perception of sweetness attributed to the malt. Exceptionally clean lager fermentation with no hints of alcohol, ester, or diacetyl.

Mouthfeel (5/5):
Medium to medium-low bodied with moderate carbonation. Soft and round with no perceptible astringency.

Overall Impression (9/10):
This is a beautiful, clean malty beer without being overwhelmingly melanoidin-rich or overbearingly complex. The beer finishes clean and dry making it a crushable pint. Dropping out the crystal malt only seems to have enhanced the beer as the base malts are still capable of producing some perception of caramel flavors without any of the associated sweetness or contributions of unfermentable sugars. This beer is a great alternative to Octoberfest beers which offer a great malt richness, but can often be a touch overbearing in terms of fullness and alcohol.

Excellent (44/50)

Dry Irish Stout Homebrew Recipe & Review

Posted on March 9, 2016 by Nick Ladd

Update: This beer was awarded 1st place in combined categories 14&15 at Homebrew Alley X.

One of the great session beers in the world, Irish Stout is often maligned as being thick, heavy, chewy, sweet, and high in alcohol. This is a really interesting phenomenon as I see the style as being quite the opposite. For me, it is a low-alcohol session beer that has quite a bit of interesting roast character and enough flaked barley to keep the mouthfeel from being too thin.

I’ve thought about this quite a bit and am convinced that that the root of the problem has to do with the fact that it is typically the adventurous choice made by the typical non-craft drinker. In comparison to a beer like Bud Light, I would certainly agree that it is the heavier option. More so, I think a lot of the misconception in regard to Irish Stout has to do with the fact that the beer is nearly black–something that many people psychologically associate with something being heavy.

The basis of this recipe is the heavily cited clone recipe for Guinness Stout. The main change I implemented was in the overall composition of the roasted malts. I’ve used English ale strains for this beer in the past, but have found that American Ale yeast works even better, providing a clean fermentation character while being more attenuative.

Dry Irish Stout Recipe

Specifications:
Size: 3.25 gal
Efficiency: 60%
Attenuation: 75%

Original Gravity: 1.046
Terminal Gravity: 1.012
Color: 37.31 SRM
Alcohol: 4.53% ABV
Bitterness: 41.7 IBU

Malt Bill:
5 lb (69.0%) Crisp Maris Otter
1.25 lb (17.2%) Barley Flaked
8 oz (6.9%) Crisp Roasted Barley
4 oz (3.4%) Crisp Chocolate
4 oz (3.4%) Briess Midnight Wheat

Mash Profile:
152°F – 60m

Water Treatment:
Extremely Soft NYC Water
Added to mash:
2g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate)
5g Chalk (Calcium Carbonate)

Hopping:
36g East Kent Goldings (5.7% AA) – 60m

Kettle Additions:
0.5 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) – added during boil, boiled 15m
0.5 tsp Wyeast Nutrient – added during boil, boiled 10m

Yeast:
Wyeast 1056 American Ale – 1L Starter on Stir Plate

Tasting Notes:

Judged as a BJCP 13A. Dry Stout

Aroma (10/12):
Medium-low roast character that is dry and toasty while being reminiscent of coffee with a hint of bitter chocolate. Behind the roast are some nice bready and slightly toasty notes. No diacetyl, DMS, alcohol, or other off-aromas.

Appearance (2/3):
Just a shade lighter than black with some reddish ruby highlights. Clear. Great frothy foam with a beige head (white is typical to style).

Flavor (15/20):
Medium level of roast with lots of coffee notes and just a touch of acrid and burnt character. Very low levels of chocolate flavor. Malt is nice and toasty. Hop bitterness is medium-low with a very smooth character. No hop flavor. The finish is quite dry. Slightly acidic / tart twang on the finish.

Mouthfeel (4/5):
Low body with a full creamy mouthfeel. Dry. Just a touch of roasty astringency on the finish.

Overall Impression (7/10):
This is a really nice Irish stout. There is a touch of acidity from the roast which balances out the smooth mouthfeel provided by the flaked barley. Very sessionable and dry, but also intriguing with its nuanced roast character.

Excellent (38/50)

Rauchbier Recipe and Review

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Nick Ladd

Update: This beer was awarded 2nd place in combined categories 6&7 at Homebrew Alley X.

Rauchbier is probably one of the most polarizing styles of beer to brew and consume. I take great joy in serving it to friends and co-workers unfamiliar with the style as it tends to elicit a broad range of reactions. Perhaps 10-20% of the people I’ve served it to emphatically enjoy the beer; while the rest find it an interesting curiosity, but not something they’d likely come back to pint after pint. I don’t feel like there is much of a middle ground in terms of the enjoyment of rauchbier.

Luckily for me, I tend to enjoy the clean bacon-y smoke and neutral lager character exhibited by a good rauchbier. The first few sips are almost always unfailingly over-the-top, but this beer tends to grow on you as your palate adapts and becomes accustomed to the smokey malt. The key, however, is to not overdo the smoke—allowing it to be confidently present while finding a balancing element in the rest of the malt character. While not a beer with universal appeal, those willing to delve deeper into the style and find nuance beyond the smoke will be rewarded with a great imbibing experience. Whatever you do however, please don’t use peat-smoked malt in this beer. Peat has a place in scotch, but is pretty gross in a rauchbier.

Rauchbier Recipe

Specifications:
Size: 3.25 gal
Efficiency: 72%
Attenuation: 76%

Original Gravity: 1.056
Terminal Gravity: 1.013
Color: 13.73 SRM
Alcohol: 5.58% ABV
Bitterness: 23.0 IBUs

Malt Bill:
2.75 lb (36.7%) Weyermann Smoked Malt (Beechwood)
2 lb (26.7%) Weyermann Munich TYPE II
2 lb (26.7%) Weyermann Vienna Malt
8 oz (6.7%) Weyermann Caramunich® TYPE II
4 oz (3.3%) Weyermann Melanoidin Malt

Mash Profile:
144 °F – 30m
151 °F – 30m
170 °F – 5m

Water Treatment:
Extremely Soft NYC Water
2g Gypsum (to mash)
4g Calcium Chloride (to mash)

Hopping:
42g Hallertauer (2.7% AA) – 60 m

Kettle Additions:
0.5 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) – 15 m
0.5 tsp Wyeast Nutrient – 10 m

Yeast:
White Labs WLP833 German Bock Lager- Decanted 2L Starter on Stir Plate

Tasting Notes:

Judged as 2015 BJCP Category 6B. Rauchbier

Aroma (12/12):
For what it is, the beer actually has a fairly mellow smoke note on the nose that is reminiscent of bacon and perhaps smoked kielbasa. The smoke is clean and crisp. Beyond the smoke is a moderate caramel and toffee malt presence followed by abundant amounts of toasty bread crust. The malt provides a certain level of sweet aroma acting to mediate the upfront smoke. The fermentation character is amazingly clean with no alcohol or ester character.

Appearance (3/3):
Deep copper with great highlights somewhere in hue between a ruby and garnet. The beer is crystal clear and would appease even the most dogmatic German brewmaster. The beer is topped with a tan foam comprised of tight tiny bubbles with outstanding persistence.

Flavor (18/20):
A smokey, bacon-like flavor assertively holds the palate while managing to not dominate the entire beer. There are layers of malt flavor beyond the smoke with abundant toasty bread crust, hints of deep caramel, and touches of almost dark fruit or grape. There is a very low hop bitterness providing just a bit of a counterpoint to the touch of residual malt sweetness. Most of the balance in this beer is achieved through the contrast between smoke and residual malt sweetness. The beer showcases an exceptionally clean fermentation profile without even a hint of ester, alcohol, or residual diacetyl.

Mouthfeel (4/5):
Medium-bodied with a touch of creaminess on the finish. The carbonation is moderate and quenching. No astringency.

Overall Impression (8/10):
This is a great rauchbier that falls at the medium to low-end of the pack in terms of smoke intensity. The beechwood-smoked malt used in this beer exhibits a bacon or ham-like character that may not be for everyone, but is true to the style. I really enjoy how the smoke in a beer like this provides a balancing counterpoint to what otherwise is a fairly complex and rich malt character.

Outstanding (45/50)