I’m certifiable! 🙂
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Geburtstagsparty – “Traditional” Vienna
Check out the rest of my recipes in the index.
Anton Dreher has a posse.
If you have spent even a little time reading my blog you know I am a big fan of Vienna Lager. Something about it strikes all right right chords for me: crisp, clean, full-flavored, well balanced between malt and hops, and just uncommon enough that I feel motivated to brew it consistently. Also, if you consume as much Mexican food as I do you know there are few beers that are as appropriate as a Vienna Lager to pair with a burrito. 🙂 My enthusiasm is infectious enough that now even my Internet buddies Marshall & Ray, Dan, Brian, and a few others have all jumped aboard the Vienna-train for NHC this year. I like to think I am doing my part to keep this style from getting dragged into the historical category.
The last time I wrote about Vienna Lager (Fiesta Cumpleaños) I came at it from the angle of a Mexican interpretation of the style, which tends to be a bit darker and with a lightly sweet/caramelly character. After publishing the article I got into correspondence with Andreas over at Daft Eejit Brewing (who has a great series on Vienna Lager) who convinced me to try brewing a more “traditional” version, consisting of mostly Vienna malt and just enough roasted malt for color. Well, I am convinced: I have brewed this “traditional” version a few times now and have been very pleased with how it turned out. I can hardly even think of things I would want to tweak with this recipe besides making more of it!
Read on for the recipe and some thoughts on making great Vienna lagers.
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2016 Brew Years Resolutions
Holy cow, what happened to 2015, amirite!? It was a big year, but it somehow managed to zip by faster than I even noticed. Overall I am feeling pretty good with how the year turned out: I managed to hit or get close to many of my goals and even accomplished a few I had not even considered. Minus a bit of a gap during the summer (which is not prime brewing season anyway) I was able to post pretty consistently all year long–I feel like I am finally getting into the swing of things! That said, join me as I take a look at my reflections and resolutions for 2016. It is gonna be a great year! 🙂
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Coolship in the Mist
Trying out my first spontaneous inoculation via coolship tonight to test out a theory of mine. My hypothesis is that many primo Lambic producers have legion of good bugs living in their barrels that cleanup any bad funk from wild critters, so why not supplement with known good bugs? My goal is local flavor and a guarantee that it will turn out interesting (and not dumpworthy).
I made an extra dark golden sour base (I threw in a couple oz of Blackprinz to get closer to a darker shade of orange which I enjoy) and I will leave it out in my garden under some lime and kumquat trees and see what critters I can attract. After a day or two I will then pitch a large portion of dregs I recently harvested from a mixed ferment I had in turn pitched from the primo dregs of my clubs’ not-to-be-confused-with Lambic project.
Here goes nothing!
Ain’t No Hallertauer Girl – IPA
Check out the rest of my recipes in the index.
It has been a little while since I have done a proper beer review, opting instead to do previews of the beers I am going to make. I was also in a bit of a rut this summer: heat, extensive travel, and brewing do not make an optimal mix for brews and reviews. Mostly, I was not super pleased with how my last few batches turned out–I will happily blame that on the goofball restrictions for the BrewUnited Challenge 🙂
Well, I am back on track! A new nano brewery/homebrew supply named Bear Roots Brewing Co has opened nearby and is issuing its first homebrew competition, focused solely on IPAs the prize is “bragging rights as the first local home brew recipe on our community tap and will also get their own customized pint glass that will sit above our bar.” As someone who 1) wants to support new and local businesses and 2) loves the idea of having my own customized pint glass above a bar I figure it is worth a shot! Entering more competitions is also the only way I can achieve my ubergoal of winning a best in show ribbon.
Read on and check out my German inspired American IPA: Ain’t No Hallertauer Girl.
(It is B-A-N-A-N-A-S)
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