Brew #54: Peppercorn Pale 2

It was awfully damned cold today! brr!

Brew session went great, overshot my volume by just a little bit so there was some waste.. Tastes like a good beer, it’ll be interesting to see how well the peppercorn flavors come through.

Peppercorn Pale 2
—————–
Brewer: Josh Gum
Style: American Pale Ale
Batch: 5.25 gal All Grain

Characteristics
—————
Recipe Gravity: 1.057 OG
Recipe Bitterness: 40 IBU
Recipe Color: 11 SRM
Estimated FG: 1.014
Alcohol by Volume: 5.5%
Alcohol by Weight: 4.3%

Ingredients
———–
American two-row 10.00 lb, Grain, Mashed
Crystal 20L 1.50 lb, Grain, Mashed
Victory 1.00 lb, Grain, Mashed

Cluster 0.50 oz, Whole, 30 minutes
Cluster 1.00 oz, Whole, 5 minutes
Zeus 0.50 oz, Whole, 60 minutes

German Kolsch (WLP029) 1.00 unit, Yeast, 1 tube
irish moss 1.00 unit, Fining, @30min
peppercorn 1.00 unit, Other, 1oz Trader Joes Peppercorn Medley, ground fine, added at 5 minutes

Notes
—–
Recipe Notes:

Batch Notes:
mashed 60 minutes @ 156f
ferment at 66 for 10-14 days
OG 1.055

I split half of this into a keg with 1oz of french oak chips and left it sit for 4 weeks in the kegerator. The oak comes through but is subtle, and the taste of the brew is creamy and vanilla.. this really hides the peppercorn, but it tastes great.

Rubiks Cube goodness!

I’m not entirely sure why, but the Rubiks Cube caught my eye while Wendie and I were Christmas shopping last weekend.. I recall having one when I was a kid, but lost interest and it just disappeared at some point. Being a puzzle minded sort of guy, when I saw the cube again I knew I had to get one. :D

Here are some handy links I’ve found while learning various algorithms to solve the cube:

Beginners Method 1/3 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofZFUgaxlTQ
Beginners Method 2/3 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJw9kWkMnYg
Beginners Method 3/3 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bg3fCI6glM

REALLY HANDY link to printable diagrams with the basic algorithms for solving it “Beginner-style”.
Joels Speedcubing :
http://solvethecube.110mb.com/index.php?location=simple_solution

Finally, here’s a sick video of some kid solving the cube using one-hand, 10 times in a row with an average time of 20.57 seconds.

Lumpy Gravy, Don de Dieu, Noel, YuleSmith, Pale, IPA, Paradox Speyside

12/8:

Lumpy Gravy (American Brown Ale), brewed by Lagunitas Brewing in Petaluma, CA (8/10) : Pours with a copper color with orange highlights. Dense pillowing white head, sticks around forever. Aroma smells of some sweetness and raisins (or plums?).. I’m not bullshitting, to me it immediately smells like a box of raisins. Mouthfeel is silk and light, leaves very little residuals and finishes really dry yet subtle.. I swallowed a mouthful and thought, where the hell did the beer go? Taste has got some sweetness, some brown sugar or molasses flavors, subtle dark fruit flavors (raisins again!), and maybe just a hint of some chocolate notes. Even at 7.2%, I could sit down and enjoy a 22oz of this with no problem at all..the alcohol notes are hiding in the background, I was actually surprised to see it was that high! I rate it a 8 out of 10.

12/9:

Don de Dieu (Belgian Strong Pale), brewed by Unibroue in Quebec, Canada (7/10) : Pours a little hazy, yellowish orange with a dense white cap. Bottle and corked in a 750mL bottle and is highly carbonated. I thought this beer was pretty good, but it seemed like a belgian tripel to me..but the differences are probably not that big of a deal. Tons of carbonation makes the mouthfeel extra light, but creamy, and very crisp. Tastes of the belgian spices like clove/nutmeg and tropical fruity like banana, but has subtle tropical fruit aromas. For as high of an alcohol content (9%) as it has, this beer is easy drinking and kicks my butt. I rate it a out 7 of 10.

12/10:

Noel (Belgian Strong Ale), brewed by Affligem in Belgium (8/10) : Hazy, redish brown colored, pours a thick dense off white head. Aroma smells a little floral and bready. The mouthfeel is medium thick, finishes luscious, high carbonation. Tastes of graham cracker with some dark chocolate, burnt toast notes on the edge, some apple flavors on the finish. Lingering moderate harsh bitterness to offset the alcohol warmth on the breath. A very good beer! I rate it a 8 out of 10.

12/11:

YuleSmith (Imperial IPA), brewed by AleSmith in San Diego, CA (8.5/10) : Smells tropical, with lots of pineapple, little florally too. Pours orange copper, hazy, dense thick thick head. It finishes really dry with a little lingering bitterness. Tastes huge hops, moderately harsh bitterness, really malty, big malt backbone. Bread, biscuity, so very good. High carbonation, leaves mouth with fizzy feeling. High alcohol, warms the chest after sneaking past the palate. I rate it a 8.5 out of 10.

12/12:

Pale (Pale Ale), brewed by Caldera Brewing in Ashland, OR (6.5/10) : Totally clear, pours straw yellow/orange with white head that sticks around. Low carbonation with medium thick mouthfeel. Tastes lightly toasted, biscuit, bready taste. Light citrus hops aroma. Moderately bitter, leaves residual bitterness in the finish but tastes clean and malty. Spicy hop bitterness like a little bit of a peppery flavor as the beer warmed up. I rate it a 6.5 out of 10.

12/13:

IPA (IPA), brewed by Caldera in Ashland, OR (7/10) : Totally clear, pours orange with thin white head that is lacy and sticks to the glass. Aroma is pineapple but subtle. Low carbonation, mouthfeel is silky, finishes dry a touch of residual bitterness on the finish. Even malty taste, maybe a touch of sweetness with caramel notes. I rate it a 7 out of 10, its an easy drinking can of beer!

12/14:

Paradox Speyside (Imperial Stout), brewed by Brew Dog in Scotland (8.5/10) : Pours pitch black, with a thin and lacy white cap. Very little carbonation, almost still. Tastes dark roasted coffee, burnt toast, dark chocolate and mouthfeel is fairly thick and slick. Finishes with lingering harsh bitterness and plenty of alcohol heat, smells of whiskey, oak, and alcohol with some sweet malt. I rate it a 8.5 out of 10.

Brew #53: Wendies Porter 4

Had a fantastic brew session yesterday afternoon despite how freaking cold it was! The weather was in the mid-30s while I was brewing, brrr! My beer selection on hand is dwindling pretty quick, what with all of the get-togethers we’ve been going to over the past 3 or 4 weeks. :D I’m shooting for a tasty chocolate porter, and maybe cutting half of the batch to put it on oak chips.

Wendies Porter 5
—————-
Brewer: Josh Gum
Style: Robust Porter
Batch: 5.25 gal All Grain

Characteristics
—————
Recipe Gravity: 1.067 OG
Recipe Bitterness: 35 IBU
Recipe Color: 35 SRM
Estimated FG: 1.017
Alcohol by Volume: 6.4%
Alcohol by Weight: 5.1%

Ingredients
———–
American black patent 0.50 lb, Grain, Mashed
American chocolate malt 1.00 lb, Grain, Mashed
American two-row 11.00 lb, Grain, Mashed
Crystal 40L 1.50 lb, Grain, Mashed
German Munich 1.00 lb, Grain, Mashed

Goldings(5aa) 0.50 oz, Whole, 15 minutes
Goldings(5aa) 1.50 oz, Whole, 60 minutes
Sorachi Ace(14aa) 0.25 oz, Whole, 60 minutes

Cocoa Powder 1.00 unit, Other, 2.25oz
Irish Moss 1.00 unit, Fining,

Notes
—–
Batch Notes:
shooting for a more noticable chocolate flavor. mashed at 150f for 60min, ferment at 67f started immediately.

I think the Sorachi Ace hops added a bit of a sour taste to the beer, which doesn’t really help it overall.. either this, or I got an infection somehow. I’m leaving this in the keg for a bit to see how it ages..