Taking Advantage of The Cooler Weather …. Brewing More Lagers
I got in the groove a few weeks ago, the days were mild and the nights were chilly, so I kept going. After brewing my American Winter Lager, the next day I decided to cross the pond and look into my German & Belgian ingredients. Two very different brewing styles but I felt creative.
January 5th 2022. Brew #154 – This time I went with a majority of German Barke Pilsen, a bit of Belgian Pilsner, a dash of German Vienna malt, just a little Great Western 2 Row just because I felt like it and used a modest amount of German Magnum hops at the begining of the boil and added 3/4 oz of mild Hallertau Mittelfrüh at the end of the boil. I opted to try out White Labs WLP838 Southern German Lager Yeast. I am fascinated with history and had been thinking about the American Revolution recently. I thought of the Colonials daring to do to war with the British Empire, the SuperPower of the day and of the German mercenaries helping them out for pay, so I named this beer, The Hessian Lager. Absolutely no affiliation with the outlaw motorcycle club that bears that name today. American Winter Lager and The Hessian Lager are now lagering in the cold keezer for a while. I’ll keep you posted when they are ready to sample. I think they will be good!
A year ago, I brewed a small batch to get my mind away from all the news of the day. I made an amber ale which I named Silver Medal Ale. It was mostly Great Western Pale Malt, a pinch of German Vienna, English Pearl malt, just a few ounces of Biscuit malt, Carapils and healthy amounts of two fine artisan grade malts, Mecca Grade Opal 44 Caramelized Toffee malt and Opal 22, Graham, Cocoa malt. I am big fan of their products. They make great malts. I will blog about the inspirations hehind my beer names and the quirky things I do on specific calender dates at another time.This year, I decided I would be brewing again. January 6th 2022 – Brew #155 Chuckie’s I.E. Blonde Ale. This was a very American Blonde Ale. Great Western 2 Row, Briess GoldPils, Superior Pilsner, some Briess White Wheat Malt, few pounds of Rahr 6 Row, and the last pound on the malt bill was a equal amounts of Carapils and light Crystal 15 L for a little subtle color. I went with Willamette, Cascade and Liberty hops. I wanted a hearty and neutral yeast, so I used my Nottingham Ale yeast. I added a full pound of corn sugar to give it an extra kick! I just sampledthis last night for the first time and I was pleased.
I was on a roll …. so I kept going
January 12 2022 ~ Brew #156 Excellence In Brewing Golden Ale. I was going for a clean crisp Blonde Ale. Just a healthy grain bill of GW 2 Row and Superior Pilsner with a pound of Vienna for a little extra touch. I went with a bit of Centennial hops at the beginning of the boil and 1/2 of Mt. Hood midway though and a final 1/2 at the last 15 minutes. SafAle US-05 this time. My garage was nice and cool for the fermentation and the 2 weeks in the secondary, so far so good, riding it out in the carboy. I’m anxious to see how this one turns out.
January 20 2022 ~ Rustic Frontier Blonde Ale. I have a few video clips and stills I took along the way. I’ll make a little movie with the video clips what I have and upload it onto my video channel which will be fun. I’ve brewed a few more since this one. Stay tuned.