Brew Batch#87 Pill Roller Pils

So after Seibel, I wanted to at least try a lager since my 25 gallon keezer was bone dry! That day came today with a little pilsner concoction called Pill Roller Pils. Base was simple and the 100% Saaz aroma filled the chilled garage with a wonderful steamy warmth. So the keezer is set at 58F and I was able to knock it down to 65F by itself with my new pump and the use of ice water through the chiller within 15mins. So with an OG of 1.046+0.001 @65F this one has a spot on start.

Our Tastes-- Cusqueña Dark Golden Lager

Raising a bootlegger properly is a tough chore, but the Alfalfa train went international on this one! Straight from Cusco, Peru to my mouth comes Cusqueña. Yes, I understand it's a mass produced dark golden lager but man can they knock it out right south of the equator. Cusco was once capitol of the Inca Empire founded in 1100AD and still has the Plaza de Armas as it's central square. At over 11,000 ft it's hard to imagine obtaining gravity fed mountain water, but that's the base. Cervecera Alemana "German Brewery" was founded October 1, 1980 by Ernesto Günther and quickly became a crowd favorite with it's much lighter lager as the natives were used to chicha to begin with. The 100% barley malt bill makes the body better than a pilsner and the Saaz is a standard hop. A wonderful white head sat atop for quite sometime as the bubbles gripped to the ole No Shave. At 5% this little beauty has been the feather in the cap of the Alfalfa Train's to date. 

Brew Batch #86 REINKE'S REVENGE 2017

A month behind on getting this one out but the results look to be phenomenal. Changed the grain bill from last year to reflect some midnight wheat instead of so much roasted bill. Kicked up a 1L starter for this one because with Pf's help at One True Bine Brewing Co, we overshot the OG by 6 points to give OG 1.102+0.00 @68F and will need the extra yeasties. I'm toying with putting half on raspberries and vanilla beans, but let's see how she drops first. 

Brew Batch #85 Southie-12

Into the keg she went today at a healthy FG 1.016 to give 8.3%abv. Taste is estery and warm, so hopefully a couple of weeks at room temp while I attempt my first Pilsner will change the profile a little. Overall, I'm very happy with the results, perhaps more dark malts the next go around but I'll take this as a 90-93% average on what I was trying to get out of this perennial favorite.

Brew Batch #83 Jake's Juice

The final extract batch for this recipe for me as I continue on my all grain journey from here on out with this one. One problem, pedicle formation. A big one. Dropped the OG to 1.002+0.001@ 67F to yield 6.4, so this why the abv is higher than expected. After looking at it, this was the same fermenter I racked over from mango wheat's first attempt. So, on advice from fellow brewer at One True Bine Brewing, I now have some Brett and sour equipment to isolate and branch out with. The beer gods taketh away then giveth?

Hoppy Halloween

Came and went yesterday without an Ikigai place. However, with 587 entries and an English Barleywine winning BOS I feel lucky just getting score sheets. That and the fact that the entry that took 1st in my category won it out right tells me I was up against a big dog. Maybe Badger Brew 2017 will yield better results. I'll keep you posted on scores when they come in. (update) scored 32.5 average with the same overall impressions and possible changes to the recipe.

Brew Batch #85 Southie-12 (AG)

My first post-Siebel AG batch was my interpretation of Southie-12. Southie is my idea of a Belgian Strong Dark (18E). Malt bill included 2-row, white wheat, chocolate malt, honey malt, C40, C120, cara-pils and eventually some D-180 Belgian syrup. Stayed with Cluster and paradise seeds at their usual time. OG came in at 1.079ish about 10 points off expected but still learning Pf's brewing system and B.E. at One True Bine Brewing Co. Bottom line is we need to brew it again to validate and quantify! Hopefully the Wyeast 3864 is churning away by the morrow.