A West Coast Christmas: Honey Ginger IPA

I’m a sucker for seasonal beers, and the best time of year for seasonals has to be the Holidays, and Christmas in particular. This year I wanted to deviate from some of the usual suspects such as Belgian Bier De Noels, Holiday spiced Winter Warmers, and other big Christmas offerings to try something a little more West Coast. What’s more West Coast than IPA? Well, I don’t know but I do know I wanted to do something a bit more than imperializing it. Luckily, I had a pretty great recipe of Honey IPA and with a little inspiration for Randy Mosher’s Radical Brewing the addition of Ginger seemed perfect. He advocates the use of East Kent Goldings exclusively, which I was a bit reluctant about but it was definitely worthwhile. I hope you enjoy this spin on a “Christmas IPA.”

Recipe is best viewed by Right-Clicking on Image and selecting "Open in New Window."

Autumn Collaboration 2012: Oaked Imperial Pumpkin Ale & English Bitter

The Story: When you're asked what you would like to serve at a beer festival, especially a homebrew festival, what should you bring? For me there are a few approaches: something "extreme" in style, something "unique" in technique, or just a crowd pleaser. To fit those approaches into a single brewday and collaborate with the other festival organizers I advocated the use of Parti-Gyle brewing. This traditional English method produces a big (higher alcohol) beer from the first wort runnings and then a smaller (lower alcohol) beer from the second or third runnings, effectively brewing two distinct beers from one grist (grain profile). Additional grains, different hops, yeast and other additives can be added to produce drastically different results while optimizing your use of base malt profile.

The Beers: To keep with the Autumn Theme, we decided on an Imperial Pumpkin Ale with a twist (Aged in a 5gl Medium Toast American Oak Barrel- for only 3 days). Aiming for a good amount of lightly toasted biscuity quality to compliment the flavors of pumpkin pie while being mildly sweet and showcasing the delicate flavors of real Oak (rich vanilla undertones). And then a crowd please: English "Indian" Bitter to the tune of 60 IBUs of East Kent Golding, Challenger hops and served from a Pin, which is a 5gl variety of English Cask.

Ingredients:
Malt: American 2-Row, German Munich, Caravienna, Belgian Biscuit, Crystal 60 (Extra for Bitter: Maris Otter and British Amber malt)
Extras: Pumpkin pie spices and Brown Sugar for Pumpkin
Hops: Perle, Styrain Goldings to 30 IBU and East Kent Golding, Challenger  to 60 IBU for Bitter
Yeast: California/Dry English (Pumpkin) and English (Bitter)

Specs: Imp Pump-1.077OG, 8.9%abv, 30IBU; Bitter-1.052, 5.8&abv, 60IBU

***UPDATE: This brew won Judges Choice at the Monterey Autumn Charity Festival!***

Monterey Autumn Brewer's Comp and Fest: A Beer Charity to benefit Wounded Warriors

One of my recent beer goals was to become a Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP), beer judge. While there are many paths to take in earning this certification, I believe some of the best opportunities for learning are through teaching. This interest in teaching others about the BJCP and beer judging in general lead me to want helping or organizing a sanctioned competition. With the help of a friend of mine, Marc, who had been a longtime homebrewer also in the Coast Guard, we thought the Monterey area could use the excitement of a major homebrew event like a competition. Along with the Bottoms Up homebrew shop owner, Duane, the team set out to create something that would be great for both homebrewers and the community-at-large.


Through several weeknight planning sessions and brewdays we had settled on the idea of a BJCP sanctioned homebrew competition and a homebrew festival to top it off and announce the winners. The festival would have to be a non-profit affair because of alcohol public serving laws; so we thought of creative solutions to this requirement. Charity seemed a natural fit to help the community. The proximity of Veteran's Day made the choice of charity fairly easy; Wounded Warriors is the benefactor of the festival which will take place next Saturday!

On a personal note, I also recently received my BJCP Tasting exam scores and have become a Recognized Certified Beer Judge!

This post is dedicated to all the volunteers for these great events and more importantly every American Veteran out there. Happy Veterans' Day!

Flying Ace Summer Wheat Pale Ale

The Story: Being at the Naval Postgraduate School has been a unique experience for a variety of reasons but second-to-none is the opportunity to meet fellow students who come from an incredible diversity of backgrounds. While the Coast Guard has afforded me several experiences in isolated locations with great cultures, I didn't ever think I'd have a single class with an US Army Artillery officer, Colombian Navy officer, and some of our Navy's elite pilots who will soon report to the Test Pilot School in Maryland. This brew was an introduction to brewing process for some of my friends, who just happened to be members of that later select group.

The Beer: Inspired by the idea of taking American Pale Ale in a direction toward summer. This beer features a healthy portion of American Wheat and Light Caramel for a slightly hazy blond color with some character and considerable mouth feel. To balance the wheat but not overpower it, the German Noble hop Tettnanger was used for a mild bitterness and a fairly new variety similar to Cascade called Ahtanum was used for flavor and aroma (in whole leaf form as well!)

Ingredients
Malt:American 2-Row (49%), German Pilsner (14%), American Wheat(30%), Crystal 20 (7%)

Hops: Tettnanger, Ahtanum
Yeast: Pacman (Generation 4)

Specs: O.G. 1.048, 5.3abv, 22ibu

Valentine's Hefeweizen

The Story:Although I like to think I enjoy almost every style of beer, my wife does not share my love for variety. One style she has never past up is a classic German Hefeweizen. It has become a yearly tradition to brew her a Hefeweizen for Valentine's Day as a small token of thanks for putting up with my brewing obsession. 

The Beer: Cloudy golden yeast filled goodness, aroma of wheat with spicy phenols of clove, banana, and bubblegum, medium mouthfeel with a full texture finishes dry and refreshing.

 

Ingredients: 

Malt: German Pils & Munich, American Wheat

Hops: Tettnanger

Yeast: Hefeweizen (WLP003)

Extras: Honey

Specs: O.G. 1.048, 5.0abv, 13ibu

West Seattle Ale

The Story: While visiting relatives in West Seattle, WA I had a few lazy days and looked to take advantage of my brother-in-law's wine equipment in the basement. Formulated an idea for a Red ale that could hold up in the Pacific Northwest. I aimed for a session beer somewhere between Rogue DeadGuy Ale and Greenflash Hop Head Red. The creation was such a hit, I had to brew it on my full setup back in Monterey, CA...the beer was similar but the name stuck. Makes me want to go back to Seattle and drink visit my relatives. 

The Beer: Pours a brilliant dark Amber,great nose of citrus (Amarillo dryhop), medium rich smooth mouthfeel, finishes crisp with a little hopkick to keep you interested.

 

Ingredients: 

Malt: American 2-Row, American Carmel, German Munich & Caramunich, Belgian Biscuit, Canadian Honey Malt

Hops: Columbus, Willamette, Liberty, Amarillo

Yeast: Rogue Pacman Yeast

Specs: O.G. 1.055, 5.9abv, 52ibu

Holiday Spiced Porter w/ Pumpkin

The Story: One of the first beers I homebrewed was a Pumpkin Porter inspired by Dogfishhead's great introductory book, Extreme Beers. Although every fall I brew a version of this a pumpkin beer, this is a late season addition brewed specifically for the SF Beer Week's Charity 'Small Batch Big Thirst' Event.

  

The Beer: Chocolaty Robust Porter in the English tradition, whole spices help jump out of the glass for a Christmas time aroma, rounded flavors begin and the spices help accentuate a long finish.

 

Ingredients: 

Malt: American 2-Row, American Carmel, German Munich & Caramunich, Belgian Special B & Belgian Biscuit, English Chocolate & Roasted Barley

Hops: Columbus, Willamette

Yeast: London Ale (WLP013)

Extras: Honey, Brown Sugar, and whole spices (allspice, clove, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg)

Specs: O.G. 1.066, 7.2abv, 40ibu