Tale of two Pumpkins: Der Kurbis Amber & The Great Pumpkin Porter

Pumpkin Ales can be love/hate relationship for many craft beer drinkers. Personally, I love all things fall, including pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin scented candles, and ... pumpkin beers.  In recent years, the commercial market has been saturated with this fall seasonal, and regrettably many of them are little more than amber ales with pumpkin pie spice bombs. Also, recent trends have them being released in late July and early August...and in Northern Virginia it just feels wrong drinking these with 95F and 95% humidity. Make your own & Toast the Fall Season!
A few things I've learned through my experiments with Pumpkin Ales:

• Mouthfeel is very important, whether you use real pumpkin during the brewing process or not. Thin spicy beers just don't hit the mark.
  • If you do use pumpkin, Roasting is a great option and its typically added during the Mash
    • If concerned about a stuck sparge, add Rice Hulls to help your lauter.
• Quality of spicing is paramount, I prefer to crush my own whole spices and mixing them to taste.
  • ***Less is more with spicing. Less than 2tsp is typically enough for 5 gl batch at the end of the boil. If not enough, you can always add more at kegging to taste.
• Let the malt shine, use high quality malts and don't overdue the hopping. (I don't think Pumpkin IPA is going to become a thing...)
• Experiment with your yeast
  • Some Belgian strains can make a really nice pumpkin beer (saison anyone?), Also, for an interesting take, try German Ale WLP029.

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"Der Kurbis" Pumpkin Ale 2012 (12 gl Final, 75-Minute boil):
Grain (Mash @ 152-156F for 1 Hour, 1Tsp CaCl2 and 1/4 Tsp CaSO4)

• 18# British Maris Otter (Crisp)
• 4# German Vienna
• 1# Munton’s Dark Crystal (70-80L)
• 1.66# Belgian Biscuit

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• Extra: 2# Honey @ 20 min BKO, 1.5 Dark Brown Sugar @ 20 min BKO
• Spices (Added at end of Boil): 1 tsp whole AllSpice, 1/2 tsp whole clove, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp Pumpkin pie spice
  • Plus 1/4tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice @ Kegging

Hops (37IBU, All Pellet, quantities for 12 gl)

• 1oz, Columbus, 15% AA, 60 min BKO
• 2oz, Styrian Goldings, 3.8, 20 min BKO

Extra: Irish Moss, Wyeast Nutrient
Yeast: WLP029 German Ale Yeast (Primary for 9 days)
O.G. 1.066, F.G. 1.013, ~7.1%abv
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"The Great Pumpkin" Porter 2010 (6 gl Final, 75-Minute boil):
Grain (Mash @ 156F for 1 Hour)

• 10# American 2-Row
• 2# German Munich,
• 1# Belgian Biscuit
• 0.75# Crystal 120L
• 0.5# Roasted Barley
• 0.33# Chocolate Malt
• 0.25# Black Patent

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• Extra:1.5# Honey @ 20 min BKO, 0.75 Dark Brown Sugar @ 20 min BKO
• Spices (Added at end of Boil): 1 tsp whole AllSpice, 1/2 tsp whole clove, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger

Hops (44IBU, All Pellet, quantities for 6gll)

• 1oz, Perle 15% AA, 60 min BKO
• 1oz, Willamette, 4.8, 20 min BKO
• 1oz, Willamette, 4.8, 10 min BKO

Extra: Irish Moss, Wyeast Nutrient
Yeast: WLP002 English Ale (Primary for 9 days)
O.G. 1.064, F.G. 1.012, ~6.9%abv

Oktoberfest: Beyond the Beer!

Oktoberfest is one of the world's greatest celebrations of German beer, culture, and cuisine. Check out a brief history here, courtesy of wikipedia. But to be honest, I'm more interested in the party! This year will be my parent's 30th wedding anniversary, and instead of having an anniversary party, they enlisted me to put together an epic menu for an Oktoberfest celebration. It's designed as a 5+ Course meal, but these pairings will work wonders on an individual basis as well.

When pairing food and beer, there are no "perfect" pairings. A few rules help guide your path: (1) Match Intensity. (2) Think it terms of how the elements of beer and food Compliment, Contrast, and Cut.

Oktoberfest Beer and Food Dinner


Try a few or try them all, Prost!

For more ideas, check this website out: http://www.craftbeer.com/food/pairing/pairing-interactions.

Draft System Maintenance- "Quality is not an act, it is a habit"-Aristotle

Home brewers are a unique breed, often passionate about their craft but highly individual at the same time. Some may be meticulous in their precision while other adopt a more "fly by the seat of their pants" methodology. I'll be the first to acknowledge that no two homebrewer's are the same, and both metholdogies CAN produce outstanding beer if the basic brewing best practices are accounted for. I don't advocate a one-size-fits-all approach to brewing, but i do think there are certain rules that will greatly improve everyone's enjoyment of the craft.

One of the first lesson's most of us learn is to "Clean, Clean, Clean" or "Sanitize, Sanitize, Sanitize," (in reality, two difference processes) which are rightfully a hallmark of quality brewing. What is often neglected, at least for my own personal experience, is the same level of effort when dealing with your draft system and serving practices. This is not just a problem from homebrewers, many commercial beer establishments suffer from a lack of educated severs and managers that do not have the knowledge or appreciation to adopt industry best practices. During my studies for the Certified Cicerone (r) exam, it was enlightening to read the commercial literature and see just how applicable it could be to many homebrewers. If we are to consider the quality of our homebrew to be equivalent to commercial beers, let's present it that way.

I highly recommend everyone takes a quick look at the Draft Beer Quality Manual (DQM), which is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in serving great beer.
Here's a few takeaways:

• According to the DQM, we should be  conducting routine cleaning of our beer lines and faucets every 14 days.
  • This may not be practical for homebrewers, but I think a good rule of thumb is for routine cleaning every month, and a "deep" clean every quarter. (See page 52 of DQM)
  • There is a significant difference between StarSan, PBW, and BLC (Beer Line Cleaner)
    • Beer Line Cleaner is the preferred cleaner for beer lines and faucets, ***personnel protective equipment (gloves) should be used when dealing with cleaning agents.
  • Any time your lines have been exposed to warm temperatures for a considerable amount of time or your changing a sour beers or even a cider, a deeper cleaning is likely warranted as well.
• If using a "Standard" faucet, dissemble and manual cleaning should occur on a routine basis.
  • Be careful to clean vent holes and inspect all moving parts.
• Finally, know when it's time to push "RESET," installing new beer/gas lines is fairly inexpensive and should be part of yearly maintenance.
• Glassware Cleaning is just as important as the draft system.
  • See Chapter 7 in DQM
    • Learn what "Beer Clean" is!
    • Don't put the faucet in your beer when pouring.
    • Enjoy beer with an appropriate glass.
    • Temperature matters (Ice-cold glasses are typically not advised) for a variety of reasons

Regardless of your brewing style, setup, or methodology; proper draft system maintenance is important for all beers to be enjoyed at their peak. The DQM provides a great reference, but for many of us, we need to just start somewhere. If you haven't ever cleaned your lines or faucets, I recommend installing new lines and keep track of your future maintenance with a simple log. Everyone who enjoys your beer will appreciate it!
Cheers!

Big Ron's Cabin Stout

This recipe was constructed for a very special trip this summer to my wife's family cabin  outside of Jackson Hole, WY.  My father-in-law, Big Ron, has always been a fan of flavorful dark beers, so we set out to make a great stout that could be shared with the whole family. After years of experimenting with a wide variety of Stout styles, this is by far the best "standard" strength stout I've constructed.

High quality English malts and hops provide a wonderfully complex yet approachable beer. To avoid any "dark grain astringency," I opted to mash the dark grains during the recirculation step. Behind the scenes, this method helps avoid lowering (acidic) the mash pH too much, which is likely with a large portion darker grains. A simple recirculation for 15 minutes was enough to extract the flavors and color from these grains without any harsh edges.

"Big Ron's Cabin" Oatmeal Stout (12 gl Final, 75-Minute boil):
Grain (Mash @ 155F for 1 Hour+ 15min Recirculation for dark grain, 1Tblsp CaCl2 and CaSO4)

• 20# (72%) British Maris Otter (Crisp)
• 2# (7%) Flaked Oats
• 1.5# (5%) Munton's Medium Crystal (50-60L)
• 1.33# (5%) Belgian Biscuit
• ----------
• 1# (3.5%) British Roasted Barley (Munton's)
• 1# (3.5%) British Pale Chocolate (Fawcett)
• 0.5# (2%) American Black Barley (Briess)
• 0.5# (2%) Chocolate Rye (Weyermann)

Hops (36IBU, All Pellet, quantites for 12 gl)

• 1oz, Target, 11% AA, 75 min BKO
• 2oz, East Kent Golding, 6.5, 20 min BKO
• 2oz, East Kent Golding, 6.5, 10 min BKO

Extra: Irish Moss, Wyeast Nutrient
Yeast: WLP060 American Ale Blend (Primary for 9 days)
O.G. 1.062, F.G. 1.015, ~6.2%abv
***This is a great American Stout base to play around with other variations: Chocolate, Coffee, or even Bourbon Soaked Oak Chips...***