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

My Favorite Fall Treat, Pumpkin Porter

Greetings,

My favorite time of year is Fall and i can't think of a more fitting way to enjoy the season than brewing a delicious Pumpkin Ale. I have tested several commercial examples and homebrewed a few in search of the right balance of spice, malt, bitterness, and alcohol. As many of you already may know, this is one style of beer that has been bastardized more than most, with spice bombs that taste more like a bad pie than a rich, creamy, festive Brew. That being said, a few commercial style's that inspired me were "Dogfish head Punkin" and "Southern Tier Pumking."

I think this year's version really hits the mark on all of those categories. A dark brown porter weighing in at 7.5% abv that is meant to be sipped and savored as we enter the cooler months. You may think there is a lot going on in this recipe, and there is! but please don't be discouraged the proportions really work well together.

Grain: 11# 2-Row
.75# Crystal 120
.5 # Roasted Barley
.33# Belgian Aromatic
.33# Chocolate Malt
.25# Black Patent

Hops: 1oz. Perle(8.1%) @ 60
1oz. Willamette(4.8%) @ 20
1oz. Willamette(4.8%) @ 10

Additions: 2 # Canned Pumpkin (in the Mash)
2# Honey (@10 to knockout)
.5# Light Brown Sugar (@10 to knockout)
1 tsp Irish Moss (@15 to knockout)
Spices: 1 tsp Allspice, .5tsp Cinnamon, .5tsp Nutmeg, .25tsp Ground Ginger

Yeast: English Ale 002

O.G. 1.072
F.G. 1.015
ABV 7.5

Mash at 156 for 60 minutes

Happy Halloween and Cheers!
-J.B. Zorn (enjoying the warm weather out here at Sector Honolulu)

ESB showdown (Seattle, Washington)

What a great weekend here in Seattle. Beautiful weather coupled with great beer makes this cool August day feel more like the fall than summer, but you will read no complaints from me. We hiked to Snow Lake about an hour into the Cascade Mountains yesterday, following this 6-mile breathtaking hike we hit the Columbia City Ale House with some friends. I decided to deviate from my ordinary search for bigger, hoppier, more extreme which paid off! Thankfully, I was surprised to find some outstanding Extra Special Bitters.
I have found that it is on rare occasion you can compare a beer style to something as authentic and true as a classic, in this case Fuller's ESB. Fortunately, I had that privilege last night with fresh kegs of both Fuller's ESB and Maritime's ESB, a local Seattle brewery. This comparison is two-fold, local vs. import and English classic vs. American interpretation.
I began with the Maritime. I found this to be a solid ESB, enjoyable and refreshing. Exhibiting a deep amber hue with practically transparent clarity. The aroma was a bit more hop assertive than I had expected but pleasant nonetheless. On first taste the dryness comes out with a substantial bitterness throughout melding the subtle toffee and caramel notes. Bitterness may have masked the complexities of malt so accustomed to the style, possibly served a few degrees to cold as well. Finish is clean and crisp. A very nice session beer although it had me yearning for the real thing to see how it really stacked up…
Second Pint was the Fuller's ESB and it lived up to my memories. The wonderful complexity of a beer you could easily quaff all night in not easily forgotten. In overall impression this classic edged past Maritime's already good example. It came out a shade darker than Amber, great clarity, and modest carbonation (classic to the style). The aroma was fantastic, notes of malt sweetness with a hop aroma that was gone before you could put your finger on it. Taste is full but not heavy, delicate flavors from the English hops surround the tongue as the malt complexities become more apparent. The taste began with the toffee, caramel maltiness so typical of the style while finishing slightly sweet from a mellow honey note that was delicate yet extraordinary. Finishes a bit fuller than Maritime, in combination with a slightly less carbonation left the beer feeling richer and more complex. This is still a classic among English beers. As Sierra Nevada is to Pale Ale, we can see Fuller's is to ESB.
If only they had both on Cask, we could all look forward to that!