Seasonal Depression Syndrome

The last two weeks here in Chicago have been nothing but depression. Cold, rainy, and sun depraved. The advent of Winter should mean one thing for the beer drinker: dark, rich beers. Once we have worked through the early Fall/Oktoberfest beers there is a plethora of Porters, Stouts, Brown Ales, and Schawrzbiers that will help you get through those cold blustery days.

Today I transfered my Split-Log Porter to the secondary fermenter and added oak infusion spirals (medium roasted). The O.G. was 1.042 and my gravity reading today came out at 1.019. I'm pretty happy with it so far. I took a taste test and there was definately an English Porter flavor. Roasted grains were present in the aroma and taste (chocolate malt/black patent). There was a definate hoppy bitterness which rounds out the dark malty backbone. Now I just have to wait about 6-8 weeks to get the desired Oak flavor.

In the mean time, I have my Maple Marzen out in the garage fermenting away. I think I'm going to give it a couple more days till I rack it to the secondary. It is my first Lager and I'm noticing that the yeast is definately taking longer to do it's job.

If you would like to try some good Porters or Stouts here is a quick list to get you going (this is not a definative list).

Sam Adam's - Honey Porter

Summit Brewing Co. - Great Northern Porter

Breckenridge Brewery - Vanilla Porter

Samuel Smith - Old Taddy Porter

Great Lakes Brewing Co. - Edmund Fitzgerald Porter

Anchor Brewing Co. - Porter

Southern Tier - Porter

Great Divide - St. Bridget's Porter

New Holland Brewing - The Poet Oatmeal Stout

Samuel Smith - Oatmeal Stout

North Coast Brewing Co. - Old #38 Stout; Old Plowshare; Old Rasputin; Old Rasputin XII

Big Sky Brewery - Snow Elk Oatmeal Stout

Red Hook - Double Black Imperial Stout

Bell's Brewery - Special Double Cream Stout

Two Brother's - Northwind Imperial Stout

Rogue - Mocha Porter; Shakespeare Stout; Chocolate Stout

Sam Adam's - Cream Stout

In the Kettle..

Yesterday I was able to brew Split-Log and I'm currently babysitting Maple Marzen while it boils. As it turns out, I could have brewed a Brown Porter or Robust Porter. The difference is rather hard to tell, but based on my O.G. of 1.042 it closer to a Brown. (not quite high enough to be a "robust" porter). I'm sure aging it with medium toasted oak will darken it a little.

I'm excited to see how my rendition of a Marzen turns out. Of course I'm adding a little to it (maple syrup) so I won't have a control to base future batches off of, but in the end doing something unique is what it's all about. Maple Syrup is basically sucrose (which will break down during the boil) and it will add a darker amber color.

Here is the recipe:
1 lb. Vienna Malt 10L
½ Munich Malt 10L
½ lb. CaraMunich Malt
¼ lb. Biscuit Malt
(2) 3.3 lbs. Briess CBW Munich LME
12.5 oz. Maple Syrup (SpringTree-100% pure, grade A dark amber)
(2) 1 oz. Hallertau hop pellets (bittering)
1 oz. Saaz hop pellets (finishing)
Oktoberfest Lager yeast (WLP820)
1 tsp. Irish Moss

It's been a good two days...

On deck...

Once I'm done brewing Split-Log Porter, I'll be brewing an Oktoberfest style beer. Although it might be a little late into Fall, this style is one of my favoirtes (along with Vienna style lagers) and can be enjoyed year-round.

Despite the fact that it is not March, I've decided to name it Maple Marzen. This beer will be brewed using Munich and Vienna Malts, Munich LME (new 2009 product by Breiss), Hallertau hops, and the addition of Maple Syrup.

Huzzah!

Split Log Porter

After getting some quick feedback on Facebook I've decided to brew a Robust Porter. I'm excited to get this one under way because I'm going to be aging it with American White Oak. While owning an Oak Barrel would be nice, they are rather expensive so I bought some wood cubes and a couple infusion spirals. These spirals are cut to maximize surface area for the beer to interact with after you rack the beer to the secondary fermenter.

Here are the ingredients:

1 lb. Crystal Malt 120L
1 lb. Chocolate Malt
½ lb. Rolled Oats (thick cut)
¾ cups Black Patent
3.3 lbs. Briess CBW Sparkling Amber LME
3.3 lbs. Briess CBW Traditional Dark LME
1 oz. Northern Brewer hop pellets (bittering)
½ oz. Perle hop pellets (finishing)
British Ale yeast (WLP005)
1 tsp. Irish Moss

I was going to brew it sometime this week, but my evenings got busy. Saturday!

Know thy Grain

One of my favorite aspects of brewing
is undoubtably the various types of grain. Let's face it, without grains, there would be no starches and without starches, nothing for the yeast to feed on to make beer. As I have sampled different beers the ability to pick out certain grains has become increasily easier and fun. For example, Hoss by Great Divide has a nice spicey note which can be attributed to the use of Rye. Many amber ales use a Crystal Malt to impart a rich caramel flavor.

On my last visit to the homebrew shop I stocked up on some grains for the coming months of brewing. I thought it would be wise to try and understand what each grain profile before I started brewing. For each grain I took out some of the starch and gave it a taste(let it dissolve). It might sound odd, but I actually found it helpful for identifying the taste in the finished product. What follows is a break down of 8 grains.

Pale Malt 2-Row This malt is a standard all-purpose grain used in most beers to add body and serve as a foundational building block in grain bills. It gives a smooth less grainy flavor. Smell: light, crisp, and straw-like
Color: "pale" to golden blonde hue with white starch compound.
Taste: flour-like and lightly sweet

Munich Malt 10L A common grain used in a majority of darker German beers. It is kilned slightly higher than Pale Malt which gives it a deeper color, richer aroma, and fuller flavor.
Smell: similar to 2-Row with a little bit more of a bready aroma.
Color: just a shade darker than 2-Row if not the same.
Taste: sweet and chalky.

Vienna Malt 10L A grain that is used in Marzen, Oktoberfest, and Vienna style lagers. It has high acidity, yeilds a deeper color than Munich Malt, and is very rich/aromatic.
Smell: similar to 2-Row and Munich, but more straw-like and earthy.
Color: looks exactly like Munich and 2-Row.
Tastes: exactly like Munich, less chalky, and an ever-so-slight bitterness.

Biscuit Malt A lightly toasted malt that lends a garnet to brown color and increased body. It has a rich biscuit or bread flavor and aroma
Smell: more well-rounded than 2-Row, full toasted aroma.
Color: looks toasted, very neutral, starch is tan.
Taste: like a Triscut cracker.

CaraMunich This is a Belgium Crystal malt that is medium-copper, gives the beer a rich caramel sweetness both in aroma and flavor. It has no enzymes and is not associated with Munich malt.
Smell: like a bad of oats, richly toasted, and cereal notes.
Color: looks copper and amber.
Taste: sweet and caramely

Crystal Malt 120L A dark highly kilned grain with no enzymes, but the unfermentables give the beer an enhanced mouthfeel, rich body, better head retention, and great color.
Smell: roasted, deep cereal notes, nutty, sweet to sharp caramel notes
Color: mahogany-almost black roasted
Taste: a little like toffee or caramelized sugar.

Chocolate Malt Used by brewers in all types of beers to impart color and chocolate/coffee flavor. It is named more because of the color rather than the it's flavor. Highly roasted and similar to Black Patent, but lighter and used more in Porters.
Smell: robust, dark nutty, and burnt grain that is bold.
Color: has a deep choco bean, rich burnt brown look
Taste: burnt, coffeeish and dark choco chalky flavors.

Black Patent Also known as "black malt" this grain is kilded at very high temps for a long period of time. Just about all the starch and enzymes are destroyed so the malted is used to add a sharp burnt flavor found in most Stouts/Porters.
Smell: burnt like charcoal and rather sharp smokey noes.
Color: like black coffee grounds.
Tastes: dry, chalky, and burnt/charred.

My Favorite!

Get you some...

Over the last year my former roommate Noel and I have been trying to get our hands on every Rogue beer we can find (which is rather hard in Chicago). As of right now, not counting the Capt'n Sig's Northwestern Ale I have in my fridge, we have sampled 21 of John Maier's gifts to humanity. I will hopfully get around to posting my findings for each beer, but in this post I'll breifly comment on the Morimoto Signature Series.These ales, and one lager are unique and full of flavor. According to Rogue's website the Imperial Pilsner is, "a hedonistic mouthful." While I'm might not go as far as to use that description, I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed the complexity and diversity the Morimoto trifecta deliverers. Now, Rogue Nation might get a little upset with me at what I'm about to say, but most of Rogues ales tend to taste very similar...if not the same. I've chalked this up to the use of "free range coastal water" and "Pacman yeast" so don't go and throw and fit on me. In any case if you want to try a solid Rogue beer (or three) that breaks the norm, get your hands on one of these.

The Soba Ale has a very unique taste due the addition of roasted Soba (Japanese for buckwheat) malt. They give it a nice full-bodied taste which balances well with the hops. The Black Obi has a similar profile to the Soba ale, but takes it a step farther with more roasted grains which lend a richer, darker flavor (almost like a schwarzbier). The Imperial Pilsner is your classic interpretation of an imperial style beer. It has pilsner character which shines through with a bold hop aroma and taste.

I would highly recommend making these you next beer purchase. They might run you a pretty penny (depending on where you shop), but they are definately worth it. Not to mention they have cool artwork!