Beer Diary...

As promised in an earlier post I will give a quick review of Potro. This is another Cervecera Mexicana Ex-hacienda Corralejo product that is brewed in Penjamo, in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico http://www.tequilacorralejo.com/ Although Corralejo is primarily a tequilaria, they brew three different beers. Potro, Caballero Aguila and Horus which is a blend of tequila and beer and is 14% abv. Potro (colt) is a dark porter style beer with very little head and low carbonation. The first thing I tasted when taking my first mouthful is the smoked character of the grain. Subtle but upfront, the smoke took me by surprise because I didn't expect it in a porter. There was also a paper and metallic flavor that distracts from the minimal maltiness. My friend who tasted with me thought that there was something wrong with it, like it had gone bad. I don't think so, I remember having this beer last year and it is the same. I believe that it is brewed to taste as it is, but I suspect that i...

I woke up last night to the sound of cats screaming from the neighbors roof. They sounded like a maternity ward full of colic babies. I listened for awhile, my mind drifting aimlessly. It was two in the morning and I lay staring at the ceiling as a familiar fear came over me, a dread that can only be described as a sense of brewers anxiety. This was not a new sensation to me and normally when this happens I try to ignore the source and start to count down backwards from one thousand until sleep comes again. But this time I decided to confront my demons by observing and naming each one in an attempt to eliminate their hold over me. A cathartic exercise in bravery. I began with what I thought were the least of my fears: Beer, Beer, Beer Fear my bottled beer doesn't carbonate. fermenter gets to warm. mash is too hot or not hot enough. hot liquor tank starts massive leak just as I begin to sparge. hairy fungus grows inside my refractometer, ruining it. In my mine, I filled in...

I thought that I would post a recipe of an ale that I make regularly and like to have on tap at all times. What follows is the formulation and steps that I use in preparing a Dry Stout. This beer gets high marks when entered in brewing contests but more importantly is a beer that I really enjoy drinking. It is low enough in alcohol to quaff and the abundance of flavors make it very satisfying. It is black with ruby highlights if the light is strong enough to penetrate and it has a solid mouth feel. The head is tan and resolved. Bitter chocolate and espresso up front with a nice balance bitternes and some dry fruit flavors and mild earthyness from the First Gold hops. HLT with sight tube and thermometer My grain bill is: 15lbs 2-row @37 = 555 8 oz. cry#60 @34 = 17 14oz. chocolate @25 = 22 2 lbs. flaked barley @37 = 74 11oz. black patent @25 = 17 4 oz. carafa @25 = 6 8 oz. roasted barley @25 = 12 The grain sugar potential here is a total of 703 and I estimated (based on experience with ...

My record keeping is an important tool to me. It makes the difference between repeating the same mistakes in my brewing formulation/regimen and crafting beers that I really enjoy and can consistently repeat. I design my recipes based partly on the thorough notes and formulations that I keep and update in my journal. Some elements of my brewing process that I find valuable to keep track of are: water to grain ratio in the mash strike temperature and resulting mash temp mash efficiency recipe time tables pre-boil gravity post-boil (O.G.)original gravity attenuation general process notes and more.... I have posted a random image of a page from my logs to show a typical recipe and brewing session. As you can see from the image, I use both sides of the open journal. On the right are recipe formulation and specifics dealing with the brewing process. I use the left side for more generalized notes including problems and successes from the beginning of the brew day until the beer is tapped and ...

I met up with Mauricio at the Mezcal Botique http://labotica.com.mx/ on Calle Umaran and sampled a shot or two of the wares when he handed me a can of Pulque !la Lucha! For those that don't know, pulque is naturally fermented maguey or agave juice. It's non-distilled and is 6% abv. This is a traditional drink in Mexico that dates back to the 'Classic' period in Mexican history or 150 years B.C. to 700 A.D. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulque Bacteria, not yeast is used in fermentation. I'm not exactly sure what type of bacteria is used to ferment the juice of the maguey but, in traditional pulque, a muñeca ("doll") was used - a rag or sock filled with human feces dipped in to start the fermentation process. www.nicks.com.au/index.aspx?link_id=76.1261 On a higher note, pulque became a very important element in Mexican society such that it has elevated the maguey to mythical heights. In fact, some believe that the starburst pattern behind the Virgin of Gu...

A friend of mine across the street (Calle Vergel) from us http://smamap.com/mapguide/SMAmap/index.php who is down from Detroit, Michigan for the winter, invited me over for a couple games of cribbage and he offered me a beer. Of course I couldn't refuse and so he set before me a bottle of Caballero Aguila (Aztec warrior). An embossed symbol of the warrior stands out on the neck of the heavy blue bottle. This is a beer produced at the Corralejo Tequila distillery which is located at in an 18th century Ex-Hacienda Corralejo in Penjamo, Guanajuato, Mexico. www.tequilacorralejo.com.mx/corralejoen.html . This is an interesting beer in that it looks and tastes similar to a porter but it seems clear from the overall character (body, mouthfeel, aroma) that a lager yeast is being used to ferment (Mexican beers are exclusively lagers). The label states '100% malta' which is unique for mexican beers, it also has a substantial 5% abv. It pours obscure black with a thin head that dis...

A quick note about my homebrewing. There are a lot of different techniques for brewing beer. Tons of equipment that run the gamut from the most elementary to the extreme. Thousands of homebrewers bringing to the process their own methods based on experience, knowledge, economy, equipment, level of interest, and so on. But when it comes right down to it, we are all simply fermenting malted grain to make beer. In this blog, I am sharing my take on how I approach this very personal hobby. I have made some pretty good beer using an aluminum pot and a five gallon fermenting bucket loosly covered with a piece of cardboard, and some pretty good beer using more elaborate equipment, but what is most important to me is the enjoyment I get out the process, improving my brewing skills and knowledge, and working towards an even better beer (however that is defined) that I can enjoy and share with others. Choosing how you want to approach this hobby is as limitless as there are personalities in the...

Looking over the traffic moving through the Beer Diary... site I noticed that a significant number of guests have shown an interest in two particular postings. Because of the thi s, I thought that I would elaborate on them and hopefully provide more depth to the subject. The first is regarding the Duvel Clone. I brewed this beer based on a couple of sources of information. The Jamil Show at the Brewing Network http://thebrewingnetwork.com/jamil.php rewingnetwork.com/jamil.php which is a great podcast resource for a huge number of beer style recipes, including the Belgian Golden Ale a.k.a. Duvel , and I also mined the opinions and experiences of the many homebrewers that frequent the Home Brew Digest forum http://www.hbd.org/ . In the end I ended up designing my own version using this information, and my materials on hand, and came up with what I consider to be a very similar beer. The following is from my notes on brew day: DUVEL CLONE- 10 gals. brewed using my gravity feed brew sc...

I am often asked by people who don't brew but may want to give it a try, "what's the minimum amount of brewing equipment that I can get by with to start, just to see If I like it?" I can understand the concern, it's the same one I had when I watched my first brewing demonstration. I thought, 'No way', as I looked on at a system that Incorporated recirculating heating systems and magnetic pumps and huge burners and kettles. It makes sense to test your interest in the hobby before making a relatively large investment in time and money. Brewing equipment can get very expensive, even at the homebrewer level, depending on how 'high tech' or professional you decide to get. Although I have to say here that the typical homebrewer accumulates the majority of his equipment a little at a time (over a period of years), and that's how he affords it all. But when I began brewing I purchased what they call a 'starter kit' that contained all of the mis...