Mexican Homebrew 2012

On this years trip to San Miguel I only brought a few vital brewing ingredients including a couple pounds of specialty grain, 3/4 pound of hops and a few dry yeast packets. For the bulk of my base malts I was relying on one of the relatively new homebrew stores down here that sell on-line, in this case Fermentando out of Mexico City(?). It was easy using my Pay-Pal account and I received my order within a few days or ordering. I was very pleased and would highly recommend them. They also seem to have the largest selection of ingredients and equipment and an easy to navigate website that has an English option.

The following are the three beers I brewed. In each case I used a single infusion mash in a plastic bucket at approximately 150f. for 60 minutes and because the water here is moderate to hard I included 5 gallons of bottled water along with the tap water to achieve a beginning boil volume of 7 gallons. I also used an ice bath to chill each to 65f. before pitching yeast.

IPA
Eff. 75%
Attn. 81%
Abv. 6.4%
SRM 14
IBU 33
O.G. 1.060
F.G. 1.011

9lbs. 2-row
.75 crystal #60
.50 Aromatic

60 min. boil with:
60 min. 1/2 oz. Galaxy @ 12aa
10 min. 3/4 oz. Cascade @ 5.5aa
3  min. 1 oz Centennial @ 11aa
3  min. 1 oz. Cascade @ 5.5aa

Ferment with 2 pkgs. Safale US-05

*In this beer my intention was to brew a simple pale ale. Unfortunately, I ended up boiling off more then I planned for and ended up with a higher gravity then I wanted. Malt and caramel with a substantial citrus hop flavor that comes across slightly sweet.

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IPA
Eff. 79%
Attn. 85%
Abv. 6.8%
SRM 10
IBU 69
O.G. 1.062
F.G. 1.009

10.75lbs. 2-row
.25lbs. Crystal #60
.50lbs. Aromatic
1 cup cane sugar

60 min. boil with:
60 min. 1 oz. Centennial @ 11aa
15 min. 1.25 oz. Cascade @ 5.5aa
5 min. 1.25 oz. Galaxy @ 12aa
5 min 1.25 oz. Centennial @ 11aa

Ferment with 2 pkgs. Safale US-05

*This IPA has a bold and accentuated hop aroma/flavor of grapefruit, tangerine and some slight pepper. The malt is subdued with a bready buiscut quality. A dry beer but with a full mouthfeel.

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Honey Wheat with Jamaica (Hibiscus)

Eff. 78%
Attn. 73%
Abv. 6.4%
Srm 8
Ibu 24
O.G. 1.060
F.G. 1.016

4.4 lbs. Rahr Pilsener
4.4 lbs. Briess wheat malt
2.2 lbs. local wild flower honey
* I mashed at 156f. to keep this beer from drying out too much. I didn't want the jamaica flower to overtake with its drying effect.

60 min. boil with:
60 min. 1/2 oz. Galaxy @ 12aa
2 min. 2 oz. Dried Jamaica Flower (Hibiscus)

Ferment with 2 pkgs of Safbrew T-58

*The beer is a delicious blend of sweet honey and malt with the tartness of the T-58 yeast and the tropical fruit and drying effect of the jamaica flower. It also has a wonderful pinkish color from the flower.


Considering the equipment I have to use and the conditions I have to brew in here, I'm happy with the results of these brews. My next step is to arrange a tasting to see the response from the locals. Any questions about or comments on these recipes are welcome. Salud!