Hop Bag Device

Here's a video of my version of making your own hop bag device for the brew kettle. I used this for the first time when making this video and brewed a black IPA 'Cascadian'. My concern with using this technique is whether I'll get the hop utilization I would normally get with my tried and true system of seperate hop bags for each addition and if the flavor/aroma qualities will come through. I'll report back here in a couple of days when this brew is finished fermenting. In the mean time, enjoy the flick and I'll see you on the flip side.






If you use this type of system, please leave a comment telling how you like it. Thanks from all who read Beer Diary...

Los Gatos Brewpub Visit

I picked up a couple bags of base grain for myself at Morebeer in Los Altos and since I was 'over the hill' as they say here, I decided to treat myself to lunch so I stopped in Los Gatos to sample some of the beers on tap at the Los Gatos Brewing Company on my way back to Santa Cruz.

The last time I was here (over six years ago) the beers were for the most part pretty unremarkable so when I returned this time I was please to see that they brought in a new head brewer. I ordered a sampling of the beers that were currently on tap and began tasting my way through from light to dark beginning with a Pilsner style lager. I was immediately impressed, here was a beer I could relate to as it embodied the character of the style. Crisp, clean malt with a hop bitterness that bordered on the Bohemian and kept the malt in check. Next was the German hefeweizen which I was so impressed with that when it came time, I ordered a full pint to go with my lunch. This beer has a huge spicy, clovey, phenolic blast of goodness just the way I would like my homebrew to mimic. Cloudy with a full mouthfeel, I was in heaven.

This was followed with an Oktoberfest style lager, a pale ale with a great hop aroma/flavor contribution and then an oatmeal stout.

These beers exemplify the best qualities of the classic styles and when lunch was done I had to follow up with a pint of the pale ale, I couldn't get enough of these beers. I guess this was apparent to head brewer Kent Wheat as he bought me another round of pale ale and invited me back into the brewery for a quick tour and to discuss my favorite subject, how to brew better beer.

Kent Wheat

I view Kent as a 'traditionalist' in that he brews within the framework of classic styles. Using his skills and knowledge to create beers that fit into the 'classic style guidelines' to perfection. He's a graduate from the American Brewer's Guild's Craftbrewers apprenticeship program where he says he learned the technical aspects of brewing with a focus on the science and biology that is required to sharpen ones brewing skills. He's been with LGB for about four years now pairing this knowledge with his passion to brew. From the short conversation I had with him, Kent exhibited the love of brewing and drive to improve on his beers that you witness in the most successful brewers. He clued me in on the need to ferment cool to get the higher levels of phenols in the hefeweizen and minimize the esters. He was very open about the processes he uses in the brewery and seemed willing to share. I hope to get a video interview with him in the future, let me know if you are interested in that.

If you're in the area, I highly recommend stopping in at Los Gatos Brewing Co. and having what I think are some of the better beers in this area.

In the mean time, I plan to brew another black IPA in a couple of days and the Santa Cruz County fair is coming up where my brewing partner Michelle and I will attempt to create an oatmeal stout in front of a live audience, without a net.

English Ale Split Batch

In the fourth class of the five class series of brew school, the students brewed up a ten gallon all-grain batch of English ale. Because the wort is split into two five gallon fermenters (for ease of transport from school to the area that the beer ferments) it is a perfect opportunity to try out a couple different types of yeast. In this class we fermented one half with Whitelabs WLP002 English ale yeast and the other WLP004 Irish ale yeast. I just sampled the finished beer and I've got to say that the class did an excellent job of preparing the wort for the yeast as the attenuation reach 80% for both yeast types and the quality of the beer is excellent.

Irish or English

Each yeast imparted distinctly different characteristics to the beer. WLP002 is malt forward accentuating the crystal 40 that was used in the grain bill. The WLP004 has some apple/pear flavors with a crisp and dry mouth feel. Both beers are very enjoyable. It's surprising to experience such remarkable differences in a beer based solely on the type of yeast used. I was so impressed with the results that the Imperial IPA that I brewed yesterday was split with half getting some salvaged English ale yeast from class beer and in the other half I pitched the yeast I normally use for the recipe, Safale US05. I think I'm going to make this a regular part of my brewing practices and experiment with some yeasts that I haven't tried yet. I can't believe that I've waited this long to break out of my yeast preference routine.
For those interested in the class project, here is the recipe:

English/Irish Ale
Attn: 80%
Eff. 80%
ABV. 5.6%, SRM 8, IBU 38, O.G. 1.052, F.G. 1.010/1.008

18lbs 2-row
28oz. crystal #40

mash for 60 min. in 5.5 gal. water with 1 tsp. gypsum at 152f.
fly sparge for 45 min. collecting 13gal. at start of boil

Boil for 60 min. with
2.5 oz. Willamette 5% aa 60min.
2.0 oz. Willamette 5% aa 20min.
1.0 oz. Willamette 5% aa 10min.
Chill to 66f. aerate and transfer to two fermenters.

Pitch English ale yeast in 5.5 gal.
Pitch Irish ale yeast in 5.5 gal.

Ferment for 7 days, rack to kegs and force carbonate. Condition for 2 weeks at 45f.
If you have any questions about this recipe, leave it in the comment section.