Beach Brew

I have made a couple of average brews recently. As a result I have just been going through the motions with my brewing which has resulted in more average brews. For some reason this has all turned round. I think it is the combination of some really good beers I have had recently and somehow accidentally making what by all appearances seems to be a really good steam beer. I bottled it today and it was tasting great and looked nice and clear. I can’t wait to taste it in a week or two. I just have to try to make it last.

I’m starting leave this Friday and am going to use the first day of leave to do a double brew day. I’m going to get back to concentrating on my process and making good notes for the whole day. No beers until the kettle is on for the second brew. It’s going to be a long brew day so I am going to do a lot of preparation in advance and kick off the brew day at about 0500.

On the cards for brewing are an American style IPA that I have made before. Mostly ale malt, some Munich and a lot of Simcoe and Amarillo. Probably about 7% ABV and around 80 IBU. I have made this a couple of times and can’t wait to be drinking it again. Last year I made a lot of really malty beers so I just want to make really hoppy and bitter beers.

The second brew for the day is going to be either a traditional English IPA or an American Black Ale. The black ale is a style that I tried while in Japan. Essentially this is an IPA but a little drier and made with some dark malts and dark malt flavours. Both are appealing at the moment and both can be made with the sam yeast I am using for the American IPA. Still have a few days to decide though. No to get Beersmith running on my Mac.

Since the last update a Steam beer has been brewed with my partners assistance. The brew day went reasonably to schedule and we hit most of our targets. Recipe was modified from last time to get some stronger dark malt flavours and more body into the beer. Also did a warmer mash. I was thinking about a decoction to get more malt character in but decided this would be way out for the style.

The recipe ended up as JW trad ale for the base. Then I used a little CarraMunich2 and CarraHell for colour and flavour. I bittered with magnum as I do a lot of my beers then used a bunch of Northern Brewer between 30 minutes and flame out. The magnum just gives a great smooth bitterness and is so high in alpha you don’t need to use much.

The steam is lagering now and will for another week or so. Then into the bottle and I will get down another couple of brews. I’m thinking an ipa and an iba. The iba is a India Black Ale. When I was in Tokyo we had one at Popeye. It worked really well so I think I may try my hand at it. I made a lot of malty beers last year so it is going to be bitter beers this year.