BoiseBrewBlog

• A nice clean hoppy Pale Ale is one of my favorites, particularly in summer. Not too heavy, plenty of fresh hop flavor and not so big, you can have a couple-few. I tend to just wing-it as far as a recipe goes. I know that about 12# of grain will get me a 1.055ish OG. I’ll get 30 or so IBU hit for the long boil, most hop additions happen in the last 15 min. Today we are going with mostly Cascade and Simcoe.
• 8# Pale Malt
• 3# Pilsener
• 1.5# White Wheat
• .5# Crystal 15
• Plus a couple pounds of rice hulls just to keep the grain bed fluffy.

For hops, .5oz of 14.8 Columbus for most of my bitterness, an ounce of 9.4 Cascade at 10min to go, an ounce of 12.5 Simcoe at 5 min to go, an ounce of 9.4 Centennial at flame out, and another ounce of Simcoe as it began to chill at about 190F

Years ago when I was a regular participant in trading craft beer amongst other beer nerds around the country, I was sent a 22 of something, one day called “Double Simcoe IPA”. It was produced by Weyerbacher brewing near Allentown, PA and was the best tasting hoppy beer Id ever had. It just captured the flavor and bite of what I imagined as the goal for the style. Since then I assumed Simcoe was the hop that was the center the flavor profile i liked so much. Every hoppy beer I’ve made since then has featured this hop variety. To varying degrees of success.

My mash temperature came in right at 152F, a temperature that generally favors a more complete fermentation stage. So that was good. Calculated for one big batch sparge and finished with just over 7 gallons of 1.044 this also was just about according to plan.

An hour boil, per the above hop addition schedule got me to 6gallons of 1.052 chilled. A little lower than I planned, but it somehow always seems to turn out that way.

I didn’t bother with making a stated the day before, so in when the yeast right form the pouch/envelope thing. Gave it a good shake for a few minutes, and set it inside in a cool dark place.

Next morning there was plenty of activity so I knew we were off and running. By the end of the week, I transferred to secondary and saved most of the yeast into a large sanitized mason jar for later. Even though I whirlpooled the chilled wort and left much of the hop sludge behind, there was quite a bit in with the yeast form the primary vessel.

My next beer will likely be a big IPA with a similar hop blend, so pitching this leftover yeast I think will be fine even if it has some left over hop sludge in it.

Nearly a week in secondary and measured its final gravity at 1.010 A tad higher than I hoped… but again this is typical for my process and equipment. Into the cony keg it went and siphoned of a litel for myself. The first (warm and flat) sample was promising and I thought absent of any obvious flaws or mistakes.

After a couple days in the keg and in the refrigerated kegerator, at about 25psi, took my first sample. Hop flavors was about what I was hoping for, less bitterness than I expected and the beer was a little sweet and a little full/thick. Was hoping for something a lite more dry and crisp. Finishing out at the slightly lower gravity that I was aiming for probably would have got me closer to this.

Anyway, over the next week or so, as the carbonation has come up and a little more sediment has come out, I think it “passes mustard”, as my grandpa used to say. I dont filter my beer so it is a bit cloudy. It has good fresh hop flavors and sits right at about 5.2% ABV. It will be a god summer beer to have at the house and to share with friends. Next up, will probably be a big 8% IPA. Similar recipe, just taking it up a couple notches.

Greetings to both of my readers. It’s been a while…so let’s get right to it.

As we all know, or at the very least, can safely assume, a beer is a beer but a “double” is simply a stronger variant of an otherwise similarly named “non-double” version of itself.

This would be a correct assumption.

Around here most of are all too familiar with Sockeye Brewing’s flagship IPA, “Dagger Falls”.  Some of its fans may even proudly announce its reign as the “best beer in Idaho”  Most of us then can probably expect that something called “Double Dagger” is likely a bigger, stronger, hoppier version of the original. There is in fact such a beast and at 9% ABV may not be exactly Double per se’…but it is none the less ramped up a bit in all of its important qualities, and it certainly distinguishes itself from it’s “single” namesake.

There are some other styles that are famously double.  Double IPAs of course, the high gravity and high ABV on these brings them close to Barleywine territory.  Dopplebocks are a terrific malty mild smooth toasted lager that can be 8-10% and not to mention Stouts of which “doubles’ are more commonly referred to as “Imperials”  North Coasts “Old Rasputin” is a great example.

However… however. There are some beers out there that have no business being a double….anything. If the single is nothing of note.. then why would you “double” it. If the wind is not blowing outside, and you decided, if you could to double it. It would STILL not be blowing. When you are seated at a restaurant and the waitperson asks if you’d like water to start.. I cant say I’m ever inclined to say.” …yeah, know what…make it a double !”

As it turns out, someone at Widmer must have recently been pondering the fact that their “hefeweizen” is so popular and is on tap at nearly every Applebee’s and Red Robin this side of the Mississippi that it seemed like a no brainer. What about a DOUBLE Hefeweizen. That’s gotta be twice as good, right?

Turns out, though it’s twice as much of not much. The fact that it is an Americanized “hef” and as such lacking much of the classic, some would say “correct” yeastiness character of its 500 year old Bavarian cousin, doesn’t really help it any.. Not unpleasant, mind you, but there just isn’t any there…there. And calling it a double or an Imperial just comes off as a bit pretentious. Buts it’s a double, it’s new, and it’s out there, in 16oz cans, and maybe even at your local neighborhood Applebees.

Cheers,

BBB

Today, making the rounds around town, looking for new and/or interesting creations by our local fermentation locations, I stopped by the Ram on Park Center. Among the other couple dozen Brew-on-Premises places in the area, The Ram doesn’t often have something that I’ve not seen before. They are a chain, and there are some corporate standards and lines that must inevitably be towed. Even in these settings, some freedom and creative “wild hairs” are allowed apparently, however and today I got to try one and the experience turned out to be a highlight of my week.

I usually pick an off-hour time between lunch and dinner to increase the chances of some conversation with the staff as they are typically less bust before the after work crowed started to show up. Being early afternoon on New Years eve, the place was fairly deserted. Making a bee-line to the bar side of the restaurant I was greeted briefly by whom I assume was staff and possibly even a beer maker. I gave him a nod a smile on my way in and sensed that he was making eye contact a split second longer than normal. I probably should have paused a bit more and invested int eh greeting and probly came off a bit terse.

The beer menus had the same seasonals that I recalled from a week or two ago when I checked last but for the one on the bottom, “Udder Chaos” milk stout. This I had to have, and I ordered a half-pour…a “shorty” they call it. Black pour, full dense sticky dark tan head and a great mellow chocolate, and milk sugar sweetness. The character from the local Form and Function coffee was a nice touch and complimented nicely and we not over powering. At over 8% I was glad I ordered only a 8oz glass.

Shortly after, the brewer came up and introduced himself. I recognized him right away as the guy I basically snubbed on the way in. Meeting the classic caricature of a brewer, a wirely, early middle aged guy in a zip-up hoodie and wool knit beanie., Jake had apparently recognized me from earlier visits and recalled a friend at another local brewery mentioned me as a local beer nerd/social media/ writer. Aw Shucks.

We chatted a bit and got along really weel right away. When he suggested I stop by sometime for a little brewery tour, I looked around and said “…it seems pretty slow today..?” and off we went.

We walked and talked bout grain silos, gravity fed boilers and fals bottom mash tuns etc… and ass a long time home brewer, I had some good questions to ask him as far as dry-hopping, laagering, corporate recipes and standards vs creative one-off projects etc. He even shared a recent funny storiy about a minor mis-hap regarding how lactose can actually be somewhat flammable when atomized just right. Lest just say, this milk stout I was drinking might well be called a caramelized or “crème breule’ “based on the events that late October brew day.

It was a great tour and great experience and is just another example how the people in thiis business, with very few exceptions, just love to make good beer and share the experience and products of their endeavors with anyone interested.

Here’s to Jake, and the Boise Ram for