I just passed the 12 month mark of home brewing. While the consensus is my home-brew sucks, the people who I’ve sent bottles or have consumed the brews on tap at my house have enjoyed the efforts. Very few beers compare to a fresh IPA on tap with the hop combination that you love. The nose of fresh citra, heartiness of simcoe and just enough crystal malt to taste great. I love homebreing a lot. It’s funny because the trolls are convinced I’m a shitty home brewer. No one that’s tasting my beer has said that. Anyone skeptical is welcome to come hang out at my place and drink some beers.
While I do have a long way to go, I’m convinced that wild yeast is the most fun. I haven’t come close to mastering IPAs but I have a few IPA recipes that I want to continue re-brewing and tweaking. I find them a lot of fun to brew and drink but not exciting. If I really want a Double IPA, I’ll go to Hill Farmstead or by some Heady Topper. The last batch of beers I brewed have been wild and the results are incredible.
-I re-brewed my Berliner Weisse that was taken on in September of last year and fermented with Wyeast 3191. Last time, the fruit addition was Strawberry and Rhubarb. I have yet to decide what fruit to add to this one. Something that cuts the acidity would be nice.
-I have also re-brewed my Saison Brett with 3724 and WLP645 (Brett C). The last brew of this got “sick” with pediococcus and got all nice and lactic acid which I enjoyed at first but then it started pouring like Jell-O and I decided to take the keg off-tap and let it keep working for a while. I’ll probably tap it again mid-summer. It’s still putting off a lot of CO2! The re-brew I did things differently. I worked with a cleaner setup, pitched 3724 first and once fermentation was complete (3 weeks later), I pitched the Brett C. After 2 weeks, I took a taste and the Brett is taking hold but of course, it’s still very young.
-I tasted my All-Brett B (Wyeast 3112) Motueka single hop pale ale and started dry hopping yesterday. Wow. So freaking delicious. It’s around 4%, has very little bitterness and the nose is loaded with fruits and a funky leather aroma. Taste is crisp and clean, very drinkable. Everything I love about pale ales paired with delicious Brettanomyces. It could be the best beer I’ve ever brewed so I’m excited to do more All-Brett pale ales
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Last night, I had Crooked Stave’s St. Bretta (Spring) and was blown away.A Belgian Witbier with Brett and Tangelos added. Fruity, tart, acidic, crisp with a nice wheat backbone. I have a Belgian Witbier I brewed last year, no Brett and no Citrus additions. I might take that on next since I already have the ingredients for the Witbier. My problem with that recipe is it came out too earthy and maybe too much biscuit. so, that’s certainly something I’ll try next. I just need to find some Tangelos.
Now that I’m on this wild yeast kick, there’s more that I want to do. Like the above beer, experimenting more with Brett is going to become a recurring thing. The next two beers I want to make involve Lactobacillus.
-Bruery Oude Tart Clone. Basically, a smooth Imperial Porter with Wyeast Roseclare as the only yeast blend added and let it sit for a year. I’m still taking feedback and research on the recipe
-Russian River Consecration Clone. There’s this kit for $50 that includes pieces from the Russian River barrels. I feel like that’s a bit too fan boyish but I am looking to recreate this beer. It’s also a 12 month beer
– Saison that received a late addition of Brett B and Lacto about a week before kegging to get a nice funky tart taste. I need to find a very dry saison recipe though
-More experimental pale ales with Brett and various fruits
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While I’m still perfecting my processes, brewing setup, equipment and reading a lot of books, so far I’m very happy with the progress I’ve made and am happy so many of my recent batches have been enjoyed by friends and strangers. This has been a fun hobby. The new excitement I’m receiving from tasting beers fermented with wild yeast is hard to describe. I can’t even begin to tell you how awesomely good that Brett Motueka beer is. So So Good.
I’ll try to get some blog posts soon with some self-reviews of my latest home-brew batches. Thanks for reading.