Fade to Dark (Saison)

Got a little creative with some Brett Trois yeast, and put together something I'm calling a Dark Saison. I'll let you know how it tastes! el oscuro (dark saison)

	Style: Saison
	Type:	Calories: 178
	Rating: 0.0	Boil Size: 6.35 Gal
	IBU's: 18.45	Batch Size: 5.50 Gal
	Color:   22.1 SRM	Boil Time: 60 minutes
	Preboil OG: 1.052

		Estimated	Actual
	Brew Date:	-	08/16/2014
	OG:	1.055	1.056
	FG:	1.010	1.010
	ABV:	5.90 %	6.03 %
	Efficiency:	68 %	68 %
	Serve Date:	09/20/2014	/ /

Fermentation Steps
Name	Days / Temp	Estimated	Actual
Primary	21 days @ 72.0°F	08/16/2014	08/16/2014
Secondary	14 days @ 72.0°F	09/06/2014	-

Grains & Adjuncts
Amount	Percentage		Name	Time	Gravity
8.00 lbs	59.26 %		Pilsner (2 Row) Bel	60 mins	1.036
4.00 lbs	29.63 %		Rahr Red Wheat	60 mins	1.037
1.00 lbs	7.41 %		Oats, Flaked	60 mins	1.037
8.00 ozs	3.70 %		Carafa III	60 mins	1.032

Hops
Amount	IBU's		Name	Time	AA %
1.50 ozs	18.45		Hallertauer Hersbrucker	60 mins	4.00
1.00 ozs	0.00		Citra	0 mins	13.20
1.00 ozs			Citra	7 days	13.20

Yeasts
Amount	Name	Laboratory / ID
1.0 pkg	Brettanomyces Bruxellensis Trois	White Labs 0644

Additions
Amount	Name	Time	Stage
1.00 oz	Coriander Seed	15 mins	Boil
1.00 oz	Whirlfloc Tablet	15 mins	Boil
3.00 each	Oranges	14 days	Secondary

Mash Profile

Light Body Infusion In 75 min @ 150.0°F

Add 16.88 qt ( 1.25 qt/lb ) water @ 162.0°F

Sparge

Sparge 17.54 qt of 170.0°F water over 60 mins

Xmas on my mind

Being that its warm outside it seemed a good time to start to plan a brew for when its cold outside, namely the HolzBrew 2014 Xmas Ale. I decided upon a Bourbon Dubbel/Quad. I call it a Dubbel/Quad (perhaps a "Duad") because the OG (1.082) places this beer somewhere between the Dubbel and Quad categorical styles. I've never cared much about brewing to a particular style, so no worries. I've been on a big trappist kick lately and thought it would make a nice beer for winter. I saw that LaTrappe makes a bourbon barrel aged version of their quad that gets great ratings on BeerAdvocate and RateBeer, so I figure it might be worth aging this batch on bourbon soaked oak cubes.

The White Labs 500 strain that I pitched took off beautifully. The picture above shows the wort at pitching (left) and then again 12 hours later (right).

Papa Noel

	Style: Belgian Dark Strong Ale
	Type:	Calories: 260
	Rating: 0.0	Boil Size: 7.96 Gal
	IBU's: 21.77	Batch Size: 7.00 Gal
	Color:   20.0 SRM	Boil Time: 90 minutes
	Preboil OG: 1.075

		Estimated	Actual
	Brew Date:	-	07/06/2014
	OG:	1.080	1.082
	FG:	1.018	1.018
	ABV:	8.12 %	8.38 %
	Efficiency:	72 %	74 %
	Serve Date:	06/22/2015	/ /

Fermentation Steps
Name	Days / Temp	Estimated	Actual
Primary	21 days @ 70.0°F	07/06/2014	07/06/2014
Secondary	90 days @ 72.0°F	07/27/2014	-
Bottle/Keg	30 days @ 74.0°F	10/25/2014	-

Grains & Adjuncts
Amount	Percentage		Name	Time	Gravity
18.00 lbs	82.76 %		Pilsner (2 Row) Bel	60 mins	1.036
2.00 lbs	9.20 %		Candi Sugar, Dark - D90	20 mins	1.036
6.00 ozs	1.72 %		Special B Malt	60 mins	1.030
1.00 lbs	4.60 %		Turbinado	60 mins	1.044
6.00 ozs	1.72 %		Briess 2-Row Caramel 40L	60 mins	1.034

Hops
Amount	IBU's		Name	Time	AA %
2.00 ozs	15.73		Hallertauer Hersbrucker	60 mins	4.00
1.00 ozs	6.04		Hallertauer Hersbrucker	30 mins	4.00

Yeasts
Amount	Name	Laboratory / ID
1.0 pkg	Trappist Ale	White Labs 0500

Additions
Amount	Name	Time	Stage
1.00 oz	Oak Chips	15 weeks	Secondary
1.00 oz	Whirlfloc Tablet	15 mins	Boil

Mash Profile

Medium Body Infusion In 60 min @ 154.0°F

Add 23.44 qt ( 1.25 qt/lb ) water @ 166.0°F

Sparge

Sparge 20.16 qt of 170.0°F water over 60 mins Other 2oz. Hungarian Medium Roast Oak Cubes 375ml Bourbon -HolzBrew

New Brews during 2014

Its been some time since I've updated the blog.  HolzBrew Jr. has arrived and he demands/deserves most of Sr.'s attention.   Despite this, I have done some brewing the last couple of months and I figured I share the recipes.  The first batch was a bock with substantial rye additions.  I thought this Rye-bock (named "Heart Shaped Bock") would hit the spot at the end of winter and help usher in the Spring.  The second brew is a West Coast style DIPA.  It had been some time since I made a gnarly hop filled DIPA ("Hop Sauce"), so I figured why not.  I brewed the DIPA yesterday and unfortunately over milled the grain which led to a painfully stuck mash, which took two hours of hand filtering to extract a good 7+ gallons of wort to go into the kettle.  Fortunately, I don't think there was any irreparable damage to the brew, even if there was to my brewer-ego.

Heart Shaped Bock

	Style: Maibock/Helles Bock
	Type: All Grain	Calories: 178
	Rating: 0.0	Boil Size: 6.87 Gal
	IBU's: 47.52	Batch Size: 6.00 Gal
	Color:   11.3 SRM	Boil Time: 60 minutes
	Preboil OG: 1.052

		Estimated	Actual
	Brew Date:	-	01/05/2014
	OG:	1.055	1.050
	FG:	1.010	1.010
	ABV:	5.90 %	5.24 %
	Efficiency:	70 %	63 %
	Serve Date:	03/16/2014	/ /

Fermentation Steps
Name	Days / Temp	Estimated	Actual
Primary	14 days @ 52.0°F	01/05/2014	01/05/2014
Secondary	42 days @ 35.0°F	01/19/2014	-
Bottle/Keg	14 days @ 74.0°F	03/02/2014	-

Grains & Adjuncts
Amount	Percentage		Name	Time	Gravity
3.00 lbs	21.05 %		Weyermann Rye Malt	60 mins	1.029
0.50 lbs	3.51 %		Weyermann Carawheat	60 mins	1.037
0.25 lbs	1.75 %		Weyermann Chocolate Rye	60 mins	1.032
0.25 lbs	1.75 %		Cara-Pils/Dextrine	60 mins	1.033
9.25 lbs	64.91 %		Pale Malt (2 Row) US	60 mins	1.036
1.00 lbs	7.02 %		Candi Sugar, Clear	60 mins	1.036

Hops
Amount	IBU's		Name	Time	AA %
1.00 ozs	21.30		Sterling	First Wort	7.50
1.00 ozs	16.37		Sterling	30 mins	7.50
1.00 ozs	7.72		Sterling	10 mins	7.50
1.00 ozs			Sterling	7 days	7.50

Yeasts
Amount	Name	Laboratory / ID
1.0 pkg	German Bock Lager	White Labs 0833

Additions

(none)

Mash Profile

Sacch' Rest 60 min @ 151.0°F

Add 19.88 qt ( 1.50 qt/lb ) water @ 165.3°F

Mashout 5 min @ 168.0°F

Heat to 168.0°F over 2 mins Hop Sauce Style: Imperial IPA Type: All Grain Calories: 235 Rating: 0.0 Boil Size: 5.88 Gal IBU's: 220.92 Batch Size: 5.00 Gal Color:    7.7 SRM   Boil Time: 90 minutes Preboil OG: 1.068 Estimated Actual Brew Date: - 03/01/2014 OG: 1.073 1.076 FG: 1.012 1.012 ABV: 7.99 % 8.38 % Efficiency: 65 % 67 % Serve Date: 04/10/2014 / / Fermentation Steps Name Days / Temp Estimated Actual Primary 14 days @ 68.0°F 03/01/2014 03/01/2014 Secondary 14 days @ 35.0°F 03/15/2014 - Secondary 12 days @ 72.0°F 03/29/2014 - Grains & Adjuncts Amount Percentage Name Time Gravity 14.50 lbs 87.83 % Pale Malt (2 Row) US 60 mins 1.036 0.63 lbs 3.82 % Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L 60 mins 1.034 0.63 lbs 3.82 % Briess Carapils 60 mins 1.034 0.75 lbs 4.54 % Corn Sugar (Dextrose) 60 mins 1.046 Hops Amount IBU's Name Time AA % 3.50 ozs 153.64 Columbus (Tomahawk) First Wort 14.00 0.75 ozs 28.26 Columbus (Tomahawk) 45 mins 14.00 1.00 ozs 23.66 Falconer's Flight 30 mins 10.50 1.00 ozs 0.00 Centennial 0 mins 10.00 1.00 ozs 0.00 Falconer's Flight 0 mins 10.50 1.00 ozs Columbus (Tomahawk) 12 days 14.00 1.00 ozs Centennial 12 days 10.00 1.00 ozs Falconer's Flight 12 days 10.50 0.25 ozs Falconer's Flight 5 days 10.50 0.25 ozs Centennial 5 days 10.00 0.25 ozs Columbus (Tomahawk) 5 days 14.00 Yeasts Amount Name Laboratory / ID 1.0 pkg American Ale Wyeast Labs 1056 Additions Amount Name Time Stage 7.00 g Gypsum 15 mins Mash 1.00 oz Whirlfloc Tablet 15 mins Boil Mash Profile Light Body Infusion In 60 min @ 153.0°F  Add 19.70 qt ( 1.25 qt/lb ) water @ 162.0°F Mashout 10 min @ 170.0°F  Heat to 170.0°F over 2 mins Sparge  Sparge 14.01 qt of 170.0°F water over 60 mins

A Decade Under the Influence, 10 years of GABF in Review

In 2007, I had the great fortune of attending the Great American Beer Festival (GABF).  It was a fun trip to Denver with several brewery visits and a trip to Falling Rock thrown in as well.  If you've been, you know its the big show.  The crowd is energetic and rowdy.  And the brewery employees  and volunteers are tremendous.  Brewers can pretend that winning hardware at GABF doesn't matter, but that's simply not true.  Winning medals tends to be followed by a decent bump in sales or at least increased visibility and recognition in the industry.  I'd go every year if money and vacation time were no object.  If you haven't been, you need to go.

With the release of this year's medal winners a few weeks ago, I took it upon myself to download the last ten years of medal winners for some quick analysis.

Top US-States

The brewing industry might be 99% free of jerks, but that doesn't mean that bragging rights don't exist.  Over the last ten years, three brewing communities stand out as exceptional based upon total medals (gold, silver and bronze) won.  Of the time-trends shown below only three are statistically different: California, Colorado, and Oregon.

I doubt these results are surprising to anyone attuned to the craft brew industry.

Top Breweries

I think the list of the top twenty breweries winning medals below is a bit more surprising than the top states list above.  Several of the breweries on the list below are, in fact, brewpubs with multiple locations, so I'm not sure this is a fair comparison.  Surprisingly, Pabst, Miller, and Anheuser-Busch are high on this list.  However, these macros typically win medals in the less exciting categories, such as american light style lager.  The first brewery on the list that is not a macro or a brewpub chain is Firestone Walker.

Brewery	Medal Count
Pizza Port	68
Rock Bottom Brewery	60
Pabst Brewing Co.	39
Miller Brewing Co.	38
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.	37
Pelican Brewing Co.	28
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant	26
SandLot (The)	23
Devils Backbone Brewing Co.	23
Deschutes Brewery Bend Public House	23
Anheuser-Busch	22
Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant	19
Barley Brown's Brew Pub	19
Dry Dock Brewing Co.	18
BJ's Restaurant & Brewery	18
Russian River Brewing Co.	17
New Glarus Brewing Co.	17
Boston Beer Co.	17
Alaskan Brewing Co.	17
Snake River Brewing	16

Fest Love,

HolzBrew

Empirical Anomaly (Brett Trois IPA)

Not everything can be explained by theory and scientific testing.  Alchemy still exists to an extent when it comes to homebrewing.  This afternoon I figured I'd try to brew up a batch where Brettanomyces no longer remained a member of the supporting cast.  It was time for it to be featured in a staring role.

I've been reading the last couple of months about a variety of exciting Brett-only beers, so I figured it was time to give it a try.  I've used Brett quite a bit in the past to help add funkiness once primary fermentation is complete.  This beer uses Brett as the primary fermenter.  These Brett-only beers ferment somewhat fast and have a nice flavor profile full of mango and tropical fruit, which sounds really awesome.  I added some wheat to in order to keep the body light.  Additionally, I added acid malt to the mash in order to give the Brett some lactic acid to grab on to.  The hop profile is pretty much 50/50 Centennial (my love affair continues) and Citra (the new girl in town).  I threw in a little Chinook since I already had an ounce around the house and have been trying to find a use for it.

Empirical Anomaly

	Style: Unassigned
	Type:	Calories: 212
	Rating: 0.0	Boil Size: 6.87 Gal
	IBU's: 64.09	Batch Size: 6.00 Gal
	Color:   10.3 SRM	Boil Time: 75 minutes
	Preboil OG: 1.062

		Estimated	Actual
	Brew Date:	-	10/13/2013
	OG:	1.066	1.060
	FG:	1.010	1.010
	ABV:	7.34 %	6.55 %
	Efficiency:	70 %	64 %
	Serve Date:	11/09/2013	/ /

Fermentation Steps
Name	Days / Temp	Estimated	Actual
Primary	28 days @ 68.0°F	10/13/2013	10/13/2013

Grains & Adjuncts
Amount	Percentage		Name	Time	Gravity
13.00 lbs	76.47 %		Pale Malt (2 Row) US	60 mins	1.036
4.00 ozs	1.47 %		Briess 2-Row Caramel 40L	60 mins	1.034
3.00 lbs	17.65 %		Rahr Red Wheat	60 mins	1.037
8.00 ozs	2.94 %		Acid Malt	60 mins	1.027
4.00 ozs	1.47 %		Fawcett Pale Chocolate	60 mins	1.030

Hops
Amount	IBU's		Name	Time	AA %
2.00 ozs	51.71		Centennial	60 mins	10.00
1.00 ozs	12.38		Citra	10 mins	13.20
1.00 ozs	0.00		Citra	0 mins	13.20
1.00 ozs	0.00		Centennial	0 mins	10.00
1.00 ozs	0.00		Chinook	0 mins	13.00
1.00 ozs			Centennial	7 days	10.00
1.00 ozs			Citra	7 days	13.20

Yeasts
Amount	Name	Laboratory / ID
1.0 pkg	Brettanomyces Bruxellensis Trois	White Labs 0644

Additions

(none)

Mash Profile

Full Body Infusion In 45 min @ 158.0°F

Add 21.25 qt ( 1.25 qt/lb ) water @ 170.0°F

Sparge

Sparge 17.07 qt of 170.0°F water over 60 mins Batch Updates: 10/26/13 : Gravity reading today indicated a specific gravity of 1.017, which is roughly where I hoped it would be after two weeks.  I'd ultimately like this one to finished around 1.010 - 1.012 then bottle it.  I'l probably check it  again next weekend. The taste was both citrusy and fruity.  I hope the citrusy Centennial flavor sticks around for a bit, however, the fruity Brett Trois characteristics may dominate.  Most people brewing with Trois report that the hop flavors are subsumed by the fruity brett characteristic. Keeping it wild (yeast), HolzBrew

Celebration Day

I was itching to brew this weekend, but was ambivalent to the style, so I asked Mrs. HolzBrew what style she is craving.  Back story, she is 8 months pregnant and this beer will be ready to drink right around the time she can drink beer again!  We currently have a dubbel, hoppy red and porter on draft, so she wanted something light, malty, and fruity.  We decided upon a saison.

Saison is such a fun style to brew due to the incredible amount of latitude with-in the style, and I have brewed several.  Almost any sort of spice or fruit is fair game in a saison, or instead, you can keep it clean and go without excessive additives.  Saisons can be funky, sour, hoppy, or floral.  Also, I note people have been brewing black saisons lately, which is a cool innovation.  Basically, saison is defined as almost any wort fermented with a saison yeast strain.  Within the yeast selection there are several belgian and french strains.  I really like the Wyeast french saison varietal, unfortunately, it was not available at the local HBS yesterday when I stopped by.  Consequently, I ended up with White Labs 585.  I've never used this strain before, but it looked just right.  Both tart and fruity.

It was a rainy day, but things went pretty well.  No major set backs.  I used a mix of 2 row, unmalted red winter wheat, and oatmeal for the fermentables.  I would have loved to have added some belgian pilsner, but I've got a ton of 2 row around the house and I couldn't justify buying pilsner malt on my grad student budget.  I also probably would have liked to have used malted wheat, but I had the the red wheat around the house.  The hop profile is 100% Saaz, simple and beautiful.  The color turned out really light and clear as can be seen below:

If I can swing it, I may try to brew up a Brett Trois IPA next week.  I'd read a lot of great things about these all brett beers lately and I figure I might try my hand at it.  Below is the recipe from today's foray into familiar Belgian territory.

Celebration Day

	Style: Saison
	Type:	Calories: 206
	Rating: 0.0	Boil Size: 5.83 Gal
	IBU's: 32.71	Batch Size: 5.00 Gal
	Color:    5.2 SRM	Boil Time: 60 minutes
	Preboil OG: 1.061

		Estimated	Actual
	Brew Date:	-	10/06/2013
	OG:	1.064	1.055
	FG:	1.010	1.010
	ABV:	7.07 %	5.89 %
	Efficiency:	70 %	59 %
	Serve Date:	10/06/2013	/ /

Grains & Adjuncts
Amount	Percentage		Name	Time	Gravity
9.75 lbs	69.64 %		Pale Malt (2 Row) US	60 mins	1.036
3.00 lbs	21.43 %		Rahr Red Wheat	60 mins	1.037
1.00 lbs	7.14 %		Oats, Flaked	60 mins	1.037
4.00 ozs	1.79 %		Acid Malt	60 mins	1.027

Hops
Amount	IBU's		Name	Time	AA %
2.00 ozs	25.10		Saaz	60 mins	4.00
1.00 ozs	7.60		Saaz	20 mins	4.00
2.00 ozs	0.00		Saaz	0 mins	4.00

Yeasts
Amount	Name	Laboratory / ID
1.0 pkg	Belgian Saison	White Labs 585

Additions
Amount	Name	Time	Stage
1.00 tsp	Black Pepper	15 mins	Boil
0.40 oz	Coriander Seed	15 mins	Boil
1.00 oz	Whirlfloc Tablet	15 mins	Boil

Mash Profile

Light Body Infusion 75 min @ 150.0°F

Add 17.50 qt ( 1.25 qt/lb ) water @ 166.3°F

Sparge

Sparge 15.10 qt of 170.0°F water over 60 mins

Keep the tanks bubbling!

HolzBrew