beer Bou's seasonal beer recipes

Bou

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Smoked Amber Ale (Fall 2021)

I always wanted to brew a smoked beer and I’ve been thinking about the ingredients/process for quite a while before brewing this one. The result is unusual but in a good way. On the malty side, this beer is sweet (not overly), full of flavors with caramel and nutty-like undertones and just the right amount of smoke presence. The mouthfeel is pretty decent, the head retention and the carbonation level are spot-on. Here’s my recipe for this very good seasonal beverage. Cheers!

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Nice! I'd probably try it just under room temp in a snifter to get the full effect. With some cheesecake (don't smoke cigars lol).
 
Ahah, I was thinking of some fat cigars too but it's not that cool to smoke anymore, isn't?!😅 Besides, I can't tell about the cheesecake but it was a very good match with an apple crumble!
 
Harry Porter (Winter 2021-2022)

The idea here was to brew a full-bodied dark Ale that would pair maltiness with a rich cocoa backbone to help me get through our long Canadian winter! I also wanted to add vanilla, coconut and a bit of lactose to pimp both the flavor profile and the mouthfeel. I aimed low at ABV so I could easily enjoy a few in a row if needed 😉


Grain Bill (12.1 lbs)

6 lbs Superior Pale Ale
0.9 lb Brown malt*
0.7 lb Crystal 40*
0.6 lb Biscuit malt
0.6 lb Honey malt
0.6 lb Flaked oats
0.6 lb Red wheat
0.5 lb Carafa II*
0.4 lb Chocolate malt*
0.4 lb Pale chocolate malt*
0.4 lb Carafoam
0.3 lb Acid malt (only to help bring my pH water closer to the targeted 5.3 mark)
0.2 lb Roasted barley*

* All the dark grains were milled and then soaked in tap water at room temperature for 24 hours (cold-steeping)


Mash (70 minutes)

10 minutes @131F
3 oz 100% pure cocoa powder @45 minutes
60 minutes @155F
10 minutes @168F (mashout)


Boil (90 minutes)

19.5 g East Kent Golding @45 minutes
14 g East Kent Golding @12 minutes
0.5 lb lactose @10 minutes
Cold-steeped extract @10 minutes
A pinch of yeast nutrients @10 minutes
1 Whirlfloc tab@10 minutes
14 g East Kent Golding @5 minutes
@0 minute, I ran the wort through my counterflow chiller and then poured it into the fermenter (around 68F). I stirred the wort using a "magic" wand for over a minute before pitching the yeast (Empire Ale yeast M15; the exact same as the one I used for the previous recipe).


Primary fermentation

The fermenter was placed in the basement at room temperature (around 67F) for a week before I moved it upstairs (69F) for another week.


Secondary fermentation

After two weeks in primary, the beer was sampled then transferred into another fermenter with the following ingredients:
  • 2 chopped Madagascar vanilla beans soaked in 1 1/2 oz of Vodka for over 2 weeks;
  • 400 g of freshly roasted unsweetened coconut chips (20 minutes @240F);
I let it sit for 3 more weeks before kegging it. Then the keg was placed inside my keezer set @51F and the beer was force carbonated @30 PSI. After 36 hours the pressure was lowered to service pressure (14 PSI).

OG: 1.048 IBU: 18.2
FG: 1.010 ABV: 5%


Tasting notes

First things first, I’m very pleased with the result: smooth and almost silky mouthfeel, I mean look at this creamy head (served on regular CO2 with a stout spout). I can barely imagine the texture nitro would give to this beer, that would be crazy!! Not overly sweet nor malty, the roasted grains and dark chocolate tones merge in an almost perfect balance. The only thing I would change is I would add even more vanilla and coconut or I would add them later while in the secondary, with maybe a third addition directly into the keg to enhance their presence.

This recipe is clearly out of style, a kind of chimera containing both Porter and Stout attributes. Nevertheless, I felt this "magical" beer had to be named accordingly, hence the name "Harry Porter"! All in all, this beer is a winner and therefore, the keg won’t last long…! Cheers:beer:
 
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I associate beer with every season of the year, except winter...
Our winter is quite long and cold so a dark beer (and almost any other beer style as a matter of fact) is always welcome over here!!
 
Our winter is quite long and cold so a dark beer (and almost any other beer style as a matter of fact) is always welcome over here!!
When I lived in a more temperate climate, I felt more inclined to drink stronger spirits in winter: jenever, rum, tequila, ...
 
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They make stronger beer too triple IPA 😂
 
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When I lived in a more temperate climate, I felt more inclined to drink stronger spirits in winter: jenever, rum, tequila, ...
Yeah, I get your point and I do enjoy Gin, Single malt Scotch plus a few other spirits too. The problem is I really love beer. no matter the season; I'm a beer whore Dieter, always looking to find new releases to try, from every possible styles🤦‍♂️
 
@ahayastani Never tasted this one but you can't go wrong with Trappist beers!
 
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@Bou, I had to verify that I read you were serving that on CO2 when I saw the vid. That's a great, creamy looking porter! Love your grain bill, hop adds, step mash schedule, and the vanilla/coconut in the fermenter. Very similar to my winter batch of Bourbon Vanilla Imperial Stout/Porter (depending on my mood.) I've been out of the brew game for a few years, but this would be one I'd brew if I got sucked back in. Real nice!

Rich
 
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@Bou, I had to verify that I read you were serving that on CO2 when I saw the vid. That's a great, creamy looking porter! Love your grain bill, hop adds, step mash schedule, and the vanilla/coconut in the fermenter. Very similar to my winter batch of Bourbon Vanilla Imperial Stout/Porter (depending on my mood.) I've been out of the brew game for a few years, but this would be one I'd brew if I got sucked back in. Real nice!

Rich
Thanks mate; I think the Intertap stout spout is making a BIG difference! My grain bill could probably be modified/simplified but I think it is not bad as it is! How much vanilla are you using in a batch? Last time I used 1 bean (also soaked in Vodka for a while) and the flavor was hardly there...
 
Thanks mate; I think the Intertap stout spout is making a BIG difference! My grain bill could probably be modified/simplified but I think it is not bad as it is! How much vanilla are you using in a batch? Last time I used 1 bean (also soaked in Vodka for a while) and the flavor was hardly there...
Depending on the batch and size of the beans, either 2 or 3. I always sprung for fresh Tahitian Vanilla beans (fancy!), and I think it really made a difference. I'd have to dig up my notes on how long I had them in secondary, can't remember. ....and, of course, soaked in bourbon since it was a BVII/P :)
 
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Having a day off I decided to start the brewery and try this new and promising Harlequin hop in a heavily hopped IPA. Everything went well and according to my plan until the hop stand...

I first ran the wort through the counterflow chiller to bring it down to 165F, before adding the remaining hops. I mistakenly thought my system was set on "manual" but it was still in full auto mode so the temp slowly rose back to 210F before I noticed it (was in another part of the house 🤦‍♂️). In panic mode I immediately turned off the element, took the hop basket out of the boil kettle and quickly cooled the wort once more but this time to pitch temp (68F).

The meant to be 30 minutes hop stand turned into something I think would be the equivalent of a 20-25 minutes "reverse flameout" addition!! I had a few sips of the wort and the bitterness didn't seem particularly high. This, plus the fact that I hit my numbers leads me to believe that the finished beer should be just fine (fingers crossed here). I'll post both the recipe and the process in a few weeks if the result are worth it. Have a great weekend everyone!

:cheers:
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Making good beer is easy. Making the exact same beer twice is VERY difficult. Clearly you are in this scenario so rest assured your beer will probably be very good, just not what you hoped for
 
Making good beer is easy. Making the exact same beer twice is VERY difficult. Clearly you are in this scenario so rest assured your beer will probably be very good, just not what you hoped for
In fact my setup makes consistency something I shouldn't have to worry about too much. But you are right as I'm always tweaking something when I'm brewing a beer more than once and sometimes making a stupid mistake like today, just can't help myself...!!
 
"BREW by BOU".............now you'll be all set for the warm weather...CHEERS!🍺
!!!
Well it seems that there is never enough of this liquid happiness, especially in summer😁 Cheers Wiri!
 
Having a day off I decided to start the brewery and try this new and promising Harlequin hop in a heavily hopped IPA. Everything went well and according to my plan until the hop stand...

I first ran the wort through the counterflow chiller to bring it down to 165F, before adding the remaining hops. I mistakenly thought my system was set on "manual" but it was still in full auto mode so the temp slowly rose back to 210F before I noticed it (was in another part of the house 🤦‍♂️). In panic mode I immediately turned off the element, took the hop basket out of the boil kettle and quickly cooled the wort once more but this time to pitch temp (68F).

The meant to be 30 minutes hop stand turned into something I think would be the equivalent of a 20-25 minutes "reverse flameout" addition!! I had a few sips of the wort and the bitterness didn't seem particularly high. This, plus the fact that I hit my numbers leads me to believe that the finished beer should be just fine (fingers crossed here). I'll post both the recipe and the process in a few weeks if the result are worth it. Have a great weekend everyone!

:cheers:
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So, here's the review for my DDH IPA (6.17%) brewed with this Harlequin hop. The recipe was very basic (80% pale two-row, 10% wheat and 10% oat) as I wanted to see how this new hop would perform on its own. Both the color, haze, head retention and smell (tropical-like) are spot-on. For the amount I used (>13 oz for 5 gallons of finished beer) I can definitely say that this hop is very mellow. While the beer has no green nor harsh aftertaste, something is clearly missing in terms of flavor and although this beer is very good, it would not win any award... The taste is somehow hard to describe, sitting somewhere between peachy, kinda tropical with gummy (Life Savers?) tones. Not sure if it's related to the hops or to the process but the feeling reminds me of what I get when I drink a Brute IPA (with an almost dry finnish), which is not bad at all since you are always looking foward for that next sip, or pint!!

Conclusion: I do believe Harlequin is a great hop but it would shine even more if paired with other highly aromatic and tropical hops such as Azacca (my all-time favorite for IPA), Rakau, El Dorado and/or Mosaic. The keg is not going to last long (a good sign!) so I need to build a new recipe soon to test my hypothesis. Will report back ;) Cheers!

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