Beer

[Theli]

Since the Spirits thread has been derailed a bit I figured I'd open a thread for the beer connoisseurs of the board. Have at'er boys!

[Dan Hocker]

Anyone here brew their own beer? I've been making beer / cider off and on for about 5+ years. Took a break for awhile in there, but am back brewing frequently again.

[Martin]

Anyone here brew their own beer? I've been making beer / cider off and on for about 5+ years. Took a break for awhile in there, but am back brewing frequently again.

I have never brewed my own but like to try many of the craft brewers around here.

[Theli]

I have yet to brew my own, would like to some day. I do have several friends that brew. Avid beer fan myself, I've enjoyed imports before the microbrew craze really took over and still do. Big fan of oak aged (Innis & Gunn make some great beers) as well as Belgian beers espeically, dubbels, tripels and quads. Also dig a good saison. But what am I saying? I like almost any beer!

What are you currently brewing Dan?

[Dan Hocker]

I have yet to brew my own, would like to some day. I do have several friends that brew. Avid beer fan myself, I've enjoyed imports before the microbrew craze really took over and still do. Big fan of oak aged (Innis & Gunn make some great beers) as well as Belgian beers espeically, dubbels, tripels and quads. Also dig a good saison. But what am I saying? I like almost any beer!

What are you currently brewing Dan?

Well since restarting after my break from brewing I've brewed a couple things. Almost entirely all small / test batches. There's a lot so I'll kinda list them below.

Citra IPA - this was a super small batch, but came out pretty good, maybe a little too strong on the hops
Rye Beer - another test batch, it was also pretty good, could use some iteration though
Blonde Ale - this one was just garbage, maybe it'll get better with age
Cranberry Apple Cider - this one is good, but needs some age / back sweetening. I'll know better next month if it's really any good.
Black Cherry Cyser - This one is still in progress, but if you don't know what a cyser is, it's essentially mead made with apple juice instead of water
Honey Kolsch - This is the most recent thing I've made, and it's still sitting in the fermenter. No idea if it's gonna be good or not. Hopefully it is, because I made a full size 5 gallon batch of it

I'm also brewing this weekend. I believe we are making a small / test batch of a Breakfast Stout, made with chocolate and coffee, we're also making a "Fake" Oktoberfest style. I say fake because I don't have the capability of making lager style beers so I have to use an ale yeast instead. So the flavor profile won't quite match, but the grain / hop bill are pretty much the same.

We're doing a lot of small 1 gallon batches of different things looking for something to iterate on until, then the goal is to work on perfecting that recipe. While looking for the next thing to make. I'm really hoping this Honey Kolsch is good though, because it's a style I like a lot.

[Theli]

Well since restarting after my break from brewing I've brewed a couple things. Almost entirely all small / test batches. There's a lot so I'll kinda list them below.

Citra IPA - this was a super small batch, but came out pretty good, maybe a little too strong on the hops
Rye Beer - another test batch, it was also pretty good, could use some iteration though
Blonde Ale - this one was just garbage, maybe it'll get better with age
Cranberry Apple Cider - this one is good, but needs some age / back sweetening. I'll know better next month if it's really any good.
Black Cherry Cyser - This one is still in progress, but if you don't know what a cyser is, it's essentially mead made with apple juice instead of water
Honey Kolsch - This is the most recent thing I've made, and it's still sitting in the fermenter. No idea if it's gonna be good or not. Hopefully it is, because I made a full size 5 gallon batch of it

I'm also brewing this weekend. I believe we are making a small / test batch of a Breakfast Stout, made with chocolate and coffee, we're also making a "Fake" Oktoberfest style. I say fake because I don't have the capability of making lager style beers so I have to use an ale yeast instead. So the flavor profile won't quite match, but the grain / hop bill are pretty much the same.

We're doing a lot of small 1 gallon batches of different things looking for something to iterate on until, then the goal is to work on perfecting that recipe. While looking for the next thing to make. I'm really hoping this Honey Kolsch is good though, because it's a style I like a lot.

Very interesting. I've never heard of a cyser before. I am a fan of mead and cider though, so I can't see how it wouldn't be enjoyable.

[Dan Hocker]

Having looked into mead there's a couple different varieties. Cyser (made with apple juice), Malomel (traditional mead made with fresh fruit as flavoring), and Pyment (made with grape juice) being the more prevalent varieties.

[Theli]

Having looked into mead there's a couple different varieties. Cyser (made with apple juice), Malomel (traditional mead made with fresh fruit as flavoring), and Pyment (made with grape juice) being the more prevalent varieties.

I was actually only able to purchase mead at my local liquor stores (regulated provincially) recently. There's one referred to as a "Mead Ale" which was quite sweet and strong with a bite added through carbonation. I liked it quite a bit. Then a more recent on showed up that was much lighter, still sweet, but not as strong (only 8%), along with a couple others. They all seem to be just honey and water, so far as I can tell, except one that appears to be fermented with grapes, and is a crimson hue. I quite looking forward to trying more of them. My friend brewed a batch as well, it also had a bit of a burn to it, but I think it was just honey and water.

Slightly off topic, I'd brewed a Claree recently, basically a traditional method of mulling wine with honey and spices then rebottling it. It was a bit of an experiment, as I have made it before but without aging it at all. This one I'd aged for just a month (I'd had too much oxygen in the bottle to leave it for much longer) and I think it would have benefitted from a longer aging, maybe a bit less honey and cinnamon too. I'll try it again.

[Dan Hocker]

The "Mead Ale" might have been produced with Ale yeast instead of the more traditional wine yeasts that are usually used in mead making. The Ale Yeast could account for it being fairly sweet, given most Ale yeasts don't have as high of an alcohol tolerance as the wine yeasts that are usually used.

Also off topic, but along the same lines as your Claree. I forgot I bout a 6 gallon Muscato wine kit as well. I'm intending to make it and break it down into maybe 4 batches and flavor each with a different fruit, then bottle it and give it as Christmas presents. I haven't decided on the fruits yet though. I'm thinking maybe raspberries / blackberries, peaches, maybe Strawberries (if I can find good ones), and maybe cranberry. I'm still undecided though. I have about 2 weeks before I'll have to make a decision.

[TacomaDiver]

I've been brewing beer since February of 2013.

It started off with extract brewing, but then a few months later, we upgraded to all grain. While this venture is supposed to be joint between my brother and I, let's be honest, I do more of the work, which is fine until it comes to collecting money to help pay for stuff.

We brew in 10 gallon batched which is just as easy as 5 gallon batches, until it comes to moving the finished product - 10 gallons is too heavy to move by myself, so I'm usually trying to con people into helping me out.

We have four regular brews that we rotate through:

Sock Rocker Red - our first beer. Pretty typical amber.
Katherine the Greatest Stout - brewed for my girlfriend Katie, who loves stouts. It's a vanilla oatmeal stout.
J&J IPA - our version of IPA. I'm still not entirely happy with this one - the hops aren't doing it for me, Still a work in progress
SonarFeed HBA - a beer we brewed for a bunch of fellow Sounders fan who run a podcast. It's modeled after a shot at a local German pub - full of licorice and honey. Quite delicious!

I've also tried making a chocolate mint stout - worth another attempt. It didn't scale down to 5g very well. There was also a 10g batch of a milk stout that got split in half. One half had vanilla beans added, the other half had oak cubes that were soaked with absinthe. The latter one is quite delicious! And right now I have 10g of my first pumpkin ale in the kegs.

[Theli]

^Sounds like you've brewed some truly stellar beers.

I've officially started cellaring beer. I had a few I'd kind of stored for one reason or another, but I have about 20 now, dated and boxed up and stored in my crawlspace. Innis & Gunn Vintage 2015, Innis & Gunn Irish Whiskey Stout, Abt. 12, Rochefort 10, Central City's Thor's Hammer Barleywine, Ol Fog Burner American Barleywine, and a few more for the first batch. Hoping to add a couple more Imperial stouts.

[racerx45]

I would put my shelf in the avid beer enthusiast category. I am not brewing my own beer yet but I have a good friend that does and he has offered to let me help so I can learn and start my own brew.

I have been to a tasting class with Jamie Floyd from Ninkasi Brewing and a class on barrel aging with Jeffers Richardson from Firestone Walker. I am currently taking a class with Kate Devine from Russian River Brewing. It’s one night a week for four weeks and covers Sensory, History, Styles, Yeast and Bacteria.

I am using an app called Untapped (https://untappd.com/) to keep track of the beers I have tried, what I like and don’t like and to see what my friends are enjoying. Is anyone else using it?

[TacomaDiver]

I'm jealous of the classes you've done.

I too use Untappd- for mostly the same reasons you do.

[Theli]

I also have untappd, my username is CodanOfCanada or if you look up my name, Daniel Cozzuol you should find me. My brother is taking several classes as a product consultant for the liqior commission here too. Interesting stuff, touches on most alcohols, but definitely has a lot on beer too.

[TJCams]

I prefer beer as my choice drink. Through trying different types I would say I prefer European pale lager. IPA are good too. Always been a fan of Keith's. On my cruise - stopped in Grand Cayman and found a great one (IMO) - Caybrew. Can't get it here though, but I brought some back. My current favourite is Kronenborg (France) - their basic - not the Blanc or anything like that. We have Walkerville Brewery here in town, but haven't found one of theirs I truly like. In a bind, there is always your typical domestics like Molson Canadian. Used to love Labatt Genuine Draft - but they no longer make that.