Doin' Brewin' - Raise the Roofie IPA

I've been trying to nail down a house IPA recipe for a while now and I think I'm getting close.  This last one was mighty tasty but with one drawback.... 9.8% ABV!!!

I had a small mishap with a hydrometer before brewing this batch resulting in fragments of glass all over the kitchen floor.   So I saved some samples in the fridge for testing when the new hydrometer arrived in the mail.  In the meantime we were drinking this beer and waking up in the morning with surprising hangovers and memory loss.  By the recipe estimations this beer should have been about 6.3% and I still have no idea what happened.

When I first kegged this IPA I was concerned that it had maybe fermented at too high of a temperature in the summer heat.  I thought I was smelling an estery green apple aroma but now I think it was just the alcohol, which mellowed out after a week of conditioning.  The beer was left with a slight alcohol warmth going down.  It didn't turn out as hoppy as I was going for but I will attribute that to the 1.090 OG.  This one is a keeper and work in progress.  Looking forward to doing it as a repeat to compare the results.  

Open to comments or just try to Raise the Roofie yourself!

Batch Size	5.000 gal	Boil Size	5.750 gal
Boil Time	60.000 min	Efficiency	70%
OG	1.064	FG	1.016
ABV	6.3%	Bitterness	63.9 IBU (Tinseth)
Color	10.3 srm (Morey)	Calories (per 12 oz.)	214

Fermentables

Total grain: 13.498 lb

Name	Type	Amount	Mashed	Late	Yield	Color
Pale Malt (2 Row) US	Grain	9.998 lb	Yes	No	79%	2.0 srm
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L	Grain	15.998 oz	No	No	74%	40.0 srm
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L	Grain	15.998 oz	No	No	75%	10.0 srm
Munich Malt	Grain	1.500 lb	Yes	No	80%	9.0 srm

Hops

Name	Alpha	Amount	Use	Time	Form	IBU
Simcoe	13%	0.750 oz	Boil	60.000 min	Pellet	29.7
Simcoe	13%	1.000 oz	Boil	25.000 min	Pellet	27.6
Zythos	10.9%	1.000 oz	Boil	5.000 min	Pellet	6.6

Yeast

Name	Type	Form	Amount	Stage
Safale S-05	Ale	Dry	2.232 tsp	Primary

And a "brewery" is named....

People are always asking me what my beers are called or what I call my "brewery".  Until now I haven't been inspired to come up with names for my beers or my "brewery".  I just want to brew beer, so I call them to style and creativity of naming is up for grabs.  And I've had a couple named, such as the Blonde Bitch and the Raise the Roofie IPA.  I've got the chalk board where the stats are posted for the beers in my nameless two keg kegerator system.

So the conversation goes a little something like this.  My roomate tells a friend about me and in miscommunication I am later asked how my kids are.

Kids?   No no, I have no kids.

My roommate interjects, not kids, kEgs.  I told you she has two kegs.  You know, Kelly no kids.... Kelly 2 Kegs!

Friend reply's, is she Ute?

We have a laugh and I fondly remember the days of being referred to on the Navajo reservation as "travels with growlers".  Because every knows you have to be ready with a growler in the car in case you come across a beer at a brewery that you must take home.  And the second best way to share beer, after of course having people over for a pull on the taps, is to take growlers of homebrew to gatherings. 

I've sat with the nick name Kelly 2 Kegs or just Two Kegs for about a week now and I thinks it's sticking.  So a "brewery" is named, and it shall be called...
 

Marble Red

Its been quite a long time my old friend.  

One of my New Mexico favorites and we don't get it up in these here hills.  Used to be one of my go to hoppy beers in New Mexico and I would frequent the little brewery on my outings to the big city.   I am a very hoppy girl, also because I became an aunt today.  Cheers!!!

Travels

 I've been on a writing and brewing hiatus due to travels and starting a new job, so it's catch up time.  Doin' some brewin' today and reminiscing on the fine selection of lagers I recently had in Nepal. Of course by fine, I mean that they all tasted the same.  But they came in big bottles and were cold in the heat and humidity of Pokhara, so I can't complain too much.

I'll veer from beer for a minute to mention the Raksi.  This is the "local wine" we had after trekking in the Langtang valley.  This particular raksi was made from fermented potato mash.  Sounds like vodka you say?  Well it tasted like it too, just a watered down version served hot.

Needless to say, upon my arrival back to the US after a couple weeks, I was looking for some good ales.  I was in Arizona, so I picked up this selection of mostly AZ brewed IPAs that I am so very much looking forward to sampling, comparing and reviewing.  Cheers to good beers!!

Vernal Minthe Stout

This new seasonal from Ska is an awesome after dinner beer.  Brewed with peppermint, spearmint, cocoa and vanilla.  I love the mint in stout!  And I love that it is subtle.  The last seasonal I had of theirs was the Mole Stout with chocolate and spices, which I found to be a little hard to drink a whole can and it gave me heart burn.  I think that restaurants should switch from Andes candy on the check to Minthe Stouts.  I know it would keep me coming back :)

Doin' Brewin' - Belgian Blonde

On a windy spring day, the air full of red dust sweeping in from the Ouray Valley, you may see a girl running back and forth, back and forth from her house to her garage.  Sometimes carrying a giant pot, buckets, hoses, some strange copper thing.  What is she doing?  Brewing beer of course!

Spring in the mountains equals wind.  And today was particularly windy which forced me to move my brewing operation to the garage in hopes that I don't get completely contaminated by whatever is floating in the air.  In anticipation of my mom coming for a visit I am trying to have mom-friendly beers on tap, which means minimal hops.  This is hard for me, so I decided it would be a good opportunity to try to come up with a belgian blonde and try a few things I've never used before like red wheat and Safale T-58 yeast.

In my experience the progression of introducing non-craft beer drinkers to "real" beer is to start with stouts, browns and red, which has so far been a success.  This time I am going to introduce a bit more hops with the ESB and this Belgian Blonde.  We'll see how she likes it.

Somehow I completely missed the mark on my OG coming short at 1.040.  I was hoping to hit closer to 1.052 but I may have misjudged how much sugar I would get from the red wheat and Vienna.  I have also been playing with mash volumes.  But either way I don't really mind lower ABV beers.  I can drink more beers with less headaches :)

I really like the way this beer turned out.  Very drinkable.  Nice light golden color, a little haziness from the wheat.  On the nose slight not over powering esthers from the yeast.  Finishes hop bitterness instead of belgian sweetness.   Again, another beer not brewed to style, but that's the fun of homebrewing, you can have it your way.

Batch Size	5.000 gal	Boil Size	5.750 gal
Boil Time	60.000 min	Efficiency	70%
OG	1.057	FG	1.014
ABV	5.6%	Bitterness	33.4 IBU (Tinseth)
Color	5.0 srm (Morey)	Calories (per 12 oz.)	190

Fermentables

Total grain: 12.000 lb

Name	Type	Amount	Mashed	Late	Yield	Color
Pale Malt (2 Row) US	Grain	8.000 lb	Yes	No	79%	2.0 srm
Vienna Malt	Grain	2.000 lb	Yes	No	78%	4.0 srm
Wheat, Red	Grain	2.000 lb	No	No	84%	2.5 srm

Hops

Name	Alpha	Amount	Use	Time	Form	IBU
Amarillo	8.7%	0.500 oz	Boil	5.000 min	Pellet	2.8
Cascade	6.4%	0.500 oz	Boil	20.000 min	Pellet	6.3
Cascade	6.4%	0.500 oz	Boil	60.000 min	Pellet	10.3
Amarillo	8.7%	0.500 oz	Boil	60.000 min	Pellet	14.0

Yeast

Name	Type	Form	Amount	Stage
Safbrew T-58	Ale	Liquid	0.000 tsp	Primary

Face down brown

This snowy spring day in April brings me back to winter days x-country skiing in Telluride.  Of course I didn't get out the skis because there was only about 4 inches of wet snow that started to melt as soon as it hit the ground and will probably be gone tomorrow, but I did get out a Face Down Brown.  The second of Telluride Brewing Co's beers to be canned.  Second to be canned, because it was a gold metal winner at the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup last year.  And well deserving of the awards, I'd say.  Nice and nutty malty but with a little hop kick making it not as sweet as the usual brown.  Very drinkable for this hophead.  As they say at the brewery,  "...don’t be afraid to get down with the best Brown around".  

Doin' Brewin'- ESB

A while back I made an accidental ESB.  I was going for a hoppy red ale, but I didn't have enough hops on hand, so I went to a friends house and raided his freezer.  I ended up using Santiam hops, which I hadn't heard of.  Instead of bright American hoppiness, I got mellow noble hoppiness and a beer that more resembled and ESB.  While not what I was going for, it was delicious.  So I tweaked that recipe but went full on english hops with Fuggle and EKG.  This is most definitely a bitter English bitter.  Bitter up front but finishes with a nice toasty maltiness from the Victory malt.  I almost exclusively use US-05 yeast because it is consistent and clean, but this time I went for the S-04 english ale yeast.  It didn't disappoint and did just as it said it would; fermented fast but with a lower attenuation rate leaving me with a final gravity of 1.016.   The low final gravity contributed some nice sweetness to balance it out and a lower ABV of 4.4%.  So good!

Batch Size	5.000 gal	Boil Size	5.750 gal
Boil Time	60.000 min	Efficiency	70%
OG	1.050	FG	1.016
ABV	4.4%	Bitterness	22.9 IBU (Tinseth)
Color	11.0 srm (Morey)	Calories (per 12 oz.)	180

Fermentables

Total grain: 10.500 lb

Name	Type	Amount	Mashed	Late	Yield	Color
Cara-Pils/Dextrine	Grain	8.000 oz	No	No	72%	2.0 srm
Carared	Grain	16.000 oz	No	No	75%	20.0 srm
Pale Malt (2 Row) UK	Grain	7.000 lb	Yes	No	78%	3.0 srm
Victory Malt	Grain	2.000 lb	Yes	No	73%	25.0 srm

Hops

Name	Alpha	Amount	Use	Time	Form	IBU
Fuggles	4.5%	0.500 oz	Boil	60.000 min	Pellet	7.9
Golding	5%	0.500 oz	Boil	30.000 min	Pellet	6.7
Golding	5%	1.000 oz	Boil	5.000 min	Pellet	3.5
Fuggles	4.5%	0.500 oz	Boil	20.000 min	Pellet	4.8

Dry Dock- Hop Abomination

Picked up a six pack of Hop Abomination last week and thought "Yay! Another IPA in cans!  And I've never even heard of this brewery.  How fun!"  

On Friday I left for a quick brewery tour weekend in Denver.  When I'm in the city I feel like I should do what most country people do and take advantage of being able to buy things in stores, but I hate shopping and the only thing I could think to buy was grains.  So my friend says that there is a great home brew shop... on the other side of town.  But it's okay because it is also right next to a great brewery, so we can go.  Perfect!

Well we get to The Brew Hut and I immediately recognize Dry Dock Brewing.  Turns out I had been there before and I loved it.  Great beers, great atmosphere and free popcorn!  So 2 days and 58lbs of grain later I get to have to Hop Abomination on tap at a brewery, it turns out, I'd already been to.

For the second time around, neither Dry Dock nor the Hop Abomination disappointed.  When poured out of the can you can see the hoppy goodness floating around.  Usually I have an aversion to solids in my liquids but for hops, I'll get over it.  A nice full body is followed up by a very resiny hoppiness.  As they describe it,

 "A hoppy warship of an IPA. Massive
amounts of floral, citrus and tropical
hop flavors lurk beneath ivory
whitecaps, swirling amid glowing
golden seas, waiting to conquer
your palate with their bitter
deliciousness. Our take on an
American favorite."

I agree!

Doin' Brewin'- Smoked Porter

In preparation for beautiful weather and barbeques, I'm brewing a nice and smokey porter.  This beautiful weather is getting me excited for campfires that leave your jacket smelling for a week.  I'm hoping this beer will have that essence smokey campfire essence.
Just kegged over the weekend, it's just as good as I imaged.  Porter may or may not be the best label.  It's somewhere between a Rauch and Porter I think.  What would you call a beer that is lighter in color and bitterness than a Porter, but not as smokey as a typical Rauch?
Nice creamy mouth feel makes it an easy drinker.  And at 6% it doesn't leave you stumbling home from the picnic.
 

Batch Size	5.000 gal	Boil Size	5.750 gal
Boil Time	60.000 min	Efficiency	75%
OG	1.058	FG	1.015
ABV	5.7%	Bitterness	33.7 IBU (Tinseth)
Color	21.6 srm (Morey)	Calories (per 12 oz.)	192

Fermentables

Total grain: 14.250 lb

Name	Type	Amount	Mashed	Late	Yield	Color
Pale Malt (2 Row) US	Grain	10.000 lb	Yes	No	79%	2.0 srm
Rauch Malt (Germany)	Grain	3.000 lb	No	No	0%	2.0 srm
Chocolate malt Pale	Grain	8.000 oz	No	No	60%	250.0 srm
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L	Grain	8.000 oz	No	No	74%	40.0 srm
Roasted Barley	Grain	4.000 oz	No	No	55%	300.0 srm

Hops

Name	Alpha	Amount	Use	Time	Form	IBU
Santiam	7.2%	0.500 oz	Boil	5.000 min	Pellet	2.3
Santiam	7.2%	0.500 oz	Boil	30.000 min	Pellet	9.0
Warrior	13.7%	0.500 oz	Boil	60.000 min	Pellet	22.4

Yeast

Name	Type	Form	Amount	Stage
Safale S-05	Ale	Dry	2.232 tsp	Primary

Doin' Brewin'- Fraoch (Heather Beer)

Dried Heather Tips

A while ago I read the book Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers and it triggered the herbalist/gardener in me to want to make herbal beers.  I was intrigued by Fraoch and decided I needed to seek this beer out.  Fraoch is brewed with heather, a low growing shrub, instead of hops.  Well, what an endeavor that turned out to be.  Originating in Scotland, it turns out that this beer is not readily available in the states.  But alas, after many months of search, I found one and it was great!  This is not the typical beer that a hophead would like as it is on the sweeter side with no hop bitterness, but the herbalist in me likes the sprucy flowery herbal essence.  So I decided, I needed to make this beer since it's so hard to find.  So the search for heather begins.  Do I try to harvest it fresh or buy it dried?  And either way, where do I find it?

Turns out that more and more people are trying to brew this style and finding dried heather wasn't too difficult.  I was able to find an 8 oz. bag from Austin Homebrew Supply. 

Now, how do I brew it?  I did some research and found some pretty complex recipes out there.  A fraoch is technically a gruit; a mixture of herbs used to bitter/flavor.  I decided for my first batch to make it simple, and to only make 2.5 gallons in case it wasn't drinkable.

I mashed as usual for 60 minutes.  When it came time for the boil I added one addition, 6 oz of heather tips and boiled for 90 minutes.  Then the tricky part came.  Separating wort from heather.  The dried heather is ground up in small bits and a little powdery, I could see the advantages here of using fresh heather tips as it would be far easier to remove from the wort.  I debated using a bag, but I didn't have one big enough, so I just tossed it all in.  I used a small sieve and scooped out as much as I could then ran the wort through the sieve on the way into the fermenter.  Not too bad.  O.G. was 1.040.  Fraoch are not traditionally a very big beer.  This one turned out to be 3.6% ABV.

After a week of fermenting and a week of secondary I decided to "dry heather" the night before I kegged it.  To eliminate a bunch trub I did this by boiling 1-2 cups of water.  Then seeping 2 oz of heather for 5-10 minutes after which ran it through the sieve into the secondary carboy. 

Batch Size	2.500 gal	Boil Size	2.500 gal
Boil Time	0.000 s	Efficiency	70%
OG	1.033	FG	1.008
ABV	3.2%	Bitterness	0.0 IBU (Tinseth)
Color	4.4 srm (Morey)	Calories (per 12 oz.)	106

Fermentables

Total grain: 3.314 lb

Name	Type	Amount	Mashed	Late	Yield	Color
Pale Malt (2 Row) US	Grain	3.001 lb	Yes	No	79%	2.0 srm
Carared	Grain	5.000 oz	No	No	75%	20.0 srm

Hops

Name	Alpha	Amount	Use	Time	Form	IBU
heather	0%	6.000 oz	Boil	90.000 min	Pellet	0.0

Yeast

Name	Type	Form	Amount	Stage
US-05	Ale	Dry	0.388 oz	Primary

I have to say I am quite pleased with the end result.  The recipe could use some tweaking but I like it.  Very cloudy as expected with that much heather added.  The aroma is amazing, no doubt about it, there is heather in this beer.  It's a pretty thin, but it also only came in at only 3.6% ABV.  I would definitely try to get more body and more maltiness next time, but I like it for the first one because you really taste the heather, it's pretty in your face.  The heather really lingers on the palate and sours a little at the end.  Reminds me of a kombucha, basically just a fermented heather tea.  Some honey flavors to next batch would pair nicely with the floral and balance out that sourness.  I've never used honey malt, but I think this would be a good recipe to play with.  And I just got this cute little keg for my small batches, so no bottling.  Double win!

Doin' Brewin'- House Stout

Mash tun/brew kettle all bundled up for the mash

When you are a lil' brewer girl there are some things to consider about your brew set up.  Most involve lifting heavy things, which can be, well, too heavy.  Also, when I started brewing all-grain, I had limited space for equipment.  Brew-in-a-bag was the perfect option for me.  Seemed easy enough with not a lot of investment or space needed.  A giant brewpot with a spout was perfect for eliminating some lifting and pouring.  Stilts on my burner means I can drain the wort into a carboy, which is usually in a wheeled cooler, and off I go to the fermenting closet.  The only lifting that is left is to get the carboy up to the counter for transfers.  I think I can handle that.

I do a full volume mash in my kettle.  I think in the future I am going to change this approach.  I am going to make some markings in the kettle so I can do a thicker mash then fill with extra water to the appropriate level for pre-boil.  Sometimes I get some thin beers which could be a result of bad recipe design or from a super thin mash.  Either way, my kettle can barely hold all the grain and water for full volume so if I only accomplish making a little less mess, then so be it.

 Wrapped up the kettle will usually drop about 10 degrees through the 60 minutes.  I don't seem to suffer any negative consequences.  

On this cold winter day in the mountains, it seems as though a stout is in order.  I have brewed this recipe several times, tweaking bits of it here and there.  It always seems to please.

Batch Size	5.000 gal	Boil Size	5.750 gal
Boil Time	60.000 min	Efficiency	70%
OG	1.057	FG	1.014
ABV	5.5%	Bitterness	43.1 IBU (Tinseth)
Color	41.7 srm (Morey)	Calories (per 12 oz.)	187

Fermentables

Total grain: 12.250 lb

Name	Type	Amount	Mashed	Late	Yield	Color
Pale Malt (2 Row) US	Grain	10.000 lb	Yes	No	79%	2.0 srm
Carafa II	Grain	4.000 oz	No	No	70%	412.0 srm
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L	Grain	8.000 oz	No	No	74%	40.0 srm
Roasted Barley	Grain	8.000 oz	No	No	55%	300.0 srm
Chocolate Malt (US)	Grain	16.000 oz	No	No	60%	350.0 srm

Hops

Name	Alpha	Amount	Use	Time	Form	IBU
Northern Brewer	10.6%	1.000 oz	Boil	60.000 min	Pellet	34.6
Northern Brewer	8.6%	0.500 oz	Boil	20.000 min	Pellet	8.5

Yeast

Name	Type	Form	Amount	Stage
Safale S-05	Ale	Dry	2.232 tsp	Primary

Fermenting in the closet			Transfer time

Green Flash Brewing Co- Hop Head Red

Drinking Hop Head Red transports me back to a beercation a couple years ago that I took to San Diego.  There were a couple things to learn about brewery touring for a week there.  Used to going to brew pubs that have pretty regular business hours we quickly learned that in the San Diego area there are a lot of breweries that only distribute and have tap rooms.  That means they have limited tasting hours, which are usually only Thursday- Sunday from 4-8pm.  The day we went to Green Flash Brewing Co. was the day we learned that hard lesson.  On a Tuesday after checking out the LA scene a little we were ready to hit the road and start the tour and logically start working our way down towards San Diego via Escondido, the home of Stone Brewing Co .  But first stop, Vista, CA where Green Flash was originally located.  Green Flash was our 4th stop in obscurely located industrial parks, and not a beer had been tried yet.  Denied!  But we knew we could come back on our way back up the coast.  Which is exactly what we did and I was so glad.  We got to roam around the brewery floor, samples in hand and chatted with the brewer at work.

A beautiful red color leads to a nice caramel maltiness that you can even smell on first sip.  Not a lot of hop aroma, you might think this was an Irish red, then, surprise!  Hops!  Maybe a little bitter at the end but not totally out of balance.  This is not your average red or your average IPA.

Faucet re-build

Sometimes a lil' brewer girl can be intimidated when things aren't working properly because that means she will have to fix it.  This can be fun because you get to take stuff apart and figure out what's wrong.  This can be annoying because you then have to put things back together in working order.

I have Perlick faucets because they are awesome!  But not awesome when they start leaking and making a big mess everywhere.

Stout stained carpet

And how lucky that both faucets are leaking at the same time.  Ugh!  Time to get some know how from the internet and take these faucets apart, fix them, then try to put them back together.

Sideways view of tap assembly

After I took this all apart I realized that I could have just taken the taps off the tower.  Duh :)  I didn't actually have to take the shank out of the tower too.  But I was in destructo mode and in the end I'm glad I did because on examining my lines, I realized that they could use a change out and this would be the perfect time.  It was easy taking the taps all apart and interesting.   I figured out where all the o-rings were, and that those were likely the problem.  I wan't really sure how long it had been since they were new.  The hard part came a couple weeks later, when the replacement rings came and I had to remember how to put this all back together.  There are acutally a few more pieces that go on the inside of the tower not shown in this photo and embarrassingly it took me a few tries to get them all in the right order and in the right direction so it all screwed together. 



In the end I replaced 3 o-rings, the handle lever (which probably didn't need replaced), the coupling nuts which were very badly worn, and both the beverage and CO2 lines, just because I was already feeling handy.  Now it's all back together and ready for new brews and no more leaks!

Pliny the Elder

Spending Valentine's Day with one of my true loves, HOPS!!  A rarity in southwestern Colorado, I was so happy to snag the LAST two bottles of Pliny at the liquor store the other day!  Apparently they get a shipment of this gem only about every 6 weeks and they don't even put it out in the coolers.  You have to just know about it and ask for it.  Crazy! 

First time a got to experience the hoppy deliciousness in my mouth was actually at Russian River Brewing.  On a road trip with my mom several years ago, we made a detour on our journey just to hit up the brewery.  We were only able to spend a little bit of time there and I have been jonesing to go back ever since.

As you can see in the picture Pliny is on the light side.  But don't be fooled, loaded with hops it also has tons of body to back that hop up without lots of caramel.  A double IPA at 8%, it's up there but not over the edge.  It has little to no alcohol bite, super piney hops on the nose, and a slightly bitter big hop party in your mouth with the perfect amount of malt to balance it out.  They brew this in small batches (hence the rarity) and put the bottled date on the bottle so you know you are enjoying it fresh.  Don't age it or you'll loose all the fresh hoppiness.  

I am so in love with Pliny! 

Peach Porch Lounger

I don't know why but sometimes I get a wild hair to branch out from drinking IPAs.  I saw peach on the label and was reminiscing on a beer I had last year around August from Crazy Mountain.  Perfectly added fresh local peaches gave a subtle peach aroma and sweet aftertaste to, what tasted like their Mountain Livin Pale Ale.  I usually don't like fruit beers but this one nailed it on the head for me.  So I picked up this bottle of Peach Porcher.  I knew it wouldn't live up, I mean first of all, it's a sour beer.  But maybe it would have a nice hint of peach to please the palate.  Or maybe not. 

I got out my guitar and was ready for some lounging.  Not on the porch, or patio, as that is covered in snow right now.  Sniff.  Yep, there's the brettanomyces.  When I first tasted it I was thinking more of a sour beer, but it really tastes alot like a saison.  Not a lot of body there, or peachiness though.  So now I am confused.  Is it a sour or saison.  I guess it doesn't really matter because it just wasn't doing it for me and at 9.4%, better I don't drink the whole bottle anyway.  I think the best part of this beer is the G. Love logo!  "Yo, can I get a cold beverage!"

Homebrewing - Fruity IPA?

I thinks it's about time to talk about homebrewing!  I have had a few beers with Simcoe and Citra hops and have loved them!  So I had to give it a try myself.  Well it turns out everyone can make a good one, but me.  I have had this beer on tap since before Thanksgiving.  I just can't seem to drink it much.  It was supposed to be a Simcoe/Citra IPA and this was the second attempt at it.  Both tries have turned out fruity and somehow a little like a wheat, even though there is no wheat in it. 

The first batch I only used Simcoe and Citra hops.  Simcoe for bittering and using both for mid-addition and aroma.  I decided that Simcoe can be a bit harsh as a bittering hop so the second batch I used Northern brewer to bitter and Simcoe and Citra for the mid and aroma.  There is just something off.  I don't know if it is the recipe or the process.  My process is brew-in-a-bag with a full volume mash, no sparge.  Great color and nose but fruit juice aftertaste.

I personally attribute the weird sour/fruity aftertaste to not enough bitterness but I also wonder if it could be from not sparging.  Something i'm getting or not getting from the grain.  Early last year I brewed a single hop Falconer's Flight APA that also had a fruity characteristic.  Makes me wonder about my recipe design because Falconer's Flight should have pretty different characteristic to Simcoe and Citra.  I'm not going to give up though.  With more tweaking, there will be an amazing IPA in my future.

Simcoe/Citra IPA
================================================================================
Batch Size: 5.143 gal
Boil Size: 6.200 gal
Boil Time: 0.000 s
Efficiency: 75%%
OG: 1.069
FG: 1.017
ABV: 6.7%%
Bitterness: 51.0 IBUs (Tinseth)
Color: 11 SRM (Morey)

Fermentables
================================================================================
                       Name  Type    Amount Mashed Late Yield Color
       Pale Malt (2 Row) US Grain 11.000 lb    Yes   No  79%%   2 L
 Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L Grain 12.000 oz    Yes   No  74%%  40 L
               Victory Malt Grain 12.000 oz    Yes   No  73%%  25 L
         Cara-Pils/Dextrine Grain  5.000 oz    Yes   No  72%%   2 L
            Caramunich Malt Grain  7.000 oz     No   No  72%%  56 L
Total grain: 13.250 lb

Hops
================================================================================
            Name  Alpha   Amount  Use       Time   Form  IBU
           Citra 13.9%% 0.500 oz Boil  5.000 min Pellet  4.3
          Simcoe 13.0%% 0.500 oz Boil  5.000 min Pellet  4.1
          Simcoe 13.0%% 0.500 oz Boil 30.000 min Pellet 15.7
           Citra 12.0%% 0.500 oz Boil    0.000 s Pellet  0.0
 Northern Brewer  8.6%% 1.000 oz Boil 60.000 min Pellet 27.0

Yeast
================================================================================
        Name Type Form    Amount   Stage
 Safale S-05  Ale  Dry 2.232 tsp Primary

Telluride Brewing Company

Cross country Ski trail at Trout Lake

Another amazing day of skiing in the San Juans deserves another great beer.  And Telluride Brewing Co happens to be on my way home from my most recent adventure.  How convenient!

The brewery is located outside of town in a not too easy to find strip mall.  But once you get in the right spot you can see the giant shiny fermenters through the window.  They are not licensed as a bar so there is no seating, but you can have a pint standing at the bar or take it on a "tour" of the brewery, which you are actually standing in.  Short on storage space there is usually an abundance of cans hanging around.  They haven't started canning the Face Down Brown yet, but I guess it will be coming soon.  After another big batch of Bridal Veil gets canned. 

I talked before about the Bridal Veil Pale Ale http://lilbrewergirl.blogspot.com/2012/12/12-beers-of-christmas-bridal-veil-rye.html  one of my favorites!  And really all their beers are great.  They have quite a line-up too.  Something for everyone; light, dark, brown and red beers.  This time around I was enjoying the dark beers.  The Smoke Shack Porter is an excellent example of a slightly smokey porter.  Smokiness from beachwood smoked grain is subtle.  It's easy drinking and not too big at 5.4%.  They also have the Ski-in-Ski-Stout coffee stout.  This stout is brewed with coffee from a local roaster.  The coffee takes some of the roastiness from the stout but adds a nice pick-me-up!

They are not widely distributed and currently only the Bridal Veil is available.  So get out on the trails or slopes then head to over to the brewery and try them all!

http://www.telluridebrewingco.com/

Horsefly Brewing Company

There are so many beautiful places to ski (and drink) in Southern Colorado.  This lil' brewer girl has been getting in as much cross country skiing as possible!  I recently got the opportunity to ski the rim road of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.  Amazing!  

Naturally after a crisp workout one needs some nourishment.  So I headed to the Horsefly Brewing Company in Montrose.  I have frequented this place in the past and I have to say, while the beers are consistent they seem to cater to a different kind of beer drinker than myself.  I usually go for the Six Shooter APA, which at 7.5% can be a dangerous endeavor.  This is the only hoppy beer they really offer.  If you want to go down in percentage you have to sacrifice some flavor.  Their lengthy menu features their Bug-eye blond and Jazzy Razzy among others.  

 I got a chance to have a quick chat with one of the brew help and the word is they are fermenting an Imperial IPA that is going to clock in between 9-10% right up there with their Winter Warmer.  

As for food, I am not the best judge since the only thing I can eat is the veggie burger.  If you are a wing fan then you can partake in the wing challenge or any of the other bar food selections.  And if winter is not your season, then swing by in the summer when the outside beer garden is open.  Cheers!

12 Beers of Christmas- Celebration

And finally we must have a Christmas Celebration!  "Festive fresh hop holiday fun!"  I look forward to Sierra Nevada Celebration every year.  I just love fresh hop ales!  And to get one for Christmas, thank you Sierra Nevada, wonderful gift.  First brewed on my birth year, I knew this union was meant to be.  Piney aromas are followed by a slightly grassy bitterness, just how fresh hops should be.  Malts fade in the background to keep it crisp.  And the logo, this is the pretty close to the scene I woke up to this morning.  A wonderful snowy Christmas day in the mountains.  I hope that everyone had a fantastic Christmas with a fantastic company and brews!

Snowy mountain view from my front patio.  Merry Christmas!!