Mmmmm.. tasty!!! Next beer!! One of my personal favorites, this is Hoptical Illusion, an IPA brewed by Flying Monkeys out of Barrie, Ontario (http://www.theflyingmonkeys.ca). They’ve got a number of recipes that I’ll review once I get my hands on them. These guys love to dry hop their beer which is prevalent when you bring that frothy goodness to your nose. With hoptical, you get that punch of I’m guessing Citra hops. One extra cool item is they print different sayings under each cap (see picture).

Color: Caramel/Copper

Carbonation: Medium

Clarity: Clear

Hop: Med to High Hop. Slight bite but aftertaste dissipates quickly

Smell: I’m guessing a Citra aroma but could also be Amarillo, that’s the predominant smell

Taste: Grapefruit/citrusy, slight toasted malt taste

Overall, I’d give this a 8.5 out of 10.

Ok, so as I’m between batches and don’t have any new brew pics to post, I thought I would profile some Canadian craft beers that I’ve tried. So, if you ever get a chance to try one of the beers, maybe my comments will help (that’s my justification for going out and trying new beers)!!!!

On deck is Hops and Robbers brewed by Double Trouble Brewing Co. out of Guelph, Ontario (http://doubletroublebrewing.com). Love the name of the beer. An IPA that boasts 50 IBUs. Here we go:

Color: Deep Gold

Carbonation: Mild

Clarity: Clear

Hop: Med to High Hop. Slight bite and aftertaste that lingers, but it’s a pleasant bite

Smell: A pleasant malty smell, slight floral hint

Taste: Slight Grain, caramel and citrusy. They mention that there is also a hint of pineapple but I couldn’t taste it.

Overall, I’d give this a 7.5 out of 10.

Ok folks.. how were we never taught this in school!!!! Seriously, if this table was available to me during high school I would have paid more attention in class.. possibly a Nobel prize in fermentology???? Sorry.. my mind just drifted there. A buddy of mine flipped it to me this morning. Looks like the original work was done by Andrei Chapoval and Mantis Design (that should cover off on any copyright infringements). Regardless, it’s a neat concept!

Happy Canada Day!!!! And soon to be Independence Day to my U.S. counterparts. Great time to get out, hit a patio and grab a nice cold beer. The pic I just posted was bottling day (last Tuesday) for a Double Eagle Ale clone recipe that I’m trying out. I actually tweaked it a bit by trying a dry hop with some E K Goldings in the secondary. Enjoy the holiday everyone!!!

Waiting to bottle my latest batch so I thought I would post some pictures that I took with my older brews.

Enjoy!

Hey Calluuum, so here’s the Coles notes version: 1 week primary, 1 week secondary and 2 weeks bottle/keg (4 weeks total turnaround).

Now for the “scientific/beer geek” answer: There are several factors that dictate when you should rack from vessel to vessel, but your main indicator should be your hydrometer readings. I typically move my batch to the secondary when my hydrometer is at 10-12 (1.01 - 1.012) where I know that my fermentation is fully complete. There is the concern that if you move to the secondary too soon before fermentation is complete, you will introduce oxygen that can also introduce some bacteria. The secondary can be seen as an aging vessel where you would also dry hop and add your adjuncts (like vanilla beans, fruits, spices etc…). Others will rack to a secondary to clear up the beer if they’re not filtering. Keep in mind that the more you move the beer over, the more you introduce oxygen which can affect your brew.

That being said, I’ve been brewing ales which ferment at warmer temperatures and therefore the process has a pretty quick turnaround. Lagers are a different animal where they ferment at colder temps so a typical cycle could be 2 weeks primary, 2 weeks secondary and 2 weeks bottle/keg (6 week turnaround and possibly longer). The colder temps slow the process and reactions. Higher alcohol beers will age longer in a secondary (up to a year).

My point is that your brewing process is determined by the style of beer that your brewing. I’ve seen some beers ready in as little as 3 weeks and some up to a year. Personally for my ales I go 1,1 and 3 (5 weeks). I find that after 1 month my beer tastes a little young so I prefer 3 weeks in the bottle. Try experimenting with dates, you’ll notice different tastes from 4, 5 and 6 weeks.

Dueling Herons Brewery who follows me might be able to weigh in on the discussion. Most importantly is to try different scenarios and take lots of notes!!!!

Thanks for asking the question, that’s what this blog is for. Cheers!!!

The Thirsty Canuck

Countertop brewing at it’s finest (literally)!!!!! So this is a Double Eagle Ale Clone that I’m trying out (found the recipe at www.byo.com). I’ve actually added a slight modification to the recipe because I enjoy making my life (and brewing day harder) by combining a bunch of ingredients… just kidding. I wanted to add a dry hop to the process so this wheat would have a nice ZYNG! The first picture is the ingredients that I’ve used: wheat LME (liquid malt extract); munich, 2-row and wheat grains for steeping; Pearle hops for bittering, Hallertauer for flavor and E K Goldings (not shown) dry hop for aroma. The second picture is.. um.. er.. my countertop!!! Actually it’s me steeping and using an electronic thermometer to control the temp (I keep adding and tweaking my equipment as I get more complex). I’ll let you know how it turns out!

Here’s a blast from my past, one of the last batches that I brewed when I worked for the Micro before I ventured off into another career path. My boss at the time gave me this bottle as a keepsake.. a great learning experience and foray into the world of brewing.

Mossy goodness!!! So I dry hopped my pale ale batch with 28g (1.0oz) Citra hops (added it when I racked to my secondary fermenter). As you can see our green little beasties expanded to resemble a manicured green at TPC Sawgrass (do I putt on it or drink it???). I recently bottle this batch (ensuring full quality control along the way). Love the smell and taste of Citra.. grapefruit comes to mind. Quite similar to Amarillo Hops.  

Brew day!!! Brewing a batch of pale ale. I’ll be dry hopping this batch with some Citra hops. I included a picture of a hop spider that I built (I prefer to use it to steep the grain instead). It’s actually come in really handy. I got the design from www.byo.com (awesome website for craft brewers). I’ll post the progress of the brew.. stay tuned!!!