August Hippo, Perfecting a recipe

As you all know, we make a lot of IPAs.  Some would say too many.  We don't mean to, it just kinda happens.  On this blog we have made, Pliny, Pliny the Petulant, an east coast, a whole bunch of west coast, 3 extract kits, a bunch of partial mash, and my tried and true ol' recipe August Hyppo.  All of these are IPAs.  That is a lot by anyone's standard.

This actually is
August Hyppo, the
color is that light!

Despite forays into the new IPA styles, we always come back to the tried and true recipes.  We always return to balanced earthy, floral, citrusy, piney, grapefruity, bitterness, but balanced.  The beer should taste like an IPA... not like a grapefruit, not a lemon, not a pine needle, not orange juice. This is restrained perfection of the american IPA style.  Soon we will be re-brewing August Hyppo and trying to make some subtle changes to perfect the recipe.  The bitterness and flavor are spot on, but the aroma leaves a lot to be desired.  So it is my intention to tell you today what we are trying to accomplish with this good ol' recipe and give you a peak at our thought process.  Here are my concerns: improving the aroma, improving the malt profile, and improving the water chemistry so that the bitterness and aroma will last longer.  And as always I will base my hop additions off of AAUs and not off of ounces... "wait, what?  what the hell are AAUs... there you go again making up new terms... "

OK, before you get frustrated let me take a minute to explain the concept of Alpha Acid Units, or AAUs.   The simple truth is that the alpha acids in hops vary from year to year.  A great example is Saaz, the traditional hop of bohemian beers.  Most years Saaz is arond 3.5 to 4.75 % alpha acid content.   In 2015 it was 9 to 9.5% alpha acid.   In 2015, if you were to add the same amount of saaz, by weight, that you always use... you could create a beer that was potentially 3x more bitter than it normally is.   So when you plan a recipe (and especially when you brew a recipe from a trusted on line source)  you should always know what the AAUs are and base your brewing upon that factor. The good news is that AAUs are easy to calculate.  To calculate the Alpha Acid Units you just multiply the ounces you are using by the Alpha Acid Content. Here is an example.

2015 Warrior Hops  16.5%  Alpha Acid Content  so; 16.5% x .8 = 13.2
2016 Warrior Hops  15.0 % Alpha Acid Content  so; 15.0% x .88 = 13.2

So to keep the recipe the same as it is in the past I have to adjust my warrior hop addition to .88 Ounces.   You should do this on every hop addition, for every recipe, every time.

The old recipe for August Hyppo
5.5 Gallons - All Grain
1.047 OG
1.007 FG
4 SRM
6.3% ABV
56 IBUs

Water treatment.   Camden and Five Star 5.2 pH stabilizer.

7.5 # 2 Row
1.0 # Corn Sugar
0.75 # Biscuit Malt
0.50 # Carapilsner

Mash at 150 F for 60 minutes.

.80 oz of Warrior at 60 minutes 16 AA% - 14.1 AAU
.60 oz of Centennial at 10 minutes 10AA% - 6 AAU
.60 oz of Columbus at 5 minutes 15 AA% - 9 AAU
.60 oz of Cascade at 0 minutes 7 AA% - 4.2 AAU
.40 oz of Simcoe at 0 Minutes 12.7 AA% - 5.1 AAU

US 05 1 package - re-hydrated.

New Bottle Label for the new Session Version
T-Shirts Coming Soon. 

Sometimes this is the best beer ever made.  A clear golden elixir capable of curing anything that ails you.   Sometimes this beer is just pretty good- needs more aroma.  Also needs to be more consistent.  The problem is that last year I made it and it was magical...everyone who tried it claimed it was among the best beers they had ever had...but I didn't take notes.  That's right...me, the king of take notes. The regent of record your brew sessions... I screwed up that day and I didn't take notes.  So now we are chasing a purple dragon... I've gotten close... I have even researched what the alpha acids were when I brewed it last year.  And that helped me get much closer, but my memory says that on this "free brewing day" one year ago, I threw in more hops that I had in the freezer... But that is just my memory, and my memory isn't what it used to be... at least I think it isn't...I can't really remember.

The new recipe for August Hyppo - making it into a session beer.
5.5 Gallons - All Grain
1.041 OG
1.007 FG
4 SRM - yes, that light in color... it is really cool to have a hoppy beer this light in color.
4.46% ABV
63 IBUs  (You'll see that after explaining AAUs,  I decided to make it a little more bitter)

Water Treatment;  Camden, 4 G of calcium chloride,  4 ML of Lactic Acid,  (we're shooting for 5.6 pH and a 2/1 SO4/Ca ratio for a hoppy beer.  We may also add gypsum to the boil in the last 10 minutes, we'll try it both ways.

7.5  # Vienna Malt
0.50 # Carapilsner

1.0 oz of Warrior at 60 minutes 16 AA% - 14.1 AAU
.60 oz of Centennial at 10 minutes 10AA% - 6 AAU
.60 oz of Columbus at 5 minutes 15 AA% - 9 AAU
.60 oz of Cascade at 0 minutes 7 AA% - 4.2 AAU
.40 oz of Simcoe at 0 Minutes 12.7 AA% - 5.1 AAU

.40 oz of Cascade dry hop 4 days 7 AA% - 2.8 AAU
.40 oz of Centennial dry hop 4 days 10 AA% - 4 AAU
.40 oz of Simcoe dry hop 4 days. 12.7 AA% - 5.1 AAU

US 05 1 package - re-hydrated

So there it is.  August Hyppo re-imagined as a session beer.  Extremely hoppy,  extremely drinkable.  And when it is right, it is a magical combination of hops.  Now, I know it isn't a unique or new combination of hops, but it is fantastic and the Vienna malt balances the hops somehow.  So even if this thing is way, way out of balance, it tastes somehow... balanced.  And since it is only a 1.041 beer it is ready to drink fast.  This beer is ready for dry hops in a week and ready for packaging on day 11.  You can easily be drinking this from the bottle 21 days after brewing, and faster if you keg.  

Focusing on 8 and only 8 beers... and some sours...

So we have made a decision as a team.  A monumental decision to focus on 8 beers.   We want to perfect these 8 recipes.  We want them to be competition worthy and commercial quality. And with two of our team members about to have babies, we will be brewing less often, and brewing larger batches. 10 and 15 gallons each time. But sports fans have no fear, Mark Anthony and I will still be making sours, and other test and crazy batches (hoptonite, a heady topper clone, etc).   But the team will be reducing brewing to about 1.5 x a month.  So, Ill be brewing a lot on my own as well.  For the most part I will be brewing 1.5 gallon test batches of our chosen 8.  

Here are the 8 beers we are really going to focus on.  We invite you all to brew along with us.  If we work together we can really make some great recipes.  We will begin this quest, after we make a pumpkin ale from the great people at Northern Brewer and a milk stout to sustain us through the winter (the left hand of fate).

The recipes will be posted on the right hand side of the blog near the top... under Hoptonite.

Desir et la Nuit -  Belgian tripel.  Our triple based originally on La fin du Monde.  My personal favorite beer.   Trying to find a better attenuating Abbey yeast.  The last batch was just a little too sweet. And I think we're going to up the spices a bit.   The beer is currently made to our liking, but not to BJCP standard, to get it to standard, we have to make it attenuate more completely. We also need more spice notes from the yeast, so we will be extending our acid rest.  The current plan is to use T58 and WB06 as the yeasts for this beer. WB06 is technically a wheat beer yeast, but it offers excellent attenuation and produces great esters. This will be a fascinating one for you all to keep up with as we are staggering the yeast additions.  I think this will do the trick.  I have seen on forums that people are using this yeast for La Fin clones, so I think we'd better try it.   We may also just break down and buy some Wyeast Canadian Abbey yeast. 

Allegement - this is our raspberry flavored Belgian blonde. I don't want to change anything about this beer. It's truly amazing.  We just need to find time to brew it more often.  This beer should be renamed MILF slayer.  Every woman who has tried it has loved it.  So if your SWMBO doesn't really like craft beer... this is the one to make. But be warned, you'll have to make it again and again. 

Ein Heldenleben - Munich Helles.  Triple decocted Helles.  It makes for a long brew day, but it is so woth it.  When we originally made this beer John was on the disabled list due to a torn Achilles (but he did manage to eat 10 lbs of pilsner like pop corn)  So his lovely bride Beth stepped up and we powered through the brew day. What we produced is technically the best beer we have made a nearly perfect example of the style.  If you can not lager, you can not make this beer.  Ale versions are just not the same.   

L'humble Moine - the Humble monk -  An abbey single.   This beer was an accident.  Mark Anthony and I were making a session-able Czech pilsner... and I accidentally pitched some washed abbey yeast I had on hand. The result was a beer that we all love.  We originally though of this beer as a Belgian blonde... then we came to learn more about the patersbier style.    It is a delicious entry level Belgian beer.  An easy drinker, and it never lasts long.   We have read recently that some patersbier recipes feature cinnamon and mace, or cinnamon and coriander.  So we'll experiment with that too. 

Saison de Pipaix clone -  This beer needs a name.  This beer is inspired by the last steam powered brewery in the world. Brasserie a Vapeur in Pipaix Belgium.  It is a spiced, orange colored Saison, and it is delicious.   We want the color to more closely match the deep burnished gold almost orange color of the original. This is the kind of Saison that makes your beer loving friends, who have only tried DuPont, Henepin, and Tank 7, take heed and show respect for your brewing mastery.

C4 pale ale -  Hey, sometimes you need something hoppy.  And we have certainly made more than our fair share of hoppy beers.  So very many... (and 15 more gallons recently)  This one will never be to BJCP standards, but we think it has huge potential.  We all felt like it could use a little more up front bitterness, and a bit more color.   An odd thing about this beer is that it actually tasted better in the bottle at about 6 -8 weeks than when it was fresh.  So we have work to do on our hop schedule and on our water chemistry.  Yummy delicious work to do.  

Belgian dark strong ale -  I have decided that we are the holy brotherhood of de abdij van cerise.  I'm not sure that the monks of St Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren make as much Belgian beer as we do.  We love abbey beers.  And we love BDSA.   I have been making this recipe since the dawn of home brew.   Our most recent batch is too approachable, this beer is for beer lovers not sorority girls. It is not nearly spicy enough but in fairness it is still delicious. So 5 of the 10 gallons is getting hit with Bourbon soaked oak chips and bourbon soaked cherries.  Hey why not?  Everything else gets this treatment.  And the next batch we will extend the acid rest to produce more ferulic acid and therefore more "phenolic" spice.  But other than that this beer is good to go.  A tried and true winner.

A Clean, clear cream ale!

Big John's Cream Ale -   Listen to me round eye.   You have to make Cream Ale.   It keeps your processes sharp, and it is delicious and easy drinking.  Your friends who don't like craft beer will still love this beer.  It is my house ale.  I have a friend who only drinks Miller Lite who will drink 2 or three of these every time he shows up.   John's recipe is an improvement on the recent 3 grains craze. John adds not only flaked corn but also flaked barley, which gives it more mouth feel, more "grain" taste, and better head retention.   An excellent beer.  I am always excited when I find a couple of these in storage.  I just found 6 of them, and I still have 5... ok 3,   Ok fine I'm out.   We need to brew this again.  

So there it is the 8 beers we will be focusing on.  The 8 beers that we think we can do some special stuff with.   You may be wondering... where are the sours?   Where is Hoptonite?   Well as to the sours, Mark Anthony and I will be keeping those alive and well.  We will protect our cultures, and keep them rocking.  We are about to bottle a sour, and when we do, we will certainly have another brew to put right on top of it quickly.   As to Hoptonite... to be honest, it is awesome, but it is also crazy expensive to brew.   A 10 gallon batch is well over $100.00.  So I will be brewing it solo in 2 and 3 gallon batches.    That is a little more pallet-able to the old wallet. 

I will say that we have reached a point where our home brew is superior to almost anything we can buy commercially, and that is very exciting.

Cheers!

The little changes..advice on refining your recipes

"Are we there yet? "
""Dad....?  are we there yet"
"how much longer"
"If you kids don't cool it, I'll turn this car around."

You have seen this scene a hundred times.   You have probably lived both sides of this scene too at some point in your life.   It is frustrating to be sure to be on a journey, to know your destination, to know what wonderful things are waiting for you, and to still be stuck on the journey.   So is the burden of travel with children, and so is the burden of home brew recipe design.

It takes time, and it takes multiple attempts.   Case in point our recent C4 hop explosion pale ale.  You remember, the attempt to make a super hoppy pale ale that is still balanced?   Well, we did it, it is awesome... almost.

Jake and MA working
on a batch of beer.
Or Jake next to a normal sized
human being

What do I mean by almost?   I mean, we are becoming fair, honest, critics of our own home brew efforts.   The C4 is outstanding.  Any of the team would proudly serve it to any of you, and we would take joy in your reaction.   I served it to the guys at the local home brew shop today.  Their reactions were gratifying, satisfying and mollifying.  They loved it, "don't change a thing", "this is excellent"  and "you did great champ!"   There is a certain pride in that, but that is not what I need.  I need a fierce critic.  Now, I am fortunate that one of my brewing partners, has an extraordinary pallet.  Now, I want to protect his privacy, so I'll just describe him for you,  he is 8' tall, and his initials are... Jake.   Jake can taste a beer and describe the flavors like an experienced sommelier describes fine wine.  I think that was a little embarrassing for him at first.  Using terms like, "fresh cut melon", and "a wine like bouquet"   But now he has embraced terms like "fresh citrus peel", and "musty earthy aroma"  I am fortunate that I am hundreds if not thousands of batches into this hobby.  So I can taste with the best of them as well.   I can work with my partners to truly identify areas for improvement. Not flaws mind you, just areas for improvement.  What do I mean by that?

You must examine the
beers that you make,
If you want to get better.

The C4 is flawless.  It wouldn't win a BJCP contest, it is way to hoppy.  But it would knock your socks off.  There is not a hint of off flavor or aroma.  It was carefully brewed, and carefully fermented in a temperature controlled environment.   We're not looking for flaws, were looking for areas of improvement. We're trying to make "ambrosia" not Amstel light.

So last night I set out to taste the C4 and be critical.  I approached it like I would a beer I was ranking on beeradvocate.com, I analyzed the beers appearance, aroma, mouth feel and taste.  Jake did the same.  And here is what we came up with, and how we will improve the beer in the next brewing.   It is our goal that C4 be the best pale ale we have ever drank.   And were almost there.

C4 Hop explosion Pale ale.  Analysis.

Appearance - Deep orange, crystal clear.  Can see my fingerprint magnified on the other side of the glass.  Small white head dissipates quickly, lacing lingers as beer is consumed.  Are we there yet?  No,  Color needs to be just a shade or two darker, this beer is a pale ale not an IPA.  Add darker malt.  4.25 / 5  Jake disagrees.  He likes the color.  So he gives it a 5 on the color. ( And after trying a couple more,  I think I now agree with Jake. It's not worth changing the malt profile to get a little more color.) 

Aroma - Strong Hop aroma, smells of pine, strongly of grapefruit, and lemons, there is a slight floral almost rose aroma. No off aromas detected at all. Are we there yet?  Yes,  Change nothing in the late hops, the aroma is outstanding.   5 / 5

Mouth feel -  moderate carbonation, should improve,  nice mouth feel, neither crisp nor viscous.  Just where you want it for a pale ale.  lingering sense of hops, almost creamy but not quite,  slight tongue sting, slight numbness from the hops.  Lots of fun. Are we there yet?  Yes, Mouth feel outstanding.  5/5 

Taste - Front end taste is bitter as you would expect, but the bitterness fades as you swallow and the beer moves to the back of your mouth/throat.  The bitterness is replaced by a gorgeous aftertaste of pine, grapefruit, citrus, a touch of spice, and floral flavors.   There is no middle pallet flavor to describe. In other words, this beer has a hole in the pallet.  No off flavors detected. Are we there yet?  No, but were damned close.   The beer needs a middle hop addition to reach its full potential.  Jake and I agree a spicy, smokey, middle hop would be most appropriate to create the correct flavors for an pale ale. We had great talks among the team last night and we all think a 20-30 minute Chinook addition would do the trick.  4.25 / 5

Overall the C4 hop explosion scored an 18.5 on my rating scale and a 19.25 on our team's overall rating scale. 19 or above we leave alone.  "Wait, what?  you have a system for analyzing your home brew?"  Sure, why? you don't? Wait a minutes, seriously, you don't have a rating scale?  Well get one.  C4 is an 19.25, it, therefore, is formally set as a team recipe, with only one change, that the entire team agrees upon.  The 20 -30 minute bittering addition.   Other than that, the recipe is ready to go.  And we will brew it over and over.

Here's the recipe: https://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/c4-pale-ale-hop-explosion-10-g-1abd7e

But there is always room for self analysis, there is always room for contemplation, and there is always room for improvement.   And there is always room for stealing from a successful recipe to make a new recipe!  So here is what we came up with for next time.  We're going to make a vairant of C4 Called "red rocket"  We're going to try to get a little more roast, and a  deep read color in the red rocket.  It will not be the same beer, but it will be dang close.   Here is how we will go about it.  If it works, and we love it, then we'll re examine.

• Appearance - Cap the mash with Carafa  3 or pale chocolate until the color we want is obtained.  Just add a little at a time until we get a slightly darker color. deeper than orange, but not brown.  If we could get brilliant red, I would certainly take it.  I know MA and Jake have the discipline to shoot for that.  I know John and I can provide the real time analysis and practical hard work to assist.
• Taste Add a middle hop addition of 1 ounce of Chinook at 25 minutes.   We want some of the spicy, almost smokey notes that Chinook provides.  if that doesn't work we'll add some Rye malt next time.

See we're making 2 changes, not one,  And with them we are creating a variant that we can compare to C4.   I know prevailing advice is change one thing at a time. Only one.  That is what the beer cannon guys say you must do.  And that is hogwash.  If you take the time to analyze your beer carefully, you can make more than one change at a time.  But if you find you are changing a whole bunch of things at once.  It is probably time to seek advice from a more experienced home brewer, or the friendly people at your LHBS.

So taste critically,  Evaluate the brew completely.  And then make one or two changes.  If you have persistent off flavors, evaluate your process and sanitation.   And finally, and I can not stress this enough.  Take copious notes.  Comprehensive, thorough, detailed notes.  You'll learn so much from theses notes.  And always ask your self,  "are we there yet".