Tasted: Tamerlane Wit

A little more than a year ago, Brewmaster Mike's wife was still pregnant and about to have her baby shower.  Brewmaster Mike decided beer must be involved in the baby shower, if he had anything to do with it (and he did!).  I believe his inspiration for the beer that ultimately made an appearance at the shower was his wife's affinity for Belgian Whites.  Needless to say, the beer was a hit and he nearly drained the keg that day!  Well, its wheat season again, and Brewmaster Mike decided he wanted to make this, well a version of it anyway, beer again.  After being pitched the idea, which involved the original recipe plus such outrageous ingredients as juniper berries, lime peel, and ginger, I decided I wanted no part of that beer.  However, we were able to work out a plan to remove my portion of the beer before those ingredients were added.  I must say, for the record, I am not really a fan of non-traditional ingredients in beer, though I occasionally dabble.  This was just a little out of my comfort zone.  I knew the beer was a hit before and trusted the base recipe, but Brewmaster Mike had made this a completely different brew in typical Brewmaster Mike fashion.  To remind myself, as well as Brewmaster Mike, what we were making, I added at every step, "this is your beer."  I suppose I said it with too much blame and negativity.  For that I am sorry.  I did not mean to upset Brewmaster Mike.  I must not judge.  Brewing is about experimentation, and Brewmaster Mike is a mad scientist.  That being said...

Aroma:  8
Appearance:  9
Style:  9
Bitterness:  6
Maltiness:  5
Mouthfeel:  5
Head:  4
Balance:  5

These marks earn the Tamerlane Wit a 49 out of 55 and a percentage of 89%.

Tasted: Hef Pale Ale

Out of the frustration and anxiety of being without-kettle for three months, I finally couldn't take it anymore.  I HAD to brew.  Such was the inspiration for the Hef Pale Ale.

Once we finally got back to brewing, I really had the itch to get things going again.  It was a week after the Inaugural Brew (Hefewitzen 8.0) and Brewmaster Mike and I had planned to brew his Wit that Sunday.  Suddenly Saturday I discovered that I would be alone for an evening (it was the day of my lady's baby shower) and I got it in my head that I needed to brew.  I thought it through and decided I would use some of the US 2-row Pale malt I had laying around to make a simple pale ale.  Since the bulk of the grain bill would be the Pale I already had, I thought it would be a simple and inexpensive beer to make spontaneously.  I would only need a few hops and some yeast.  Well, as it turns out, I had plenty from the Hefewitzen brewed the week before.  So, I made a quick recipe in BeerSmith, exported it, and headed over to the baby shower to make a quick appearance.  There just happened to be a homebrew shop on the way to the shower.  I stopped in, grabbed the ingredients, and was all set for my evening spontaneous brew!  I wasn't going for anything fancy with this one, just something to fill the fridge.  The only "style" guideline I really gave myself was to make it hoppy and light enough to enjoy many pints worth.

Aroma:  5
Appearance:  6
Style:  7
Bitterness:  5
Maltiness:  6
Mouthfeel:  5
Head:  3
Balance:  5

These marks earned the Hef Pale Ale a 40 out of 55 and a percentage of 73%.

As the description above would suggest, this hastily put together pale ale is nothing spectacular.  It merely fills a keg.  Due to some technical problems it ended up not being incredibly alcoholic.  I think I can attribute this problem to the temperature problem I have recently solved that gave me such low efficiency and possibly low conversion rates.  The beer ends up being a bit starchy and sweet.  Yet, it still exudes the aromas and pleasantries of a proper pale ale.  Finally, the yeast stands out a bit too much.  Its full bodied and slightly bitter and leaves you... maybe wanting more.  All said and done, it fills a keg and allowed me to brew on a day I found myself craving my hobby.

Recipe: Hef Pale Ale

Tasted: Hefewitzen 8.0

As you can probably tell, we make this beer a lot.  This version (8.0) is the eighth iteration of this recipe and possibly the best.  It has been a struggle to get any kind of body or significant mouthfeel from this beer over the years.  The flavors have worked themselves out long ago, but the stubbornness of wheat has not allowed us to perfect this "style."  I write it as a "style" because we kind of made this one up.  We have always enjoyed the faux-gruit flavors of coriander and orange peel as well as the banana and clove present in the Hefeweissen yeast.  The though for this "style" was to combined the two in some unholy matrimony to create a unique and enjoyable flavor profile.  However, getting this beer to exhibit any sense of body has been a real challenge.  It wasn't until very recently in a conversation with Tom, the owner of our local home brew shop, that I realized wheat requires a high mash temp due to its highly fermentable nature.  We had been mashing this recipe at 150 to 152 over the years, thinking that this beer would be awful as a big bodied beer.  So over the years we added less and less malted wheat and more and more flaked wheat.  This did a few things, added more haze to the final product and reduced the convertibility of the mash.  To think, we were heading in the wrong direction for years with this beer.  Well, its all been made up for now, unfortunately, it has become more of a Wit than a Hef and would probably be better suited with the correct yeast.

Appearance:  8
Aroma:  10
Style:  8
Bitterness:  5
Maltiness:  5
Mouthfeel:  5
Head:  5
Balance:  5

These marks earn the Hefewitzen 8.0 a 51 out of 55 and a percentage of 93%.

Like a late summer evening, the striking visual of a gold haze filling a glass with a cloudy white head draws you into its soft pillowy top.  Before drifting off into the comfort of its bosom you are awoken by the bright scent of fresh orange peel and sweet coriander.  The first sip is cooling and refreshing leaving you with a faint hint of bananas and cloves.  The body is there, but just barely allowing you to savor only the most flavorful parts of the beverage.  Once consumed, the sweet nectar calls back to you, asking you to "have another."

As I said earlier, this version of the Hefewitzen is probably one of, if not the best versions of this beer we have made.  There's not much I would change at this point (as the recipe goes), but I would like to try it as a true Wit.  As far as this particular brew goes, I think if it had been mashed at the proper temperature (158 degrees F), it would have been perfection.

Recipe: Hefewitzen 8.0

Kettle Update

After brewing with the new electric system for a few beers, I thought some changes were in order.  Some problems arose, as I knew they would, with the way the system was set up.  The most obvious problem I discovered only after the air conditioner was put on in my house.  It turns out that steam traveling across a cool HVAC duct condenses, pools, and turns into a downpour.  Who knew?  I solved this problem by moving the kettle so it was directly under the basement window and added a large box fan.  The steam now goes directly out the window.

The next problem I found was something I had suspected since the initial setup of the kettle.  The efficiency of the system kept coming out very low, even for a batch sparge system.  Average estimates for a batch sparge system are normally about 65%.  We had been hitting somewhere around 60 to 63 percent efficient.  It wasn't until I was able to finally obtain a proper thermometer that I discovered that the thermocouple was incorrectly calibrated.  Now, this was my own fault, but it had a little bit to do with physics that I had overlooked.  When I originally setup and tested the PID and thermocouple, I filled the kettle and brought the water up to boiling.  I thought this meant that the thermocouple should be reading 212 degrees Fahrenheit.  I ended up adding about 6 degrees to offset what the thermocouple was reading.  Well, it turns out that the temperature of the water when its boiling is not really 212 degrees; its actually a bit lower.  I learned this the hard way when I measured the mash temp after mashing in for my latest brew.  It read 148, which was about 6 degrees cooler than I wanted it (and almost outside the scope of enzymatic action).  This could have been contributing to efficiency loss (as well as producing a different beer than I had intended to make).

In the midst of all this temperature confusion, I thought I'd try to get a little higher resolution on the temperatures I was measuring.  After reading the manual to determine how to activate the proper function to change the resolution, I discovered that the particular mode I wanted was only available in when reading the thermocouple in Celsius.  So, I have gone to the dark side.  Its a slippery slope.  Next thing you know, I'll be measure weights in kilograms and talking about how many kilometers it is to the brew shop.  Ugh.  I feel so European.  Anyway, I'll give it a try for a while, see if it really gets me any more resolution.  It really might not be worth it since the resolution of the Celsius scale is lower than Fahrenheit, but I'll give it a try anyway.

Brewed: It's Electric

Mission Accomplished...

The first successful electric kettle brew is in the books.  It went off without a hitch, that is, we made beer!  This was the 8th brew of our "Legacy" beer, the Hefewitzen.

After some discussion with Tom, the owner of the Thirsty Brewer and president of Wootown brewing club, about the electrical element, I was initially concerned about using it in its current configuration.  When I told him about the new setup, he asked if I was running the element at 110V rather than the manufacturer recommended 220V.  He asked because many brewers that go the direction we have gone with our setup have seen issues with scorching of the wort due to the heat density of the element.  I thought this was not a problem due to our use of an extra low density (ELD) element.  Tom mentioned that even those that used that type of element would still see scorching of the wort (in the past).  He also thought that if recent brewers using our particular setup might not see scorching because of new materials used to make the low density elements.

This made me a bit anxious about using the element at 220V, but I decided that if there was going to be scorching, it would be during this first brew due to its light color and high flaked grain percentage.  I thought that if it became a problem, I could construct a new circuit to vary the input voltage to the element.  I could use a switch to connect one or two phases to the element depending on the mode it was going to be used in.  For HLT mode, it could run at 220V as I would only be heating water.  In kettle mode, it could run at 110V to reduce scorching.  The second mode, I thought, would work well because the wort, as it is sparged from the MLT, is already at about 170 degrees F.  So, despite the low voltage and therefore power, the wort would still be able to reach boiling in an acceptable amount of time.  It would also be a viable solution because all of the equipment in the circuit can be used at 110V or 220V.  However, after Sunday's brew, we saw no scorching and realized that we also had a cleaner kettle than we have had in the past after a brew.  We speculate that the propane burners excess heat traveling up the sides of the kettle caused scorching along the outer walls and therefore caused the build up.  This build up is not present after our brew this time.  The element, being completely submerged the entire boil probably helped keep the wort at boiling and kept if from scorching.  I now think we can just use the element at 220V.  I think I will still consider the alternate mode if we end up seeing scorching after other brews.

Electric Brewery: Phase 2

After many trials and tribulations, we have finally succeeded in creating a (partially) electric brewery!  The original design remains in tact, but there were several missteps that lead to broken parts and new parts being ordered.  Initially, the design included a few elements, the PID, SSR, and heating element.  This is still true, but the original kit that included the PID, SSR, and heat sink (for the SSR) is no longer any part of the system.

The story began the day I finally got the kit from China.  I was excited to start assembling the unit after all the waiting and anxiety, but I still needed a few pieces that I didn't necessarily consider at first.  The PID needed some kind of enclosure to house it and all of the wires that would be connecting each of the elements.  It also required a fuse to ensure a power surge wouldn't destroy it.  The power I would be using was from my clothes dryer, which already had a socket and breaker connected.  I just needed a dryer plug to connect my 10 gage wire to the outlet.  Once all the additional pieces were purchased, I could start to assemble.

The enclosure I chose was a large sized plastic outdoor junction box.  The fact that it was plastic allowed me to be able to cut it fairly easily as well as avoid incidental contact with the high voltage lines inside.

The dryer plug was a three pronged 220V type with a ground and two 110V pins.  This was all I need to connect as the 110V lines were opposite poles (across which the 220V was supplied).

Inside the enclosure I used simple wire nuts to connect all of the necessary wires to their respective circuitry.  (See schematic)  The junction box also housed the heat sink and SSR (as I did not anticipate much heat being generated).

The two elements that needed control, were the PID and the heating element.  I added separate switches for these pieces so they could be turned on and off independently.  I thought it would be a nice touch to be able to avoid a boil over by simply flipping the switch on the heating element, thereby instantaneously removing the heat source.

The thermocouple used to provide feedback to the PID was screwed into a metric stainless steel nut that had been welded into the side of the keggle.  It was connected directly to the PID inside the junction box.

The final piece of this puzzle is the heating element.  It was merely screwed into a 1 inch NPT fitting welded into my keggle.  The wiring was connected on one side from the SSR (which provided the switching on and off) and on the other from the negative 110V line.

Once completely assembled, I plugged in the dryer plug (wincing as I did).  Nothing happened (thankfully!) as the switches to the PID and heating element were both in the off position.  When dealing with any kind of power (as I am an electrical engineer by trade), I always expect the worst (something exploding), but hope for the best (no action whatsoever).  Having the best of reactions to the last change of state of this new system, I was hopeful when flipping the switches to the on position.  As I did, the display on the PID lit up and showed some numbers and the keggle did not spontaneously combust!

Things were really going well at this point.  I had added some water to the keggle before this test began, so I was confident that the element would not be burning up if the PID came on and thought that it should enable the heating element.  It was a good thing, as the PID was unable to sense that the water was being heated.  As the element was turned on, the water started to heat and the PID read the temperature as decreasing.  I had connected the thermocouple backwards.  It was a minor mistake, but required me to open the junction box to rewire the thermocouple.  Once all the hardware bugs were worked out, I set the PID on something above the boiling point of water and allowed the water to come to a full boil.  During this process, I had been testing the temperature of the junction box by placing my hand on it from time to time.  It did not feel too terribly hot at any point during the initial test.

Once I was satisfied that I was able to boil water, I decided to do some testing to see if I could set the PID to a particular temperature and have the water remain there for an extended amount of time.  This proved impossible at this point.  I set the PID to something like 70 degrees Celsius and watched as the water climbed right back to boiling.  I noticed that the small LED on the SSR that indicated that it was active was no longer lit, but was confused when the water still climbed in temperature.  I had blown the SSR!  The heat inside the junction box and more critically the heat sink that was sent with it were no match for the heat generated by the SSR.  It turns out that the SSR is only rated to run at an internal temperature of 70 degrees Celsius and that the heat sink provided was only for a 25 Amp SSR (when, in fact, the SSR was a 40 Amp!).  Disappointed, I left the keggle filled with hot water, shut down the PID and heating element, and unplugged the junction box from the dryer outlet and went to bed.

The next day, I decided I would get things cleaned up, order a new SSR, and found that the keggle had rusted!  The "stainless" steel nut that held the thermocouple as well as the thermocouple itself had rusted!  Broken by the weight of these events, I called my welder and scheduled a replacement fitting to be welded in and ordered a new thermocouple (except this time I decided I would use an resistance temperature detector or RTD) that would fit into a standard 1/4 inch NPT fitting instead of that awkward metric nut that had been used before.

Several days later, the RTD arrived.  Excited that I might finally be able to use my setup as I had originally intended, I connected the RTD, plugged in the junction box, and set a temperature.  After several minutes and noticing that the water had begun to boil (at least above the heating element), I saw that the temperature on the PID read by the RTD was not increasing.  I thought it might have been the connection and tried to tighten the screws holding the leads from the RTD, but there was no change.  Next I thought there might have been an error in the directions I was reading for the PID as they had come with the PID from China and could have been poorly translated.  Swapping the leads made little difference.  Eventually I noticed in the directions that particular part numbers were associated with particular input devices and output parameters.  I discovered that this PID was only designed to be used with a K type thermocouple (which it had been shipped with).  Incredibly frustrated and angry at this point, I immediately ordered a new PID to replace the minimally functional PID I had been using.  Little did I know, I could have just ordered a new thermocouple that would have worked with my original PID and saved me about 20 dollars, but that is a story for another day.

Finally, a few days ago, my new PID arrived.  I replaced the old one, ran a few tests similar to those described above and decided that I can finally call the electric keggle project a success.  The end result being that I had replaced every piece of the original PID kit I had ordered from China.  The lesson here (to me anyway) is to only buy the good stuff and don't be cheap about it.  Buying crappy unsubstantiated materials only leads to more frustration than necessary.

I'm excited as our inaugural brew is Sunday.  We are brewing, what we consider, our legacy beer, the Hefewitzen (a mostly Wit style recipe with hefeweizen yeast).  It is our legacy because every time it turns out pretty well, but we feel we can always do better.

Here is a link to a spreadsheet showing all of the elements I purchased, their prices, and where to find them: Electric Keggle Parts, etc.

Tasted: English Bitter 2.0

Brewed only a short month ago, the English Bitter 2.0 lived a short and glorious life.  It was, as it should have been, enjoyed thoroughly and in large quantities; thus, despite its generally larger original volume of 5 gallons (as compared to the usual 4 gallon), it went swiftly into the night.  I think you'll see, the reason this beer went so quickly is defined in its score.

Appearance:  9
Aroma:  10
Style:  9
Bitterness:  6
Maltiness:  5
Mouthfeel:  5
Head:  5
Balance:  4

These marks earn the English Bitter 2.0 a 53 out of 55 and a percentage of 93%.

This friendly beverage, although lacking the grainy draw of its older sibling, brings you closer with its enticing aromas, clear bright body, and fully sufficient head.  This second generation proves to be closer to the eventual goal of a completely unobtrusive beverage that is drinkable in quantity and enjoyable in quality.

My only complaint is that it turned out a little bit too bitter.  I think that might have to do with the changes I made and the yeast I chose.  I think if I go back to the European Ale yeast and decrease the hops just a tad, this beer will be just where I want it to be.

Recipe: Session Bitter 2.0

Tasted: Rye Pale Ale 3.2

The almighty Rye Pale Ale.  Friend to all, savior to some.  As beers/recipes/flavors evolve, so do we in our ideals of what a beer "should" be.  This iteration of Rye Pale Ale arrived by the inspiration of Brewmaster Mike.  One day he was in the brew shop and saw a new hop that caught his eye.  This hop, Pacific Jade, supposedly has a very earthy, woody flavor to it that Brewmaster Mike thought would enhance the Rye Pale Ale.  This combination of new hop additions and a slightly lower mash temperature would culminate in a refreshing earthy noted beer that we would all enjoy.


Aroma:  7
Appearance:  10
Style:  7
Bitterness:  4
Maltiness:  4
Mouthfeel:  5
Head:  5
Balance:  5


These marks earn the Rye Pale Ale a 47 out of 55 and a percentage of 85%.  


The Rye Pale Ale, a well traveled beverage guides the consumer with its age and experience through an adventure through the backwoods just before dusk.  The journey begins in a field of rye where you sit enjoying some dried sunflower seeds, as the sharpness of the rye pinches at your nostrils and the sun beams light through a menacing cloud.  Your soon lead through a grassy meadow near a pine thicket as you search for cover from the ominous storm approaching, your sinuses cleared by the brightness of the needles.  Once hidden by the trees a hint of oak wafts through the air and in the darkness you realize that you are safe in the warm embrace of your guide and old friend, Rye Pale Ale.


This beer is a great variation on a theme.  The recipe that we've played with on and off has really surprised us all with every iteration.  I think this time around, the Rye exhibited itself appropriately.  It took what was changed and applied the flavors we chose as they should have been.  This beer is tough to mess up, and believe me, we have tried.  It just keeps coming back for more every time.  I think the only reason this beer received any negative marks is due to my own expectation of what I know of what the Rye is capable.  It wasnt quite as aromatic as it has been in the past, but that is most likely due to the change of hops we selected.  The style points that were lost were, again, due to my expectations.  I have preferred the version of the past to this one, but that does not mean that I did not enjoy it any less.  (In fact, at the time of this post, it is already gone!)  I think to fill out the numbers appropriately, this beer only needed a little more malt flavor and a little more bitterness.  This can be solved with a few simple additions of malt and hops (appropriate proportions to maintain balance, of course).  Other than that, this beer is fantastic and I would make it again in a heartbeat, as this style has become one of my favorites.


Recipe: Rye Pale Ale 3.2

Tasted: Chocolate Stout 2.0

The story of this beer is, unfortunately, not one I can call my own.  I have to credit Brewmaster Mike with this one.  I think, in an effort to find that one particular flavor, Brewmaster Mike has attempted time and time again a recipe which embodies the flavors contained in this Chocolate Stout.  Specifically, sweet, dry, and complex.  These flavors, in my own opinion, are a difficult combination to achieve due to their relative opposition to each other.  Nonetheless!  Brewmaster Mike has maintained his quest to find the answer to the burning question: How DO you make a beer sweet AND dry?  My metric may not be so favorable for this beer, particularly because of my own aversion to the style and flavor profile.  No offense is meant by this review; I merely mean to document my experiences so that we, as brewers and as a whole, can improve our skills.

Aroma:  6
Appearance:  8
Style:  6
Bitterness:  8
Maltiness:  3
Mouthfeel:  4
Head:  2
Balance:  3

These marks earn the Chocolate Stout 34 out of 55 and a percentage of 62%.  This beer comes at you like a coal black steam powered train of the early 1800's.  Black and intense, your eyes are met with a stark contrast between your surroundings and the flavor train barreling towards you.  Unfortunately, theres nothing that can stop it.  Once you've poured it, your nose is attacked by the pungency of chocolate malt.  Only a short buffer of creamy brown head cushions your plunge into its abyss.  A strange bitterness takes over as you imbibe.  It's not hops that are bittering this beer, but the dark and roastedness of the malt itself.  It bitters and dries this dark concoction to the point of astringency, leaving little room for the sweetness of chocolate to come through.  It is only after several convincing pints that you are able to realize the namesake of this fermented locomotive.  I think for my own purposes, I would change this recipe by reducing the amount of chocolate malt, adding a bit more darker crystal (maybe 60L or 80L), and mashing at a higher temperature (maybe 158).  I think this combination of recipe changes would reduce the malt bitterness and increase the amount of chocolate flavor presented in the bouquet.  In order to preserve the dryness desired by Brewmaster Mike, I also might use Dry English Ale yeast, rather than the Irish that was used for this one.  These suggestions, again, are merely based on my own desires and knowledge of the style.  As our skills improve, we will continue to produce better and better beers.

Recipe: Chocolate Stout (The Raven 2)
Style: Chocolate Stout

Tasted: Schwarzbier 1.0

Ah, the elusive black bear, I mean, beer.  This style, while little known, possibly due to John Q. Public's beer knowledge being severely dumbed down by Big Brewing, is a charismatic blend of soft chocolate, toffee, and coffee notes backed by the cleanliness of a lager yeast.  Having few choices to sample this style, I was lead by an example produced by my favorite brewery in the whole wide world (yes, I went there), Iron Hill Brewery of Newark, DE.  Their Schwarzbier was the best tasting dark lager I have ever had.  It was so tasty, it even impressed by very choosy wife.  Thus was the inspiration to make such a style.  After a brainstorming session with Brewmaster Mike, we came up with something we both thought appropriate.  I must applaud his gutsy use of the San Fransisco Lager yeast as it proved mightily tasty as well as the distinct lack of roasted barley in accordance with the style guidelines.  The resulting beverage suited the palates of many and has now been deemed, at least in my eyes, as a repeatable recipe/style at MSB.

Aroma:  7
Appearance:  10
Style:  8
Bitterness:  4
Maltiness:  6
Mouthfeel:  4
Head:  6
Balance:  5

These marks earn the Schwarzbier a 46 out of 55 and a rating of 84%.  The Schwarzbier is impressive in its vastly cavernous blackness.  Like a black hole of bitter chocolate and toffee this beverage sucks you in and reduces your taste buds to singularities.  The smooth caramel and bakers chocolate flavors roll off your tongue in a clean, refined bitterness that quenches as it fulfills.  Again and again you return to be bombarded with flavor by this robust dark liquid.  Being a malt-forward beer, I was afraid I wouldn't enjoy the Schwarzbier; however, it surprised me by being bitter enough to overcome the cloying sweetness I had expected.  The only changes I think I would make to this beer would be an attempt to balance it out a bit more.  As I have stated in the past, I enjoy a more bitter than sweet beer.  To suit my tastes more appropriately, I would probably add a bit more hops and maybe some simple sugars to thin out the body a bit.

Style: Schwarzbier
Recipe: Schwarzbier

The Electric Brewery: Phase 1

So, in an effort to assist Brewmaster Jay with his move and advance our brewing system, I have decided to move the brewery to my house.  Unfortunately, the only permanent location for the brewery is in my basement.  I say unfortunately because using a gas burning turkey fryer appliance in an enclosed area can be particularly dangerous due to the toxic chemicals (CO) and exhaust fumes.  Fortunately, this gives us the perfect opportunity to advance our brewing methods and system.  The design is fairly simple: replace the gas heat with electric heat.  However, the equipment though safer during normal use, can be a bit more dangerous and complicated to install.  The plan is to use the output of a proportional-integral-derivative controller (PID controller) to drive a solid-state-relay (SSR) connected to a hot water heater heating element (5500 Watt, extra low density (ELD)).  The pulse width modulated (PWM) wave coming from the PID controller will turn on and off the SSR a number of times per second.  The ratio of low voltage to high voltage (off/on) will depend on the feedback from the thermocouple connected to the kettle.  The end goal is to be able to set a temperature on the PID and have the element reflect that temperature in the kettle.  This, hopefully, will be a more efficient, safer way to brew.  According to our calculations, the only difference in this system may be the time it takes to heat liquids as the gas burner can, most likely, put out many more than 5500 Watts of power.  We will only really know the answer to this once the equipment is installed.

So far, the PID and element have been ordered.  I believe it will only take some low gage electrical wire and a dryer wall plug to finish the job, electrically.  Physically, I will need to have the ports welded into the kettle, which I will do as soon as all of the parts have arrived and I have figured out how they will all fit together.  I should have the element today and the PID should arrive in the next few weeks as it's on its way from China.

Electrical Heat Calculations: Electric Heat

Tasted: Munich Dunkel 1.0

Again, as we trace our brewing heritage, we end up time and time again in the Bavarian countryside.  This adventure has lead us to one of the brewingest cities in the world, Munich, Germany.  The beer I'm sampling bears this great city's name as little other is associated with the style than its birthplace.  Munich Dunkel merely refers to a dark colored beer that's made in Munich.  It's described as being a dark colored lager with no overwhelming characteristics of its own.  It's not roasty, chocolately, or particularly sweet or bitter.  The challenge here is to make a beer that matches what's made in the home of the Oktoberfest.

Aroma:  7
Appearance:  10
Style:  7
Bitterness:  4
Maltiness:  4
Mouthfeel:  5
Head:  5
Balance:  5

These marks earn the Munich Dunkel a 47 out of 55 and a rating of 85%.  This beer greets its consumer with a dark brown body with a slightly creamy light brown head which dissipates slowly.  Unfortunately, there's no impressive aroma to draw you in.  You have to dive right in hoping Ze Germans have lead us in the right direction.  The first sip is light and thin, as a lager should be, and waves a fond farewell as its malts slip away down your throat, leaving only the hint of roastiness as evidence that it was ever there.  It's easy drinking that keeps you coming back for more, as its light unassuming balance leads the way.

As tricksy as this style may be, I believe we are certainly close.  I'd say small changes would put us right in the style, as I remember it.  The removal of the "Carafa I" would be my first improvement.  It was only added to keep the color profile in the style guidelines.  Unfortunately for this style to be truley traditional it must be decocted to give it a darker color.  I chose melanioden malt as a substitute.  Maybe next time a longer boil or a small decoction could help the color along and possibly improve on the caramel flavor I remember so well.

Recipe: Munich Dunkel

Tasted: German Pilsener 2.0

In a ode to Deutschland and one of the cleanest beverages of all time, we created our German Pilsener, version 2.0.  After our first attempt at the style missed the mark by a close margin, and the relative success of the beer, we decided to do it again with a few enhancements.  The first version was fairly close flavor-wise, but ended up a bit too malty.  Two changes were made to get this right: mash at a lower temperature and increase the IBUs.  The results are as follows:

Aroma:  7
Appearance:8
Style:  9
Bitterness:  6
Maltiness:  5
Mouthfeel:  5
Head:  6
Balance:  3

These marks earn the German Pilsener a 45 our of 55 and a rating of 82%.  The appearance of this beer lends itself directly to what you think it is, a clean crisp pilsener, despite the overabundance of head.  Its a different story once you get close.  This beer starts out with what would seem to be an uncharacteristic nose.  It teases with hints of banana and spice then smacks you in the face with stiff bitterness as you take your first sip.  As the bitterness fades, light bodied malt rolls off your tongue to reveal the balance of true pilsener.  Personally, I prefer a drier, more bitter pilsener, but I thought this a bit unbalanced as the bitterness seemed to stark.  I think a slight decrease in IBUs can counter this imperfection.  As for the aroma, a lower fermentation temperature should decrease the bananas and spice to create an all around balanced, clean beer.

Recipe: German Pils 2.0

Tasted: English Bitter 1.0

Alright, so I used the scoring metric.  Let's hope these results make sense.  When trying the first few beers and scoring them appropriately, my methodology was to look, smell, and taste the beers, in that order.  So, here are the results.

Aroma:  8
Appearance:  8
Style:  8
Bitterness:  5
Maltiness:  7
Mouthfeel:  6
Head:  4
Balance:  4

These marks earn the English Bitter a total score of 44 out of 55.  This gives it a rating, in my book, of 80%.

I really think this beer is very close to the style and I think the results show it.  The first experience one has with this beer, besides its stunning golden color, is the distinct aroma of grain.  Its a brewer's beer, as its aromatics are reminiscent of a heap of malted barley, particularly the ever present English favorite, Marris Otter.  I think that scent brings one into the beer and allows the auxiliary flavors to present themselves accordingly.  A short sip and one is embraced by the smooth balance of the simple malts and subtle hints of English alpha acids.  The gentle current of golden liquid moves about one's mouth in a ever so slightly heavier manner than water giving the drinker a sense of refreshment and encouragement to proceed.  Being a simple session beer, the English Bitter suggests "have another" as one realizes the sparse foam rings lining the glass.

My only complaints are possibly the over presence of malt in the flavor profile, the slightly heavier mouthfeel, and the under-achieving head retention.  Future versions of this may see a reduction of grain in the grain bill to counter the over-maltiness and a slightly lower mash temperature to create a thinner mounthfeel to encourage drinkability.

Recipe: Session Bitter

Beer Tasting Guidelines: A Stab in the Dark

Again, as I was preparing for another upcoming post, I realized some explanation is required to describe a new segment.  I'm planning on describing and judging my own and off the shelf beers.  I was thinking about the purpose of my musings and decided it would be a good place to track, record, and develop my sense of a good or quality beer.  I do not assume my beers are good or quality.  I merely mean to find a more accurate representation of my beer tasting experiences, so that I may one day create great beers based on my observations.  Therefore, I have attempted to create a robust format for judging the beers I experience.  Any feedback would be appreciated as this is, and will continue to be, an experiment in beer judging.

First, I need to describe my tasting philosophy and it probably wouldn't hurt to describe my own preferences.  A philosophy is difficult to articulate, but I will do my best.  I will attempt to be quantitative with the physical metrics and unbiased with my qualitative perceptions.  However, what measures as a good or quality beer, may not score highly.  The scores, hopefully, will reflect the amount of under-achievement or over-the-top-ness of each beer.  It may take a few tries, but there will be a sought after middle ground that describes a pleasant, well balanced, and flavorful beer.  Higher scores should reflect an over-done, over-the-top beer and lower scores should reflect an underdeveloped, unpleasant beer.  That being said, I prefer more bitterness than most, complex flavor profiles, and style appropriate mouthfeel.  Unfortunately, I probably have my own ideas about different beer styles and what they should taste, feel, and smell like.  For instance, I prefer a very bitter IPA over and bland pale ale any day, but I still appreciate the delicate balance of a clean and balanced English Bitter.  I also enjoy the complexity of just about any Belgian beer, assuming, what I like to call, the "star" of the beer is the yeast profile.  I tend to shy away from big malty beers such as porters, scotch ales, and brown ales due to their extensive maltiness.  Pale ale types should not be too malty or sweet, stouts should be drier than porters, and lagers should be crisp and clean.  I could go on and on about the different styles and how they "should" be, but I'll leave that for when I taste them.

I think I'll go with eight categories to start: Aroma, Appearance, Bitterness, Maltiness, Head, Style, Mouthfeel, and Balance.  Since flavors, sights, and textures are all subjective, its difficult to assign a linear metric.  The difficulty is finding the way all these metrics interact with each other to define and describe a good or quality beer.  I believe aroma, appearance, and style need to be qualitative, in that, they will be awarded higher scores for more favorable qualities.  The scores will range from 1 to 10 for these metrics.  The remainder of the metrics will be based on a similar scale, 1 to 10, but 5 being the most favorable.  Scores over 5 will reflect an overabundance of a metric and visa versa for below 5.  I think that's it.  All that is left is to try it out and record my findings.  I'll do my best to add tasting notes and flavor experiences as well.  Also, bear in mind, this may change at any time.

UPDATE:  I've decided that those attributes that have a target of 5 points will be added into the total as the absolute value of the difference from 5.  This will more accurately gauge how much I favor a beer.  For example:

Assuming a beer scores perfect in aroma, appearance, and style:
If a beer scores all 9's in the "target 5" attributes, the score would be a 32.
If a beer scores all 1's in the "target 5" attributes, the score would be a 32.
Either way, the number is lower to account for its inaccuracy.

UPDATE:  Here is a sample Google Document that uses the formula.
Metric Sample

Brewed: Rye Pale Ale

About two years ago, I came up with the idea to use rye in one of my beers.  Though novel to me, this idea was not a new one.  It seems that rye has been used in beer for hundreds of years, but has been relatively unpopular due to its being banned outright by the Germans in 1516 via the Reinheitsgebot.  Thankfully, in America, and any other country that couldn't care less about the Reinheitsgebot, anything goes when it comes to beer.  Just ask Dogfish Head, my radically brewing, unofficial mentors.  Rye adds a very peculiar and distinct flavor to just about anything it comes in contact with and therefore, in my mind, is a prime candidate for a beer ingredient.  I'm a big fan of rye bread, especially when it contains pastrami and spicy mustard, but also in general because of its famous bite and pleasant dryness.  Irish whiskey presents these flavors well as it is a main ingredient in most if not the only in some.  However, in order to experience this flavor first hand in a beer, I had to go a bit overboard.  This became the now infamous "Marble Rye" beer.  It was the lovechild of two fairly outlandish ideas: a heavy bodied, intensely flavored session beer and a rye beer.  This beer was, admittedly, unpopular due mostly to the two characteristics that inspired it: heaviness and rye flavor.  However, it did allow me to prove to myself that I could brew with rye as well as what rye tastes like in a beer.  These are both important lessons as they lead to the inspiration for the next, but not only, use of rye in our beers.

The Rye Pale Ale has its own story to tell.  In an effort to erect a shining symbol of his admiration of Magic Hat Number 9, Brewmaster Mike, decided to create his own interpretation of this well known beer.  In the evolution of the creation of this beer, Brewmaster Mike decided not to include the signature apricot flavor in this his rendition of Magic Hat Number 9.  The first brew of this beer was a fantastic blend of light malt flavor and crispy hops, refreshing its consumers with flavors of grapefruit and lemons.  Brewmaser Jason, in a moment of brilliance, decided a sharp bite would compliment this blend of hops and barley well.  Thankfully, due to my mishaps with rye, he added flaked rye to the grain bill.  The combination has been a sought after delight by the Brewmasters ever since.  I believe it has been brewed 3 or 4 times now and every time excites us all.  We can only wait now for it to reach maturity and grace us with its rye inspired robustness.

Recipe: Rye Pale Ale

The Brewery

As I was preparing a post that I will later put up, I realized that I have not yet explained our brewery.  That is, the equipment we use to brew.  Every homebrewer has a different, most likely, unique set of equipment that he or she uses to craft his or her precious recipes.  Ours is not terribly complex, but in order to get an idea of our brewing process, one must read on to gain an understanding.

The brewery consists of three main peices: the hot liquor tank(HLT)/brew kettle(keggle, if you will), the pump, and the mash lauter tun(MLT).  Due to monetary/situational forces, we have opted for a dual purpose water heating vessel.  Our HLT/brew kettle consists of an old, and when I say "old," I mean really old, 15.5 gallon half barrel keg.  Old refers to more than its age, but also the style of the keg.  It is an almost antique, "on the side" style more akin to a stainless steel barrel than traditional keg.  The keg has had one end plasma cut open and a fitting welded to what is now the "bottom" as a port for draining.  This vessel, as the name suggests, has many uses which mainly involve heating some kind of liquid.  The HLT use of the keg is for heating water for mashing in and sparging.  The kettle use is, well, for boiling the wort.  The pump is used, as the name suggests, for moving liquids from one vessel to another.  More on that later...  The final major piece of our brewery is the MLT, yet another vessel with multiple uses.  Those are, if you can't tell by the name, mashing and lautering.  The MLT is a marine sized cooler fitted with a custom copper manifold lining the bottom.  The manifold was manufactured by our own resident "equipment engineer," Jason.  He used 1 inch copper pipes to create a frame, roughly the size of the bottom of the cooler with multiple pipes running the length of the cooler.  These pipes have small cuts at intervals allowing the liquids to drain through them.  Connecting these pieces of the brewery are quick connect hoses which allow us to service each of the pieces without wasting valuable time.

These pieces come together on brew day in a delicately balanced and carefully choreographed symphony of brewing madness.  Generally our brew days start with simultaneous grinding of grain and heating of mash water.  Once proper volumes have been heated and grains appropriately ground, the two are combined in the MLT for approximately 60 minutes.  Towards the end (25 to 30 minutes remaining) of that 60 minutes, we start preparing the volume of water needed for sparging.  When time is up, we commence the vorlauf and begin mashing out into a spare cooler.  Since we don't have a dedicated kettle, we have to store the first runnings before the kettle has finished its turn as an HLT.  The discontinuation of liquid exiting the tun means we can start sparging.  Water is pumped from the HLT to the MLT and remains there until the grainbed has settled.  We vorlauf again and pump the remaining water into the kettle for boiling (along with the first runnings from the spare cooler).  The wort is then boiled for 60 to 90 minutes and hops are added.  At the end of the boil, fermenters, hoses, chillers, and the pump are all sanitized for the new beer.  We connect our pump to the kettle and pump the beer cooling it as it flows through our counterflow chiller directly into our fermenters.  Add yeast, and we're done!

The sequence hopefully yields beer at the end.  We have had a few mishaps; namely, stuck mash, 80 minute boil (instead of 120 minutes, sorry Mike), and missed vorlaufs.  Fortunately we have been doing this long enough to live the realization of our favorite saying: "Its easy to make good beer; its difficult to make great beer."  This keeps us sane during the hectic brewing process, knowing that our worst case scenario is that we will have beer.

Beer Gadget: An Introduction

Someone once quoted Benjamin Franklin as having said, "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." Whether or not he actually said it is completely irrelevant. Simply the fact that someone said he said this famous quote should be enough to get a blog about my passions started. That being said, I have two hobbies: homebrewing beer and obsessing over gadgets.

Homebrewing beer is not only a passion of mine, but a creative outlet. I enjoy tasting, analyzing, sharing, and discussing all things beer/brewing. Creating recipes allows me to explore what I would really want in a beer and keeps me searching for the next beer I want to experience. Its a great feeling to be able to drink any beer, off the shelf or homebrewed, imagine what it could be, then create something new and different based on a feeling or desire. The other side of homebrewing is the fellowship during and sharing of a brewday. Its a great feeling to enjoy the company of people that love what you love, no matter what it is. Its like hanging out with people you work with, but everyone loves their job. Its hard to find a profession that this is true. Brewing may be the only "profession" (hobby, for most) that allows this kind of interaction amongst people, but let's not forget that this hobby/profession is based around alcohol. It greases the wheels of your inhibitions, emotions, and excitement. We have all seen what it is capable of; fortunately, brewers, at least in my experience, know a little bit better and try to enjoy the beer for its subtle flavors, textures, and aromas. This usually keeps brewers honest, allowing them pleasant company and sophisticated conversation.

Gadgets, on the other hand, are a whole 'nother beast. Since they appeal to the masses on a huge scale, followers of these minute machines cross all demographics. From fanbois in high, or even middle, schools to CEOs in their ivory towers, people love gadgets. Conversations about gadgets can be as sophisticated as those of beer, but can also be juvenile, ignorant, and fool-hearty as a three-year-old clinging to his or her blanky. For these reasons I have chosen to learn, obsess, and wonder about gadgets from afar. However, this doesn't mean I strictly look and don't touch. My deeply rooted fascination with gadgets stems mostly from my profession in electrical engineering. Every day I am blown away by what tech companies are doing with silicon and copper. From phones to TVs to power generation, these companies are furthering civilization in new and exciting ways.

There you have it, Gadgets and Beer: two of my loves/obsessions displayed and described for you. I can only hope you too enjoy these amazing facets of society as I do. Here's to creativity and fascination. Cheers.