About That …

Yikes – it has been about three months since my last post.  About time I got back in the saddle.  Not much excuse for not posting – just kind of lost track of the blog for a bit and got busy with a variety of events.  Anyways, I have been keeping busy with a variety of fermentables (including my first cider and wine), so there actually is a decent amount of stuff that I want to update on.  To keep it a bit more manageable, I’m going to split it up into a few pieces (pretty much a post for each batch).  So without further mucking about ….

One of my better book purchases of the last couple years, is the book that Stone Brewing Company came out with about a year ago.  Besides giving a great history of one of my favorite breweries straight from the source, the book also has some awesome homebrew versions of a bunch of beers that they have released over their history, including a lot of rarities and one-time releases.  Among these recipes, was Lee’s Mild – a dark English mild that Stone released early in its history, that didn’t fit in with their portfolio and was never released again by the brewery.  Doesn’t change the fact that it’s a fantastic beer.  Finding myself wanting a flavorful English session beer, I decided to give this one a whirl. 

I love this beer for a variety of reasons.  One, it’s a damn tasty beer.  Two, its sessionable.  Three, it challenges peoples’ perceptions of craft beer.  Some people are convinced that all homebrews are these big, strong beers that will get you drunk after just one or two.  This beer (and the style, for that matter) is proof that even craft brewers and homebrewers enjoy being able to have a few pints without getting sloshed.  Clocking in at just 3.8% ABV, this beer has less alcohol than a Coors Light.  The other way it challenges people is that it disproves the myth that low alcohol correlates to low flavor.  Think again, buck-o; this bad boy has a surprising amount of depth and never fails to satisfy. 

I definitely recommend brewing this, or some sort of English Mild, for all your session drinking needs – whether you need a batch for a party, or just want a tasty beer to be able to drink a few of.  This is roughly the recipe from the book, although I have modified it a bit for ingredients on hand and rounding some of the weights.  This will certainly be finding its way into my regular rotation. 

A glass of Lee's Mild held up to a light. 

Lee's Mild Clone

Recipe specifics:

Style: Mild

Batch size: 5.2 gal

Boil volume: 3.5 gal

OG: 1.041

FG: 1.010

Bitterness (IBU): 24.9

Color (SRM): 18.8

ABV: 4.0%

Grain/Sugars:

4.00 lb Maris Otter Malt, 46.6%

3.15 lb NB Marris Otter LME, 36.7%

0.62 lb Brown Malt (British), 7.3%

0.56 lb Crystal 135-165L (British), 6.5%

0.25 lb Pale Chocolate Malt, 2.9%

Hops:

2.00 oz Sonnet (AA 4.0%, Pellet) 60 min, 23.9 IBU

1.00 oz Sonnet (AA 4.0%, Pellet) 2 min, 1.0 IBU

Yeast/Misc:

English Ale yeast, 1.0 unit(s), Yeast

Irish Moss, 1.0 unit(s), Fining 1 tsp at 15 min

Song of the Day: “Focus Shall Not Fail” by All That Remains

Beer of the Day: Iron Hill/Ithaca Dark Humor Aged in Sherry Barrels

Belgian Rhino Black IPA

Well, I’m a bit behind on a few posts, but I’m going to attempt to catch up in the next week or two.  A couple months ago I decided to bring back one of the biggest beers I’ve brewed (topped only by my recent Phantasm Imperial Stout), with a twist.  I brewed my Angry Rhino Black IPA last year for the first annual Triumph Homebrew Competition. 

I was very happy with the way it turned out, but wanted to turn up the hop profile a bit for the next version.  As an additional twist, I decided to try out Wyeast’s French Saison yeast strain instead of Wyeast American Ale II (1272), which I used for the original version.  I needed to take a little break from American and English Ale strains, and try something new.  So I found myself keeping essentially the same grain bill, amping up the hops (my hoppiest brew to date), and tossing in a yeast strain I haven’t used before.

The finished product came out great and exceeded my expectations.  The earthy saison yeast paired very nicely with the Chinook hops, with some citrus thrown in there from the Centennial.  One of my concerns with using a saison strain was that it might be too potent of a yeast flavor, in a beer that is meant to be primarily hop-driven.  However, the saison actually pushed the hops a bit and added a nice background complexity and smooth mouthfeel (despite the fact that the yeast dried out the beer very nicely).  This 10% ABV monster actually came out very smooth and was not as brutal as it may appear based on the hop bill.  It was definitely a worthwhile departure from the normal Black IPA flavor profile, although I will probably only mix this one in once in awhile.  The next Black IPA I brew will probably be a more standard reprisal of the original Angry Rhino Black IPA.

What better way to test out the new version of the recipe, than in competition?  To be honest, I timed this one to coincide with the Second Annual Triumph Brewing Competition, hosted by Triumph Brewing Company, which was held this past Saturday.  This year, the entries were split into four different categories and was held over three rounds, the first of which was a peer review.  Although the Belgian Rhino didn’t make it past the first round (in hind sight, I probably should have entered into Belgian category instead of Ales/IPAs), I did have a chance to taste a lot of interesting beers, including one made with jalapenos!  The competition was definitely a good time again this year, and was much more organized than last year.  Can’t wait until next year’s competition!

Although I didn’t make it past the first round in the Triumph Competition, I did fair a bit better with the Belgian Rhino in the Buzz Off Competition, hosted by BUZZ Homebrew Club on the same day as the Triumph Competition.  I ended up taking home second place in the Belgian Specialty category, which felt really good considering this was first time I had placed in a competition since last year’s Buzz Off competition, despite coming close on a couple other competitions (more on that in another post).  I also ended up taking second place in the Smoked Beer category for my Moment of Silence smoked porter, so it was a good night overall.  My cousin-in-law and brewing buddy, Jeremy, took home three medals for his beers in the same competition, so it was a good night for both of us!

Anyway, I had a lot of fun brewing the Belgian Rhino, and if you’re looking for a twist on a hefty black IPA, give this one a shot!  Cheers!

Belgian Rhino Black IPA

Batch size: 5.2 gal

Boil volume: 3.5 gal

OG: 1.106

FG: 1.027

Bitterness (IBU): 96.4

Color (SRM): 40.6

ABV: 10.4%

[Grains]

NB Gold LME    12.000lb    Extract    75.0%

Light DME    2.000lb    Extract    12.5%

Crystal 60L    1.000lb    Grain    6.2%

Carafa III malt    1.000lb    Grain    6.2%

[Hops]

Chinook 5.00oz 13.0% AA Pellet @ 90 min, 85.8 IBU

Centennial 2.00oz 10.0% AA Pellet @ 5 min, 4.9 IBU

Chinook 2.00oz 11.5% AA Pellet @ 5 min, 5.7 IBU

Centennial 2.00oz 10.0% AA Pellet @ Dry Hop (Split into two dry hops, a week for each)

Chinook 2.00oz 11.5% AA Pellet @ Dry Hop (Split into two dry hops, a week for each)

[Yeast/Other]

French Saison Yeast    1.0 unit(s), Yeast

Irish Moss    1.0 unit(s), Fining 1 tsp at 15 min

*Note: The saison strain actually attenuates a bit more than indicated above.  It seems to dry out a lot more than American Ale strains.

Song of the Day: “This Darkened Heart” by All That Remains

Beer of the Day: Stone Brewing Company’s Imperial Russian Stout