Posts Tagged “101”

I have really come into some good practices in my brewing the last couple or three beers.  I am getting a system down, trying some newer things and having some success.  The Christmas Stout turned out really nice (IMHO) and I will actually get to taste my Rogue Dead Guy clone next weekend.  On Thursday I did a partial mash Rye IPA using a sparge bag and a new method for rinsing the grain and mashing out.  I had issues keeping the mash temp just right, but didn’t lose much on the original gravity.  The Pacman yeast has been bubbling away since Friday afternoon and I look forward to seeing what it has done when I go to dry hop later this week.  This week when I brewed, I started noting some things in my mind that I wish I had known originally, but am very glad I learned.

Sanitation – This is one of the most important things.  Period.  I knew this.  However, what you have to do is get your method for sanitation down.  Know that you are going to make a bad beer when you are starting and the odds are that it will be because you sacrificed something in sanitation.  The best thing to do is get into habits quickly when it comes to sanitizing and cleaning your equipment.  Boil the things you can boil and keep sanitizer handy.  It only takes 15-30 seconds in the sanitizer to re-ready something, so don’t skip it.

Experimentation – Do not ever be scared to try something.  I am not a kit guy.  Kits are absolutely wonderful things and make incredible beers, however, I would rather formulate the recipe myself.  I like the idea of putting different things in beers and I like the thought of hopping beers in a different way than I have had before.  I am not that far along in this area, but I have little fear when it comes to throwing an ingredient in as long as I do my research and learn the ramifications first.  There are tons of places to feed the experimental drive of anyone.  Use Google to your advantage.  Find active communities on the internet that allow you to learn from other brewers.

Software – Speaking of the internet…use it to find some good beer recipe software.  I have used both Strangebrew and Beersmith.  Of the two, Beersmith is far and away a better tool.  Strangebrew is a great tool, especially for beginners because the learning curve for the software itself is not that steep.  The downside to Strangebrew is that it doesn’t seem to be updated anymore.  It feels dated (putting on my software reviewer’s cap here).  Each time you reinstall, for whatever reasons, you have to email the owner in order to get a new code.  It happens quickly, but it’s still a pain.  Beersmith, on the other hand, is sleek and very tight as applications go.  It is easy to use and has a huge database of ingredients from which to build recipes.  Neither application is that expensive, so go buy one now.  You can try both, if memory serves me correctly, for a limited time.

Your System – No two brewers do things the same way.  One of my brewer friends sanitizes the floor, just in case he drops something.  Another started immediately with  a conical fermenter, completely jumping past the typical bucket and carboy setup.  Both have found success, regardless of the differences in methods in comparison to mine.  Everyone will do it different, create different things and inevitably, unless they are just not good, will brew good beer.  The devil is in the details and he can drive you nuts if you worry about how others do their brewing.  Find what works for you.

Perhaps more than anything I have learned was stated in the first book I ever read on the subject.  Charlie Papazian states clearly “Relax.  Don’t worry.  Have a homebrew.”  No truer words have been said when it comes to the wonderful art that is homebrewing beer.

Intro

Through our church, I have made some new friends that, while being beer lovers, do not know the in’s and out’s of stylings, what makes a certain beer fall into a certain style or what make up the basic characteristics of a particular style.  While these people are beer lovers and for the most part love trying new things, I have found it makes beering (I am calling my hobby that now) more enjoyable to learn the history of the beers you enjoy the most and gives you a great idea of what styles you may not have tried that might fit your taste best.

Let me first say this…I am nowhere near an expert.  I know a little.  I know probably enough to be dangerous.  What I do know for sure is my favorite styles and what makes them the tastiest to me.  Perhaps that is the most important thing in the world for a beerophile.  So before I start any long (and it might be) series about beer stylings, let me preface it with a couple things so that you know where I stand when it comes to my own personal opinions and how you can expect this series to go down.

1.  I love hops.  I really really do.  I find the different hop flavors, aromas and the bitterness related to them makes me happy.  Perhaps it’s because hops are part of the cannabis family, but I doubt it since I have never honestly even once been tempted by it’s cousin.  What I do, when beering, is look for those brews that incorporate hops in old fashioned “tried and true” methods OR in new ways that will challenge my taste buds.  With that said, my opinions of beers lie heavily on the use of hops.  So if you ask me for an opinion, I can discuss taste and flavor and what made that beer, but my mind is going “yeah…but the hops were off” or “wow…it kicked my tongue in the ass and I loved it!”  This will come into play in just a bit when I intro the 2 major styles of beer.

2.  I am not an expert, but I will try any beer set in front of me and give an opinion.  I am opinionated and I love tasting beer.  The 2 work well together for a site like this.  While I am basically doing a history/home economics lesson on beer here, my opinion will be on display.  Please do not take my opinion for the gospel of beer.

The 2 Major Beer Styles

Essentially, there are 2 major types of beer, Ales and Lagers.  There are 2 major differences in these styles of beer:

1. Fermentation Temperature – Ales are fermeted around 65-75 degrees F.  Lagers are fermented colder at 46-55 degrees F.
2. The Fermentation Process – In Ales, yeast is “pitched” and remains at the top of the wort while fermenting until it settles to the bottom.  With lagers, yeast is bottom fermenting meaning it does not float to the top and remains at the bottom of the brew.

Ales are probably the one I gravitate towards the most.  First off, I make ales in homebrewing, at least thus far I have.   In beering as well though, I tend to appreciate the pale ales, belgian beers and barlywines the most.  I prefer stouts and wheat beers when I am not feeling the need to have a more bitter experience.  I am an ale guy.  Lagers tend to be your more Germanic beers.  Bocks, helles and marzens are probably my favorites from that group.  Here is a quick and short breakdown of a few beers from each style:

Ales

• Sierra Nevada Pale Ale – American Pale Ale
• Guinness – Dry Stout
• Maredsous 10 – Belgian Tripel
• Boulevard Wheat – Wheat Beer
• Left Hand Milk Stout – Milk Stout
• Bell’s Two Hearted Ale – American IPA
• Heavy Sea’s Red Sky at Night – Saison Ale
• New Belgium Fat Tire – Belgian Amber Ale

Lagers

• Smokey Mountain Brewery Capricator Bock – Bock
• Rogue Dead Guy Ale (I know…confusing) – Mai Bock
• French Broad Oktoberfest Marzen Beer – Marzen
• Pilsner Urquell – Pilsner (Pale Lager)
• Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock – Doppelbock

To sum up this intro, I want to give any beerginner a good piece of advice…join BeerAdvocate.com.  It is an incredible community of beer people who review every beer you can think of.  Think of it as carfax for your beer.

No matter your “favorite” beer, it will change.  No matter what style you gravitate to the most, the other’s are just as good depending on the sample you try.  Don’t be scared of any style.  Do not peg yourself a “dark beer guy” or an “American beer guy” cause you are leaving out an entire world of great beers.  Enjoy them all for what they are, ignore the ones you have tasted and don’t like and always always have more of your current “favorite” than the rest!  Never dislike a beer without tasting it first!

In the next post, I will start exploring Ales with a few of my favorite styles.

References:

http://www.humanflowerproject.com/index.php/weblog/comments/hops_a_relative_of_cannabis_you_dont_say/

http://www.drinkingbeer.net/BeerArticles/Beer_Types.php5

http://www.beeradvocate.com