New Beers, Getting that Barrel Aged Taste, and Moving

Despite not much written activity lately, things have been pretty busy at the brewery. Over the last few weeks, I brewed two new beers (and new styles for us) and took the next step in our RIS.

 

First up, a few weeks ago I brewed a Black Wit. This was a tradition Belgian Witbier brewed with flaked wheat and Belgian pilsen malt with some dark malt added for color. I added boil additions of coriander and fresh orange zest and finished with a traditional Belgian Wit yeast. I experimented with a unique way to extract the color without the roast or harsh characters from the grain and it turned out pretty well. After two weeks, there was a slight roast character, but the quickly gave way to a very refreshing spring wit. This will be light, refreshing, and quaffable at around 5%abv.

Next up was a good San Diego session beer. I brewed this last weekend and couldn't be happier with the way it has turned out thus far. I used a very simple malt bill of primarily 2-row pale male and utilized a long low temp mash to ensure a low FG and a crisp dry finish. First wort hopping and a very generous amount of late hop additions should give a bold hop flavor and aroma with a mellow bitterness, that, combined with the low ABV (4.5% target) will yield a very drinkable beer. did I mention that I will be dry hopping the hell out of this one? I mean, it wouldn't be a San Diego session beer without a solid Simcoe/Amarillo/Citra dry hop. This one should be ready in about a month(crossing my fingers for a spring supper club release).



 Then came the RIS. Cold temperatures and a not very alcohol tolerant yeast strain led to a higher than desired FG and low ABV. So, I added some high gravity yeast to finish off fermentation and get this beer down to where I wanted it. Well, that worked. Measuring in at 11.9% ABV and a final gravity of over 1.020, this stout is big, full bodied, and very tasty. Of course, as mentioned before, this is a barrel aged RIS so I racked it off the yeast and onto some french oak cubes that I had soaking in Makers Mark for 2 months or so. I'll be tasting this one periodically and moving it off the oak once I get the flavor I want from it, where it will then age and continue to mature until it's August debut.

Things will quiet down a bit over the next couple of months brewing wise as I have to move. but they will pick back up as soon as things settle down. Next up on the list to brew will be the next edition of Blackout...it's well over due.