Abominable SnowPilz (v.2010)

My first Lager! I used naturally soft water, fresh MN snow collected from my front garden where the snow was fresh and untouched. Should be a unique Lager. I also did my first protein rest.

Protein rest at 125 degrees for 30 minutes
Saccrification rest at 150 degrees for 60 minutes
Batch Sparge at 165 degrees for 30 minutes

90 minute boil
Saaz at 60 min
Irish Moss with 15 min left in boil
Yeast nutrient with 10 min left in boil
Saaz at 2 min

Gravity reading of 1.050
Pitched Smack pack at 70 degrees.

For the fermentation, I'm going to start the temperature at 62°F for a couple days and then drop it down to 52°F for about 10-14 days. Then, I will raise the temperature to at least 66°F for 2 days to drive off any diacetyl. After which, I will transfer to a secondary and lager it at 40°F for 6 weeks.

02A. European Pale Lager, Bohemian Pilsner All-grain

Stats
OG 1.049
FG 1.012
IBU 16
ABV 4.8 %
SRM 3

Specifics
Boil Volume 6.5 gallons
Batch Size 5 gallons
Yeast 75% AA

Fermentables
% Weight Weight(lbs) Grain Gravity Points Color
90.0 % 9.00 Pils Two-row 44.1 2.2
5.0 % 0.50 American Crystal 10L 2.4 1.0
5.0 % 0.50 CaraPils 2.3 0.2
10.00 48.9

Hops
% Wt Weight (oz) HopForm AA% AAU Boil Time Utilization IBU
50.0 % 1.00 Saaz Pellet 3.5 3.5 60 0.283 14.9
50.0 % 1.00 Saaz Pellet 3.5 3.5 2 0.024 1.3
2.00 16.1

Tasting:  Nice flavorful Pilsner.  The long boil helped to bring out the malts a bit.   It's definitely got a smooth taste to it from the snow.   It's much more fruity in the bottle then it was when lagering, so I think that using the Nottingham yeast for bottling was a bad idea.  Next year, I'll bottle with the same yeast that I used in Primary so as to not alter the flavor of the finished beer at all.   Very easy drinking summer lager that I wish I had more of.  Crystal clear!

Snow Beer...a unique Lager

I've been thinking about brewing a lager all winter long. My basement is at perfect lagering temperature, I think, in the mid to low 50's. I have my basement fridge set at 41 degrees, perfect for a nice long rest for the lager yeast. I originally wanted to do a Bock because of my long time love affair with New Glarus Uff-Da Bock, and goats. Oh man I loved that beer in college. Are they still brewing that one? Anyways. Recently I've been looking at the Pilsner style and the thing about a Czeck Pilsner beer is that if you truly want to make it 'to style' then you have to use naturally soft water. Not softened water, but naturally soft water like the water they have in Pilsen.

To the point of my long winded, possibly uninformed rant....

I found out about something today that I just can't stop thinking about. I'd emailed Dane Gonzalez from Pearl Street Brewery and he replied with something that I thought was so interesting. He said..."A beer I never miss out on every year is snow beer and u should try it before its gone. Snow is naturally soft and works great for lagers. Gather the cleanest snow u can find and boil it down for a completely unique brew."

So, I've gathered a whole bunch of fresh snow from my front yard and I'm going to attempt a 'completely unique brew' and my first lager. I'm thinking I'll have to harvest some more tomorrow. I'll need about 9 gallons over all, or somewhere in there.

I ended up getting the European Pilsner kit from Midwest Brew Supply!

If anyone else has a tried and true Pilsner recipe that they'd like to share, I'd think about doing that one instead. Otherwise, I'd highly encourage you to brew up your own Snow Beer with some local snow while you still can and see how it differs from when you use normal water.

Irish Red Ale for St. Patty's Day!

I brewed an Irish Red Ale tonight getting ready for my wife's favorite holiday, St Patty's Day! Melissa is 'up to her eyes' Irish and she won't shy away from telling ya. She gets her Irish spirit from one of her and my inspirations, her Grandma Thelma. Thelma was an amazing woman. I believe she was 100 when she passed away, but she was so young at heart. Thelma used to get decked out for St. Patty's day every single year, and I mean decked out. Green everything, and huge glass's and hats, and all kinds of accessories. It was amazing. To give you a little idea of the kind of lady she was, one Christmas when she was around 96 years old, she came over for Christmas dinner, and I asked her what she'd like to drink, her reply, "I'll just have a shot!"

Thelma was a little Irish Spit Fire I tell ya. Hence the name of my beer....Irish Spit Fire Red Ale. She was small in stature, but not in spirit. It's an Irish Red Ale brewed in the memory of Thelma. Raise a glass on St. Patty's day and remember to stay youthful like Thelma. When someone asks you what you'd like to drink, dare say, "Just a shot"!

Cheers

Tasting notes:

This turned out to be a fantastically malty beverage.  It has a nice bready aroma and flavor with little to no hops in there.   The hops nicely balance the beer so that it's not too sweet.  I could drink a ton of this, and the only reason I don't brew more of it is...I've got a billion other beers I want to drink.   This is possibly my favorite beer that I've ever brewed.  My next favorite is my GF Hop Head Red Ale clone.  Another Red ale, but this time extremely Hoppy.  Apparently I like red ales.

Updates....Dry Hop, and more Kegs!

I've got the IPA Dry Hopping right now in Secondary fermentation. Also, I now have not only my GimmeThatNut Brown flowin, but I'll also soon have my Native Brown Ale carbed and flowin as well! F-N-A, right?

Dank Brewing, now taking Special Orders!

Apparently my dad likes my beer enough that he wants to share it with his friends. He has requested a beer for his golfing league. Therefore, Dank Brewing is now officially taking special orders. Have a party or special event and I'm invited, let me know at least 4 weeks in advance and you might have a tasty home made beverage to serve to your guests.

First Project.
Golfing Beer for my Pops
(Suggestions for the name, please.)
1. Kick, Push - Winter Rules Ale
2. A Foolish Pleasure, Whateva - Big Papa Ale
3. True Playa - Big Papa Ale
4. Flag-y, Hole-y - Cream of the Crop Ale
5. Lone Wolf Ale
6. Gungala, Gungala, which is nice - Cream Ale

In an effort to work up the perfect pint for my dad and his golfing buddies, I'm going to make a nice light drinking ale. I was thinking Bier de Garde, Saison, Kolsch, or maybe a Cream ale.

Who knows what it will be, but just for shit's and giggles, I'm going to attempt a clone of the Wisconsin favorite, Spotted Cow. It's a very easy drinking beer for the summer, and I'm hoping to come up with something close, but not quite as sweet.

For the longest time I thought that Spotted Cow was a New Glarus, WI brewers take on a Saison (Belgian Farmhouse Ale). While that may be in part true, I think that it's closer to an American Cream ale (Lawnmower Beer). I think I'll try this recipe with a few different yeasts. The first one will be a Kolsch because I've heard through the hop bine that Dan Carey uses Kolsch yeast for the Cow. I'll also try a German Wheat yeast fermented at around 62 degrees to reduce some of the banana-y flavors, and then I'll also try it with my favorite type of yeast, French Saison, fermented at high temps around 75+ degrees.

Here is my recipe. If your a recipe wizard, please give feedback and thoughts. I'll keep you updated as to the finished product.

5 gallons

5.5 lb Rahr 2-row
1.5 lb Flaked Corn
.5 lb Flaked Barley
1 lb Crystal 20

1 oz Northern Brewer (45 minutes)
.5 oz Saaz (10 minutes) (I used 1oz)

WLP029 Kolsch Yeast

Tasting Notes:   This beer had a little bit of a thin, almost watery mouthfeel which was to be expected because I mashed fairly low at 149 degrees.  It was nice and cloudy like a spotted cow, but it didn't exactly taste like a spotted cow.  Close, but definitely more hops.  Probably because I put in more hops at the end then I intended to do.   It ended up having a pleasant lemony, citrus taste after each sip that comes from the Saaz hops.  I wasn't a huge fan of the Kolsch yeast, so next time I may try the Wyeast Kolsch, or something completely different for fun.   My dad (who I brewed this for) loved it though.  This is also my Mom's favorite beer of mine so far.  

NE Darkside Steam

Just wanted to put in my two cents about the release party last night at the Rock Bottom. I missed the actual tapping as I arrived at 6:02 pm. I heard that Assistant Brewer Kaveh Rahimi made the release announcement to the crowd, then finished it off with a massive front flip on the bar. Dang I need to get there earlier next time. We ended up drinking many-a-beer last night, and I personally put down three of Kaveh's - NE Darkside Steam Beers! It was extremely drinkable. The Steam style, or California Common, is not a style of beer that people drink a ton of in Minnesota. This beer is very smooth, creamy and malty. Not a ton of hops in his version. It's a nice winter warmer at 6% and has an impressive dark color and smells nice and roasty toasty. Nothing too over powering at all in this beer, just very well balanced! It's a little green, and will definitely mellow out a bit in the next month. Like I said though, the drinkability was really high! Kudo's to Kaveh for putting out a great beer and not only pushing the style boundaries, but also putting out a style of beer not common in the Midwest!

Cheers,

Nick

Beer Release at the Rock Bottom -DT

Just wanted to let my readers know about a beer release I'll be attending tonight. It's at the Rock Bottom where Masterbrewer Bryon Tonnis is constantly working up nice creations for everyone. The big event tonight is all about Assistant Brewer Kaveh Rahimi who will be releasing his very own NE Darkside Steam Beer. For those of you that don't know, Steam beers were popularized in California where they would take Lager Yeast and ferment them at Ale temperatures. Kaveh is a bit of an inspiration to me, because early on in my homebrewing, I ended up getting a few of his old homebrew 'hand me downs' and in the process I tried one of his homebrews. It was a German Alt which at the time was a style that I wasn't very familiar with. I remember it being real smooth and malty and thinking, man I want another one. Tonight at 6 is the big release party which will be Kaveh's second release as a Professional Brewer and I'd highly recommend everyone come down and check out what this kid is doing!

Rock Bottom
800 LaSalle Plaza
Minneapolis, MN 55402
***Beer Release Party starting at 6pm
Be there by 6pm for the tapping and get a FREE PINT!
NE Darkside Steam Beer
Brewed by Kaveh Rahimi


Cheers! Have a beer.

Nick