Sunday, May 26, 2013

Dry Hop Test with Miler Lite & Results

Back in March of this year, the Bertus Brewery Blog posted about doing dry hop tests with Bud Light. It seems that the idea was originally conceived by brewers at Anchor in order to test the character of newly available hops, and after reading the Bertus post, seems like a great way to quickly and cheaply test out individual hops and combinations of hops for flavor and aroma contributions from dry hopping (I strongly feel dry hopping provides both flavor and aroma).

For my test I selected 13 different hop varietals to test: US Glacier, US Apollo, US Calypso, UK Challenger, US Mosaic, US Citra, US Bravo, US Simcoe, NZ Nelson Sauvin, NZ Pacific Jade, NZ Pacific Hallertau (aka Pacifica), Golden Road Brewing NZ Moteuka (Supplied for the GABF Mystery Hops Competition), NZ Moteuka (HopUnion).

In regards to doing the actual dry hopping... I used 16 oz aluminum Miller Lite Cans with resealable screw tops.   My standard dry hop size for a batch is around 3 ounces, which is 85 grams.  Assuming 54 bottles per 5 gallon batch that puts the dry hop per a 12 oz bottle at 1.5 grams.  Since the bottles are 16 oz, that puts the dry hop amount at 2 grams per a bottle.  Pellets were weighed on a lab scale with an error of +/- 1 mg, so measurements were exactly 2 grams per bottle.  Bottles were opened, hops were added and a drop of biofine was added to each bottle.  Hops were left at room temp for 5 days before being moved to the fridge for 3 days to clear.

Interestingly, I tasted the hop character of some bottles at 3 days, and it was night and day compared to the 5 day mark (+ 3 day crash cool).  The hops Citra and Mosaic had little to no flavor and tasted somewhat grassy and weak whereas at the 5 day mark they were potent as hell (read description below).  Notably, this is similar to what I've seen in my 5 gallon batches when I tried to shift to the 3 day dry hop scheme as opposed to my standard 7 day schedule.

So, after all that, here are my tasting notes on the hop varietals I dry hopped Miller Lite with:

US Glacier
Aroma:  Pineapple, berry, slight citrus (orange peel)
Taste:  Earthy, straw, soapy, slight tart citrus (orange peel)
Misc:  Surly Bitter Brewer (Great beer BTW) is an all US Glacier beer, and it has a strong straw and tart citrus flavor, suggesting that maybe what Glacier contributes in the boil as well.

US Apollo
Aroma:  Plant stems, straw, musty closet, weed, grapefruit
Taste:  Onion (not sweet), harsh and lingering bitterness, dirt covered grapefruit, skunk
Misc: This hop has a great grapefruit and onion character when used in the boil (personal experience).  Incredibly potent, and cheap as hell.  Don't use it as a SMaSH beer hop (I did) because it will come out way to potent and exhibit some off flavors (ONION!  FOOT!  ARMPIT!) in addition to grapefruit.

US Calypso
Aroma:  Honey, apricots, floral, reminiscent of ice wine
Taste:  White wine (sweet), melon, lemon, clean grapefruit, sweet tea

UK Challenger
Aroma:  Apple, sharp citrus (orange), fresh cut daisies
Taste:  Flower stems, slight tartness, fresh cut daisies

US Mosaic
Aroma:  Peaches, passionfruit, slight funkiness/dankness
Taste:  Passionfruit (HUGE), subtle dankness, peach
Misc:  Like a mix of Galaxy, Citra and Nelson.  I dissed this hop when I first tried it, but stand corrected.

US Citra
Aroma:  Lychee, tropical fruit (Guava, pineapple, passion fruit), peaches
Taste:  Lychee, tropical fruit (Guava, pineapple, passion fruit), melon (cantaloupe), grapefruit, acidic
Misc:  Boil use is more tinged to tropical fruit, less grapefruit more lychee, guava and passionfruit.  Potent as a dry hop, but still very well rounded.

US Bravo
Aroma:  Grapes, miscellaneous fruitiness, faint citrus
Taste:  A bit bland (Same as commercial brews using this as sole hop): faint grapes, tart citrus, chalkyness with a touch of spice
Misc:  Not a fan of this hop in anything I've tried it in (Commercial or Dry hopped Miller Lite).  Curious to try it in a friends homebrew that I've been sitting on.

US Simcoe
Aroma:  Peaches, passionfruit, pineapple, catty/musky, faint pine
Taste:  Spicy, peaches, pine, cat whiz

NZ Nelson Sauvin
Aroma:  Musty, dank (pot), funky white wine
Taste:  Big musty white wine and dankness.  Slight peach flavor coming through.

NZ Pacific Jade
Aroma:  Huge dankness (e.g. pot), earthy, black pepper, orange rind, just punchy/strong flavors across the board
Taste:  Spicy, dank, strong citrus rind, dry wine
Misc:  Nelson Sauvin with amped up with citrus and pepper flavors/aroma.  Awesome.

NZ Pacific Hallertau (aka Pacifica)
Aroma:  Strong dankness (Nelson like), earthy, musky citrus, slight skunk
Taste:  Mild dankness, earthy, strong citrus lingers in finish, some white wine
Misc:  One of my favorite hops.  Mixed 50% Pacifica, 25% Citra, 25% Mosaic = dankness with ludicrous amounts of tropical fruit.

NZ Moteuka (Supplied for the Golden Road Brewing GABF Mystery Hops Competition)
Aroma:  Very marijuana like, skunky (as in animal), citrus (orange, pineapple), dirt, stemmy
Taste:  Funky (toe jam), marijuana, citrus (orange, pineapple), maui onion, spicy

NZ Moteuka (HopUnion)
Aroma:  Cantaloupe, honey dew melon, flowers, honey, mango, peaches
Taste:  Melon (Cantaloupe, honey dew) for days, pineapple, citrus (lemon & orange rind), peaches
Misc:  Pretty amazing hop.  In stark contrast to the GRB Moteuka, this one is amazing and will be used soon.  40% Moteuka, 40% Citra, 20% Pacifica is an awesome blend.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

List of Homebrew Awards (Updated Regularly)

Below is the list of awards I've received from competing in brewing competitions.  I tend to enter competitions for three reasons:  1) to win medals (get my name out there in case I ever want to open a brewery) and 2) to test the honesty of my own palette  and 3) get feedback.  

In complete honesty, a good chunk of the individual competition feedback/reviews I've received have been pretty off base or unhelpful, but what I do find interesting are the trends in feedback.  If I get identical feedback or similar off flavors/characteristics noted in a beer from different competitions then I tend to put much more faith into the feedback, and will make changes accordingly.  Sometimes we all miss things in our beers, whether its pride or just differences in our own biological makeup/palette, so competitions can definitely help improve the quality of our beers if we look at the resulting data in the correct light.


Homebrewing Competition Awards:
1.     2011 Pacific Brewer’s Cup (Pacific Gravity)
a.     1st Place India ale Ale Category, 14B for Pacific Rim IPA v1 (IPA w/ NZ & Japanese Hops)

2.     2012 Doug King Memorial (Maltose Falcons)
a.     1st Place Imperial Anything Category, 28 for Matrimonial Milk Stout v1 (Imperial Milk Stout)
b.     4th Place Best of Show Round for Matrimonial Milk Stout v1 (Imperial Milk Stout)

3.     2012 Stone March Madness Competition (Stone Brewery/AHA)
a.     Peoples Choice Final Five for Hogg’s Wine v1 (Wheatwine)
b.     5th Place Best of Show Round for Hogg’s Wine v1 (Wheatwine)

4.     2013 National Homebrew Competition (First Round)
a.     1 Bronze certificate (2 entries; 1 damaged so not judged)

5.     2012 Southern California Regional Homebrew Championship (Inland Empire Brewers)
a.     2nd Place American Pale Ale Category, 10A for Velarde’s Flight v1 (American Pale Ale)
b.     2nd Place Stout Category, 13A-D for Mini Matrimonial Milk Stout v1 (Milk Stout)
c.      2nd Place Spiced/Herb/Vegetable Beer Category, 21A for Chai Latte v1 (Milk Stout with Chai Spices)

6.     2012 Los Angeles County Faire Homebrew Competition (Maltose Falcons)
a.     Best of Show for Velarde’s Flight v1 (West Coast Extra Pale Ale)
b.     Second Runner Up to Best of Show for Mini Matrimonial Milk Stout v1 (Milk Stout)
c.      1st Place American West Coast Beers Category, Class 10 for Velarde’s Flight v1 (West Coast Extra Pale Ale)
d.     2nd Place American Pale Ale Category, Class 5 for Pacifican Pale Ale v1 (American Pale Ale)
e.     1st Place Stout Category, Class 17 for Mini Matrimonial Milk Stout v1 (English (Sweet) Cream or Milk Stout)
f.      2nd Place Spiced/Herb/Vegetable Beer Category, Class 24 for Chai Latte v1 (Milk Stout with Chai Spices)

7.     2012 Pacific Brewer’s Cup (Strand Brewers)
a.     2nd Place American Ale Category 10 for Pacifican Pale Ale v1 (American Pale Ale)
b.     3rd Place Specialty Beer Category 23 for Liquid Reeses Peanut Butter Cup v1 (Milk Stout with Peanut Butter and Cocoa Nibs)
c.      Honorable Mention Spiced/Herb/Vegetable Beer Category 21 for Vanilla Chai Latte v2 (Milk Stout with Vanilla Beans and Chai Spices)

8.     2013 Doug King Memorial (Maltose Falcons)
a.     1st Place Specialty Beer Category 24- Fruit/Vegetable and Herb/Spiced for Vanilla Chai Latte v3 (Imperial Milk Stout w/ Chai Spices)
b.     5th Place Best of Show Round for Vanilla Chai Latte v3 (Imperial Milk Stout w/ Chai Spices)

9.     2013 Stone March Madness Competition (Stone Brewery/AHA)
a.     Peoples Choice Final Six for Vanilla Chai Latte v4 (Imperial Milk Stout w/ Chai Spices & Vanilla Beans)
b.     Top Popular Vote for Vanilla Chai Latte v4 (Imperial Milk Stout w/ Chai Spices & Vanilla Beans)
c.      Runner Up Best of Show Round (2nd Place Overall) for Vanilla Chai Latte v4 (Imperial Milk Stout w/ Chai Spices & Vanilla Beans)

10. 2013 National Homebrew Competition (First Round)
a.     2nd Place Specialty Beer Category 23 for The Carpet Matches the Drapes v1 (Imperial Red Ale with Rye and New Zealand, US and Australian Hops)
b.     2 Gold, 4 Silver and 4 Bronze certificates (11 entries)

11. 2013 Mayfaire Competition (Maltose Falcons)
a.     2nd Place Stout Category, Class 17 for Matrimonial Milk Stout v4 (English (Sweet) Cream or Milk Stout)
b.     2nd Place Spiced/Herb/Vegetable Beer Category, Class 24 for Vanilla Chai Latte v4 (Milk Stout with Chai Spices & Vanillla)
c.      3rd Place Specialty Beer Class 25 for The Carpet Matches the Drapes v1 (Imperial Red Ale with Rye and New Zealand, US and Australian Hops)


12.     2014 Doug King Memorial (Maltose Falcons)
a.     1st Place Fruit/Vegetable/Herb/Spice Hybrid Beer Category - Fruit/Vegetable for Pucker Up Buttercup (Dark Sour with Peaches)
b.    2nd Place Fruit/Vegetable/Herb/Spice Hybrid Beer Category - Fruit/Vegetable for Douchiest Beer on Earth (Golden MIlk Stout)


13. 2013 National Homebrew Competition (First Round)
a.     2nd Place American Pale Ale Category, Class 5 for Velarde's Flight v2 (American Pale Ale)
b.     1 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze certificates (3 entries)



14. 2014 Mayfaire Competition (Maltose Falcons)


c.      3rd Place American West Coast Beers Category, Class 10 for Velarde’s Flight v2 (West Coast Extra Pale Ale)
d.     1st Place American Pale Ale Category, Class 5 for Pacifican Pale Ale v1 (American Pale Ale)
f.      1st Place Spiced/Herb/Vegetable Beer Category, Class 24 for Peanut Butter Chocolate Shake (Milk Stout with PB2 and chocolate)




A Bit About Me & Going Forward....

This is the first entry in my Brewing Blog.  It will serve to be an online repository for my homebrew recipes and a place to share information with other brewers, should they feel like commenting.  Due to Ph.D. dissertation writing, starting a biotech company, and moving to a new house, I'll be pretty slow updating the blog until late 2013, but come January 2014 I will be regularly updating it with new brews.

If anyone other than myself reads this, heres a little bit about me...  I'm a Ph.D. student at the California Institute of Technology, studying Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics.  My interest in beer was initially piqued as an undergraduate at California State University Chico (Chico State) when I began to investigate the specific elements of the Hop Aroma Component Profile via Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry, Organic synthesis, and Solid Phase Micro Extraction in a joint project between Chico State and Sierra Nevada Brewery.  Despite my beer-centric research, I wasn't initially interested in brewing beer because it seemed so complicated and messy, relative to the Organic chemistry & Biochemistry I was entrenched in.  Fortunately, I got over my fears when my fiancee purchased a home brewing kit for me from the Ballast Point Homebrew Mart.  In the past three years since then, I've brewed about 70 batches, switched to being an all grain brewer (5-25 gallon scale), and won twenty five or so medals in brewing competitions.

I'm looking forward to improving my brewing over the coming years, both technically and creatively.  I'll be brewing some of SMaSH beers (Single Malt and Single Hop), and lots of english ales (Primarily Milds & Milk Stouts), X/APAs, sours (I own two 15.5 gallon Cabernet barrels) and big beers (RIS, Barley Wines, Wheat Wines and DIPAs; 1 10 gallon Rum barrel and 1 8 gallon Whiskey barrel).  Cheers!

Ward