Tree Shaker IPA

Wow, has it really been this long since I posted here? While I haven’t been writing, I have been brewing non-stop this spring. Most of my energy was devoted to getting beer ready for our annual Memorial Day party at the lake. For those of you not from Indiana, the Indy 500 brings in family and friends from as far away as California and Texas and makes a pretty good reason to have a 4 day party.

Besides a batch of Bitchin Blonde, I received a request from my friend Eric Jones that I make him a 5 gallon batch of “something hopy” which I took as a challenge to create an Imperial IPA. While I wanted to add both a large variety and amount of hops, I didn’t want it to be so bitter that it would slap you in your face and leave you crying for your mama.

Originally I was shooting for 120 IBU’s, like Harpoon's Leviathan IPA, but ended up with a respectable 104. I actually think this makes it a more enjoyable beer while still having enough hop bite to call it an IPA. Taste testings resulted in positive reviews and with Mr. Jones’ approval, the keg only lasted the weekend. I did however hold back enough to bottle enough to enter in the Indiana State Fair this year.

As for the name? It is a tribute to the legendary Cajun alligator hunter Troy Landry. Troy attaches his traps to trees above the water. If a gator is big enough to move the tree when Troy approaches it, he yells out “It’s a tree shaker!” Just watch an episode of Swamp People on the History Channel and you’ll get the picture.  

Six varieties of hops equaling 5 ounces total or 1 ounce per gallon.  Brew schedule is as follows:

5 lbs -  Light Dry Malt

6 oz  -  Crystal Malt 20L

2 oz  -  Aromatic Malt

4 oz  -  Carapils

6 oz  -  Wheat Malt

6 oz  -  Munich Malt

.5 oz – Centenial Hops (9.1% Alpha Acids)   - 45 min boil

.5 oz – Citra Hops (13.4% Alpha Acids)        - 45 min boil

.5 oz – Simcoe Hops (13% Alpha Acids)       - 30 min boil

.5 oz -  Citra Hops (13.4% Alpha Acids)        - 30 min boil

.5 oz – Warrior Hops (15.8% Alpha Acids)    - 15 min boil

.5 oz – Citra Hops (13.4% Alpha Acids)        - 15 min boil

1 oz  - Cascade (5% Alpha Acids)                  - 5 min boil

1 oz  - Amarillo (10.8% Alpha Acids)              - Dry hop

Wyeast 1098 – British Ale

Brewed on: 5/14/2011

Primary Fermented for 8 days at 70⁰ F.

Kegged on: 5/22/2011

Tapped on: 5/27/2011

OG: 1.05

FG: 1.005

ABV = 5.98%

IBU = 104.4 

SRM:

All Grain Red Headed Alice Irish Red Ale

So my friend Alice had a birthday that just happens to fall a few days after St. Patrick's Day. I'll bet your thinking to yourself that this sounds like a reason to celebrate. You would be correct my friends, but let me tell you more. Alice is a red head and she comes from a tough family of Irish figherfighters. What's this you say? Is this too good to be true? Nay I say, for it is true. Thus when she requested that I make her a beer for her birthday, I could think of no better brew than an Irish Ale. A few hours of looking through several recipies and working them through my Beer Smith program, Red Headed Alice Irish Ale was created.

I only made a 5 gallon test batch but judging from the fact that it was gone in a matter of hours I'd say that I will need to make 10 or 15 gallons the next time I brew it. I've had several Irish ales and even though it's mine, I have to honestly say that this is my favorite and one of my best brews to date. You can't see in the picture below, but the color is amazing. I have already reserved it a spot in the rotation and can't wait to make enough to share with everyone next time.  'Sláinte go saol agat!!!

 8 lbs -   2-Row Pale Malt
 2 lbs -   Carmel/Crystal Malt 40L
.5 lbs -   Carapils
.5 lbs -   Malanoiden Malt
.5 lbs -   Munich Malt 10L
.5 lbs -   Flaked Wheat
.25 lbs - Chocolate Malt

1.5 oz Goldings
1.0 oz Fuggles

Wyeast 1084 - Irish Ale

Brewed on: 2/5/2011

Primary Fermented for: 6 days at 66⁰ F.

Secondary Fermented for : 3 days at 50⁰F.

Kegged on: 2/15/11

Tapped on: 2/19/2011

OG: 1.047

FG: 1.004

ABV: 5.68%

IBU: 31.4

SRM: 18.59

Spring Brewing Schedule Released!

Avon, In. March 23, 2011 – Lake House Brewing Announces Spring Brewing Schedule

 Lake House Brewing Co. is proud to announce the release of their brewing schedule for the Spring of 2011. With yard work and many other weekend events already planned for this busy time of year, brewing will be scheduled for once a month. This should allow time for the careful crafting of each of your favorite beers as well as ample time to kill enough kegs for each new batch.

The scheduled is as follows:

Dill’s Dunkel                           3/31/11 NEW! Inspired by the man and his hat.

Bitchin’ Blonde                       4/10/11 Her drapes match the carpet.

Hopzilla IPA                            5/8/11   NEW!  Requested by Eric Jones.

Red Headed Alice Irish Ale     6/5/11   Miso tipsy on this Irish missy.

Eight Legged Pale Ale            7/10/11 The classic is back!

Tapping dates for each will be posted during the fermentation period of each brew so be sure to check back often.

Cheers!

Quick Update

Sorry, I have not posted in a few weeks. I have been frantically busy at both jobs resulting in this site being neglected. One thing that has not been neglected is my brewing schedule. So far I have brewed and tapped 10 gallons of all grain Eight Legged Pale Ale and brewed and tapped a 5 gallon test batch of Red Headed Alice Irish Red Ale. Both have received great reviews from taste testers Shawn, Dill Hero and Mr. Crazy. I’ll post the details for each and a few pics later this week.

I will also be discussing yeast in a future post and step-by-step all grain brewing. Until then I have a 10 gallon batch of Dill’s Dunkel that will be brewed in the next week, so stay tuned and don’t forget to support your local Micro Breweries.

Speaking of Hops...



Hop farm in Germany (Photo by Marti Benutzer)


I thought it was interesting that I just posted a blog about hops and no sooner had I finished than I received word from my local homebrew store that hop rhizomes were ready to order. Rhizomes are cuttings of roots, (these of course being from a hop plant) that once planted, will grow as much as a foot a day up to 25 feet. I ordered 6 Cascade and 6 Centennial rhizomes. Once harvested in August or September, I hope to get a half to a full once of dried hops per plant. Just enough for a few limited batches of seasonal Hopzilla Harvest IPA and Harvest Eight Legged Pale Ale.

Got Hops? Part II

As I said earlier, particular hops are associated with specific beers. American Pale Ales for instance are normally brewed using Cascade hops, while traditional lagers utilize Saaz, Tettnanger, Spalt or Hallertau hops which are also known as Noble hops.

Noble hops refer to the varieties of Saaz, Tettnanger, Spalt and Hallertau hops which are known for their mild bitterness and high aroma.  They are most often found in lagers, Marzens, Pilsners and Dunkels. These hops are named after the towns and regions in Bavaria and Germany where they are grown. Examples include Pilsner Urquell and Sam Adams Noble Pils.

Hops can further be grouped into whether you want to use them for bitterness, aroma or a combination of both. Hops containing high alpha acid are normally used for bittering and are incorporated into the wort at the beginning of the boil process and usually have an alpha acid of 9% and higher. Examples of these hops are Galena (11%-15% alpha), and Nugget (11%-13% alpha).

Hops containing lower alpha acids are traditionally used for aroma and are incorporated into the wort toward the end of the boil process (usually the last 10 minutes) or are added as dry hops directly into the fermentor. These hops have an average alpha acid of anywhere from less than 2% to 8%. Examples of these hops are Cascade, (5%-7% alpha), Goldings, (5%-6.8% alpha), Fuggle, (4%-5% alpha), Willamette, (4%-5% alpha) and the Noble hops which range from less than 4% to 5% alpha.

Hops containing moderately high alpha acid can be used as dual purpose hops and will produce both bitterness and aroma depending on the amount used and the length of time allowed in the boil process.  Examples of these hops are Brewer's Gold (6%-7.5% alpha), Chinook (11%-13% alpha), Northern Brewer (6%-7.5% alpha), and Perle (6.5%-9% alpha).

Depending on how adventurous you are, the options for creating beers that are unique to your own taste are endless and just as simple as varying the types of hops used.   

Bitchin’ Blonde All Grain Update

My first all grain batch using a conical fermentor was finally ready this weekend so I thought I’d share a quick post on how things went. I had very active yeast as you can see from the lid of the fermentor. The lower valve allowed me to blow off the trub and convert from a primary to a secondary fermentor. The top valve worked perfect when it came time to rack to my kegs.

Brewed on: 1/18/11

Fermented for: 1 week at 68⁰ F. Lagered 18 days at 44⁰F.

Kegged on: 2/12/11

FG: 1.003

ABV: 4.86%

IBU: 10.83

SRM: 3.7

Yummy!

Hydrometer reading at 1.003



Happiness is a full beer refrigerator!