Opened a bottle of the first witbier I brewed, in March 2009. It was problematic, but by May I'd figured out what was going on and ended up thinking it was at least not abominable.
Unlike the aged Tipsy Bird red ale, I'm not sure this has improved over time. It's not much different from what I recall. Perhaps the phenolic component has rounded off a bit, but spicy phenols are still the dominant flavor by far. The citrus is there if I look for it in the aftertaste. If it were a little more dry I might like it better.
Showing posts with label update. Show all posts
Showing posts with label update. Show all posts
Sunday, November 6, 2011
tasting the Tipsy Bird after three years
During a bit of garage cleanup I found a box with some bottles of Tipsy Bird red ale, my first real brew from late 2008. It poured with an enormous head, which concerned me at first, but it was delicious. Incredibly smooth with a sweet caramel maltiness. I remember it being simpler and sharper. Quite interesting to see how it has changed. I think I'll go see what else I can find!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
gutter planter update
The gutter planter I built and planted back in March is now producing. We had a nice bunch of mesclun and baby bibb lettuce at dinner as a result of the afternoon's thinning efforts.
As I should have anticipated, the squirrels were disruptive and messed up a lot of the early seedlings. Since then I've put up a system for draping bird netting. The aesthetics are annoying but not egregious.
As I should have anticipated, the squirrels were disruptive and messed up a lot of the early seedlings. Since then I've put up a system for draping bird netting. The aesthetics are annoying but not egregious.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
first try at a ginger beer
Based on this ginger beer how-to I set out to make my first ginger beer. I simplified and modified the recipe a bit, and also doubled it to produce two gallons.
In three quarts of water I boiled for 30 minutes a cup of shredded/pulped ginger, 16 tablespoons of lemon and orange juice, and a cup of white sugar. It should have been two cups, I realized later.
I strained into five quarts of cold water, cooled in an ice bath to 80 degrees, and pitched half a teaspoon of Muntons ale yeast proofed in 3/4 cup of water.
It went into four two liter bottles. Upon sampling I was surprised by its lack of sweetness. That is when I realized that I forgot to double the sugar. I added 1/4 cup of corn sugar to each bottle, but did not taste again or take any gravity readings.
I think the flavor has more lemon than ginger character. It could just be that my ginger sensor is a little blown out right now since I was nibbling on it raw.
It's now resting at room temperature. I think I'll probably test one, two, three, and four days of fermentation.
2010-03-30 update:
All bottles were rock-hard in less than a day. The first bottle went into the refrigerator after 24 hours at room temperature. The second went in after 48.
The first two are pretty comparable. Carbonation is stronger in the second, and it may be just slightly more dry. I think I pick up the slightest hint of yeast and a touch more ginger bite in number two. All of those differences could be the effect of the effervescence, but they result in number two being more successful.
It's really pretty good. I don't detect any of the orange juice. The lemon is strong; I'd actually dial it back a bit and try the lime of the original recipe. It's far, far less sweet than the commercial ginger beer I have had most recently, Reed's Ginger Beer, which is so cloying as to make me queasy.
I don't think the degree of carbonation can actually increase much, so the next two bottles should give me a pretty good read on how the sweetness changes.
I wouldn't say that I can detect any amount of alcohol. A half cup of table sugar and a half cup of corn sugar per gallon gives an original gravity of only about [(3.5 oz 46 ppg + 3.5 oz x 42 ppg) x 1 lb / 16 oz], or 1.019. Even if it attenuated completely it would be less than 2.5% ABV, and I'm sure it will be less in actuality. This stuff should be only 80 - 90 calories per pint -- that's compared to 145 in 12 ounces of Reed's. This is quite a nice light summer drink.
2010-03-31 update:
Added number three to the tasting tonight. Absolutely massive carbonation, demanding several minutes of bottle opening ministrations. It wasn't quite chilled. One effect of this is that it kicks up all of the sediment, which probably affects the result.
That said, I don't actually notice much difference between two and three. Possibly a bit more dry. I'll have to try again tomorrow when both are equally cold. Number one is not entirely flat, but it's close to lifeless. Definitely dominated by the others.
I bought a bottle of Reed's Extra Ginger Brew. Bleah. It's like syrup compared to mine.
2010-04-02 update:
Tasting number four completed the flight. I compared to number two and it is assuredly drier. I measured the gravity of both. With temperature adjustment, number two was 1.014 and number four was 1.011. I don't know that I have a preference. Assuming that my original gravity estimate is correct, that would be about 1% ABV, or nothing to worry about if the boys want some.
I think it's pretty easy to experiment with the recipe in very small amounts. Unlike beer, I don't think that any yeast strain I'm likely to use is going to make much of a difference. Starting with a base of ginger and sugar it should be easy to incrementally add ingredients until reaching something that seems worth upscaling and bottling.
In three quarts of water I boiled for 30 minutes a cup of shredded/pulped ginger, 16 tablespoons of lemon and orange juice, and a cup of white sugar. It should have been two cups, I realized later.
I strained into five quarts of cold water, cooled in an ice bath to 80 degrees, and pitched half a teaspoon of Muntons ale yeast proofed in 3/4 cup of water.
It went into four two liter bottles. Upon sampling I was surprised by its lack of sweetness. That is when I realized that I forgot to double the sugar. I added 1/4 cup of corn sugar to each bottle, but did not taste again or take any gravity readings.
I think the flavor has more lemon than ginger character. It could just be that my ginger sensor is a little blown out right now since I was nibbling on it raw.
It's now resting at room temperature. I think I'll probably test one, two, three, and four days of fermentation.
2010-03-30 update:
All bottles were rock-hard in less than a day. The first bottle went into the refrigerator after 24 hours at room temperature. The second went in after 48.
The first two are pretty comparable. Carbonation is stronger in the second, and it may be just slightly more dry. I think I pick up the slightest hint of yeast and a touch more ginger bite in number two. All of those differences could be the effect of the effervescence, but they result in number two being more successful.
It's really pretty good. I don't detect any of the orange juice. The lemon is strong; I'd actually dial it back a bit and try the lime of the original recipe. It's far, far less sweet than the commercial ginger beer I have had most recently, Reed's Ginger Beer, which is so cloying as to make me queasy.
I don't think the degree of carbonation can actually increase much, so the next two bottles should give me a pretty good read on how the sweetness changes.
I wouldn't say that I can detect any amount of alcohol. A half cup of table sugar and a half cup of corn sugar per gallon gives an original gravity of only about [(3.5 oz 46 ppg + 3.5 oz x 42 ppg) x 1 lb / 16 oz], or 1.019. Even if it attenuated completely it would be less than 2.5% ABV, and I'm sure it will be less in actuality. This stuff should be only 80 - 90 calories per pint -- that's compared to 145 in 12 ounces of Reed's. This is quite a nice light summer drink.
2010-03-31 update:
Added number three to the tasting tonight. Absolutely massive carbonation, demanding several minutes of bottle opening ministrations. It wasn't quite chilled. One effect of this is that it kicks up all of the sediment, which probably affects the result.
That said, I don't actually notice much difference between two and three. Possibly a bit more dry. I'll have to try again tomorrow when both are equally cold. Number one is not entirely flat, but it's close to lifeless. Definitely dominated by the others.
I bought a bottle of Reed's Extra Ginger Brew. Bleah. It's like syrup compared to mine.
2010-04-02 update:
Tasting number four completed the flight. I compared to number two and it is assuredly drier. I measured the gravity of both. With temperature adjustment, number two was 1.014 and number four was 1.011. I don't know that I have a preference. Assuming that my original gravity estimate is correct, that would be about 1% ABV, or nothing to worry about if the boys want some.
I think it's pretty easy to experiment with the recipe in very small amounts. Unlike beer, I don't think that any yeast strain I'm likely to use is going to make much of a difference. Starting with a base of ginger and sugar it should be easy to incrementally add ingredients until reaching something that seems worth upscaling and bottling.
Monday, March 8, 2010
remnants of last year's garden
Pulled the next-to-last square of beets yesterday. Roasted the roots, and used all of the greens in a beef barley stew. The greens were lovely, having been growing nicely for weeks.
The chard has continued to produce steadily, surviving both dry soil and a complete waterlogging. It's definitely been happier in the greenhouse.
The curly parsley in the greenhouse has been growing vigorously for a few weeks.
Italian parsley that I planted late in the year and didn't ever do much has begun growing, too.
The carrots both indoors and out have stayed small but I imagine will take off soon.
The fennel in the greenhouse mostly survived but has a lot of aphids on it already. I don't think it liked the period of terribly high humidity, either.
The parsnips in a bucket paused, but have begun growing again. I planted these really late and also left them in small pots for too long.
Small lettuces also seemed to idle away the winter, growing slowly but doing fine.
In general it seems that all these biennials did OK.
The chard has continued to produce steadily, surviving both dry soil and a complete waterlogging. It's definitely been happier in the greenhouse.
The curly parsley in the greenhouse has been growing vigorously for a few weeks.
Italian parsley that I planted late in the year and didn't ever do much has begun growing, too.
The carrots both indoors and out have stayed small but I imagine will take off soon.
The fennel in the greenhouse mostly survived but has a lot of aphids on it already. I don't think it liked the period of terribly high humidity, either.
The parsnips in a bucket paused, but have begun growing again. I planted these really late and also left them in small pots for too long.
Small lettuces also seemed to idle away the winter, growing slowly but doing fine.
In general it seems that all these biennials did OK.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
second use of Poppery II
The Poppery II does work better with more beans. The first attempt was with four ounces of Moka Kadir; the second was with six. In eight and a half minutes it produced a glossy dark roast with plenty of smoke and cracking. Final weight was 4.87 ounces, or 86% of original weight. That's an interesting result. I usually see something closer to 80%.
The main problem is that while the beans are heaviest they aren't getting much agitation. It takes a few minutes before any degree of fluidization is evident. Some of the beans at the bottom were done very quickly. Giving it a shake now and then seems to help.
Tipping it back doesn't appear to be a good idea. It seems to interfere with the fluidization. A few beans do pop out when it's level, but not as many as I'd feared.
This roast ended up slightly uneven, but I think it will be better next time. Things to try:
After resting for a day there was some improvement. It's darker than I usually take Moka Kadir, with a bit of char. Aroma is nice, with chocolate dominant.
Update: It's not improving. It's not producing good espresso at all, in fact. I wonder whether I just need to clean the espresso machine.
Update: Indeed. That thing was disgusting. It's now decalcified and every user-accessible component is spotless. Whisked out the grinder, too. Pulled shots pretty close to the ideal time/volume. The result is a much cleaner-tasting cup. My main objection is probably the darkness of the roast, which I think has destroyed some of the fruitiness that I've tasted in Moka Kadir in previous roasts.
The main problem is that while the beans are heaviest they aren't getting much agitation. It takes a few minutes before any degree of fluidization is evident. Some of the beans at the bottom were done very quickly. Giving it a shake now and then seems to help.
Tipping it back doesn't appear to be a good idea. It seems to interfere with the fluidization. A few beans do pop out when it's level, but not as many as I'd feared.
This roast ended up slightly uneven, but I think it will be better next time. Things to try:
- no tilting
- occasional manual agitation
- five ounces
After resting for a day there was some improvement. It's darker than I usually take Moka Kadir, with a bit of char. Aroma is nice, with chocolate dominant.
Update: It's not improving. It's not producing good espresso at all, in fact. I wonder whether I just need to clean the espresso machine.
Update: Indeed. That thing was disgusting. It's now decalcified and every user-accessible component is spotless. Whisked out the grinder, too. Pulled shots pretty close to the ideal time/volume. The result is a much cleaner-tasting cup. My main objection is probably the darkness of the roast, which I think has destroyed some of the fruitiness that I've tasted in Moka Kadir in previous roasts.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
hard raspberry-pomegranate-apple cider, part 1
Saw a gallon of flash pasteurized cider with no preservatives on sale (only one jug left, unfortunately) which reminded me that I hadn't made a hard cider in six months.
I wanted to try something different, but I hadn't exactly planned this. A bit of kitchen scavenging turned up a few raspberries, part of a pomegranate, and some honey. I still had additives and champagne yeast from last time. Sounded fine!
Some of these quantities are a little approximate:
Warmed the refrigerated cider in a hot water bath to just above room temperature, then poured cider and jam into the glass jug with splashing. Pitched dry yeast directly into the cider and jam mix and rocked it for a while. Very murky, as expected.
Is cooking the yeast nutrient a problem? I guessed not based on the fact that you boil wort.
Primary fermentation was done within a week. It was explosively vigorous for the first hour; I should have just left it uncorked. I racked to a new jug, where more sediment settled quickly, but unlike the previous ciders it has not really clarified. Perhaps the pectic enzyme I used in those was really effective. I've read that it's best to add it before primary fermentation, but that it may still help if added later. I may or may not.
I sampled when racking. Nice! The raspberry is subtle. The pomegranate I would never identify in a blind tasting, but I think I can detect it. There is certainly a hint of pink, which I think might be more apparent after clarification. I don't think I need additional tartness.
2009-11-12 update: I sprinkled in about a teaspoon of pectic enzyme yesterday afternoon. Within a few hours I thought there was more sediment at the bottom, and after a day it's considerably clearer. I doubt that it will approach the clarity of the pure apple ciders but it's prettier.
I wanted to try something different, but I hadn't exactly planned this. A bit of kitchen scavenging turned up a few raspberries, part of a pomegranate, and some honey. I still had additives and champagne yeast from last time. Sounded fine!
Some of these quantities are a little approximate:
- 2/3 teaspoon yeast nutrient
- 1/3 pomegranate
- 3 oz red raspberries
- 2 oz clover honey
- 1/3 packet Red Star champagne yeast
- 1 gallon Ryan's orchard blend flash pasteurized cider, unfiltered, no preservatives
Warmed the refrigerated cider in a hot water bath to just above room temperature, then poured cider and jam into the glass jug with splashing. Pitched dry yeast directly into the cider and jam mix and rocked it for a while. Very murky, as expected.
Is cooking the yeast nutrient a problem? I guessed not based on the fact that you boil wort.
At the November meeting of the North Seattle homebrew club I was told by Eric that it is best to add acid blend after primary fermentation is complete. Adding it prior to fermentation may create conditions that don't appeal to the yeast. He said that it should be added on the basis of sampling and tasting.
Primary fermentation was done within a week. It was explosively vigorous for the first hour; I should have just left it uncorked. I racked to a new jug, where more sediment settled quickly, but unlike the previous ciders it has not really clarified. Perhaps the pectic enzyme I used in those was really effective. I've read that it's best to add it before primary fermentation, but that it may still help if added later. I may or may not.
I sampled when racking. Nice! The raspberry is subtle. The pomegranate I would never identify in a blind tasting, but I think I can detect it. There is certainly a hint of pink, which I think might be more apparent after clarification. I don't think I need additional tartness.
2009-11-12 update: I sprinkled in about a teaspoon of pectic enzyme yesterday afternoon. Within a few hours I thought there was more sediment at the bottom, and after a day it's considerably clearer. I doubt that it will approach the clarity of the pure apple ciders but it's prettier.
Monday, October 19, 2009
boycott Hansen Beverage
Hansen Beverage, the manufacturer of Monster "energy" drink, is unleashing a trademark infringement attack on Rock Art Brewery over its Vermonster barley wine. What a pack of unscrupulous wankers. I ordered some swag at the Rock Art Brewery store to show support for their principle-based defense.
Update: Victory for Rock Art!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
greenhouse update
Things seem to be going pretty well in the greenhouse. I have quite a few idle squares and need to look into appropriate plantings.
Some of the beet roots are big enough to eat now. The basil has done well with some pinching. I think it would work to put four per square. The green onions seem very slow. The romaine has done well considering the heat.
The lemon cucumber was started from seed and has really taken off lately. It has fruit on it. I don't think I'm supposed to have it in the greenhouse with another cucumber, but they are far apart so I guess I'll take my chances. If either one starts producing something horribly mutated I guess I'll know why. This one has done far better than the one I put on the deck.
The chrysanthemum was flowering when I put it in, finished, and started again a few weeks ago. I need to get the parsnips into a permanent home. Planted more carrots, green onions, and leeks several weeks ago. Next time I should put the tomatoes behind the netting. The strawberries never did well, and most died both indoors and out. I am really displeased with that supplier.
The peppers are doing well aside from a recent blossom die-off. I think it was water stress.
I brought these strawberries indoors recently and they have been really happy. They are more vigorous than the ones I left outside. I've been picking a few now and then but until I brought them in the berries were always eaten by critters. Maybe starting them outside and bringing them in is a good approach, although I did think it would be too warm.
After fertilizing and watering more frequently it looks like the blossom end rot may not be affecting more tomatoes. We'll see.
It was already over 90 degrees outside when I took this photo so the chard is wilted, but it has been doing great. The greenhouse cucumbers have taken off and are setting fruit.
This beefsteak tomato broke in half a few weeks ago, I think from wind when both doors were open. I splinted and wrapped it and it is surviving so far.
The aphids went to town on this eggplant but it seems healthy enough.
These pots dry out completely in a single hot day.
Next time I plant nasturtiums I'll have to give them something better to climb. They seem to do it well.
Compare to the greenhouse update from four weeks ago.
Some of the beet roots are big enough to eat now. The basil has done well with some pinching. I think it would work to put four per square. The green onions seem very slow. The romaine has done well considering the heat.
The lemon cucumber was started from seed and has really taken off lately. It has fruit on it. I don't think I'm supposed to have it in the greenhouse with another cucumber, but they are far apart so I guess I'll take my chances. If either one starts producing something horribly mutated I guess I'll know why. This one has done far better than the one I put on the deck.
The chrysanthemum was flowering when I put it in, finished, and started again a few weeks ago. I need to get the parsnips into a permanent home. Planted more carrots, green onions, and leeks several weeks ago. Next time I should put the tomatoes behind the netting. The strawberries never did well, and most died both indoors and out. I am really displeased with that supplier.
I brought these strawberries indoors recently and they have been really happy. They are more vigorous than the ones I left outside. I've been picking a few now and then but until I brought them in the berries were always eaten by critters. Maybe starting them outside and bringing them in is a good approach, although I did think it would be too warm.
After fertilizing and watering more frequently it looks like the blossom end rot may not be affecting more tomatoes. We'll see.
It was already over 90 degrees outside when I took this photo so the chard is wilted, but it has been doing great. The greenhouse cucumbers have taken off and are setting fruit.
This beefsteak tomato broke in half a few weeks ago, I think from wind when both doors were open. I splinted and wrapped it and it is surviving so far.
The aphids went to town on this eggplant but it seems healthy enough.
These pots dry out completely in a single hot day.
Next time I plant nasturtiums I'll have to give them something better to climb. They seem to do it well.
Compare to the greenhouse update from four weeks ago.
Monday, June 22, 2009
white radish check
All of the radishes, indoors and out, have magnificent foliage. I wanted to check the meaningful progress, meaning the edible portion, so I pulled a white one in the greenhouse. Hmm. No radish.
The Greenhouse Gardener's Companion notes that radishes like moist, friable soil (check) but cool temperatures, and that a common problem is producing all tops and no edible radish. I seem to have that in abundance. The causes are prolonged warm temperatures (45 - 50 degrees F at night is optimal) or too much manure or nitrogen. We did have a hot spell a couple of weeks ago, but I don't know if it was too much. I wouldn't think that it would be a problem outdoors, compared to in the greenhouse; I'll have to have one of the boys wrench out one of his to compare. Perhaps my interpretation Mel's mix is not idea for radishes.
They are actually beginning to flower now, too. I do think something has gone awry. Bummer.
Update: All six radish squares, indoors and out, white and red, behaved like this. I lean toward it being a soil problem.
The Greenhouse Gardener's Companion notes that radishes like moist, friable soil (check) but cool temperatures, and that a common problem is producing all tops and no edible radish. I seem to have that in abundance. The causes are prolonged warm temperatures (45 - 50 degrees F at night is optimal) or too much manure or nitrogen. We did have a hot spell a couple of weeks ago, but I don't know if it was too much. I wouldn't think that it would be a problem outdoors, compared to in the greenhouse; I'll have to have one of the boys wrench out one of his to compare. Perhaps my interpretation Mel's mix is not idea for radishes.
They are actually beginning to flower now, too. I do think something has gone awry. Bummer.
Update: All six radish squares, indoors and out, white and red, behaved like this. I lean toward it being a soil problem.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
fifth brew (light ale), part 3
To my great surprise, the krausen atop the light ale has not dropped and the gravity remains unchanged from six days ago at about 1.010. It's just as cloudy, too. I don't know if my palate is functioning differently than when I last tasted it, but tonight it seems sharply bitter again. It tastes almost like grapefruit juice! That citrus flavor would be from the Centennial and Cascade hops. The other beers that used these hops must have had stronger flavors that masked it.
I'm wondering whether the low gravity of this wort means that the yeast was effectively overpitched and underfed, leading to a stall. 1.031 to 1.010 seems like very low attenuation. I'll have to do some research. I gave the fermenter a bit of a sloshing; we'll see if that gets anything going again. It did knock the krausen down.
Update: By the next morning the airlock was bubbling again. It still is, 24 hours later, although it has slowed down to less than two per minute.
Update 2: It's still going as of Sunday morning. There was still plenty of yeasty gorging to be done, evidently.
I'm wondering whether the low gravity of this wort means that the yeast was effectively overpitched and underfed, leading to a stall. 1.031 to 1.010 seems like very low attenuation. I'll have to do some research. I gave the fermenter a bit of a sloshing; we'll see if that gets anything going again. It did knock the krausen down.
Update: By the next morning the airlock was bubbling again. It still is, 24 hours later, although it has slowed down to less than two per minute.
Update 2: It's still going as of Sunday morning. There was still plenty of yeasty gorging to be done, evidently.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
first Turkish coffee
I've been wanting to try Turkish coffee (making and drinking) for a long time. A few weeks ago I finally made it to a local Turkish shop, Istanbul Imports, where I bought what is very commonly called an ibrik, but which the proprietor assured me was properly called a cezve. In Turkey an ibrik is something else.
I had a very good stovetop popper moka kadir roast and the simple instructions in Kenneth Davids' Coffee book to follow. I ground the beans at the finest Turkish setting.
For two servings at light sweetness I added four rounded teaspoons of coffee and two teaspoons of sugar to the empty cezve, filled it halfway with water, then stirred to dissolve the sugar.
It went onto a burner at medium heat and in a few minutes boiled. It foamed vigorously to the top, at which point I removed it and poured into demitasse cups. The foam should completely cover the coffee, and there is apparently some art to generating and/or preserving it. I don't think mine was quite right but it doesn't seem like there's that much of a trick to it. I may be missing something. It does diminish rapidly after being taken off the heat.
It was quite tasty. I think this is probably the right sweetness for me, but I'll try it at full sweetness (twice the sugar; thrice for heavy sweet) next time. This is a nice way to get a quick coffee fix without waiting for water to boil or the espresso machine to heat.
Update: I tried again at full sweetness, and also allowed the foam to dissipate and build a few times by removing and restoring the heat, a technique which I read about somewhere. I don't know if that contributed, or if the additional sugar is a factor, but I did get a more durable head. Tracey and I both thought it was very good.
I had a very good stovetop popper moka kadir roast and the simple instructions in Kenneth Davids' Coffee book to follow. I ground the beans at the finest Turkish setting.
For two servings at light sweetness I added four rounded teaspoons of coffee and two teaspoons of sugar to the empty cezve, filled it halfway with water, then stirred to dissolve the sugar.
It went onto a burner at medium heat and in a few minutes boiled. It foamed vigorously to the top, at which point I removed it and poured into demitasse cups. The foam should completely cover the coffee, and there is apparently some art to generating and/or preserving it. I don't think mine was quite right but it doesn't seem like there's that much of a trick to it. I may be missing something. It does diminish rapidly after being taken off the heat.
It was quite tasty. I think this is probably the right sweetness for me, but I'll try it at full sweetness (twice the sugar; thrice for heavy sweet) next time. This is a nice way to get a quick coffee fix without waiting for water to boil or the espresso machine to heat.
Update: I tried again at full sweetness, and also allowed the foam to dissipate and build a few times by removing and restoring the heat, a technique which I read about somewhere. I don't know if that contributed, or if the additional sugar is a factor, but I did get a more durable head. Tracey and I both thought it was very good.
Monday, April 20, 2009
coffee pot ale, part 6 (tasting 2)
I tossed the one liter bottle of the coffee pot ale into the fridge the other day and opened it this afternoon. What a surprise! Another nine weeks of conditioning has made a detectable difference. The carbonation is a little more complete, the hops put in a clear and lingering appearance, it has a pleasant tanginess, and while it's still not extremely interesting it's quite drinkable. So, what is interesting is that this is a clear illustration that a little more time in the bottle can produce a notable improvement.
It's now all gone, so experiment over.
It's now all gone, so experiment over.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Belgian witbier tasting notes
This weekend I've been tasting all of the bottled Belgian witbiers I can find. So far, that is:
I was surprised by how much I liked the Sam Adams mainly because I have never had a single Sam Adams beer before this that I enjoyed much. I've had probably six or seven types, on draft and in bottles, most recently the Christmas seasonal pack. I don't know what they all have in common, but there is some flavor component that just does not do it for me. The white ale, however, is not bad at all. It is darker than the Hoegaarden and New Belgium, more subtle in its flavorings, and has a lot of particulates. It doesn't make me jump up and down like a little girl with a new Growing Up Skipper doll but it's very drinkable.
As for the Henry Weinhard's... holy squatting three-legged dog in my yard. It is an abomination. It smells like Orange Crush, is a perfectly clear orangey color, and tastes like a bitter old orange peel. The flavor really is close to an orange that has begun to go bad and has acquired that terrible combination of overripe sweetness and spoiled bitterness.
I wonder whether I can find Celis White at one of the specialty shops like Big Star (worst web site since 1994). Full Throttle Bottles doesn't have it, but does have a few others to try.
Update on the Sam Adams: I had it on draft recently and it was very nice. I'd still take a draft Hoegaarden if given the choice, but it was quite serviceable.
- Hoegaarden witbier
- New Belgium Mothership Wit
- Blue Moon
- Samuel Adams white ale
- Henry Weinhard's Belgian style wheat
I was surprised by how much I liked the Sam Adams mainly because I have never had a single Sam Adams beer before this that I enjoyed much. I've had probably six or seven types, on draft and in bottles, most recently the Christmas seasonal pack. I don't know what they all have in common, but there is some flavor component that just does not do it for me. The white ale, however, is not bad at all. It is darker than the Hoegaarden and New Belgium, more subtle in its flavorings, and has a lot of particulates. It doesn't make me jump up and down like a little girl with a new Growing Up Skipper doll but it's very drinkable.
As for the Henry Weinhard's... holy squatting three-legged dog in my yard. It is an abomination. It smells like Orange Crush, is a perfectly clear orangey color, and tastes like a bitter old orange peel. The flavor really is close to an orange that has begun to go bad and has acquired that terrible combination of overripe sweetness and spoiled bitterness.
I wonder whether I can find Celis White at one of the specialty shops like Big Star (worst web site since 1994). Full Throttle Bottles doesn't have it, but does have a few others to try.
Update on the Sam Adams: I had it on draft recently and it was very nice. I'd still take a draft Hoegaarden if given the choice, but it was quite serviceable.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
sourdough bread 8
Ingredients:
- 15 ounces (3 cups) bread flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 5 fluid ounces Budweiser lager
- 3 fluid ounces whey
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
- 1 cup sourdough starter (pretty thick this time)
This produced a much drier dough than the last one. It came together in just a few seconds of mixing. I covered the bowl with plastic at 17:00 and left to rise.
At 8:00 I kneaded for a few minutes. It was very resilient and smooth, always wanting to return to the shape of a ball. It rose for another two hours, I kneaded again, and let it rise for another hour and a half. It was very easy to work with. And I really like this technique of letting it rise on a sheet of parchment paper draped over a skillet.
Into the 500 degree covered dutch oven it went for 30 minutes at 425, then another 25 uncovered, reaching an internal temperature of 206.
I think this is the best-shaped loaf I've made: fairly round and nicely domed. It's nearly hemispherical.
The dutch oven was on the lowest rack this time. Last time it was on the second lowest. The bottom crust of this bread is quite a bit darker and thicker; I like it less this way.
The crust and crumb are really nice. I am a little underwhelmed by the flavor, though. It's definitely good, especially with butter and a bit of upper crust, but I expected it to be more assertive. I am certain that I can taste the Budweiser! The interior alone is soft, resilient, and chewy; the sweetness of the beer comes through, along with surprisingly faint tartness. With the crust included the flavor is dominated by the toasty and yeasty notes and has a good mouth feel. But the bottom crust is definitely too done, tasting burnt, and thick enough that it's hard to cut.
Good stuff:
At 8:00 I kneaded for a few minutes. It was very resilient and smooth, always wanting to return to the shape of a ball. It rose for another two hours, I kneaded again, and let it rise for another hour and a half. It was very easy to work with. And I really like this technique of letting it rise on a sheet of parchment paper draped over a skillet.
Into the 500 degree covered dutch oven it went for 30 minutes at 425, then another 25 uncovered, reaching an internal temperature of 206.
I think this is the best-shaped loaf I've made: fairly round and nicely domed. It's nearly hemispherical.
The dutch oven was on the lowest rack this time. Last time it was on the second lowest. The bottom crust of this bread is quite a bit darker and thicker; I like it less this way.
The crust and crumb are really nice. I am a little underwhelmed by the flavor, though. It's definitely good, especially with butter and a bit of upper crust, but I expected it to be more assertive. I am certain that I can taste the Budweiser! The interior alone is soft, resilient, and chewy; the sweetness of the beer comes through, along with surprisingly faint tartness. With the crust included the flavor is dominated by the toasty and yeasty notes and has a good mouth feel. But the bottom crust is definitely too done, tasting burnt, and thick enough that it's hard to cut.
Good stuff:
- structurally, very nice
- great tasting crust
- dough easy to handle
- problematic bottom crust; try the higher rack again
- need more flavor in the crumb
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
fourth brew (Belgian witbier), part 1
Belgian witbier (white beer) is a spicy, tart wheat beer hazy with suspended proteins from unmalted wheat. It is flavored with coriander seed and sweet orange rind. It's a good summer beer and in a fit of optimism, considering the extremely crappy spasticity of our weather lately, I figured I'd brew some now in anticipation of future warmth. Right!
I've tasted only a few but have generally enjoyed witbiers. In bottles I like the New Belgium Mothership Wit quite a bit. I've had the very different Hoegaarden witbier on draft and find it pretty tasty, too. I've been less impressed with Blue Moon but have had it only a couple of times, both draft and bottled. I would like to track down Celis White, which is made by the creator of Hoegaarden wit.
There is an interesting witbier presentation at http://www.winnipegbrewbombers.ca/Education/Witbier%20presentation.htm and an article wtih some history at http://www.byo.com/stories/beer-styles/article/indices/11-beer-styles/1678-witbier-style-of-the-month. As a style, witbier almost disappeared until Pierre Celis resurrected it in 1966.
I selected the recipe available at The Cellar, and online at http://beerrecipes.blogspot.com/2007/06/belgain-witbier.html. I already had coriander seed. They had no Belgian pilsner malt so I had to choose between a Belgian pale and a German pilsner. I went with the pale, thinking I'd be geopolitically correct, but in hindsight it probably would have made more sense to use the pilsner. The Hallertau hops were in both pellet and leaf form. I went with leaves mainly because I haven't used them before. The only other choice was between the Munton's dry ale yeast and the Wyeast Belgian Wit liquid yeast...no brainer there. Complete ingredients:
They went into 2.5 gallons of water as it heated to about 195 degrees in 30 minutes or so. The water became slightly cloudy wort within a few minutes.
It came off the heat and steeped for another 10 minutes. I rinsed the bags into the kettle with a quart of hot water.
The gravity of the wort at this point was about 0.995 at 150 degrees F. Using the correction formula that should be adjusted by 0.0187, giving 1.014 as the post-steeping gravity.
The spent oats was pretty much a glob of porridge. The spent wheat tasted pretty much like wheat.
All the dry malt was stirred in while off the heat. This produced ample foam, but by using the same technique one uses for adding polenta to boiling water I avoided clumping. Kettle went back on the heat and the foam eventually dissipated without any real danger of a boilover.
About 45 minutes later the kettle was at vigorous boil so I added the hops in a hop bag. The leaf hops smell fantastic when their vacuum-sealed bag is opened!
The bag really wanted to float, so I agitated it periodically throughout the hour-long boil, making sure that both sides were down and that there was some water exchange within the bag.
I see from Palmer that there are two types of German Hallertau hop (Hersbrucker and Mittelfrüh), and also that domestic Crystal hops are known as CJF-Hallertau. The bag didn't offer further identification so I don't know what they are, specifically. This Cellar page says they are grown in Washington, though.
After an hour the kettle came off the heat and I threw in the bag containing the orange peel and the coriander to steep, covered, for 20 minutes. The coriander seed is the large, oblong, Indian type. I've read that the smaller, round type is less desirable, but that's what they appeared to have at the brew shop. I ground the seed in the usual spice grinder, which was clean but had a distinct cumin scent. I don't think that will be a problem. I actually read somewhere that cumin is the "secret" spice in Hoegaarden.
The recipe calls for sweet orange peel, but from what I've read it's bitter (Curacao) orange that is more commonly used. This bag wasn't labeled as sweet or bitter so I don't really know what it is.
The hop and spice bags were then rinsed with 2.5 gallons of cold water into the fermenter. At this point I began thinking about this recipe's approach to wort cooling and did not like it. The wort, at the current temperature (still at about 180 degrees F in this case), is supposed to be poured into the fermenter, and then left to cool to 80 so the yeast can be pitched. I was suspicious of how long this might leave the wort at an undesirably warm temperature, so I instead placed the kettle in the sink with water and cold packs for a little bit, dropping it quickly to under 100 degrees. Adding this to the 50 degree water (distilled) gave me a temperature of about 78. I did some quick online searching for this calculation but didn't find one. I'll need to dig up an old physics text.
I poured back and forth several times to aerate. At this point I noticed that the seal on the spigot wasn't seated properly. Grrr. Had to empty the fermenter into the kettle and a couple of the gallon water jugs in order to fix that. This is a good thing to double-check in the future.
Pitched the yeast at about 77 degrees and plumbed a blowoff hose. The Cellar didn't have a large one, so I'm using a segment of 5/16 siphon hose. I doubt this will be necessary, considering the gravity of only 1.052.
The flavor of the wort is only faintly hoppy, as would be expected. An orange note is detectable but not assertive. The sweetness at this point pretty much dominates.
As for color, it seems awfully dark. It doesn't look like it's the result of the specialty grains (the pale instead of Pilsner, in particular) based on the color of the wort after steeping. Hmm.
After nine hours, nothing from the blowoff tube yet.
Update: After 17 hours, still nothing. I'm surprised. The wort is at 70 degrees now. I realize that I didn't shake the fermenter after pitching the yeast, so it may not have been well-distributed, but I'm sure it was well-aerated.
Also, I took a closer look at the online version of the recipe and saw that it has some differences from the printed sheet at The Cellar. It actually calls for 4 ounces total of boiling hops, and specifies a total of 17.5 AAU. That would produce a pretty different beer, I suspect, than the 7.2 AAU I used. That's annoying.
I've tasted only a few but have generally enjoyed witbiers. In bottles I like the New Belgium Mothership Wit quite a bit. I've had the very different Hoegaarden witbier on draft and find it pretty tasty, too. I've been less impressed with Blue Moon but have had it only a couple of times, both draft and bottled. I would like to track down Celis White, which is made by the creator of Hoegaarden wit.
There is an interesting witbier presentation at http://www.winnipegbrewbombers.ca/Education/Witbier%20presentation.htm and an article wtih some history at http://www.byo.com/stories/beer-styles/article/indices/11-beer-styles/1678-witbier-style-of-the-month. As a style, witbier almost disappeared until Pierre Celis resurrected it in 1966.
I selected the recipe available at The Cellar, and online at http://beerrecipes.blogspot.com/2007/06/belgain-witbier.html. I already had coriander seed. They had no Belgian pilsner malt so I had to choose between a Belgian pale and a German pilsner. I went with the pale, thinking I'd be geopolitically correct, but in hindsight it probably would have made more sense to use the pilsner. The Hallertau hops were in both pellet and leaf form. I went with leaves mainly because I haven't used them before. The only other choice was between the Munton's dry ale yeast and the Wyeast Belgian Wit liquid yeast...no brainer there. Complete ingredients:
- 4 pounds dry wheat malt extract
- 1 pound extra light dry malt extract
- 1 pound unmalted wheat
- 1/2 pound flaked oats
- 1/2 pound Belgian pilsner malt (subbed Belgian pale 6L)
- 2 ounces Hallertaur hops (these were at 3.6% AA)
- 1/2 ounce sweet orange peel
- 1/2 ounce ground coriander seed
- Wyeast Labs 3944 Belgian Wit liquid yeast
They went into 2.5 gallons of water as it heated to about 195 degrees in 30 minutes or so. The water became slightly cloudy wort within a few minutes.
It came off the heat and steeped for another 10 minutes. I rinsed the bags into the kettle with a quart of hot water.
The gravity of the wort at this point was about 0.995 at 150 degrees F. Using the correction formula that should be adjusted by 0.0187, giving 1.014 as the post-steeping gravity.
The spent oats was pretty much a glob of porridge. The spent wheat tasted pretty much like wheat.
All the dry malt was stirred in while off the heat. This produced ample foam, but by using the same technique one uses for adding polenta to boiling water I avoided clumping. Kettle went back on the heat and the foam eventually dissipated without any real danger of a boilover.
About 45 minutes later the kettle was at vigorous boil so I added the hops in a hop bag. The leaf hops smell fantastic when their vacuum-sealed bag is opened!
The bag really wanted to float, so I agitated it periodically throughout the hour-long boil, making sure that both sides were down and that there was some water exchange within the bag.
I see from Palmer that there are two types of German Hallertau hop (Hersbrucker and Mittelfrüh), and also that domestic Crystal hops are known as CJF-Hallertau. The bag didn't offer further identification so I don't know what they are, specifically. This Cellar page says they are grown in Washington, though.
After an hour the kettle came off the heat and I threw in the bag containing the orange peel and the coriander to steep, covered, for 20 minutes. The coriander seed is the large, oblong, Indian type. I've read that the smaller, round type is less desirable, but that's what they appeared to have at the brew shop. I ground the seed in the usual spice grinder, which was clean but had a distinct cumin scent. I don't think that will be a problem. I actually read somewhere that cumin is the "secret" spice in Hoegaarden.
The recipe calls for sweet orange peel, but from what I've read it's bitter (Curacao) orange that is more commonly used. This bag wasn't labeled as sweet or bitter so I don't really know what it is.
The hop and spice bags were then rinsed with 2.5 gallons of cold water into the fermenter. At this point I began thinking about this recipe's approach to wort cooling and did not like it. The wort, at the current temperature (still at about 180 degrees F in this case), is supposed to be poured into the fermenter, and then left to cool to 80 so the yeast can be pitched. I was suspicious of how long this might leave the wort at an undesirably warm temperature, so I instead placed the kettle in the sink with water and cold packs for a little bit, dropping it quickly to under 100 degrees. Adding this to the 50 degree water (distilled) gave me a temperature of about 78. I did some quick online searching for this calculation but didn't find one. I'll need to dig up an old physics text.
I poured back and forth several times to aerate. At this point I noticed that the seal on the spigot wasn't seated properly. Grrr. Had to empty the fermenter into the kettle and a couple of the gallon water jugs in order to fix that. This is a good thing to double-check in the future.
Pitched the yeast at about 77 degrees and plumbed a blowoff hose. The Cellar didn't have a large one, so I'm using a segment of 5/16 siphon hose. I doubt this will be necessary, considering the gravity of only 1.052.
The flavor of the wort is only faintly hoppy, as would be expected. An orange note is detectable but not assertive. The sweetness at this point pretty much dominates.
As for color, it seems awfully dark. It doesn't look like it's the result of the specialty grains (the pale instead of Pilsner, in particular) based on the color of the wort after steeping. Hmm.
After nine hours, nothing from the blowoff tube yet.
Update: After 17 hours, still nothing. I'm surprised. The wort is at 70 degrees now. I realize that I didn't shake the fermenter after pitching the yeast, so it may not have been well-distributed, but I'm sure it was well-aerated.
Also, I took a closer look at the online version of the recipe and saw that it has some differences from the printed sheet at The Cellar. It actually calls for 4 ounces total of boiling hops, and specifies a total of 17.5 AAU. That would produce a pretty different beer, I suspect, than the 7.2 AAU I used. That's annoying.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
almost no-knead olive rosemary bread
The Cook's Illustrated article is informative, digging a bit into the chemistry of the no-knead recipe in an attempt to preserve its easiness and structure while improving the flavor. Briefly, the highly hydrated (85%) dough and long rest promotes extremely effective autolysis, which greatly reduces the amount of kneading required to align the proteins. It can even reduce it to zero because the proteins may have been snipped into such small bits by the enzymes in the wheat that there's no manual disentangling required. This is responsible for the great crumb. However, the tiny amount of yeast is not a satisfying flavor substitute for the complexity of a fermented starter. A small amount of acetic acid in the form of vinegar can substitute for that tangy fermentation byproduct, and a lager beer can provide yeasty complexity. The difficulty with such a wet dough is its delicacy, though, making it hard to handle without deflating and results inconsistent. A less wet and more forgiving dough can be used if a small amount of kneading (even 15 seconds!) is used to develop the structure.
As I didn't have any suitable beer on hand I had to purchase Budweiser at the grocery store, where Isaac and I ran into his substitute teacher for the day. I was grateful that she didn't offer me a Slim Jim or dip of Skoal when she saw the Bud. I felt a little better after getting it home and decanting into a Terminator Stout glass.
I suppose for my first attempt I should have stuck with the basic recipe, but since I had whey on hand from the recent farmer cheese making I figured I'd use that instead of water. And I had the olive and rosemary idea in my head, so I went in that direction too. The ingredients ended up being:
- 15 ounces (3 cups) all-purpose unbleached flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon rapid rise yeast
- 7 fluid ounces whey
- 3 fluid ounces Budweiser
- 1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
- 1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
It rose well overnight (oven light, door ajar) but was very fragile, rippling provocatively when I agitated the bowl. If I'd been thinking I would have skipped the kneading entirely, but instead I gave it a try.
It sighed audibly and had lost much of its volume by the time I was done abusing it. It was much too sticky and soft to retain much form so the "shaping" of the "loaf" was a rather abstract exercise. It rose for another two hours, regaining much of its volume but remained flat.
Slicing (gashing) the top made it very clear that I need to sharpen my knives.
I preheated the dutch oven for 30 minutes at 500 degrees, dropped in the dough, lowered to 425, and baked for 30. Smelled fantastic within 20 minutes and looked great at 30 when I removed the lid.
It was done in another 20, at 208 degrees internally and sounding nice and hollow when knocked. It was a little squatter than I would have liked but still exceeded my expectations.
As for the most important thing: Wow! Tremendous success! Aside from wishing that it were taller I couldn't be much more pleased. Texture is excellent and flavors are great. It's by far the best bread I've baked. The boys loved it, even preferring it to the Borracchini's bread.
I think that the Borracchini loaf has considerably more complexity its flavors, but I would happily eat this bread any time.
Next time I will ensure that the dough is drier so I can administer a proper kneading and shaping. I'll bet that will produce a rounder loaf, though I'm not sure how the texture could be improved. This is really nice: Soft, stretchy, great glutinous bubbles and sheets, and crackly but not rock-hard crust.
2009-12-23 update: Best results to date using roughly this method are written up here.
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