Axis Of Evil, German Weizen & Tasting Session

Before I jump into this post, I wanted to clear up a couple things.  This beer was created for my wife and yes, its named "Axis of Evil" because I love her and she loves (tolerates) my hobby far more than most.  The name is a joke on how awesome she is when it comes to my hobby, plus it being a German Weizen helps a lot.  So, I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea concerning the history of the name. 

My wife has a taste for Hefe-weizen's.  The problem is I don't.  So when creating a recipe I had to make her convey what she wanted in the beer without me really understanding the style, flavor profile or understanding what she really wanted.  It started off as creating a recipe for a Orange/Lemon American style Hefeweizen.  I did a double decoction trying to get this right.  I thought the end result was spot on to the style I understood she wanted.  Come to find out she wanted a German take on the style.  The recipe was scrapped and I started over again.  (after 2 attempts BTW)

Switching to White Labs WLP300 was key.  I started using the WLP320 and hated it. Way to many esters for what we were looking for.  I also started this recipe looking for an American profile, which slowly changed over to a newer German feel.  WLP300's key a low fermentation temperature, under 65. (My target for this beer is 63.)  When starting low, you get a better balanced ripe banana to clove profile.  When starting above 67 I started to get a bigger green, unripe banana to harsh clove phenols created by the yeast.  I find this (What I call green banana) harsh and a red flag concerning a bad fermentation.  Now the harsher clove doesn't bother me as much, but it seems they are created together so you might as well stay low on the fermentation temps.

For the hops I knew I wanted to use hallertauer, mostly because I had a large amount sealed in the freezer.  Pairing this with a German Pils and 52% of various types of Wheat Malt.  The Melanoidien Malt was slid in to mimic a traditional double decoction mash.   Which for this recipe I didn't want to continue doing.  I can tell its lost some complexity, but not at the expense of the recipe.  I've found this beer a challenge overall, having brewed this 6 times, 4 on this final recipe I am happy to say this is right where my wife wants it to be.



Aroma: Hints of bubble gum paired with a background of clove.  I get a rounded malt sweetness that is almost "fluffy".

Appearance:  A solid white head that commands attention sitting on top of a ripe banana yellow hazy liquid.  This beer is solidly hazy. Which is needed for the style.  The lacing on this beer can not be forgotten, rings remembering each sip remain on the glass. 

Naked: Chinook & Tasting Session

This is a ongoing "Naked:" hop experiment using Russian Rivers Row 2 Hill 56 base grain. 

When starting this Naked: series I knew it would be an awesome hop showcase (want to know why?  Start at the beginning) Simplicity is the key, as in anything Pale Ale related.  That what makes this experiment so exciting as a homebrewer.  Using this grain base has really elevated my brewing and I am only on the 4th batch of this experiment.  

Chinook started as my go to IPA hop back in the early 2000's.  It was cheap, available and tasty as a bittering or an aroma addition.  Using Chinook as a single hop in a Pale Ale or even a small IPA isn't a new idea to me (or most anyone else) I just haven't been able to pinpoint a recipe worth creating in my mind.  Thoughts of 100% Vienna or Maris Otter bounced back and forth until this recipe base was settled on.

The taste profile for Chinook is classically American.  Big grapefruit, sometimes pungent suggestions of mountain pine and resin (especially as a dry hop) with citrus and fragrant dried herb in the background.  This hop is classically American and has seen a resurgence with the influence of homebrewers turning into professional brewers over the last couple of years.  At one point it even became harder and harder to find.  This is along the same lines as Centennial.  Both these hops have a deep history tied in with the rise of Homebrewers becoming professionals.



Aroma: Sweet dried herbs, similar to dried flowers or potpourri.  A resinous pine character at the end.  

Appearance:  Pilsner like, amazing clarity.  The picture above doesn't do this clarity justice.  Brite white head with larger than normal carbonation bubbles.  A little on the over carbed side.  Which creates a nice cascading bubbling effect form the bottom of the glass. 

Melody/Sensation Blended Mead Tasting Session

Sometimes the final product is nothing like the original intentions when crafting the recipe.  Originally two Meads, one Blackberry and the other a berry mix from Costco (Mulberry, Blackberry and Blueberry).  Both using 1.5# per gallon of fruit (added cold) dropped into secondary for 40 days after it was racked, cleared and racked again.  When pulling samples, they both felt like they needed something else, so what's a homebrewer to do besides blend them together?   

I pulled off 1.5 gallons of each Mead and blended.  Placing them into a Scotty keg.  Once blended I tossed them into my lagering fridge.  There it sat cold for about a month before I decided to bottle them with my Blichmann Beer Gun.  During this time they cleared up really well, bottling with a hint of Co2, creating about .5 volume with no clarifying agents.  The Co2 was just for some crispness on the final Mead.


Bouquet/Aroma:  Blueberries, strawberry and stone fruit.  Some crisp acidic or tart sharpness on the back end.  Some heat in the nose. 

Appearance:  Outstandingly beautiful.  Gem like clarity.  The sides are a rose colored plum, with the highlights almost ruby red.   

Naked: Simcoe vs Azacca Hop Experiment & Tasting Session

Russian Rivers' all Simcoe Row 2 Hill 56 Pale Ale might be the perfect Pale Ale.  To understand how well put together this beer is you don't need to be a hop head or a beer nerd.  Its perfectly balanced against the simple hop bill.  Tossing Simcoe on top of Simcoe to create a ubber drinkable Pale Ale.  Russian River has out done itself showcasing how beautifully Simcoe can stand alone in a recipe. But is this recipe built around Simcoe?  Or is this recipe build around a malt base that just works?  Personally, I think this recipe so well crafted that almost any hop will work within it's grain bill.  So I chose to put it to the test. 

The recipes are based off HomebrewTalk's.com Row 2 Hill 56 (R2H56) clone. (The recipe seems/tastes spot to the original.)  Then brewing another beer with Azacca Hops (same grains and expected IUB's) with all Azacca hops to test out the sturdiness of the recipe for a planned "Naked:" Single Hop Pale Ale Experiment using my personal favorite hop varietals. 

Azacca is a new highly talked about hop formally known as Experimental Hop #483.  This hop is going for the nitch IPA market.  With keywords of grapefruit, fresh citrus, orange, tropical, pineapple and fresh. Which, just about every hop is using now days.  Making the selection of a new hop very difficult for a homebrewer. 

Copying these 2 beers is the key, ensuring a spot on comparison by brewing them back to back in the same fermentation chamber.  Comparing the pros and cons of each single hopped beer paired together with the same base grain, hopefully better educating myself with this new hop "Azacca".

As you can see from the above picture, Simcoe (above left) has a small amount of chill haze compared to the Azacca (above right) which is much clearer. But the numbers and colors are spot on to each other, but how do they stack up?

Naked: Azacca Pale, Tasting Notes:

Aroma:  Big bunches of grapefruit pith (white meat), much more than the zest I smelled when opening the bag of  hops.  Somehow some orange and something resembling cascade are showing up in the backround.  

Pioneer Brett C Mead, Tasting Session

This mead has been a long time coming.  Creating the time slot needed to open a bottle of Mead during the day for a Tasting Session on the other hand, has been challenging.  However this delay has benefited the mead since my last tasting.  So much so, it's renewed the passion to create another Brett fermented mead in the near future. 

Aroma:  Sweet notes of honey dominate the nose.  No alcohol heat noticeable.  It still has a smell that's reminiscent of a Hard Cider.  However, looking back at my Tasting Notes from 6 months ago, this is fading with age. 

Appearance:  Lacy white head, about a quarter inch thick when poured.  By the time I grabbed my camera it faded into a thin 1mm thick bubble layer.  I attempted to refill the glass to agitate it with no help.  Consistent bubbles during the entire tasting ran up the side of the glass.  Clear,  golden sun in color.  (The haze has really cleared up since the last sampling.) 

Flavor:  The tropical notes have faded it a rustic honey sweetness.  A almost crispness lingers.  Low to minimal barnyard notes (if associated with a Farmhouse Saison). Very minimal heat, which has dropped over the last couple months.  With the rustic barnyard notes, it balances well with the sweet honey left over from the fermentation.  Which I'm surprised is still around after the low finishing gravity at .0996.  

America's Finest City Homebrew Competition 2014 Results

I try and enter 2 competitions a year, the National Homebrew Competition and the local America's Finest City Homebrew Competition.  I've always done OK in both, yesterday I received my judges sheets back for review.

They Call Me Porter:  Scored a 39.5/50 Overall. Category #12B Robust Porter. 3rd Place, America's Finest City Homebrew Competition 2014

Judge #1, Certified 40/50

Aroma: 9/12 Moderately high roasty aroma, some dark chocolate, tobacco, a hint of caramel.  Hops aroma is moderate.  Fruity ester is mute. 

Appearance: 3/3  Very Dark brown in color.  Large tan head with good retention.  Some garbet? highlights.

Flavor: 15/20 Moderately strong malt flavor.  Coffee, dark chocolate, grainy characters.  Hop flavor is moderately low, bitterness is moderate.  Semi-dry finish.  Fruity esters moderately low.

Mouthfeel: 5/5 Medium body, medium carbonation, slight astringency.  (Not harsh) Semi - Dry finish

Overall Impression: 8/10 A robust porter with great roasty dark chocolate character.  Could use some more hops, but complex dark malt characters.  Tasty Brew!

They call me Porter & Tasting Session

Just got word that this placed 3rd in Cat 12.  Quaff's Americas Finest Homebrew Comp.

Peering into a vast array of bottles nestled together.  Looking down each row, studying them one by one.  Attempting to find the perfect bomber to enjoy after work.  Eying in on a Drakes Denogginizer, I happily close the refrigerator door without noticing a single Porter.  Did I walk into the bottle shop predisposed to purchase an IPA vs a Porter?  It's possible, or maybe its just how I feel about the style in general.  Predictable.

When purchasing a beer I want it to be exciting and different.  I want to be arm and arm with the hot girl at the party.  Maybe even outside my league. (or brewing skill set)  Porters are, well just porters.  They are the back-up girl when someone cancels on you last minute.  There like a moped, "Always fun to ride, but you never want to get caught riding on one".  They are predicable. 

Now with that out of the way, an American Porter was probably the first or second style you homebrew.  Good or not, it was your first.  More importantly, it was yours.  While it's true, normally I do not purchase Porters, I do enjoy drinking them.  They are my fat girl.

When I started out working on a Porter recipe, I wanted it purely American.  Style 12B Robust Porter, which is a horrible style name (BTW).  Wanting the recipe to maximize the roasted and chocolate notes I love.  For strength, I went right under 7%.  Fairly strong, yet contained.  I ended up doing a split yeast pitch on this beer.  The WLP028 started off for 2 days then I pitched WLP090.  This should bring out some traditional English characters without the phenolics associated with English Ales.  This is my third re-brew of this batch, I think I like where it is, just needing to re-brew it one more time without any changes.


Aroma:  Somewhat burnt, coffee/roasted barley acridness. More coffee and chocolate as it warmed up.  I do get some husky grain notes also, this seems to come forward the longer this beer is on draft. 

Appearance:  Thin head, that somewhat appears after I finish pouring the taster.  I'd say about a 1/4 thick.  (It doesn't last long, but I like my porters low on the Co2.)  The head is clearly dark tan, small bubbles dissipate quickly.  The beer shows black, but as you take a sip the black changes to a dark burnt chocolate red. 

Blind Hog IPA & Tasting Session

A beer before the rain

Aroma:  Strongly Simcoe, incorporating a resin like pine note.  Sweetness that I can't pinpoint but I'm sure its hops related.  I get a hint of a rye malt likeness that is very pleasing. I *think* I can smell the Apollo hops, a hint of garlic, just at the threshold of pleasant. 

Appearance:  Golden yellow, small amounts of hop haze but mostly clear.  A perfect 3/4 inch of brite white head adorns the top of the IPA glass.  Nice lacing during the tasting  A thin, yet resilient head stayed on top of the beer until it was refilled.

Yellow Tractor, Brett Session IPA & Tasting Notes

1 teaspoon of flour was added to keep this beautiful haze.

I was born and raised in San Diego, but I spent most of my summers under 12 in Nashville with my mom, sister and Grandparents.  My Mom didn't work while I was in elementary school, so she would fly back east, spending the summer months in Nashville while my Dad worked as a pilot for the US Navy.  For me, this was normal, spending time with my cousins playing in the pool and working the garden that my Grandfather (Popa Charlie) had.  Now, this wasn't a huge garden, but to a 6 year old this was a big plot of land suitable of feeding hundreds of people.  I remember jumping off the diving board, then running over to the table to chuck green beans into a giant pile that my Grandmother would then can for the winter.  After swimming we would venture into the garden looking for tomatoes and watermelon for Popa Charlie.  (He loves to slice them about an inch thick and cover them with salt and pepper before dinner.)  I remember walking through the garden and getting the best smells of hay, ripe veggies, vines and pine needles (from the trees the lined the back of the property.) Popa Charlie needed a tractor to maintain his property, for this he owned a little yellow tractor.  I not even sure of the name, make or model, but it was his and us kids loved it as our own.

Smith & Wess'n Oaked Aged Vanilla Porter & Tasting Session

I was issued a challenge to brew a Barrel Aged Vanilla Porter within 2 weeks.  For some reason I agreed to this idea.  Choosing to take some of Shea Comfort's ideas and run with them.  Going back to Shea Comfort's interview on the Brewing Networks Sunday Session, Brewing with Oak.  The idea was simple, using a 5" piece of Honeycomb White American Oak in the last minutes of the boil.  Knowing that wood will swell when you add hot water, releasing tannins, expelling positive (and negative) flavors and then capturing these flavors into the beer and hopefully cut the aging time normally necessary for this style of beer.

I started off with the base recipe from Black Butte Porter, raising the Original Gravity up, hoping for a beer finishing around 7.4%.  Expecting to bottle and age this beer, I also wanted to push the bittering hops way up to 45 IUB's with a clean Magnum addition.  Other than that, the base recipe stayed about the same.  To push up the "Barrel Aged" feel, I ordered Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans, which I split and scraped out into a small glass jar.  To speed up the extraction process, I added Markers Mark (1.5oz) and let them steep together while the beer was fermenting.

Bella Sky C2 Brett Blonde, Tasting Session

Aroma:  Overripe pear mixed with the aromas you would expect walking into a lumberyard.  Small amounts of a gritty hay like hint also linger about. 

Appearance:  A breathtaking golden yellow, crystal clear liquid just asking to be consumed in the tulip.  A perfect lace adorns the top of the glass.  Thin, yet resilient.  The constant bubbles stream up constantly from the D etched on the bottom of the glass. 

Two Headed Lion English Bitter & Tasting Session

An, almost proper pint

I've never brewed a traditional English Bitter.  The more I think about it, the more I'm upset I get.  It's no secrete that I love hops, but a well made English example could be rich in hop flavors and aroma.  Maybe it's because a English Bitter isn't a popular style in America?  Whatever the reason, I've really missed out on not brewing one because this one is fantastic. 

Aroma:  Hints of yeast and a breadiness that I can't pinpoint.  The more I smell, the more this beer smells like beer, just good plain old fashioned beer.  I feel like this is not the best quality to proclaim, but I mean this in all the best ways. I feel like I should be sitting in England drinking this.

Appearance:  A golden haze that stays in suspension, topped by a small resilient head, reminiscent of a English Ale planted firmly on top of the glass. I was hoping it would clear, but without any finings this hope is quickly fading.  I do really like the thin everlasting head on this beer.  It really portrays an English feel to it. 

Validation Red IPA, Tasting Session

It Kills me to "Show off" this cloudy beer

Last night I was pouring a beer to drink while making dinner and it happened, pissssssss.   Grabbing a note pad, scrambling to take notes as quickly as possible. 

Aroma:  Big Cascade piney notes fill your nose.  Backing  it up I get a distinctive pineapple Conan yeast appearance.  Grassy aromas are the star here, don't get me wrong.  Which is what I wanted designing the recipe...but somehow the pineapple yeast aromas worked their way forward, just enough to make you think Citra is a big part of the dry hopping.  


Appearance:  Cloudy....it poured clear out of the tap, but once it was settled in my glass it was full of chill haze.  (Remember I used Clarity-Ferm only, more on that later) The color was spot on to what I was looking for.  Deep amber with hints of brown in the wrong light.  A full, lightly tan head commanding attention stood watch on top of the glass.  Protecting the liquid inside.

Cultured Farmhouse Saison/Tasting Session

Since discovering Logsdon Farmhouse Ales, I've considered myself a pretty big fan of their beers, from the Wit to the Saison (Which they spell Seizon). David Logsdon, the man behind the Wyeast empire decided to join the ranks of a local farmer, brewer and businessman back in 2011 when he created Logsdon Farmhouse Ales leaving Wyeast behind.  Logsdon's Seizon Bretta, which is bottle conditioned with his own Brettanomyces strain coupled with pear juice has become my personal favorite Saison.  The beer is just a perfect blend of funky/clean/barnyard flavors.

Wanting to brew a Brett Saison I picked up a couple bottles for "Testing purposes" and collected the bottle Dregs into a 500ml flask.  This was early 2012.  By December 2012 I had a large pitchable amount of slurry, it was time to get started on a recipe.  That's when it happened, my Sorachi Ace'd Saison stalled out at 1.030.  WLP565 failed me again.  Without pause I knew what I had to do, pitching the Logsdon slurry into the stalled Sorachi Ace'd Saison.

Session 42, Tasting Session

Aroma:  Passion-fruit, mango, papaya.  Some Centennial berry hop flavors coming through, The island hop flavors are coming very strongly. 


Appearance:  White head with large bubbles stays prominent in charge during the tasting, covering a clear lightly golden yellow liquid.  Somewhat effected by chill haze.

Parallel World Brett Trois IPA, Tasting Session

Aroma:   Sweet Peaches and plums.  Comes in as very sweet, not in a cloying way, just sweet off the nose.  It has a small kids fruit cereal in the nose also.  Can't finger it though.

Appearance:  Very hazy (for the life of me I couldn't get this beer clear), showing a bright glowing orange.  A thin, but solid head with small bubbles in creamy white color rest on top of the liquid. Small bubbles continuously run up the side of the glass. 

Farmers Daugher, #7 (Blend) Tasting Session

 Aroma:   A rustic quality close to emptied wine barrels.  Delicate plum tartness, with cherries.

Appearance:  Beautiful radiant amber in color.  Crystal clear clarity.  Soft, thin, long lasting head in a light tan color. 

Wine Yeast Fermented Porter, Tasting Session

Aroma:   Chocolate hints dominate the nose, backed up by a roast aroma I can't pinpoint.  No aroma hops detected.  No off flavors, very clean.


Appearance:  Crystal clear (up to a light) midnight black.  Tan, fluffy head, with large bubbles creating chunky lacing down the glass.  Very stunning, drinkable appearance. 

Dawn to Dusk: Session Pale, Tasting Session

Arrg, flash flare back

Aroma:  Sweet Pear.  Resinous piney notes.  Would like to see more aroma hop in the nose. 


Appearance:  Amber Gold in color, tan head.  Good clarity (Not great, but getting better) Long lasting lacing during the tasting.


Flavor:  More malt forward than expected.  Maybe a little under attenuated.  Great mixture of Simcoe and Amarillo hops.  No DMS or Diacetyl detected.  Very smooth bittering hops, maybe bumping up the bittering hops next time would help the perceived smoothness.  Not astringent. Finishing dry, very drinkable. 

3 Brewers #2, Tasting Session

Aroma: Intensely floral and tropical.  Big notes of New Zealand hops.  Hints of a fresh loaf of rye bread.  Almost a earthy spiciness that I can't pinpoint.  


Appearance: Darker than expected for the style.  A soft white head with darker edges is firmly placed on top of the glass.  The head fades to thin, but is resilient.  The beer is still hazy but on the verge of clearing up.  Maybe some chill haze is present.  This beer has excellent lacing inside the glass.