Horton’s Homebrew - After Midnight Porter

For my next batch, I decided to brew a porter and used a slightly modified recipe from John Palmer’s book How to Brew - just buy the book.  The recipe is called Port O’ Palmer in the book and is similar to Sierra Nevada’s Porter.  The changes I made were to hops and the hop schedule.  This is my best batch to date, it turned out really good and should only improve with a bit of age.  The name is in tribute to Eric Clatpton’s song After Midnight.  The ingredients were obtained from The Brew Hut in Aurora, CO and I have enough specialty grains remaining to brew another batch and I plan to add cocoa to the next batch. 

The grain bill all from Briess Malting is as follows:

7# Pale Liquid Malt Extract

0.5 # Briess Caramel 60 L

0.5# Briess Chocolate

0.25# Black Patent Malt

The hop additions were:

0.25 oz. Nugget (14.8% AA) at 60 minutes

0.25 oz. Nugget (14.8% AA) at 40 minutes

0.25 oz. Williamete (7.5% AA) at 40 minutes

0.25 oz. Williamete (7.5% AA) at 20 minutes

I made a 2L starter with Wyeast 1056 – American Ale yeast and 200 g of Munton’s Pale Dry Malt Extract.  The beer sat in the fermenter for 2 weeks at 68 degrees and then was bottle conditioned for 2 weeks at 74 degrees. 

Beer specifications:

Target OG – 1.053

Actual OG – 1.052

Target FG – 1.013

Actual FG – 1.012

ABV – 5.24%

IBU – 40 (using the Rager formula)

American Porter – http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/159 - Beeradvocate

Briess Malting – http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/

The Brew Hut – http://thebrewhut.com/

John Palmer – How to Brew - http://www.howtobrew.com/

Buying Supplies and Sampling Local Brews

On Sunday, I picked up ingredients for the next home brew at The Brew Hut.  I first went to the adjacent Dry Dock and picked up a pint of the SS Minnow Mild Ale (3.3% ABV and 18 IBU), which is a mild or low-alcohol ale.  It was very good and had a nice malt sweetness and grain taste.  The SS Minnow Mild Ale won a silver medal at the 2008 GABF and is a great session beer that I consumed as I picked up my ingredients.  Dry Dock is a fantastic small brewery and they have the awards to prove it.

On the return trip home, I stopped by Lone Tree Brewing Co. and tried their sampler flight of 7 beers: Hauafrau Hefeweizen (4.2% ABV), Marienplatz Pilsner (5% ABV), Mountain Mama Helles (5.3% ABV), Ariadne’s Blonde (5.7% ABV), Puddle Jumper Pale Ale (5.7% ABV), Hoptree IPA (8% ABV) and Acres O’ Green Irish Red (5.7% ABV).  I have wanted to stop by Lone Tree for some time and I was glad that I did.  They make some very good beer and I was very impressed with Ariadne’s Blonde, Puddle Jumper Pale Ale and the Acres O’Green Irish Red.  I am not usually a fan of Blonde Ales, but the Ariadne’s was one of the best I have tried.  It had a nice fruity taste and was just easy to drink.  The Acres O’ Green was a perfectly clear Irish Red and it is another style that I do not drink much of, but was very impressed by Lone Tree’s take on the style.  Finally, Puddle Jumper Pale Ale was an all-around great pale ale and I really enjoyed it. 

If you get a chance to check out a local brewer, do so.  These guys are working hard and they are proud of their products.  Dry Dock and Lone Tree are two local brewers to check out.

URL – The Dry Dock – http://www.drydockbrewing.com/

URL – The Brew Hut – http://thebrewhut.com/

URL – Lone Tree Brewing - http://www.lonetreebrewingco.com/

Horton’s Homebrew – Crescent Moon

Crescent Moon (5.5% ABV and 38 IBU) is a pale ale and one of my newer creations in my adventure in home brewing.  My recipe is 6# Briess Pale LME, 1.25# Briess Sparkling Amber DME, 8 oz. Briess Caramel 20L and 8 oz. Briess Caramel 40L.  Steep the Caramel Malts in 153-degree water for 30 minutes and strain.  Add enough water for approximately 2.5 gallons, added the DME and brought it to a boil for 60 minutes.  Cascade hops were added in 0.5 oz increments at 60 – 30 –15 - 5 minutes with a 1 oz. additional at knockout.  During the boil, I heated up the Briess Pale LME to make it easy to pour.  The wort was chilled and water was added to bring to 5 gallons in the fermenter.  Yeast was Wyeast 1968 – London ESB ale and fermented 2 weeks at 68 degrees.  Finally, use 4.5 oz of corn sugar in 1 C. water – bring to boil – chill and add to bottling bucket with the beer.  This resulted in 24 – 12 oz. bottles and 13 – 22 oz. bottles with some left over for tasting.  OG – 1.058, FG – 1.016, SRM 11.1, IBU 38.19 with the Rager formula, and 5.5% ABV.  I was shooting for an APA that was more on the malty side with a nice hop bitterness too.

American Pale Ale (APA)  - Of British origin, this style is now popular worldwide and the use of local ingredients, or imported, produces variances in character from region to region. Generally, expect a good balance of malt and hops. Fruity esters and diacetyl can vary from none to moderate, and bitterness can range from lightly floral to pungent.   American versions tend to be cleaner and hoppier, while British tend to be more malty, buttery, aromatic and balanced.  Beeradvocate

Appearance – Light Amber with a nice two-finger head this has good carbonation too.

Aroma – One can easily pick up a biscuit / light dough aroma from the malts and a fruit / citrus smell from the hops.

Taste – You first taste sweetness a little honey or caramel then a hit of hop bitterness that is fruity and a finish of biscuit / bread.

Overall – B - this turned out very well and I will stick with the base grain bill.  I will brew this again and will next play with the yeast and the hops

URL - Ingredients sourced at The Brew Hut - http://www.thebrewhut.com/