SOURDOUGH!!

Also known as "nomnomnomnomnom"

Making rolls for Thanksgiving dinner made me realize that I love making bread almost as much as I love making beer.  And that I love sourdough bread.  Oh hey, and bread is way cheaper to make than beer!  I like money.  So I made a sourdough starter. (That's the gooey stuff you need to make the dough all sour and super tasty.)

The recipe is simple -- in fact, the one I used from Red Star Yeast was ever so slightly more complex than the bare minimum you need to make a sourdough starter.

Sourdough Starter!
The Start of YOUR Sourdough Empire!

• 2 cups water
• 3 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 1/4 tsp RED STAR Active Dry Yeast
• 1 Tbsp sugar

You actually only need 1 part water to 1 part flour, and just let it hang for a few days, but the yeast helps kickstart the process, and the sugar helps kickstart the yeast.  You let this thing sit for around 5 days in a warm spot, loosely (not tightly!) covered, and natural bacteria and yeasts in the air will ferment the starter all on its own.  Then put the stuff in the fridge.  You'll need to feed it more flour/water mix occasionally to keep it alive.

The actual recipe for sourdough bread will vary, but in short, you basically make bread the way you normally would, but add around 1 cup of sourdough starter to the mix.  Then you add a cup of flour & water back to your starter mix, and let it sit for another day or so before putting it back in the fridge.

So long as you continue to occasionally feed it, you can literally keep sourdough starter alive for years.  Some of the more venerable starters have been around more than a century, and are passed down thru families!

Now that's some hooch

So yeah, I made this starter, and what's the big thing yeast does to sugars?  It ferments it!  I think adding the Red Star yeast in the mix helped jumpstart the fermentation process, because after 2 days I can really smell the alcohol.  Now, that will all cook out in a bread, but I can also use this stuff to make a beer!  There's a couple different ways, and you can read more about it here and here.  But basically, you can either use the liquid that appears at the top of your starter over time (just be sure to replenish the water so the starter stays alive), kind of prison hooch style (ready in a couple weeks, in theory), or you can add a scoop or three to your wort when brewing regular beer.  The second method will give you something similar to a cider or weissebeer, but you don't need to use quite as much malt as you'd normally use -- oh, and go easy on the hops.  This style needs to age, though, and most people recommend around 4 months or longer.  But it's so damn easy that I can't not try it!

They really make this stuff!

Most likely I'll be making an experimental gallon of this stuff very soon; probably before I start on the next Taihei batch.

More to come in the future!

More Taihei! Also, Weather too warm? How about a Trappist Ale?

Since moving here, I've been hampered in the kinds of brews I can make because most beers need to ferment somewhere between 40 and 65F, but I don't have a cool basement, and haven't had the funds to acquire a large fridge that I can temp tune specifically for beer fermentation.  I use a small storage space to ferment my beer in, as it generally stays a steady temperature (we keep the A/C on much of the time), but that temperature is usually 70-73F, so I've had to make some adjustments.

Back in March, I brewed Taihei Ale, a recipe I designed for fermenting in Hawaii's warmer climate. Taihei takes it's name from the Japanese word for the Pacific Ocean, named because many of the ingredients were sourced from around the Pacific Rim (Hops from Australia, New Zealand, and Japan), and brewed right smack in the middle, here in Hawaii.

The beer finished in May, and despite my predictions that it would be too light, or might have fermented at too unstable a temperature, it turned out to be rather tasty, and was very popular with the neighbors.  They keep asking when I'm going to brew again, so I'm going to go ahead and do it!

This time of year, temps are a little more stable, and tend to be in the mid-upper 70's during the day, so I should have a bit of an easier time keeping temps steady.  Taihei wasn't incredibly expensive, either, so it will be easier for me to start this one.

However, I don't want to be stuck brewing the same kind of beer all the time, so I've been scouring the web for more ideas for high-temp fermenting brews.  One that's stuck is the Belgian Trappist Ale, brewed by Trappist monks for around three centuries.  Like many Belgians, these are designed to tolerate -- or even thrive in -- warmer temperatures, so I'm gonna give these a whirl.  One big thing though, is that they need to age.  Possibly a year or longer!  So this will be a long-term project.  Meanwhile, I'll still have Taihei, and whatever else I can think up -- maybe a stout or two.  But I'm really excited about this opportunity to brew another age-able beer!

Not only does the beer sound amazing (oh, and they're real tasty too!), I love the story behind it.  Trappist monks historically brewed their beers to help provide food and drink to both themselves, and the local community.  Like most monasteries, they are non-profit, charitable organizations.  A few years ago, as the Trappist style became popular in the west, craft brewers started using their name on their own beers, so the remaining Trappist monasteries formed the International Trappists Alliance (ITA) to protect their brand and ensure quality on anything labeled, "Trappist."  True Trappist beer must be brewed in a Trappist monastery, and be subject to specific quality regulations.  But this wasn't just a protectionist move: the rules also stipulate that all funds from sale of Trappist beer, in excess of that required to actually produce, distribute, and sell it, must go to charitable causes.

  One of the most popular Trappist brewers out there, Chimay, brings in over $50 million a year, nearly 100% of which goes to local charities.

My beer doesn't go to charity.  Of course, I also give it away anyway (that which I don't drink myself).  But I'm really excited to make a beer style with such a benevolent tradition behind it.

So, back to the beer itself.

Again, the top reason I'm looking at a Trappist style ale is because it can ferment in the 70s.  But being delicious also helps.  The ingredients are pretty simple, but there's a key difference that helps the beer to stand out among other Belgians and warm-fermenters: candi sugar.  I found out how to make it here and its insanely easy.  Armed with that, the rest of the beer can be made simply with Pilsen malt, aromatic malt, a couple types of hops, and some Belgian style yeast.  (This yeast is a little more expensive than the normal stuff, but is the key to warm-temp fermentation).  I love simple; fewer ingredients cost less, and there's less opportunity for error.

Taihei will be the next batch, but after that gets good and going, I'll probably start on the Trappist ale and see where that goes.  Updates to come!

Taihei IPA -- Brew Day!

Today I brewed Taihei IPA v1.0, my first brew in Hawaii, and first all-grain beer. (click on the link for recipe!)
Again, Taihei, the Japanese word for Pacific (taiheiyou), and the beer is so named because the hops I'm using come from all around that ocean, and I'm brewing right smack in the middle of it, here in Hawaii!

Stats
OG: 1.076
FG: 1.014
ABV: 8.14%
SRM: 9.34

 There were a few hiccups, the biggest one being that I forgot a grain bag for the mash.  A grain bag holds the grain while its being mashed, keeping the solid grain bits from getting into the water (they can provide some off-flavors).  It took another hour and a half to filter out the grains, and I ended up with a much smaller wort (the liquid) than I otherwise would have if I had done it right.  Probably not the smartest thing I've ever done in the brewing world.

The brew itself went mostly well, but I forgot to add Irish Moss, a fining agent that helps clear up the beer.  So... it's really fucking cloudy now.  While I'm sure most of the stuff will settle over time, it will take a while and there will be a butt-tonne of sediment in the bottom of my fermenter.

At the end of the boil, I had well under 2 gallons of wort when I poured it into the fermenter.  That was real bad.  I added about 3 qts of cold water to help cold crash it a little (and protect the fermenter from thermal shock), and replenish some of the lost wort, but the result is going to be a noticeably lighter beer.  Not noticeable yet because its so damn cloudy, but eventually....

Original Gravity after boil reads 1.076, much lower than the 1.083 than my Brewer's Friend calculation estimated, but that's probably OK because it estimated an 8.77% ABV, which is a little higher than what I'd like to make with this beer anyway.  Of course, if things go as estimated, the ABV will still be over 8% -- especially with that healthy yeast starter I used.

The sample tasted very spicy, like ginger and cinnamon -- not too dissimilar to how What's This? tasted during its post-boil sample.  It might be because of all the floating sediment and the barley itself, whose flavor should recede into the background over time.  I can taste the sediment and its gross.  The hops smelled completely different - citrus, lemon, and a hint of floral.  These flavors should come out as it ferments over the next month or so. 
*UPDATE* That spicy flavor dropped quite a bit as the sample wort cooled and settled.  The trub in my test tube also settled real nice, which is good.


Finally, I cold-crashed the wort until it was about 80F, pitched the yeast, and moved the fermenter to the beer room.  I'll take a peek probably once a day for the next couple days, then just check temps daily afterward.  The goal is to keep it between 70 & 75F.  At this high a temp, the beer will ferment much more quickly than usual, which could be good or bad, but I don't have the $$ for a fancy temperature control system.

Fermentation should start soon - probably late tonight or early tomorrow morning, since I made a good, healthy yeast starter.  I expect about 3 weeks in the primary, then I will rack the stuff to a secondary fermenter (another first for me!).  Racking to secondary will go a long way in clearing up this beer, as most of the trub (the stuff that settles to the bottom) will remain in the primary fermenter, and that's exactly what this beer needs.
  After racking, I'll give it another week or so to settle and clear up, during which I'll dry-hop with about 1-2 oz of the Sorachi & Wakatu I've got left over.  After that (assuming gravity stabilizes), the beer will be bottled, and conditioned for another week or two.  All-in-all, it should take about 5-6 weeks at the temps I'm working with, and the beer should be ready for the big time by the end of April!

Coming Soon: Taihei IPA

太平洋！

What time is it?

No, it's not Adventure Time.  It's brew time!  We've just moved to Hawaii, and I'm preparing my very first brew in a new environment.  There are several new factors that I need to consider here.  First and probably most important, I no longer have a basement.  I also don't have the funds to acquire expensive cooling equipment, a special brewing fridge/freezer, etc.  I've commandeered the storage room under the stairwell, and temps seem to generally stay around 70-74F in there, meaning I'll need to focus on brewing beers that can ferment well in that temperature range without developing off-flavors.  Second, I'm not going to have some of the same ingredient availability as I had in Maryland, including my favorite hop style, Falconer's Flight.  So this first brew, I'll be testing out a couple new varieties of hops.

The latest beer, which I expect to brew this weekend, will showcase hops from around the Pacific Ocean:  Australian Galaxy for bittering, New Zealand's Wakatu for aroma, and I was happy to find my other fave, the Japanese Sorachi Ace (which I'll be using for aroma this recipe).  The major uniting theme in these hops is citrus zest, with some fruity notes.  Of note, this will also be my first all-grain brew.  I've even purchased a 5-gallon kettle for the occasion.  Since the hops all come from various Pacific islands, I've named it Taihei IPA, based on the Japanese word for "Pacific Ocean": 太平洋　(たいへいよー / taiheiyo-; "Taihei" is just "Pacific").

  One neat thing about Hawaii is I was able to quickly find two facebook groups dedicated to brewing locally.  Several experts have already weighed in on the recipe, helping me adjust it and understand the mashing process.  If you keep up with my beers, you may remember I did a partial mash for What's This? Christmas Ale -- the bulk was pilsner liquid malt extract (LME), but I added some chocolate malt.  In that case, I only needed enough water to mash the pound or so of grain I used, and was able to add extra water to the boil later (this is called a condensed wort).  LME is cool like that.  But with all-grain, you have to add all the water at once, or it doesn't come out right.  With this in mind, because I only have a 5 gallon kettle (anything bigger won't fit well on my stove), I'm sticking to 2-gallon batches until I get the hang of brewing in Hawaii.  Much cheaper, and less of a pain if I screw them up ;).

Anyway, here's the recipe.  Bear in mind, the numbers are estimated at this time, based on calculations from Brewer's Friend.  You should be able to view the BF version here.

TAIHEI IPA
Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: American IPA
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 2 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 2.5 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.066
Efficiency: 75% (brew house)

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.083
Final Gravity: 1.016
ABV (standard): 8.77%
IBU (tinseth): 99.76
SRM (morey): 9.34
FERMENTABLES:
5 lb - American - Pale 2-Row (83.3%)
1 lb - American - Caramel / Crystal 20L (16.7%)
HOPS:
0.5 oz - Australian Galaxy, Type: Pellet, AA: 15.2, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 62.54
0.5 oz - Sorachi Ace, Type: Pellet, AA: 11.1, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 22.66
0.5 oz - NZ Wakatu, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.7, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 10
0.25 oz - Sorachi Ace, Type: Pellet, AA: 11.1, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 4.55
YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - American Ale Yeast US-05
Starter: Yes
Form: Dry
Attenuation (avg): 81%
Flocculation: Medium
Optimum Temp: 54 - 77 F
Fermentation Temp: 72 F
Pitch Rate: 0.5 (M cells / ml / deg P)

Will probably add 1oz Sorachi Ace and 1oz Wakatu dry hop 4 days before bottling, depending on what the sample tastes like.

Here's hoping it all turns out right!