Sour Mash

Sour mashing is a way to get a sour taste to your beer. Its a very easy process that I have tried only a few times, but it is essential for making a Lambic style of beer. For those of you who haven't had a real lambic I highly suggest it, they are wonderful. If you are planning on making a lambic yourself make sure you have an extra carboy since it takes about two years to make a batch. The process of sour mashing is actually quite simple. Boil all your extract with 1 1/2 to 2 gallons of water. DO NOT add your hops or specialty grains. You only have to boil the water enough to make sure all the extract is combined with the water. Put this wort in a plastic pail wait for it to cool to room temperature and stir in 1/2LB of flaked barley or flaked wheat. Put a layer of aluminum foil over the top of this, in contact with the wort. The foil should help stop any foreign bacteria from getting involved. Lightly put the lid on the bucket. Depending on how sour you want your beer to be is how long you live this concoction together. One day may be sufficient, but i usually wait at least two days. Try the wort to see just how sour it is. After this is done boil the wort with any hops or specialty grains you normally would. Boiling the wort stops process of the bacteria found in the flaked barley found continuing to sour the wort.... I made a mulberry wheat using this method that added another great dimension to the beer. Just remember, if you want to learn, never be afraid to experiment!

India Pale Ale

7lbs Amber Malt Extract(liquid)
1lb Crystal 15L
1/2lb Caravienne
1/2oz Northern Brewer hops(boiling)
1oz Magnum Hops(boiling)
1/2oz Centennial hops(boiling)
1/4oz Cascade hops(boiling)
1/2oz Cascade hops(finishing)
White Labs Burton Ale yeast

A few notes for the new homebrewer

When making a fruit beer I always use frozen fruit. This helps reduce the risk of foreign bacteria getting in and ruining your beer. If you have fresh fruit I would freeze it first before using it. I have also read about boiling it as well, but I have never tried it and since all my fruit beers have come out great this way I don't think I will change a good thing.

When I first started brewing I only had a five gallon carboy so had to use a blow off tube during the first few days of fermentation. I have since bought a 6 and a 6 1/2 gallon carboys making my life a little easier.

I try and buy all my ingredients from morebeer.com. Their product has always been great for me and they have the best customer service of any company I have ever had to deal with. Sometimes when I get the itch to brew and don't want to wait the week to get my products I have bought locally at a few stores. Though I often order extra hops and specialty grains from morebeer and keep them in my freezer to make brewing on the fly a little easier for me.

White Ale

With the sad, sad news that Sam Adams is no longer making their White Ale I thought it only fitting I post my recipe for a White Ale that I actually like a little better than their version....

7lbs Wheat Extract(liquid)*
1/2oz coriander Seed
1oz Bitter Orange Peel
2grams Seeds of Paradise
1 vanilla bean
1/4lb Aromatic(specialty grain)
1/4lb Crystal 15 (specialty grain)
1/4 carapils (specialty grain)
1/4 German Munich (specialty grain)
1oz Vangaurd hops(boiling)
1/2oz Liberty hops(boiling)
1/2oz Liberty hops(finishing)
White Labs Hefeweizen yeast

*Wheat extract is actually a mix of wheat and barley that is usually always sold as a mix

Put all the specialty grains, coriander seed, orange peel, and seeds of paradise in grain bag and steep in 1 1/2 gallons of water until boiling(aprox. 15min.) Add the extract and hops and boil for an hour. Add finishing hops to last 10 minutes of boil. Pour into carboy (always make sure to have some cold water already in carboy to avoid cracking the glass). Add water to make 5 gallons. Slice open vanilla bean and scrape out into carboy. When cooled to room temperature add yeast and ferment for two weeks. Bottle and wait two weeks for carbonation.

Blueberry Blond

Here's a beer I originally came up with when some friends wanted me to make a blueberry beer and actually bought the berries for me....

6.6lbs light extract(liquid)
1/4lb Caravienne(specialty grain)
2oz Willamette hops(pellet)
1 package ale yeast(dry)
5lbs 4oz frozen blueberries

I brew this in the exact same manner as the Black Cherry Porter. With a lot of my fruit beers I tend not to use finishing hops so more of the fruit flavor is prevalent.

Black Cherry Porter

I first made this beer as a christmas present for my brother about 4 years ago. The recipe may have changed over the years, but it is one of the only beers I have made repeatedly.....

7lbs Amber liquid extract
1/2lb chocolate(specialty grain)
1/4lb caravienne(specialty grain)
5lbs sweet dark cherries(frozen)
white labs European yeast
1.5 ounces Northern Brewer hops(pellet form)(boiling hops)


Recipe is for 5 gallons of beer... steep the grains in 1 1/2 to 2 gallons of water until boiling(about 15min). Remove grains and add malt extract and hops. Boil for an hour. Pour hot wort over 5lbs of frozen cherries in a plastic bucket. add water to make five gallons. when cool enough ad yeast and airlock. After one week siphon to glass carboy and discard cherries and slush at bottom of bucket. After one more week of fermentation, bottle. Let age at least 2 weeks, but waiting a month or two if you can is even better... enjoy!