James Spencer — Page 3

Brew in a Bag Basics

September 23, 2013 by James Spencer 33 Comments

Brewing? It’s in the . . . well, you know.

If you went through corporate training in the 1990s or saw the demonstration reel for the Video Toaster, you’re familiar with the term “paradigm shift.” Brew in a bag (BIAB) is a paradigm shift for all-grain homebrewing — a new way of thinking that is a break from the past.

Traditional thinking for all-grain brewing says you need three vessels: one to use as a hot liquor tank for heating water, another to use as a mash tun where wort (unfermented beer) is created, and a third where the wort is boiled and hops are added. BIAB calls for just one vessel – your brew kettle, where all of the above functions will happen. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Brewing Techniques

“Rye Wit” Session Beer

September 13, 2013 by James Spencer 24 Comments

You can crush the wheat and rye finely and not worry.

I like this recipe for two reasons. First of all, it’s a tasty beer with low alcohol and low calories. Second, it’s a beer that professional brewers would be hard-pressed to duplicate. Malted wheat and malted rye are notoriously sticky – especially the rye, which I discovered can be quite viscous. The advantage to the viscosity is that we can use rye to boost the body of low gravity beers to make them less watery and more substantial. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Brewing Ingredients, Brewing Recipes, Brewing Techniques, Homebrewing

Tasting Notes: Spur of the Moment “Saison”

September 6, 2013 by James Spencer 4 Comments

Light, fruity and summery.

This is the exciting part of homebrewing. When I brewed this beer (see brewing details here), it was a matter of improvisation. A bit of two-row and rye here, a bit of American hops and saison yeast there. I was hoping the combination would be a synergy of the ingredients to produce something new (for me) and fun. The end result is not disappointing.

As you might expect from the recipe, the Amarillo and Mosaic hops added at the end of the boil dominate the flavor. I taste grapefruit, tropical fruit, and a bit of lemon. The aroma, too, is hop forward.

I gave my wife, Susan, a sip, and she said “lemon wheat.” I can see that, too. The citrus is prominent, and I believe the rye adds some cloudiness and body. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Beer, Homebrewing, Tasting Notes

100% Rye Pale Ale – Take Two

September 4, 2013 by James Spencer 14 Comments

Malted rye has no husk.

Hoppy cough syrup. That is how I describe the results of my first attempt at brewing a 100% rye pale ale this past year. This week, I took another stab at the style, reducing the gravity and hoping that the viscous nature of the rye would give me a low gravity beer with a satisfying and substantial mouthfeel.

I first decided to brew a beer based on nothing but malted rye after having several successful attempts at brewing 100% wheat beers. Both malted rye and malted wheat have enough diastatic power (enzymes) to convert the starches to sugar in the mash without the help of barley. The trick is getting the wort to run out of the mash after the rest. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Beer, Brewing Ingredients, Brewing Recipes, Brewing Techniques, Homebrewing

Spur of the Moment “Saison”

August 20, 2013 by James Spencer 10 Comments

I sparged the grain bag in a smaller pot.

This is not an article on how to brew the perfect traditional saison, or farmhouse ale. It’s the story of a beer of the moment — an inspiration of improvisation. It has been an embarrassingly long time since I have brewed. So, when the opportunity arose today, I took advantage of it with the ingredients I had on hand.

The inspiration for brewing a saison came from two sources. First, our recent trip to Philadelphia included stops at breweries that featured exceptional saison-based beers. Gerard Olson and Daniel Endicott brew beers at Forest and Main in Ambler, Pennsylvania, that are hybrids of English and Belgian styles. Saison yeast is often well featured. Tom Baker of Earth – Bread + Brewery in the Mt. Airy Neighborhood of Philly served us two saison-inspired beers that knocked our socks off. One was infused with generous amounts of American hops. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Brewing Recipes, Brewing Techniques

Fossil Cove Sour – Video

August 14, 2013 by James Spencer Leave a Comment

You’ve read the blog posts, now see the video! Watch Ben Mills, brewer at Fossil Cove Brewing in Fayetteville, Arkansas, step up my two-gallon sour mash recipe into a two-barrel version with tasty results.

Filed Under: Beer, Beer Styles, Brewing Techniques

Core Brewing Expands

August 12, 2013 by James Spencer 2 Comments

The new Core tap room features a lengthy bar.

The largest capacity brewery on the rapidly expanding northwest Arkansas brewing scene has just gotten a bit bigger. Core Brewing of Springdale, Arkansas hosted a party this past weekend in its new building, which houses a new tasting room and vessels to increase production.

The new 1,500 square foot tasting room features a roomy bar, dart room, lounge, and outdoor seating. It’s a big step up from the previous 400 square foot space. Among the beers on tap this weekend were an IPA, Oktoberfest, American wheat, Bohemian pilsner, raspberry lager, and a black IPA. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Beer, Beer News

Sour Success at Fossil Cove

August 9, 2013 by James Spencer 1 Comment

The Fossil Cove sour with a bit of raspberry syrup.

If you remember from a couple of weeks ago, Ben Mills, brewer at Fossil Cove Brewing in Fayetteville, Arkansas, stepped out of his comfort zone to try brewing a 100% sour mash beer — the first of its kind in the area. The wort coming off the sour mash after three days was a bit odd, but the final results are proving very tasty.

The recipe is based on a two-gallon batch of sour beer that I brewed for an episode of Basic Brewing Video. Ben raised the volume to two barrels on his professional system. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Beer, Beer News, Beer Styles, Brewing Techniques

Five Years of Legality in Utah

August 7, 2013 by James Spencer Leave a Comment

This past weekend, Steve Wilkes and I traveled to Salt Lake City to take part in the fifth annual Beehive Brewoff homebrew competition. It took place at the Bayou restaurant, where every table was occupied with judges poring over samples of 599 beers submitted by 254 brewers. It’s serious work, as the judges did their best to pick the best of each category and fill out score sheets giving valuable feedback to the entrants. A scene like this could be taken for granted across the country, but in Utah it was nonexistent just five years ago. At that time, homebrewing was illegal.

Judges are busy at the Bayou

Among the judges gathered at the competition is the man responsible for initiating the Utah homebrew legalization movement. In 2008, Douglas Wawrzynski was a law student and a home brewer. Douglas wasn’t comfortable with the thought of being certified to uphold the law at the same time he broke it by brewing beer. It was either quit homebrewing or change the law forbidding it. He chose the latter.

Working with Christine Johnson, his Utah state representative, Douglas championed a bill legalizing his favorite hobby. It took two sessions of the legislature, the support of other Utah homebrewers, and the help of the American Homebrewers Association, but in 2009 homebrewing was legalized across the state. The first Beehive Brewoff soon followed.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Beer, Beer News, Homebrewing

Fossil Cove Sour Mash Experiment

July 16, 2013 by James Spencer 21 Comments

Ben Mills, owner and brewer of Fossil Cove Brewing in Fayetteville, Arkansas, is shooting for a first in his region: a commercially-brewed sour beer that is designed to be sour from the beginning. There has been at least one sour beer sold locally that was the result of unintentional introduction of souring organisms. That’s not the case here. Ben’s beer is literally tart from the start.

Ben Mills checks the boil of his sour beer.

If you’ve read Chris Colby’s article on sour brewing and sanitization, you’ll know that letting beers sour in the fermenter is seen as a risky proposition. If you don’t remove the souring “bugs” completely from the fermentation vessel and everything that has been in contact with the sour beer, you run the risk of souring any beer that the equipment touches afterwards.

The approach Ben has taken with his sour beer is designed to avoid that risk. Instead of souring after the boil, Ben has soured his beer before the boil — in the mash tun. The beer is based on one of my recipes seen on Basic Brewing Video. Following an interview with homebrewer Sean Coates on Basic Brewing Radio, I decided to inoculate a mash with Lactobacillus and let it sour over a few days. Then, boiling the wort taken from the sour mash would kill the souring bacteria before putting the wort into the fermenter. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Beer, Beer Styles, Brewing Recipes, Brewing Techniques