Winter Beer Recommendations

Winter's that time of year when I transition from golden and amber ales, which complement breezy fall weather so well, and delve into brown ales, stouts, porters, and maybe even a few heavier lagers. I usually don't have a lot of patience for sweet, syrupy beers if they aren't balanced out by a decent hop profile, but short days and blankets of snow have a way of convincing my palate to lust for those thick, malty brews. It must be my inner caveman crying out for more calories to survive the cold. Anyway, I'd like to share a few of my recommendations for good winter beers. Many of these pair exceptionally well with holiday fare.

1. Elliot Ness - Great Lakes Brewing, Cleveland, OH. Elliot Ness is a pleasant domestic take on a Vienna lager. It has a malty aroma and a slightly sweet finish. Bring some to Thanksgiving dinner. I've paired it with smoked turkey; very tasty. It can carry you through the meal and stand up to the dessert course as well. A good beer to share with craft virgins too, as its lager body makes it more accessible.

2. Bell's Best Brown Ale - Bell's Brewing, Kalamazoo, MI. Larry, you need to bring back the old bottle art with the little sleepy owl! I'm not digging the new guy as much. The beer is a deep sienna color. It's very turbid and unfiltered, as most Bell's brews are. Best Brown is kind of like their amber ale, except the toasted barley flavor is jacked up a few more notches. The hops balance it out for a clean finish. This is a good snow shovelin' beer (winter equivalent of a "lawnmower beer"). I would pair it with pork tenderloin and roasted herbed potatoes.

3. Breakfast Stout - Founders Brewing, Grand Rapids, MI. I've always talked about how this beer would actually be delicious to have with breakfast, and I recently got a chance to experience this pairing! A few friends and I attended the Breakfast Stout Breakfast that Founders put on this year and it was amazing. The dark roastiness of the beer was delightful with bacon and grits, and the significant ABV kept us warm in the misty November morning air.

4. Dragon's Milk - New Holland Brewing, Holland, MI. Oaky aroma with a syrupy, vanilla taste. Spoon some over warm pecan pie topped with ice cream. I really enjoyed the toasted chili Reserve Dragon's Milk that New Holland released earlier this year, and I can't wait for the raspberry one that comes out this fall.

5. Rye-on-Rye - Boulevard Brewing, Kansas City, MO. At 12% ABV, it's a real winter warmer. Slight caramelly sweetness is balanced by a modest hop profile and a gentle bite of rye. Pair with an aged cheddar or Uniekaas Reserve.

Old Bill

This is an English barley wine that I made last year for Christmas. It named it in the honor of my grandfather, who was known to drink a few beers in his day. I wish he were here to taste it. He had a sweet tooth too, so I think he would have enjoyed the cloying raisin viscosity.

Old Bill (2014)

Style: English barley wine

Water:

2 ½ gallons in brew kettle, heated to 155 F to steep specialty grains.

1 gallon in separate pot, heated to 155 F for sparging specialty grains.

Grains:

1 lb. 55 L British crystal malt

Extract:

11 lbs. extra light DME

Hops:

2 oz. East Kent Goldings pellets (bittering @ 60 min.)

1 oz. East Kent Goldings pellets (flavor @ 15 min.)

1 oz. East Kent Goldings pellets (aroma @ 5 min.)

1 oz. East Kent Goldings pellets (dry hop)

Fruit:

1 lb. of golden raisins added on the third day of primary fermentation. Bring to a boil in a quart of water and simmer for ten minutes. Turn off heat and use a potato masher to mash raisins into a pasty consistency. Cool and add to the primary.

Yeast:

Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale (two packets pitched in the primary).

A third packet of Wyeast 1084 (added to the secondary 3 days before bottling).

Other Ingredients:

1 Whirlfloc tab or 1 tsp. or Irish moss (added 15 minutes before flameout).

Water to add to the wort to achieve 5 ¼ gallons of total volume in the primary fermenter.

¾ cup of corn sugar or 1 ¼ cups of ex light DME boiled in 2 cups of water for five minutes to prime beer before bottling.

Notes:

I estimate the original gravity to be about 1.104 and the final gravity to be around 1.024, and the ABV should be around 10.5%.

Last time I made this I kept it in the secondary for about six weeks to thoroughly allow fermentation to complete and to let it clear. The end result was good, but sweeter and less carbonated than I would have liked. I think the yeast were tuckered out in the last mile. I think adding a second packet of 1084 at the beginning might help get a healthy fermentation started right away.

Chin Music

This is my wet hopped Belgian IPA that I make with my homegrown Chinooks. If you don’t have access to fresh hops, you could substitute the 6 ounces of wet Chinooks in the aroma addition with one ounce of pellets. It might not be conventional to finish with Chinook, but I did it and I like it.

Chin Music

Style: Belgian IPA

Water:

2 gallons in brew kettle, heated to 155 F to steep specialty grains.

1 gallon in separate pot, heated to 155 F for sparging specialty grains.

Grains:

1 lb. 10 L Cara-Hell

Extract and Sugar:

8 lbs. extra light DME

1 lb. of Belgian clear candi sugar

Hops:

1 ½ oz. Chinook pellets (bittering @ 60 min.)

½ oz. Chinook pellets (flavor @ 20 min.)

1 oz. Cascade pellets (flavor @ 20 min.)

6 oz. freshly picked wet Chinook hops (aroma @ 10 min.)

Yeast:

Wyeast 1214 Belgian Abbey (two packets pitched in the primary)

Other Ingredients:

1 Whirlfloc tab or 1 tsp. or Irish moss (added 15 minutes before flameout).

Water to add to the wort to achieve 5 ¼ gallons of total volume in the primary fermenter.

¾ cup of corn sugar or 1 ¼ cups of ex light DME boiled in 2 cups of water for five minutes to prime beer before bottling.

Notes:

The original gravity should be around 1.080 and it should finish around 1.015, which should make for an ABV of 8.5%.

I usually don’t rack my beer from the brew kettle to the primary anymore. I typically just pour it in through a funnel and try to reserve the trub. In this case, however, I would recommend racking because of the volume of fresh whole cone hops. If you pour the wort through a funnel or a strainer it will probably clog up.

If you’re worried about losing the fermentable sugars clinging to the hops, you could put the hops in a strainer, sparge them with water over a sanitized bucket, and then use this liquid to add to the primary to achieve your total volume. I might try this next time to see if it helps keep the original gravity where I want it. I imagine it may help draw some more flavor off of the wet hops too.

Saison du Lewan

This is a blueberry saison. When I've made it in the past, I’ve used blueberries that I picked fresh from The Blueberry Ranch in Mishawaka, Indiana. I freeze them, thaw them in the fridge, puree them with some water, and then heat them up and hold them at 180 F for 30 minutes to pasteurize them before I add them to the fermenter. If you’re brewing with berries, it’s not advisable to boil them to pasteurize them as it will set the pectin and create a haze in your beer.

This is a big hit. I used to add the blueberries in the secondary, but I started adding them to the primary instead with better results.

Saison du Lewan (2014)

Style: Blueberry Saison

Water:

2 ½ gallons in brew kettle, heated to 155 F to steep specialty grains.

1 gallon in separate pot, heated to 155 F for sparging specialty grains.

Grains:

8 oz. Carapils

8 oz. honey malt

Extract:

7 lbs. extra light DME

Hops:

1 ½ oz. Styrian Goldings pellets (bittering @ 60 min.)

½ oz. Styrian Goldings pellets (flavor @ 15 min.)

½ oz. Saaz (flavor @ 15 min.)

½ oz. Saaz pellets (aroma @ 5 min.)

Honey:

2 ¼ lbs. (36 oz.) blueberry honey (@ flameout)

Fruit:

3 lbs. of blueberries added on the third day of primary fermentation. Puree berries and mix with 6 cups of water. Hold at 180 F for 30 minutes to pasteurize, and then cool before adding to fermenter.

Yeast:

Wyeast 3711 French Saison

Other Ingredients:

1 Whirlfloc tab or 1 tsp. or Irish moss (added 15 minutes before flameout).

Water to add to the wort to achieve 5 gallons of total volume in the primary fermenter.

¾ cup of corn sugar or 1 ¼ cups of ex light DME boiled in 2 cups of water for five minutes to prime beer before bottling.

Notes:

OG should be about 1.080; FG should be around 1.016 (I kept crappy records last time, but I think this is about right). The ABV should be between 8 and 9%; I’m not entirely sure how much fermentable sugar the blueberry puree adds, but I’d imagine it boosts it up a bit.

I've dipped the bottles with blue wax in the past and given them as gifts. It actually ages pretty well. I recently had one that was almost a year old, and it still had saison spiciness and a detectable fruit essence.

Galaxy Cuckoo

So, I finally got a hold of some Galaxy hops! I’ve been meaning to brew with them for a while because I wanted to make a beer to suit my wife’s tastes. She loves Galaxy Unicorn. This should be more sessionable than the Pipeworks brew it seeks to emulate, yet still very hoppy and fruity.

Here’s the recipe; brew it before they release a new hop from the Southern Hemisphere that will make Galaxy passé.

Galaxy Cuckoo

Style: Wheat IPA

Water:

2 ½ gallons in brew kettle, heated to 155 F to steep specialty grains.

1 gallon in separate pot, heated to 155 F for sparging specialty grains.

Grains:

1 lb. Carapils

Extract:

7 lbs. wheat DME

Hops:

1 oz. Columbus pellets (bittering @ 60 min.)

1 oz. Galaxy pellets (flavor @ 30 min.)

1 oz. Galaxy pellets (flavor @ 15 min.)

1 oz. Citra pellets (aroma @ 5 min.)

1 oz. Galaxy pellets (dry hop)

1 oz. Citra pellets (dry hop)

Yeast:

Wyeast 1272 American Ale II

Other Ingredients:

1 Whirlfloc tab or 1 tsp. or Irish moss (added 15 minutes before flameout).

Water to add to the wort to achieve 5 ½ gallons of total volume in the primary fermenter.

¾ cup of corn sugar or 1 ¼ cups of ex light DME boiled in 2 cups of water for five minutes to prime beer before bottling.

Notes:

The original gravity was 1.062 and the final gravity was around 1.014; ABV should be around 6.3%. I drank my hydrometer sample the other day after bottling and I was blown away by the aroma. I dry hopped with Galaxy and Citra; it was a lupulin KO!

I stand by the logic of dry hopping with pellets after making this one. Whole leaf hops look pretty cool in the carboy, but they act like one big sponge and I think some volume is lost. They often impart less aroma in my experience too, perhaps because the cell walls aren’t broken down as much by the extrusion process that pelletized hops go through. Just a hypothesis; don’t quote me on that one.

Rye Shell

I just made this beer for my brother’s wedding. I wanted to make something that embodied both him and his fiancée, and I added ingredients that corresponded to both of their tastes and personalities.

My brother loves big IPAs; Wookey Jack is one of his favorites, so this obviously had to be a rye beer. He also enjoys Founders Red’s Rye, so I added a pound of Weyermann CaraRed. He’s a big, bold guy, so the malt and rye spice needed to be present.

His fiancée loves bright, tangeriney hops, so I finished the boil with some Citra and dry hopped it with two ounces of whole cone Amarillos. Good relationships are about balance, and so are good beers. I see this beer as a metaphor for their happiness together.

Here’s the recipe:

Rye Shell

Style: Rye IPA

Water:

2 ½ gallons in brew kettle, heated to 155 F to steep specialty grains.

1 gallon in separate pot, heated to 155 F for sparging specialty grains.

Grains:

1 lb. CaraRed

Extract:

9.9 lbs. Briess Rye LME

Hops:

1 oz. Chinook pellets (bittering @ 60 min.)

1 oz. Centennial pellets (flavor @ 30 min.)

1 oz. Centennial pellets (flavor @ 15 min.)

1 oz. Citra pellets (aroma @ 5 min.)

2 oz. Amarillo pellets (dry hop)

Yeast:

Wyeast 1056 American Ale

Other Ingredients:

1 Whirlfloc tab or 1 tsp. or Irish moss (added 15 minutes before flameout).

Water to add to the wort to achieve 5 ½ gallons of total volume in the primary fermenter.

¾ cup of corn sugar or 1 ¼ cups of ex light DME boiled in 2 cups of water for five minutes to prime beer before bottling.

Notes:

The original gravity was about 1.064, which is slightly lower than expected. Maybe I added a little more water than usual. It finished around 1.017, which should still make the ABV around 6.2%.

I'll do some tasting notes soon. I tried some the other day after it carbonated, and I'll say that the rye bite is definitely there. The citrusy aroma is present, but not quite as strong as I hoped for. I think I'll use pellets for the dry hop instead of whole cone hops next time I make this. The rationale for using the whole cones was more surface area in contact with the wort, but unfortunately I think they absorbed a lot of the beer and didn't impart as much hop aroma as I wanted. Still, a noble brew for two people that I care about very much.

First Mead!

Actually it’s a melomel, which means mead with fruit added (tart cherries in this case). I have to confess that I’m out of my comfort zone here, but that’s a good thing. It’s how we grow as people, right?

I am not an expert at mead brewing by any means. In some ways I think it’s probably a little easier than making beer (no mashing, no boil time, no hop additions, and no cooling time, for example). In other ways it seems a little more demanding (using yeast nutrient and energizer effectively, dealing with potential stuck fermentation, and waiting far longer before the final product is drinkable).

This is not necessarily what I’m recommending for others to do; it’s merely a document of what I did. I’ll let you know in a few months how the final product turned out. If any experienced mazers read this and want to set me straight, by all means do so.

Mellow Mel

Style: Tart Cherry Melomel

Water:

3 gallons of spring water

Honey:

5 lbs. of Sunny Hill Honey from May’s Honey Farms in Harvard, IL

Juice:

2 quarts of tart cherry juice (R. W. Knudsen Just Tart Cherry).
A few more ounces of juice (if necessary) to add when racking to secondary to achieve desired volume.

Fruit:

4 cans of Oregon Pitted Tart Cherries in Water (14.5 oz. each)

Yeast:

2 packets of Lalvin 71B-1122 (dry wine yeast)

Other Ingredients:

2 tsp. of Wyeast Wine Nutrient Blend (½ tsp. a day for the first four days).

1 tsp. of LD Carlson Yeast Energizer (¼ tsp. a day for the first four days).

Recipe:

So here is the ingenious process that I pieced together from doing some online research. As with making beer, everyone has a different opinion on how to make certain processes happen, and it’s hard to find straight answers sometimes. Someone should do a blog on this stuff to set everyone straight.

First, rehydrate the two packets of yeast in four ounces of warm water (104 to 109 F). I recommend sanitizing a small pot and heating up some of the spring water to the desired temperature, and then pouring it into a small sanitized measuring cup. Add the contents of the yeast packets into the warm water and let stand for 15 minutes without stirring.

Add 1 ½ gallons of the spring water to a sanitized 5 gallon bucket. Add the first dose of the yeast nutrient and energizer to the water. Add the 5 lbs. of honey as well. It helps if you immerse the container in hot water first; it really cuts down the viscosity of the honey when you pour it. Thoroughly incorporate the honey and aerate the hell out of the mixture with a sanitized plastic paddle. This will take about ten minutes. You now have mead must.

Add the two quarts of tart cherry juice, as well as more spring water to achieve 3 total gallons of must. Aerate for another five minutes or so until all ingredients are well incorporated.

Open the four cans of cherries with a sanitized opener. Pour the cherries and the liquid into your primary fermenter (a sanitized 5 gallon carboy) through a large sanitized funnel. Add a few at a time; they tend to clog up. It helps to have a stick to push them through the opening. I used my bottling wand.

Pour the well-aerated must through the funnel as well. Place a cap on top of the carboy. Gently shake it to incorporate and aerate the must further. Be extremely careful when doing so.

Take an original gravity reading; it should be around 1.079-1.080. Stir the yeast well with a sanitized spoon and pour it into the must. Gently shake the carboy again. Attach your airlock and put in a safe place to ferment.

For the next three days add the quantities of nutrient and energizer specified above. Stir the must to incorporate these additives and to degas it.

After two weeks, rack the mead to a sanitized 3 gallon secondary fermenter. Fill the carboy up as high as it can go without interfering with the stopper, ideally to the base of the neck. Add a little more juice if necessary to achieve this volume. Do not transfer the cherries to the secondary. Put in a tight fitting stopper and airlock. Make sure it has a good seal, as the mead will stay in the secondary for at least two months. Also make sure to check your airlock and keep it filled with sanitizer or vodka to the appropriate level. If the stopper or airlock is compromised, your mead will be oxidized. You like that Johnny Cochran action?

Bottle when the mead has reached its final gravity and cleared (approximately 2 months). I would estimate that this one will be pretty dry, so the FG will likely be around 1.000.

Notes:

We’ll see what happens! My melomel gets transferred to the secondary this week. I’d like to share some with my family this holiday season, although I know it will still be pretty young then. Cheers to my first Viking brew!

By the way, this honey from May’s farm in Harvard, Illinois tasted awesome. It had a complex spiciness to it that I really hope makes it through to the melomel. Their honey comes from assorted wildflowers and you can really detect the terroir.