West Coast Brewer Home Brewing Blog

Tag: recipe

Celebrate IPA Day!

Happy IPA Beer Day!

Happy IPA Beer Day!

Happy IPA Beer Day! In honor of this beloved beer drinkers holiday, you can reap the rewards at MoreBeer! From now until Sunday, you can save 15% on all of MoreBeer’s IPA home beer brewing kits including their famous Pliny the Elder beer kit! Here are the details and links to this More Beer promo code.

Promo Code Description: 15% OFF IPA BEER KITS AT MOREBEER.COM WITH THIS MORE BEER PROMO CODE
Promo Code Date: 8/2/2019 to 8/4/2019
MoreBeer Promo Code: IPADAY – Click for Promo Code Offer 
MoreBeer.com Promo Code Type: MoreBeer Coupon Codes for August, 2019

MoreBeer Click For The Promo Code: SAVE 15% ON ALL IPA BEER KITS AT MOREBEER.COM

MoreBeer Beer Brewing Kit Promo Code

MoreBeer Promo Codes
Promo Code Description: Save 15% On Select American Kits with this MoreBeer.com Promo Code!

MoreBeer.com Memorial Day Promo Code

Promo Code Description: Save 15% On Select American Kits with this More Beer Promo Code. Click the link to see all of the home brewing beer kits that qualify for this limited time MoreBeer.com coupon code.
Promo Code Date: 5/23/2019 to 5/28/2019
MoreBeer Promo Code: HONOR – Click for Promo Code Offer 
MoreBeer.com Promo Code Type: MoreBeer Coupon Codes for May, 2019

MoreBeer Click For The Promo Code:Save 15% On Select American Kits with this MoreBeer.com Promo Code!

New Hazy Session IPA Recipe

West Coast Brewer Hazy Session IPA All Grain Recipe

West Coast Brewer Hazy Session IPA All Grain Recipe

I recently transferred my Hazy Session IPA to the keg and let it carbonate. I was really pleased with the results and figured I would post the recipe in case anyone was looking to brew one. I did my best to keep the ABV right at or slightly under 5%. Since session beers tend to be a little thin on body, I tried to round mine out by adjusting the mineral profile of the water. I also loaded my Hazy Session IPA up with Citra hops to give it that lush and juicy taste that you come to expect with a Hazy IPA.

Hazy Session IPA All Grain Recipe

Beer Name: Murky Depths Hazy Session IPA
Beer Style: New England Style Hazy Session IPA
Recipe Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 5 Gallons
Mash Type:
Infusion
(60 Min) 152F
(10 Min) 169F Mash Out
1 tsp Calcium Chloride
.5 tsp Gypsum / Calcium Sulfate
Grain Bill:
9 LBS Pale 2 Row US
1 LBS Flaked Oats
1 LBS Caramel / Crystal Malt 40L
Hops:
.5 oz Centennial – 60 minutes
1 oz Cascade – 20 minutes
1 oz Cascade – 10 minutes
2 oz Citra – 0 Minutes & Whirlpool
Yeast:
London Ale III Wyeast #1318
Fermentation:
2 Week Primary @ 70F
– I ferment this at a slightly higher that usual temperature to increased ester production
and to create a more active fermentation)
On day 3 of active fermentation make the following hop additions
2 oz Citra
On day 7 of fermentation make the following hop additions
1 oz Cascade
2 oz Citra
Once fermentation has completed cold crash and transfer to keg or bottle.

I hope you like it and happy brewing!

MoreBeer.com Promo Code – Save 25% On Pliny the Elder Homebrew Kits

Pliny the Elder Home Brewing Kits

Pliny the Elder Beer Kits

 

More Beer Coupon Code Date: 8-27-2018 to 9-2-2018
MoreBeer.com Promo Code Details: Save 25% On Pliny the Elder Beer Kits
More Beer Promo Code: KOTW – CLICK HERE
Availability: In Stock
MoreBeer.com Coupon Code Description: This week at MoreBeer, they have an incredible new promotion running that will save you 25% On Pliny the Elder All Grain and Extract Home Brewing Beer Kits! In order to take advantage of this limited time More Beer deal on Pliny the Elder homebrew kits, make sure that you enter the MoreBeer.com promo code KOTW at checkout and save 25%! Click the link for all of the details and to take advantage of this homebrewing deal from MoreBeer! Don’t forget, you will also get FREE SHIPPING on orders over $59 at More Beer. This is perhaps More Beer’s best beer kit in my opinion and I have brewed it many of times.

Click the link to take advantage of this More Beer limited time promo code offer.  This is a limited time and limited quantity promo code and items commonly sell out very quickly!

PLINY THE ELDER HOME BREWING KITS

 

West Coast Brewer NEIPA Hazy IPA Version 2

West Coast Brewer NEIPA – Hazy IPA Recipe v2.0

We just finished brewing our most recent batch of beer!  For this one, we took another crack at a Hazy IPA. Hazy IPA’s have quickly become one of my very favorite styles to both brew and consume.  The combination of tropical hops and fruity esters from the yeast end up creating a hoppy fruitiness that is difficult to resists!

Just a word of caution, if you choose to brew this recipe, beware that there is a good deal of oats and wheat in it and depending on your system it could cause sparge and recirculation issues.  I personally experienced that with this batch.  It may be wise to add some rice hulls to the mash to help prevent it from sticking. It did finally clear, but it was a struggle for a little while. I ended up adding an extra gallon of water to the mash to help clear it.

Ss BrewTech Stainless Steel Conical Homebrewing Fermenter

Ss BrewTech Stainless Steel Conical Homebrewing Fermenter

Sanitizing the stainless steel Ss BrewTech conical fermenter. I ended up chopping the feet off of mine and using a flat top so that it fits inside my cest freezer for fermentation. I also traded out the racking arm for More Beer’s Ultimate Racking Arm solution. I am super happy with it and also have a 14 gallon version.

 

Here is the post boil whirlpool after I added the additional hops in at flame out!  I let it whirlpool for approximately 15 minutes. I added a weldless stainless steel whirlpool arm from More Beer and it has worked out really well for me.  It was easy to install into my kettle and has been completely leek free!

 

The TrubTrapper Post Boil

The Trub Trapper Post Boil

This is probably my best recent purchase! The Trub Trapper did an incredible job on this batch and really exceeds expectations when I use it in conjunction with a whirlpool process.  It captures 90%+ of the hops and trub so that I can draw in clean wort to my fermentor with out worry!

Here is my West Coast Brewer Hazy IPA v2.0 beer recipe!

If you brew it, please let me know how it turns out for you!

Beer Name:  West Coast Brewer Hazy IPA v2.0
Beer Style: New England IPA / NEIPA / Hazy IPA / Vermont Style IPA
Recipe Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 5 Gallons
Mash Type: Infusion
(60 Min) 150F Mash with recirculation
(10 Min) 169F Mash Out
1 tsp Calcium Chloride
1/2 tsp Gypsum / Calcium Sulfate
Grain Bill:
12 LBS Pale 2 Row US
2 LBS Flaked Oats
2 LBS Flaked Wheat
1 LBS Flaked Malt
1 LBS Honey Malt
Hops:
1 oz Mosaic – 5 Minutes
2 oz Citra – 5 Minutes
1 oz Mandarina Bavaria – 5 Minutes
1 oz Citra – 0 Minutes – Whirlpool for 15 Minutes
1 oz Mosaic – 0 Minutes – Whirlpool for 15 Minutes
Other: DO NOT USE A CLARIFIER
Yeast: London Ale III Wyeast  #1318
Fermentation:2 Week Primary @ 72F
– I ferment this at a slightly higher that usual temperature to increased ester production
and to create a more active fermentation)
On day 3 of active fermentation make the following hop additions
2 oz Mandarina Bavaria
On day 7 of fermentation make the following hop additions
2 oz Mandarina Bavaria
2 oz Citra
Once fermentation has completed or on day 10, cold crash and transfer to keg or bottle.

NEIPA Hazy IPA Recipe

I just finished up my latest batch of NEIPA, North East IPA, Vermont Style IPA,  New England Style IPA, Juicy IPA or Hazy IPA; however you chose to label it and it turned out incredible so I wanted to share the recipe in case anyone else out there was interested in brewing one. The basis for this recipe is MoreBeer’s Haze Craze IPA which can be purchased in either an Hazy IPA Extract Beer Recipe Kit or Hazy IPA All Grain Beer Recipe Kit. I just made a couple of small tweaks to mine. Although the West Coast was slow to latch on to the NEIPA trend, we have sunk our teeth in and they are currently all the rage. The haze of the yeast, hops and yeast esters pushes the boundaries of what an IPA is and can be. In order to fully enjoy them you need to discard your expectations of what an IPA is and embrace the haziness and sometimes juicy and tropical flavors that are created by new varieties of hops and unconventional yeast strains.

Hazy NEIPA All Grain Beer Recipe

 

Beer Name:Hoptic Thunder Hazy IPA / More Beer Haze Craze IPA
Beer Style:New England Style Hazy IPA
Recipe Type:All Grain
Batch Size:5 Gallons
Mash Type:Infusion
(60 Min) 152F
(10 Min) 169F Mash Out
1 tsp Calcium Chloride
.5 tsp Gypsum / Calcium Sulfate
Grain Bill:11 LBS Pale 2 Row US
1 LBS Flaked Oats
2 LBS Flaked Wheat
8 oz Carapils Malt
8 oz Wheat Malt
4 oz Honey Malt
Hops:.5 oz Warrior – 60 minutes
1 oz Citra – 10 Minutes
2 oz Mosaic – 0 Minutes
1 oz Citra – 0 Minutes
Other:DO NOT USE A CLARIFIER
Yeast:London Ale III Wyeast #1318
Fermentation:2 Week Primary @ 70F
– I ferment this at a slightly higher that usual temperature to increased ester production
and to create a more active fermentation)
On day 3 of active fermentation make the following hop additions
2 oz Mosaic
1 oz Citra
On day 7 of fermentation make the following hop additions
1 oz Mosaic
2 oz Citra
Once fermentation has completed or on day 10, cold crash and transfer to keg or bottle.
Notes:The More Beer Haze Craze IPA Beer Kit can be purchased here:

More Beer Haze Craze Hazy IPA Beer Recipe Kit

 

NEIPA Hazy IPA Beer Recipe

NEIPA Hazy IPA Beer Recipe

 

Pliny the Elder All Grain Homebrewing Recipe

Pliny the Elder All Grain Homebrewing Recipe

Pliny the Elder All Grain Homebrewing Recipe

 

For anyone who is interested in brewing an all grain homebrew batch of Pliny the Elder, I have posted the recipe that I brew.  It is a great recipe and tribute to one of the most famous and hard to get Double IPA’s out there. In fact it is so hop packed that this home brewing recipe even calls for a hop addition to the mash!

 

Click here to view the Pliny the Elder Homebrewing Recipe

Russian River Homebrew Recipe Kits for Pliny the Elder, Blind Pig and Consecration

Russian River Clone Recipe for Pliny the Elder, Blind Pig and Consecration

Russian River Clone Recipe for Pliny the Elder, Blind Pig and Consecration

 

Russian River Brewing beers can be very difficult to get your hands on unless your live within close proximity to the brewery but now you can brew several of them at home.  MoreBeer has worked with Russian River and has release homebrew recipe kits for Pliny the Elder, Blind Pig and Consecration; which are three of Russian Rivers best beers in my opinion.  I have personally brewed the Pliny the Elder all grain home brewing kit and the Russian River Consecration homebrew kit and both turned out excellent. They offer all three of these home brewing ingredient kits in both all grain and extract.

 

Here are links to each of the kits:

Pliny the Elder Home Brewing Recipe Kit

Pliny the Elder Home Brewing Recipe Kit

 

Russian River Pliny the Elder Home Brewing Ingredient Kit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Russian River Blind Pig Home Brewing Recipe Kit

Russian River Blind Pig Home Brewing Recipe Kit

 

Russian River Blind Pig Home Brewing Ingredient Kit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Russian River Consecration Home Brewing Recipe Kit

Russian River Consecration Home Brewing Recipe Kit

 

Russian River Consecration Home Brewing Ingredient Kit

 

 

Seven Easy Ways to Improve Your IPA!

7 Easy Ways to Improve Your IPA

7 Easy Ways to Improve Your IPA

 

Recently I came across a great article (5 Tips for Better IPAs) from the American Homebrewers Association where they interviewed Vinnie Cilurzo (Owner and Brewer at Russian River Brewing) and he gave 5 recommendations on how fellow brewers can improve their IPA’s.  I thought that I would take some of Vinnie’s fantastic advice and expand on it a bit with a few of my own suggestions!

 

Here are 7 easy ways on how you can improve your Home Brewed IPA!

 

 1) Every Beer Starts with Water!

 

Never under estimate the importance of beers primary ingredient, water.  The water that you are using to make your beer is critical, especially when it comes to all grain brewing.  Water plays an important part in everything from the taste and the mouth feel of a beer to the sugar conversion and acidity in a finished beer.

 

If you are using city water that has been treated with chlorine, always make sure that you are removing the chlorine with a carbon filter or alternative method.  It is also a good idea to check your city’s water report to see if you are lacking or have an over abundance of minerals in your water that may be impacting your beer.  Vinnie suggests treating your water with gypsum in both your mash and your boil to heighten the hop flavor of your beer.  You can also use low level sodium additions to have a similar effect.  Before making these additions you should first examine your existing levels to make sure that it will not detract from the quality of your finished beer.

 

2) Dry Hop Until You Just Can’t Dry Hop Anymore!

 

Unlike adding hops early in the boil, dry hopping adds little to no bitterness to the finished beer but what it does add is a strong and fresh hop aroma!  When dry hopping beer, I always recommend adding the hops after the airlock has stopped bubbling in fermentation.  That ways the escaping CO2 will not carry the hop aroma out of the fermentor along with it.  Vinnie suggests adding multiple dry hop additions at different times which may deliver additional hop aroma to your finished IPA!

 

3) Do Not Rush Your Fermentation!

 

We all want to try out our latest beer as quickly as possible, but there is allot to be said for patience in home brewing!  If you have the ability to temperature control your fermentation, set the temp between 65F to 67F.  Yeast loves a low stable temperature and produces far less off flavors than at higher temps.  It will take longer to ferment at a lower temperature but your beer will come out cleaner tasting so that your robust hop profile can really shine in the finished beer!  Also, cold crash your beer once your fermentation has completed.  Try to crash at around 36F for 2 weeks if possible.  This will help force any residual yeast out of suspension and leave you with a cleaner tasting and clearer beer!

 

 4) Don’t Skimp On the Yeast!

 

Now a days home brewers have a huge variety of options when it comes to yeast.  If you want your beer to be as good as possible, then you are going to have to use the best and most suitable yeast for the style of beer that you are brewing.  A great West Coast IPA yeast strain is the White Labs WLP001 Ale Yeast, available here.

 

Make sure that you create a yeast starter, insuring viability and that you pitch a sufficient quantity of yeast for the strength of beer that you are brewing.

 

5) Do Not Overload Your Beer With Crystal or Malty Grains!

 

Vinnie suggests that you add crystal malts sparingly to your grain bill. He remarks that the sweet flavors and aromatics derived from those grains can compete with the flavors and aromas of your hops.  An IPA is a showcase for the hops and the other ingredients should complement them not detract from them.

 

6) Consider Adding Hop Resin Extract to Your Boil!

 

Pure hop resign extracts can be a great way of boosting the bitterness of your wort with out having to add an extreme amount of hop additions to your boil.  Just like with actual hops, in order for the bitterness to be captured by the wort, the hop resign still needs to be boiled in the wort for a sufficient amount of time.

 

7)  Opt For a Dryer Beer!

 

A dryer  beer can really help the hops in your IPA stand out!  Vinnie suggests supplementing approximately 5% of your grain bills sugars with dextrose. Dextrose is a very simple sugar that yeast can easily ferment.  Another option would be dropping your mash temp down by a degree or two in order to create less complex sugars during the mashing process.

 

If you are looking to try your hand at one of Russian River’s IPAs, you can find a couple of excellent kits available here:

 

Russian River Blind Pig IPA Kit

 

Russian River Pliny the Elder Home Brewing Recipe Kit

 

Good luck and happy brewing!

 

Home Brewing Pliny the Elder Extract Beer Kit

Pliny The Elder

Pliny the Elder

 

Just wanted to let everyone know that MoreBeer is currently having a sale on their Pliny the Elder Extract Home Brewing Recipe Kit.  It is a limited quantity offer and is for today only.  It sells out each time they have one of these so act fast if you want one!

 

This is a fantastic Pliny the Elder clone kit.  If you are like most of us and can not easily get Pliny where you live, then this is a great alternative.

 

Here is the link:

Russian River Pliny the Elder Clone Recipe Kit

 

Happy Brewing,

Joe

 

Graf/Graff Hybrid Beer

A Graf or Graff is a term used to describe either an apple cider that has been hopped, or a beer where apple juice or cider has been added to the wort to enhance the flavor of the finished beer. Graf beer seems to have recently become more popular in the home brewing community.

A couple of months ago, I decided that I would try my hand at creating an Oktoberfest Graf Ale hybrid beer. I wanted to capture the feeling of the harvest in my beer without producing an overly fruity flavor, and figured that an Oktoberfest Graf Ale would be the perfect match. I was very pleased with the final product, and it was well received by everyone who tried it.

I kept the apple cider level to only 16% of the total wort so that it would only accentuate the beer instead of taking the focus away from it. As the beer fermented, the majority of the apple flavors were removed from the graff; in fact, before I told those who had a glass, most were unaware that it had apple added to it. On my next batch, I may try going as high as 25% to pick up a bit more of the apple, but to be honest, I am very happy with the outcome and may just replicate the recipe next time around. You may also want to consider back sweetening your graf as well, if you want some extra sweetness.

 

Here is a quick version of the West Coast Brewer Oktoberfest Harvest Graf Ale all grain recipe (6 gallons).

4 lbs. German Pilsner Malt

6 lbs German Munich Malt

1 lb German Dark Munich Malt

.5 lbs. Weyermann Caramunich II

1 oz German Tradition (60 min)

1 gallon of fresh apple juice or apple cider with no additives or preservatives (add at secondary)

 

Drop me a line if you have any questions and happy brewing!

 

Here is a photo of the graf beer. It still needs to age for a while to bring a bit of the haze out, but aside from that, it is delicious and ready to consume!

Graf

Graf – Graff Beer

 

Kolsch

A Kolsch beer (pronounced “koelsch”) is similar to a pilsner in flavor and appearance, but usually has a touch more malt sweetness, a bit less hop bitterness, and some subtle fruit notes picked up from the yeast. It is a clean tasting and light bodied beer. For me, summertime is the best time of year to enjoy a nice cold Kolsch. Its crisp flavor and low ABV make it the perfect beer for a hot day. Perhaps it is the warm weather right now that has inspired me to write this blog entry about a beer that, in my opinion, does not receive the attention that it deserves.

 

Kolsch gets is name from the city that it is brewed in, Koln, also known as Cologne, Germany. It is a very light colored beer with a SRM as low as 3, and is one of the palest beers brewed in Germany. Kolsch beers are known for their clarity and bright blonde color. As far as bitterness goes, Kolsch beers typically come in at right around 20-30 IBU’s delivering a moderate and not overpowering hop flavor. The typical alcohol by volume for a Kolsch is between 4% and 5.25%.

 

One of the characteristics that makes Kolsch beers so unique is that they are fermented with a Kolsch-style top fermenting ale yeast, such as Wyeast 2565, at a temperature of about 60F, as opposed to with a bottom fermenting lager yeast. After primary fermentation has concluded, the beer is then cold lagered at approximately 40F for several weeks until it has fully cleared and conditioned.

 

Also interestingly, Kolsch has a geographical appellation. The Kolsch appellation became recognized by German law in 1997 and only approximately 20 breweries located in and around Cologne may legally claim their beers as a Kolsch. Breweries outside of Cologne who brew Kolsch beers are to refer to the beer as a Kolsch style beer as opposed to an actual Kolsch since the name implies it was brewed in Cologne. The appellation works very similarly to champagne and the Champagne region of France.

 

If you are interested in brewing an all grain batch of Kolsch style beer, here is a great home brewing Kolsch recipe:  Click Here for the Kolsch Beer Recipe

 

 

A photo of a Kolsch Beer

Kolsch Beer

Kolsch Beer