Home Brew Batch #3

Homebrew Batch #2 Tasting

I divided up the beers for the second batch for me, Mark and Kirk. We gathered at Mark's for a tasting, and he also smoked salmon and Kirk did chicken thighs wrapped in bacon. Yes, it was as good as it sounds. An old friend who I hadn't seen in a while, Marxsen, was also there hanging out and also got a taster of batch 2. I wasn't able to be at the first tasting, but Kirk brought me down my share from that batch from his house in Dana Point. He put one up in the fridge to cool for us to have later on in the afternoon.

The second batch's was carbonated well, almost too well. The first pour into our tasting glasses produced big foamy heads. The beer color was a deep, rich amber. The taste was good, but not as hoppy as I was hoping. We failed to take the gravity while we were brewing, so we can only estimate the ABV. I would guess it is in the low 5's.

Later on I did get a chance to have a pint of batch 1, and it was not carbonated as well (at least in this bottle). It also was not as hoppy as even batch 2 was, and probably was in the low 5's for ABV as well.

All in all I'm very pleased with these 2 efforts. I think we are getting more confidence and may want to try to do our own recipes and try different hop combinations. We have to work on the beers we have now and start brew cycle #3!

Stone/ Ishii/ Baird Japanese Green Tea IPA

This is a collaboration between the 3 breweries, and they really made a winner. The proceeds of sales will go to Japan earthquake relief, so drink one for a good cause! This beer has a very different taste than normal IPAs. The hops are there, but the normal "dryness" of the beer is not. This is a smooth IPA, and goes down easily. My wife Robin, who generally dislikes IPA, enjoyed it quite a bit and joined me for a pint. I didn't detect a green tea taste, although Robin did. However, watch out how many you drink because these bad boys kick you in the ass with a massive 9.2% ABV. Luckily they come in 12oz. bottles. Do yourself a favor and buy a few.

Midas Touch

I subscribe to the Smithsonian Magazine, and I was excited to see an article about Dogfish Head and their attempts to recreate ancient beer recipes with help from scientists by analyzing the chemical components found inside of pottery and other vessels. One of the beers they wrote about was this Ancient Ale, from a recipe believed to be a few thousand years old. This is not an IPA, but I was excited to give it a try. The first thing about this beer is that it is a bit expensive. I paid $13.99 for a 4 pack at Vons. I guess this is due to the reverse engineering to find the ingredients, and also because it contains saffron, which is expensive on its own. The saffron gives it a very light golden color. The taste is crisp and reminded me of a White Ale. The lighter taste hid a massive 9% ABV which kind of sneaks up on you when having more than one. Although a great beer, I tried it pretty much for the novelty and I probably won't be buying it again. However, if you are looking for a nice special occasion beer I don't think you could go wrong choosing this one. Enjoy!

Bear Republic's Racer 5.

7.0% ABV

I was really craving a Racer 5. Kirk was wondering why I hadn't been posting reviews, and I thought last night was a great time to enjoy an IPA. My wife is teaching summer school and told me she was going to the store after work. I asked her to pick me up an IPA. Nothing specific, just an IPA. She knows the brands I enjoy and I knew she'd get a good one. Imagine my surprise when she comes home, I unpack the groceries, and there is a Racer 5 staring right back at me! I was stoked! If I drink an IPA during the week, it is usually while I cook dinner, and I couldn't wait to get cooking! I usually start at 6, but I was wanting the beer so bad I had to start at 5:30. I cracked it open and immediately smelled the delicious hops. Racer 5 is just a great, great IPA. Not too dry but really hoppy. The alcohol content comes in at a solid 7%. There are some IPAs that I can drink really quickly, but the Racer 5, for me, is a sipper. Like my recent obsession over Green Flash beers, I'm thinking I'm going to be trying out more of the Bear Republic beers. Now if they'd only bottle the Apex...

Redhook, Long Hammer IPA

6.5% ABV

I've had Long Hammer quite a few times, especially while I was living in Washington. I've actually been to the brewery a couple times... it was 10 minutes from where I lived. It is color is very light for an IPA, but what it lacks in hoppiness, it makes up for in smooth taste and drinkability. It's not going to win any IPA contests or anything, but not bad for a budget IPA fan.

I have to find this...

Ballast Point, Big Eye IPA

7.0% ABV

This is a solid effort by Ballast Point Brewing Comapny. It's dry and hoppy with good balance and a crisp taste. Being 7% ABV, it's close to tasting like a double IPA and packs a good punch. I see more of this IPA in my future...

Bottling Homebrew IPA Batch #1

Tony, Mark and I got together to bottle IPA batch #1. Tony and I picked up the 1 liter clip top bottles and arrived at Marks just as he was getting home. Sanitizing the bottling equipment and bottles turned out to be quite a bit of work.

Sanitizing Bottles

Next we transferred the beer to the bottling bucket and the additional corn sugar for carbonation. Before starting we did take out a sample and gave it a taste... it was pretty good. This step took a minute to get right... getting the siphon to start without using your mouth on the hose was a challenge. Filling the tube with water first solved the issue and soon we were ready to put the beer in bottles.

Bottling Bucket


Getting a sample.

Finally Tony and I started putting beer in bottles. Soon we had 17 1 Liter bottles of Homebrew IPA. Now the hardest step, waiting for 2 weeks before opening one!

17 Bottles of IPA

New Belgium, Ranger IPA

6.5% ABV

I'm on my 4th Ranger and I'm feeling good. I like this IPA, although it's not as rich or complex as many of the IPAs I've been drinking lately. Being from a larger brewery, it's got more of a middle of the road feel to it. There are hops in there, it's just not ridicules. It is on the more affordable side, as I only paid $8.99 for a 6 pack. The label could be better too, but that's just a minor cosmetic observation. All in all, drinkable... I'll be back for more I'm sure.

HomeBrew, IPA Batch #2

Tony, Mark and I decided to add a batch of yeast to our first batch of IPA this weekend. While at the brew supply shop, we decided to get another fermenter and brew a second batch of beer. We got another IPA beer kit, but not the Rogue brand this time. We also purchased extra hops to add to our brew for that extra punch.

We pitched the yeast and added it to the first batch. We also put the fermenter into a water container to help keep the temperature down. It's been over a day and it's not bubbling aggressively, so it was probably ok. The second batch of yeast shouldn't cause any issues.

This batch was a similar process, although we used liquid malt extract this time. We steeped grains for 30 minutes, then added the malt extract and hops, boiling for 45 minutes before adding the finishing hops and a final 15 minute boil.

Bittering Hops in the mesh bag...


Midway through boil...

Once the wart was chilled to below 80 degrees, we added the activated yeast to the fermenter and poured it in. We sealed the lid and air check valve tight for the transport to Tony's house. For the second time, I forgot to get a good original gravity reading... argh. Oh well, other than that everything seemed to go great. Lets hope for a successful second batch.

Anderson Valley, Hop Ottin' IPA

7.0% ABV

This was my first taste of Hop Ottin' and I'm on the fence. It has a crisp taste, but could use more hop influence. This IPA comes off a bit more bitter and floral than other IPAs I've had. I think it has more of an English IPA influence, which is something I'm not that used to. It is strong though, and as I drink it down, it's starting to grow on me. I'd drink it again, but don't think I'll be making a special trip to BevMo just for this one.

A fantastic IPA weekend...hop heads rejoice!

If you enjoy your IPA, really enjoy it, this past weekend would put a smile on your face. First Kirk came down to San Diego to hang out and check on some home brew supplies. Our first stop Friday was a restaurant a block from my house which has a surprising 3 IPAs on tap. Surprising because it is a Mexican restaurant. I believe Kirk went with the Long Hammer while I decided to go with a new favorite, the Green Flash West Coast IPA. My next was the Sam Adams Summer Ale. Yeah, not so much.

We had debated whether to go to the new Green Flash tasting room in Mira Mesa or to The Urge in RB. The Urge won out. The place is always packed so we had to wait for a table. Perfect time to enjoy our first beer. First up was the Bear Republic Apex. This is what it's all about. Delicious hoppy flavor, but not too dry. No objectionable aftertaste. Smooth, great color. We got our table ordered food and our next round. Stone's Cali- Belgique. After such a fine IPA, the Cali- Belgique kind of fell short. The taste was a bit wimpy when compared to the Apex. Now, I've enjoyed the Cali- Belgique in the past, but when drinking the stonger Imperials or Doubles, it kind of falls flat. I wish I could spend a day having tasters at the Urge. Great, great place.

Saturday morning and Kirk and I headed out to look at home brewing kits. We found a very friendly store and the staff was great and willing to help us out. We decided on a basic brew kit and the Rogue ingredient kit. Doing a kit seemed like a good idea for our first batch, allowing us to get our feet wet. With everything sanitized we were ready to rock and got it going on the stove. It took about an hour and change and we have it in Mark's garage, and hope to bottle in a couple weeks.

I did enjoy some IPA while brewing. I had a Port Brewing Mongo IPA. Excellent, bold hoppy flavor. A great beer to drink while brewing beer. I also had a pint of Bear Republic Racer 5 and a half pint of Rogue.

A great weekend. We'll keep you updated on the progress of our first batch, and I'm hoping we get a good one on our first attempt. We'll work up to our own recipes in the coming months, and we'll see how that works out.

Stone, Ruination IPA

7.7% ABV

This is possibly my favorite IPA. Technically it's an Imperial IPA which is basically a "double" IPA. They are usually supremely hoppy and high in alcohol content and this beer doesn't disappoint. It is lighter in color than you would expect and has a citrus overtone... strong but very smooth. It's a bit expensive but well worth it.

Homebrew, Rogue Brutal IPA

5.8% Expected ABV

I drank many new IPAs in the past few days. They were all great, but I was to preoccupied to do proper posts on these, which include(but not limited to): Bear Republic - Apex IPA, Bear Republic - Racer 5 IPA, Dogfish Head - 90 Minute IPA, Stone - Cali-Beligique IPA, Redhook - Long Hammer IPA and Rogue - Brutal IPA. I specifically wanted to try the Brutal IPA since we are making a homebrew version of this beer as our first batch and I wanted to see what it should taste like if brewed properly. It was smooth and balanced and was not overpowered by the hops. I hope our version (pictured above) turns out similar to the real McCoy. We'll find out in a month...

Green Flash West Coast IPA

I have been into Green Flash a lot lately, and I'm hoping to hit up their new tasting room in Mira Mesa soon. I was able to score a 22 oz. West Coast IPA, and it's massive hop flavor was perfect, although not as smooth as their Imperial IPA. The ABV packs a punch at 7.4%. For those not into the dry hoppy flavor, Green Flash also has their Hop Head Red Ale, with a much smoother finish.

Dogfish Head, 60 Minute IPA

6% abv

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA has the honor of being the first beer on IPAlove. It's a solid IPA, with great hoppiness, good balance and smooth finish. For thoes looking for a more extreme IPA experience, the 90 Minute IPA may be a better choice for you. I picked up a 6-pack for $11.99 which puts this beer in the slightly pricy category, but overall a solid value.

Not having an IPA right now...

And it's a shame. I will be having one soon though. Which one? I'm not sure, but that's part of the fun. Soon this blog will be filled with posts telling tales of hops and legends...