IPA Chili

Even though it's been hot out, I've been wanting to make something spicy as well as an excuse to use my smoker again. I figured that I'd whip up some smoked chili with some of my freshly-bottled second batch of The Captain's Nephew IPA. I didn't measure anything exactly, but it was approximately as follows:

In the smoker over cherry wood:
3.5lb beef round roast rubbed with white and black pepper, "regular", ancho and chipotle chili powders, and a bit of cinnamon. I smoked this for 3 hours at 250-325 (was having temp control issues) until it was done to about medium. I then cut it into small cubes to add to the pot.

In the pot:
1T olive oil
1 large yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
2 bunches green onion
Smoked beef roast from above
1 each green/red peppers, diced
2 sliced celery stalks
2 diced jalapenos
1 16oz can pinto beans
1 16oz can dark kidney beans
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
1 28oz can tomato sauce
2T chili powder
1T ancho chili powder
1T chipotle chili powder
1t white pepper
1t black pepper
1t cayenne pepper
1t cinnamon
1 12oz bottle of The Captain's Nephew IPA or other American IPA (Short's Huma Lupa Licious would be a good substitute)

Saute the onions/garlic in olive oil until translucent, then stir in the rest and simmer with the cover on for 2-3 hours. This packs medium to medium-high heat depending on your taste buds, so you may want to cut back on a few of the spices.

HopBurst IPA

I've been really intrigued lately by the idea of "hop bursting". In a nutshell, you skip your early bittering additions and add a huge hop addition toward the end. I sort of did this with The Captain's Nephew IPA where I just did a bittering addition and a ton of late hops. Here I went all the way with ONLY a big 15 minute addition.

Malt Bill:
11lb (92%) Rahr 2-row
1lb (8%) Crystal 40L

Hop Bill
1oz Simcoe (13% AA) @ 15min
1oz Amarillo (8.5% AA) @ 15 min
1oz Citra (12% AA) @ 15 min
1oz Centennial (10% AA) @ 15 min

Yeast: Safale US-05

OG: 1.064
FG: 1.015
SRM: 8
IBU: 70
ABV: 6.4%

I'm really anxious to see how this bad boy turns out!

Watermelon Wheat

Amber has been asking me to make her a "girly" beer for awhile now so I'd been kicking around the idea of a watermelon wheat (a la the one that 21st Amendment makes). I tried to keep the recipe pretty simple here:

Malt Bill:
4lb (50%) Rahr 2-row
4lb (50%) White wheat malt

Hop Bill:
1oz (2.5% AA) Czech Saaz
0.5oz (5.5% AA) Cascade

Yeast: Safale US-05

Puree, filter, and add 6lb watermelon into secondary (adds 6 points to the gravity)

OG: 1.054
FG: 1.013
Color: 3.5 SRM
IBU: 19

Citra American Pale Ale

This year Third Eye Brewing is hosting Big Brew Day on May 1st (1008 2nd Ave N in Escanaba, stop by!). I realized the other day that I damn well better have beer for everyone or there might be a riot. I also have over a pound of Citra hops that I've been meaning to play with. Since not many people I know have tasted this hop I really wanted to showcase it. What better style to do this with than a simple American Pale Ale?

Malt bill:
9lb (90%) Rahr 2-Row
0.5lb (5%) Crystal 10L
0.5lb (5%) Crystal 40L

Hop bill:
0.75 oz Citra @ 60 min
0.5 oz Citra @ 15 min
0.5 oz Citra @ 0 min

Yeast: US-05

OG: 1.058
IBU: 44
ABV: ~5.8%

Real simple...should be a great beer to drink while brewing!

RIP Vanilla Cherry Stout

It's always sad when you drink the last bottle of a great beer that you brewed. This was my first fruit beer and even though the vanilla never really came through and it took awhile for the cherries to fade and balance, it was interesting to taste it throughout. It really does remind me of chocolate cherry cake, which is what I was going for. Brewed 12/30/08, bottled 2/22/09, killed 3/8/10. I'm definitely going to brew this again some day, but will cut back on the cherries a bit and add more vanilla

Malt:
10lb (80%) 2-row
1lb (10%) Chocolate Malt
0.5lb (5%) Crystal 40L
0.5lb (5%) Crystal 80L
0.5lb (5%) Roasted Barley
1lb Lactose in boil
Mash at 158

Hops:
2oz East Kent Goldings @ 60min - 35 IBU

Fermentation:
Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale
2 weeks primary

OG: 1.065
FG: 1.019

ABV: 6.3%
5 weeks secondary on 5lb montmorency cherries, ~3oz homemade vanilla extract

The Captain's Nephew IPA

Last week I ordered 9 lbs of hops, so you know what that means - IPA time! My friend Steve will be brewing this with me, his first homebrew experience. He also happens to be the nephew of a teacher I had who we all called "Captain", hence the name. Recipe is as follows:

Malt:
12lb (83%) 2-row
1lb (7%) Munich Malt
0.75lb (5%) Crystal 10L
0.75lb (5%) Crystal 40L
Mash @151F for 60min

Hops:
1oz Nugget @60min
1oz Cascade @15min
1oz Willamette @10min
1oz Centennial @10min
1oz Amarillo @5min
1oz Simcoe @0min
Dry hop 1oz Simcoe and 1oz Cascade for 1 week

SafAle US-05
1tsp each of Gypsum, Irish Moss

OG: 1.075
IBU: 69
Approx ABV: 7.3