Brew Therapy - Seasonal Breffective Disorder

Perhaps you suffer from this disorder as I do. During certain times of the year you find yourself craving particular styles of beer. I, for example, want light colored beer in the summer and heavier / stronger (abv) beer in the winter. If you live in an area where there is no winter you may be confused right now. Winter is a season when it gets cold and dark and depressing.

At this time I find myself wanting something wheat, or bright, or session-able. And I have nothing that matches that description. I have quite a few that will be available soon, but what does that do for me today? Nothing.

Can you relate? If so, here is my advice. Be proactive! Begin brewing these beers in preparation for the changing seasons, not in reaction to them. Had I begun brewing these beers a month earlier I would have a Kolsch, an American Wheat, and a Helles at my disposal. And significantly less to write about...

Jackpot

So I received a text from a friend today asking if I would be interested in her husband's old brewing equipment. Since I'm never one to turn down a handout I said that I'd be right over. I thought that I would get a new carboy and maybe an extra hydrometer out of the deal.

Little did I know that he was a brewer from way back. Most of what he had (pictured below) is well aged and will require a lot of cleaning, but is still excellent brewing equipment. Probably won't trust the gypsum to be usable and the old racking cane will find its way to the garbage. But the EZ Cap bottles, 2 six gallon carboys, and wort testing kits are a most welcome surprise. Even the old canned Mr. Beer mixes (best if used before 1997) will decorate my man cave.

Perhaps the best surprise were the 15 still full bottles of his home brew; circa the 1990s. Still good? Probably not. Will I give one a try anyway? You know it.

Brew Day - Cit-Wit III

This brew started for as so many others, a request from a friend.  Three years ago I was inspired by a friend, Adam, to brew a wheat beer infused with citrus and thus Cit-Wit was born.  The first year was an extract brew fermented with Fermentis US-05.  Last year I actually used a Belgian Wit yeast from White Labs.  And this year I mixed it all up again.  So even though this beer has its own name it has not even been close to the same beer twice.

This year I simplified.  I wanted to brew a simple, bright, and refreshing beer for the summer.  In the past I have used pretty massive amounts of citrus zest in this beer; including both lemon and lime.  This year I cut the dose of zest in half.  As you can see above, I used 4 Cuties, 1 navel orange, 1 grapefruit, and 1 Tangelo. This is also the first brew that will be fermented in my new Fermentation Chamber (more on that in a future post).  Here's the recipe.

50% Domestic Two-Row 4.5 lbs
50% White Wheat Malt 4.5 lbs

1 oz Saaz 45 min
1 oz Cascade 5 min
Zest at flame out

Wyeast 1010 American Wheat Ale

1.051 OG (measured)
1.012 FG (estimated)
5% ABV
18 IBU

I'll ferment it at 65* for the first few days, then I'll slowly raise the temp up to 70* to finish primary fermentation.  Cit-Wit mark3 will also be kegged.

The Rinsing of Yeast

There are probably as many methods for doing this as there are brewers; this is my method. First of all, I reuse all of my yeasts, even the cheap US - 05. My reasoning for this is a) it makes propagating yeast for my next brew easier because of the number of yeasties produced during the fermentation process. And b) because the following generations of yeast are said to make better beer; at least to the fourth generation.

I start by having sterilized canned water ready as soon as fermentation comes to a stop. I boil and can it in mason jars every few months. As a note, because the water, mason jars, and lids are boiled for at least 15 minutes they are sterilized, not just sanitized.

I dump a half gallon mason jar in my primary, stir it up, and then lay the carboy on its side to allow it to settle for 15 minutes or so (sometimes up to 30 minutes depending on how distracted I get). I keep the sterilized lid on the mason jar during this time to keep any nasties from falling in.

I then decant (meaning to pour off the top portion while leaving the sediment behind) back into the half gallon mason jar. This will be cloudy with the aforementioned yeasties. I let this settle for another half hour, so that more undesirables can fall out of suspension, before decanting again into smaller sterilized mason jars.

I then put the yeast into my fridge where the yeast will all settle over the following week. Sometimes I'll transfer them into a smaller mason jar after they've all settled to save space, but I try to use them as quickly as possible. "The man" says to use it within a few weeks and I personally try not to let it sit for more than a few months. That being said, I have successfully revived Wyeast's Irish Ale after it sat dormant for almost a year.