Category Archives: Beer Review

Tasting: Old Ale

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Old AleLast December I brewed the first beer I’ve ever intended for really long-term aging, an Old Ale. This recipe is based on the recipe that was built on HomeBrewTalk for their 11-11-11 swap beer. The idea is to have lots of people brew the same recipe, and to swap it in a year with other people to see how similar or different they are. As I modified the recipe, I didn’t enter in the bottle swap.

Appearance – Crystal clear, burnt gold color, with a bright white head that subsides fairly quickly.

Smell – Wow, this is when you know it’s not your average beer in hand. Loads of oak and vanilla in the nose, along with sweet caramel notes, and a bit of aged aroma (mustiness?).

Taste – More oak and vanilla, some fruitiness – raisins and dates, as well as sweet caramel. The brett comes through a little more, though the oak is really dominating at it’s current age. It’ll be interesting to see how this changes with time. Alcohol hits at the finish, but it’s very, very smooth for 12% ABV, but you can tell this one’s got a kick.

Mouthfeel – Low carbonation, which works well for the booze. The low finishing gravity keep the caramel notes from getting too sweet, which makes this one a really nice sipper.

Drinkability & Notes – Really pleased with the results of this batch. The oak is a little much right now, it’s hard to get past

Tasting: No Sparge Oatmeal Stout

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I’m going to make an effort to review more of my beers online, as I’ve posted a lot of recipes, but never any follow up after that. Well, rarely.

I brewed an Oatmeal Stout in November, trying for the first time the no-sparge method described in Brewing Better Beers by Gordon Strong. This recipe is one of the recipes he put together for this method. As always, I simplified the recipe to meet my own inventory, but it’s pretty close.

Wort Volume Before Boil: 6.08 US gals
Wort Volume After Boil: 5.28 US gals
Volume At Pitching: 5.28 US gals
Final Batch Volume: 5.02 US gals
Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.048 SG
Expected OG: 1.055 SG
Expected FG: 1.013 SG
Expected ABV: 5.5 %
Expected IBU (using Daniels): 28.6
Expected Color: 45.4 SRM
Mash Efficiency: 50.0 %
Fermentation Temperature: 64 degF

Fermentables
UK Pale Ale Malt 12lb 0oz (75.0 %) In Mash/Steeped
UK Flaked Oats 1lb 8oz (9.4 %) In Mash/Steeped
UK Medium Crystal 1lb 0oz (6.2 %) In Mash/Steeped
UK Chocolate Malt 12.00 oz (4.7 %) In Mash/Steeped
UK Roasted Barley 8.00 oz (3.1 %) In Mash/Steeped
UK Light Crystal 4.00 oz (1.6 %) In Mash/Steeped

Hops
UK Golding (5.5 % alpha) 0.80 oz Loose Pellet Hops used First Wort Hopped
UK Golding (5.5 % alpha) 0.60 oz Loose Pellet Hops used 30 Min From End

Yeast: London Ale III

Appearance – Dark, dark black, slightly red at the edges, but hard to find in a standard glass. A nice, rich head shows up. I like most of my beers carbonated to a British standard, meaning low, so the head that does come out isn’t really huge, but it would be if you carbed it to American standards.

Smell – The aroma is rich chocolate and coffee, with a little bit of fruitiness from the yeast. Very enticing.

Taste – The flavor really delivers on what the aroma hints at, but with none of the sharp roastiness that you normally get in a stout. This is because of another one of Gordon Strong’s recommendations, which is not to mash the dark roasted grains, just to add them in at vorlauf. The malt really comes through, and while I don’t know for sure, I’d say the intensity of the flavor is a factor of the no-sparge. I’ll have to make it again with a standard batch sparge to know for certain.

Mouthfeel – Solid carbonation, but not too much, which makes for a real easy drinker. The substantial amount of oats in the recipe make for a very full body, despite it’s relatively standard gravity. A nice session beer.

Drinkability & Notes – Really pleased with the results of this batch. There is not much I would change if I brewed it again, other than to try making it with a standard process, to see how much difference the no-sparge method really makes.