Modern Homebrew Recipes (3 page)

Just like
Brewing Better Beer
was a different kind of homebrewing book,
Modern Homebrew Recipes
takes a novel approach to recipes.
Rather than simply listing ingredients and steps for various styles, I supply the thought process behind the formulation of each recipe, pinpointing the key aspects that make each one a success. I provide tasting notes and impressions along with thoughts on variations you can try. This additional information is meant to help you expand your ability and capacity to craft your own new recipes, whether you brew these recipes directly or tweak them to your own preferences.

GENERAL CONCEPT

Modern Homebrew Recipes
is more than a book
of
recipes; it’s also a book
about
recipes. Yes, there are over 100 ready-to-use recipes that have been tested and taste great. But my original goals from
Brewing Better Beer
still stand; to teach fellow homebrewers better brewing skills, and help them master the craft of brewing (including developing and adapting recipes).

In developing this book, I wanted to provide recipes that use current research, ingredients, and techniques that were applied using a consistent brewing method. When choosing examples, I thought it would be most interesting to brewers to cover several of the newest styles introduced in the 2015 edition of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) Style Guidelines, since not all of those styles have many published homebrew recipes.

Although recipes closely fitting style guidelines are important for competitions, some are for beers inspired by the flavor profile or balance found in some of my favorite commercial beers. These may or may not be great examples of the styles, or be intended for competition, but they are all beers that I enjoy making and drinking. I dislike the term
clone beer
so I’m just going to refer to these beers as being
inspired by
commercial beers, not replacements for them.

I have included some older recipes to contrast how various homebrew techniques and practices have evolved over time, and how recipes can be brewed in different ways. Older techniques aren’t necessarily wrong, but they can often have different results, or at least side-effects. By comparing the different recipes for the same style, I hope the brewer will learn more about developing new recipes, and tweaking recipes to meet personal preferences.

The recipes in this book are the
real deal
—the actual, as-brewed ones that I developed and tested on my own system. They aren’t converted,
changed, modified, altered, or otherwise reworked. One of the things that readers told me they liked about my first book was that I gave actual opinions, preferences, and recommendations. I described everything exactly how I did it while being as specific as possible. I will be continuing that practice in this book, identifying and expounding on exact techniques and processes as well as giving recommendations on what ingredients and procedures I view as critical and which can be freely substituted (within reason, of course).

Although I describe and classify recipes in terms of style, this book isn’t intended to be a successor to or replacement for
Brewing Classic Styles
, or other style-oriented books. Some BJCP styles are represented by a single recipe, some by multiple recipes, while other styles won’t be covered at all. Providing multiple recipes for individual styles helps to illustrate the wide range that many possess, how variations of a recipe can be produced, and that a single commercial example (or recipe) should never completely define a beer style.

Each recipe in this book provides a lesson in procedure, technique, or ingredients.
Brewing Better Beer
contains more in-depth technical discussion on each topic, but I’ve described the basic techniques needed to brew any recipe in this book. I also highlight what I’ve learned since, and how my collection of techniques continues to grow and evolve. The best brewers are on a continual journey of learning. But learning is the means to an end, not an end in itself. Always ask yourself, “How can I apply these to my brewery, to my recipes, or to new styles?”

GOALS AND ORGANIZATION

I have several goals for this book. First and foremost is that you are able to use the recipes immediately, and brew something that sounds interesting (perhaps even a new style of beer). Brewing a great beer by trying something different in the process is a quick win, and often encourages you to learn more. A longer-term goal is that you learn how to apply and use a broader range of techniques, and understand which aspects of a recipe drive the final product.

The ultimate goal of this book is for homebrewers to gain a better understanding of how and why recipes are put together, how to use and adapt them, and how to create new recipes. Developing skills by brewing lots of different beers is the most effective approach; you often don’t
realize you’ve been learning until you’re able to recognize your growth (or notice your neck hurts from all the medals you’re wearing). Don’t force the learning aspect; it will come. Try new things, have fun, and brew some great beer.

I’ve organized the book into two major sections: background information and recipes. The background information includes this introduction, a review of the brewing techniques required to execute the recipes in the book, and a discussion on how to work with recipes.

In the primer on brewing techniques, we’ll review the major steps needed to make beer, the specific techniques used in this book, and how my brewing system is organized. I figured that if I share with you how I brew, you’ll have an idea of how to adapt the recipes to suit your equipment and processes.

The discussion section includes how to read and interpret recipes, recipe formulation fundamentals, considerations for adapting recipes to your system, and substituting ingredients. Additional supporting material can be found in appendices to this book, including basic beer math, using recipe software, and converting all-grain recipes to extract, and vice versa.

The recipes themselves form the bulk of the book, and are organized into eight major groups: IPAs, everyday beers, strong ales, dark beers, lagers, Belgian favorites, spiced beers, and experimental. Organizing by theme makes it easier to discuss similarities and differences. All recipes use a common template, which includes the BJCP beer style and all information needed to brew the beer.

This is a practical book, not an academic study; its emphasis is on doing, not just sitting and reading. I use a conversational tone, just like I’d use if we were brewing, enjoying a beer, and talking together. That’s what I’m visualizing as I’m writing, so please treat this like a private lesson from a friend, not getting lectured by a professor. When I sign books, there is nothing I like to see as much as a well-used, dog-eared, heavily-annotated copy, so by all means, get this book dirty (and bring me some of your beer to sample).

SECTION I

FUNDAMENTALS

1. BREWING TECHNIQUES

“Recipes tell you nothing; learning techniques is the key.”

—Tom Colicchio, “Top Chef”

Brewing procedures are the tactical choices and techniques that a brewer uses during the brewing process to solve specific problems and accomplish certain goals. They represent
how
a recipe is turned into beer. Different brewers will make individual choices, and those decisions often become patterns as methods are mastered. These choices are shaped by their experiences, knowledge, equipment, ingredients, stylistic preferences, available time and resources, and personal commitment.

Brewers often find themselves making the same choices over and over again when brewing certain types of beer; these represent standard practices. A brewer may have multiple sets of standard practices as part of their overall skill set. This collection of choices represents their own personal brewing style. A brewer’s style is derived from the types of techniques used, how they are interpreted and executed, and what unique twists the brewer puts on them.

Each recipe in this book identifies the techniques I used to brew it. You don’t necessarily have to brew the recipe the same way that I did; I made
my choices to suit my own personal brewing style. I included this level of detail so you could understand what decisions I made in case you wanted to adjust them to suit your own preferences.

DEVELOPING YOUR STYLE

The key to developing (and maintaining) your style is to find your own set of efficient techniques or standard practices that work on your system with the ingredients you routinely use.

Unless you are experimenting or learning a new process, it’s not worthwhile to constantly change the techniques you use. Select a subset of effective techniques, combine them into a few standard practices, and then use them repeatedly on a wide range of recipes. If you select the right procedures, learn them correctly, and repeat them frequently, you will ultimately master them. You’ll be able to anticipate problems more quickly as the outcomes are more certain, and fix any issues more readily since you’ve likely encountered the situation before.

How many techniques are too many for your repertoire? That’s hard to answer. It really depends on how frequently you brew. You should probably keep the number relatively low unless you brew often, and get a chance to use all the methods regularly. Otherwise you’re introducing unnecessary variables into your process.

The exception, of course, is when you’re consciously trying to learn and master a new technique. If you want to experiment with a something new, it’s best to do it with a tried-and-true recipe, so you can see how it will impact your regular brewing processes. Whenever you do add a new technique to your procedures, decide if it is an addition to your standards, or a replacement for an existing technique.

You may know many techniques for brewing, yet use only a few of them regularly. That’s understandable; it’s a sign of experience to select a minimal but efficient set of techniques to accomplish your brewing tasks. But try to be open to change, there may be techniques that are unknown or unfamiliar to you that perform the task better than what you’re using, even if your process is time-honored or cutting edge. Don’t be anxious about trying a new approach just because you don’t have experience with it. Assessing and updating your bag tricks is the normal learning curve of a brewer.

While searching for and incorporating new processes, remember that the world is full of self-appointed experts with sketchy credentials or no
proven brewing accomplishments who flood the beer community with their
advice.
Take these recommendations with a grain of salt, particularly if they are trying to sell you something at the same time. The Internet has given many of these people an outlet, so be extra careful when perusing brewing forums.

Many world class brewers brew in completely different ways and still create excellent beer. The main lesson from
Brewing Better Beer
is to help people decide how to adapt their own brewing procedures and equipment to best meet their own needs. Understanding the interplay between techniques and recipes helps you understand how to brew your own unique creations.

THE BREWING PROCESS

While this is primarily a recipe book, it’s still important to review all the steps involved in brewing beer. This is more of a quick summary than a tutorial, and is included in case there are any questions about specific terms within the recipes. In my view, here are the steps involved in the brewing process:

•
Review/Adapt/Formulate recipe
– Whether it’s your own recipe or not, you need to review and finalize what you are going to brew in detail. Perform any alterations required for your system (conversions, efficiencies, utilization, etc.). Verify necessary ingredients are on hand, making substitutions if desired. Identify any missing pieces in the recipe.

•
Create brewing log
– Arguably one of the most important steps in the brewing process. You should create a log that describes everything you intend to do in enough detail that you can easily rebrew the beer. Use this log to track your progress on brew day, noting your readings and observations. You can’t learn from your experiences unless you remember what you’ve done.

•
Set up equipment
– Check that everything is clean and functioning properly. This can be done as the first thing on brew day, or the night before (unless your equipment is permanently in place, as in a professional brewery). Note that this step involves not just your brewing vessels and heat supply, but all the tools, measuring equipment, cleaning supplies, and other gear you use on brew day. You don’t want to miss a time-critical step because you are hunting around for a missing piece of equipment.

Fig 1.1: The actual, handwritten (and edited) brewlog for Golden Promise Barleywine.

•
Prepare ingredients
– This is the
mise en place
of brewing. Most homebrewers prepare their ingredients on brew day or the day before (a yeast starter is the notable exception). Weigh out grains, separating them if they will be added individually. Mill the grain, checking that the grist is crushed consistently, and to the desired consistency. Make any adjustments to your water with brewing salts or acids to produce brewing liquor, or water prepared for brewing. Measure your hops, numbering them by addition or time. If you are adding any other ingredients (salts, finings, spices, etc.) during the process, have those measured out as well. All the ingredients should be checked off in your brewing log and in place before you start the brew.