For those of us who are short on time, a quick brew day is a necessity. This summer I moved and between moving into the new house and trying to get everything unpacked I did not have much time to brew. Let alone, make a blog entry. This entry has taken longer than I had hoped for, but at last we are back with a new brew. One of the days while I was working in the new garage I decided to make a quick brew day while I was unpacking and putting stuff away. In order to keep things as simple as possible I made session ale. It was a little drier than most of my pale ales, and so drinks a little bit more like a session ipa. I was looking for something to come in around 5% and be on the dryer side for a crisp clean late summer beer. A Garage Session Ale.
For grains I went with a straight-forward malt bill that would give a light malty, bready character without being out of balance with the hops. I really do enjoy the taste of Vienna malt, as I think it brings just a touch of that toast character to that I enjoy.
| Amount | Fermentable | PPG | °L | Bill % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 lb | American - Pale 2-Row | 37 | 1.8 | 77.8% |
| 1.5 lb | American - Vienna | 35 | 4 | 16.7% |
| 0.5 lb | German - Acidulated Malt | 27 | 3.4 | 5.6% |
| 9 lb | Total |
I used RO water and added brewing salts in the mash to hit a light and hoppy water profile.
Since I was pressed for time I decided on doing a 30 minute mash, and a 30 minute boil. Due to some timing issues I did end up mashing for 35 minutes. In order to get the most bang for my buck, I also decided to mash hop and first wort hop. This was something that I had never done before. Mash hopping does not give much in the way of IBU but it is supposed to help with boil stability. At least in this one brew day I did not have to use any boil stabilizers, so it seemed to work.
I mashed in at 152 degrees Fahrenheit, added .5 oz of Idaho Gem into the mash, stirring twice in 35 minutes. Mashed out and collected 6 gallons of wort to boil. In order to save time, I fired up the burner as I began collecting wort into the kettle. I also added another .25oz of Idaho Gem at this time.
During the boil I added 1oz of Idaho Gem into the boil with minutes left, dropped in my hydra and yeast nutrient with 10 minutes left. At Knockout I added .5oz of Idaho Gem, cooled to 90 degrees and pitched in half a package of Imperial Loki.
24 hours into fermentation the original gravity had dropped from 1.046 to 1.011 so I added 2 oz of Idaho Gem, let it go for another two days and added a second small .5oz dry hop of Idaho Gem. After four days my Tilt had indicated that fermentation was complete with a final gravity of 1.007 so I crashed the fermenter, waited two more days and kegged. I carbonated at 30psi for about 36 hours, reduced to 10 psi for serving and let the beer condition for two more days before I had some buddies over to try it.
| Amount | Variety | Type | AA | Use | Time | IBU | Bill % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 oz | Idaho Gem | Pellet | 12.1 | Mash | 5.62 | 10.5% | |
| 0.25 oz | Idaho Gem | Pellet | 12.1 | First Wort | 10.83 | 5.3% | |
| 1 oz | Idaho Gem | Pellet | 12.1 | Boil | 15 min | 25.44 | 21.1% |
| 0.5 oz | Idaho Gem | Pellet | 12.1 | Boil | 1 min | 1.11 | 10.5% |
| 2 oz | Idaho Gem | Pellet | 12.1 | Dry Hop | 1 days | 42.2% | |
| 0.5 oz | Idaho Gem | Pellet | 12.1 | Dry Hop | 2 days | 10.5% |
Appearance
This beer came out a nice light golden color. Amazing head retention with thick white foam. Unfortunately, while I was making the beer I forgot to add the whirlfloc tablets and the beer does have some chill haze. If you let it sit and warm up a bit it ends up being clear and you can see the newspaper right through it.
Aroma
The nose on this beer ended up being piney with a subtle note of citrus. This was the first time I have used Idaho Gem and I wasn’t sure what to expect but I like it. There was a faint presence of malt on the nose but seeing as the beer finished at 1.007 that is what I would expect.
Taste & Mouthfeel
This one is crisp and refreshing. It has been perfect for working in the garage, or relaxing after a long day. Could easily be an all day crusher if you were so inclined. Before you know it, you’ve emptied your glass and need a refill.
Final Thoughts
Will definitely be making this one again, but will chance up the hop schedule. I really like keeping a good session beer on tap that is a no nonsense, clean, light-ish, satisfying pint.
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