Chocolate Hazelnut Robust Porter

This beer came from Jamil Zainasheff's book Brewing Classic Styles. This has become my favorite recipe book and I have had consistent success with the recipes it presents. I brewed this beer for my wife, who loves all things chocolate, because she is so tolerant of my hobby and because I used a good portion of my "marriage capital" when I purchased and built my kegerator. Thanks honey, I hope you like it.

Brewed: 6/7/2008
Kegged: 6/21/2008
Original Gravity: 1.076
Final Gravity: 1.022
Alcohol By Volume: 6.8%
Carbonation Volume: 2.2 (12 psi at 40 degrees F)

The beer features a full 8 oz can of Hersey's baking chocolate, which a friend wisely had me mix in hot wort in a sauce pan, rather than dump directly into the boil. The smell coming off of the brew pot was heavenly, even it if was 95 F outside on the deck when I made the beer. By the end of fermentation, the chocolate had settled to the bottom of the carboy, in a thick dark chocolate sludge. I was briefly tempted to try some, but then thought better of it. The porter had 0.5 oz of hazelnut extract added directly to the keg. The beer should age very well, given its large amount of dark and roasty malts and higher alcohol content.

The beer pours very dark. I mean like looking into a black hole dark. It's head is course and craggy, more like the head you would expect on an IPA, rather than a stout. The head is a dark creamy color, similar to the espresso stout I made last year, but not quite as tan. The head disappears quickly, which might be due to the high fat content in the chocolate. The porter smells of dark chocolate, with a very slight hint of hazelnut. It reminds me a bit of some of the chocolate shops we visited when in Italy, not sweet like Hersey Park's Chocolate World, but something more complex.

The first taste you get is roast. The roast character of the porter is more reminiscent of a stout. I think the robust porter naturally has this flavor, but the dark chocolate contributes to it as well. You get chocolate on the middle of the tongue, but it is more subdued than you would think after the smell. There is a bit of mocha on the back of the tongue, followed by just a hint of hazelnut. If I make the beer again, I will definitely bump the hazelnut extract up, perhaps to 0.75 oz of extract.

Overall, this is a enjoyable beer, but one that is complex enough so that you would probably not have more than a pint at a time. Cheers, honey, and once again I am glad a married a wonderful woman who enjoys beer and supports my exploration of brewing it.

Beer Names for Bakers Party

I finally caved to John's request and named each of the beers for his summer party and family reunion. This is my least favorite thing to do, so I procrastinated writing them all down. However, I wrote a brief statement about each name, so I figured I would share them through the blog:

- Gusty Oats Oatmeal Stout - We brewed the two oatmeal stouts on an extremely windy day in March. It was cold and there were leaves and twigs flying all about. I would not be surprised if there were even oats gusting around that day . . .
- The Bends Oatmeal Stout (Nitro) - You get "the bends" when you come up from diving depth too quickly and nitrogen comes out of solution in your blood stream. This beer can do the same thing, as its wonderful flavors will make you want to deposit it directly into your blood stream via IV.
- Blazing Saddles Hoppy Red Ale - This hoppy red ale will leave you chuckling with its comic blend of smooth malts and jarring hops. We could think of no better tribute to the late Harvey Korman, who did so much to make us all laugh.
- Pissed Black Cat Stout - My neighbor's black cat has never been much of a fan of when I invade its territory on MY deck to brew MY beer. So, it demonstrated its hatred to John by taking a leak on my smoker right next to the brew pot. I can still smell that cat every time I fire the smoker up.
- Steamy Summer California Common - This beer style is more commonly known as steam beer, which is very appropriate, given the steaming sauna of a day we brewed it on. Hopefully, the day of the party will be a little less oppressive, but you can quench your thirst with this beer either way.
- Murphy's Law Dry Irish Stout - A fitting homage to the Baker clan's ancestry. This beer is aptly named because everything that could go wrong during the brewing process did. The beer's ultimate thumb in our faces was that it turned out so good.
- Short On Hops IPA - This india pale ale is anything BUT short on hops. Its name is a reference to the current worldwide hop shortage, which had me substituting three of the four hop varieties in the beer.

Bohemian Pilsner

I meant to post this a while ago, but this review is timely as this is the very last bottle. Here are the stats:

Brewed: 1/19/2008

Bottled: 3/8/2008

Original Gravity: 1.061

Final Gravity: 1.011

Alcohol By Volume: 6.5%

Lagering Time: 5 weeks

I have been extremely happy with this beer, given that it is the first lager I brewed. The pils is very clear, probably the clearest beer I have ever brewed. It maintains its head for a long time, which is something, as most of my beer has a head that dissipates quickly. It has a clean taste, but with a definite strong hop backbone. In fact, I would say the hops are a bit too much and next time I brew the beer I intend to reduce the total IBUs by at least five. I detect a slight amount of honey in the palate, but not sweet. The finish is very clean and slightly dry.

One other thing I read about is that bohemian pilsners are made with very soft water. This makes the hops stand out a bit less spritzy (I know that is not a word, but it is what came to mind), but makes the flavor softer on the palate. I read that this can be simulated by purchasing cheap deionized water from Walmart or similar store. Substitute 50% of the water used to make the beer with the DI water and it will make the total water used softer, but still drinkable.

This is one I will definitely do again.

Deckbuilder Dunkleweizen

I brewed this batch of beer for my good friend, Jason, who was a huge help in finishing the deck where I spend most of my brew days. It was a favorite of his wife, Crystal, and I was happy to provide them with a little thank you. The fact that it made three extra bottles that I could keep for myself is just an added bonus.

The beer is a very dark amber with red highlights. It has a decent off-white head that dissipates rather quickly. It smells faintly of banana and some clove, which is a characteristic of the German yeast and the wheat malt. As for taste, I just love this beer. Love, love, love! It is a malt explosion on your tongue. It is not sweet, as there is a definite difference between sweet and malty. There are some biscuity flavors in there, as well as faint hints of toast. The flavor has layers, with malted dry chocolate at the front, followed by the biscuit and toast, then something vaguely like dark honey, and finally the zip of spice that you expect from the German yeast. The beer finishes dry, which makes it very drinkable.

I will need to make some more of this beer soon, lest my wife, who also loves this beer, will send me out to sleep on the deck . . .