Lionheart Brewing Company

Batch Size: 10.75 Gallons
Original Gravity: 1.073
Estimated Final Gravity: 1.012
ABV: 8%
IBU: 25.4
Color: 15.2 SRM
Boil Time: 90 Min

70.2% Pilsner Malt
18.1% Abbey Malt
4.5% Caramunich III Malt
4.5% Corn Sugar (Dextrose)
2.7% Special B Malt

1.75 Oz Styrian Goldings (5.5% AA) at 90 min
1 Oz Styrian Goldings (5.5% AA) at 60 min
9 Oz Port Raisin Reduction at 10 min

3.4 L Starter of Wyeast 1762 Belgian Abbey Ale II

Mash at 150 for 60 minutes no mashout.

For this recipe I was looking to build off of the Tomme Arthur Dubbel, from Brew Like a Monk, that I brewed around this time last year. Tomme’s recipe calls for the inclusion of raisins at the rate of roughly 4 oz per 5 gallons.  For my Winter Dubbel I took to the kitchen the night before brewday to put my own unique spin on the raisin idea.  First I caramelized 9 oz of black raisins in a skillet until dark and brown, then added 1.5 cups of Port, at a ratio of 2 parts port one part oaked port (left over from the Kate the Great Clone Recipe) and did a port reduction.  After the port was almost completely reduced I poured the raisins and remaining port into the blender and pureed in a blender.

I decided to use corn sugar in lieu of the style defining Belgian candi sugar/syrup as I had purchased a 5lb bag for bottling prior to switching over to a keg setup. After some quick research I decided it would not effect the beer negatively and I could finally start to get rid of some of the huge bag of sugar. The addition of the raisin puree also added some of the color that would have come from any amber Belgian candi addition putting this beer well within the BJCP color guidelines for a Belgian Dubbel.

Recently I came upon this cool map that combines two things that consume a large part of my time, making maps and brewing beer.  The map starts off with the standard beer brewing description and a visual interpretation of the basic formula of the ingredients that constitute a beer.  The map provides spatial information on three of the four main ingredients along with some facts about the production of each. Below the map is a pictogram depicting worldwide hop production by Country.

I think this map is very well done as it very easy to visualize each ingredient of the beer and where they comes from within the Country.  The layout of the graphic strikes a fine balance of color, cartography, and information making for an easy to read, polished looking product.

After taking a look closer at the map of America’s beershed  three things struck me as interesting.  First, while I knew that Oregon and Washington were responsible for a large percentage of American hop production, I was always under the impression that Idaho had large swaths of land dedicated to growing the crop as well.  I associated Idaho with highly mechanized hop operations in support of the Big Three’s beer production.  While this maybe the case based upon this map it appears the growing areas in Idaho are far smaller and much more concentrated than I ever imagined.

The second thing that struck me as somewhat odd was the lack of any malting plants east of the Mississippi. While its clear the large majority of the barley is grown out west, specifically the Northern Plains and the Pacific Northwest regions, one would think based on the map there is enough local barley production to warrant a malting plant in the Mid Atlantic region.  Furthermore from a distribution and logistics standpoint there would seem to be a need to be closer to the large amount of breweries located up and down the east coast.

Lastly I never knew that China was responsible for producing such a large percentage of the worldwide hop supply.  While many of us have brewed with German, American, or other European hops I would venture to bet many have never brewed with Chinese hops.  I find it strange that Chinese hops constitute 14% of the worldwide supply yet I have never seen them available for purchase, mentioned in any recipes,  and after spending sometime searching the internet, it appears there is little to no information available on Chinese hop varieties and associated flavor characteristics.  Oddly enough in this months BYO issue there is an article about the homebrewing movement in China and one of the provided recipes mentions the use of the Xinjiang hop.

This beer was my entry into the second annual Farmers Cabinet Iron Brewer competition scheduled for October 14th. Unfortunately due to reasons that were never really explained the competition was canceled this year. I am not the biggest fan of homebrewing competitions in general but based upon my amazing experience at last years event, and the unique contest format that promotes creativity and experimentation I was deeply disappointed with the events cancellation.

With that being said the main thing that I took away from the first Iron Brewer competition was the beers that made it the farthest were the beers that highlighted the secret ingredient with the most prominence yet balance of background flavors. This knowledge influenced my approach to my entry as I had no prior experience brewing with tamarind nor had I ever tasted it. After sampling a few of the fruits and doing some preliminary research I decided on a Belgian style beer as the tamarind reminded me of raisins and dates, both of which are commonly used in darker Belgian style beers.

I knew that the beer would have to be somewhat darker in color to support the addition of the dark brown tamarind fruit. I eventually settled on a grain bill made up of Pilsner and Abbey base malts at a ratio of roughly 3:1, and a blend of specialty malts. The Belgian specialty malts provided the color, malt backbone and residual sweetness to support the tamarind addition. Knowing that I wanted the Tamarind to really shine I decided to use both boxes and brew a 5.5 gallon batch. After cleaning the seeds out of the tamarind I was left with roughly 8 oz or half of the total weight of the two boxes.

After a 25 day primary fermentation I bottled the Belgian Table Ale with Tamarind at 2.2 vol CO2. The tasting notes below are from October 16th, after just over a month conditioning in the bottle.

Appearance: Pours a clear brown, when held to the light appears dark copper to red. An initial burst of thin, bubbly, white head rapidly radiates from the center, leaving a thin white ring clinging to the edge of the glass.

Smell: Tamarind dominates the smell.

Taste: As the beer hits the tongue it begins sweet, but a mild level of bitterness quickly overtakes as the dominant flavor profile. The beer finishes with a a strong residual tamarind flavor that lasts for several seconds after the last sip. The hop aromatics are virtually non-existent as the tamarind really dominates the flavor profile.

One of the things I enjoy most about homebrewing is the exchange of ideas and information between fellow brewers, both in person and on online forums dedicated to the hobby.  I personally have taken advantage of fellow brewers willingness to help out on several occasions, whether it be troubleshooting problems, facilitating group buys, or sharing tried and true recipes.  This willingness to share doesn’t always stop at with the amateurs, in fact often times the pros offer advice and more importantly their recipes to some of our favorite beers commercial beers.

This was the case when Luke Purcell, brewer and field quality specialist for Great Lakes Brewing Company, confirmed the recipe for their highly touted Christmas Ale.  I made a few slight alterations to the original recipe which can be found here, based upon what I had at hand.  I added the Golden Promise to round out the 2-Row and used Styrian Goldings as a substitute for Hallertauer and Columbus for the Cascades called for in the orignial recipe.

Batch Size: 11 Gallons
Original Gravity: 1.077
Est. Final Gravity: 1.015
Est. ABV: 8.3%
IBU: 37.1
Color: 12.7 SRM
Boil Time: 60 Min

66.6% 2-Row
11.3% Golden Promise
7.5% Crystal 45
7.5% Wheat Malt
1.9% Special Roast
.1% Roasted Barley

3 Oz Styrian Goldings (5.5% AA) at 60 min
1 Oz Columbus (12.8% AA) at 10 min
1 Oz Columbus (12.8% AA) at 15 min
6 Cinnamon Sticks at 5 min
2 Oz Fresh Ginger (peeled, cubed, and crushed) at 5 min
2 lbs 12 Oz Clover Honey at 5 min

3.94 L Starter of Wyeast 1028 London Ale Yeast

Mash at 154 for 60 minutes raise to 165 for 10 min mashout.

As the days grow shorter and the seasonal taps begin to rotate from light to dark at your local pub, barrel aged beers will surely begin to appear.  Big beers aged in old bourbon, wine, or other spirt barrels have become a staple of many of the major craft brewery’s beer portfolios.

As the craft beer movement continues to evolve in America, so do the connoisseurs palates.  Barrel aging provides another level of complexity to what are already sophisticated beers, sure to satisfy even the biggest beer geeks desires.

Oak is chalk full of aromatics that can add additional flavors including vanilla, clove, coconut, coffee and chocolate to name a few.  Additional variables in the barrel aging process include the type of Oak (American, French, Hungarian), toast type, and duration in the barrel, all of which play an important role in the final flavor of the beer.  This is where the fun, as well as the craft, come into making these beers.

While there is no doubt the creation of a well brewed barrel aged beer is a labor of love, the creation of the barrel itself is often overlooked and very much the same.  I recently came across this wonderfully filmed video called “Birth of a Barrel” that chronicles the creation of the barrels used at the Jack Daniels distillery. This beautifully filmed clip opened my eyes to the work involved in creating the barrels that contribute the complex flavors to some of my favorite beers.

Appearance: Golden Yellow. Massive white head, dissipates slowly leaving a subtle lacing lining the glass.

Smell: Lemon, orange, and pine scents accentuate the dominating aroma of crushed wheat.

Taste: Initial carb bite transitions nicely to a subtle sweetness. The sweetness melds into an in your face wheat flavored punch. This beer finishes with a medley of hop bitterness, notes of citrus, and pepper that quickly cuts through the wheat flavors leaving the palate with a clean crisp finish.

Mouthfeel: Highly carbonated, dry, grainy.

Drinkability & Notes: This is one of my favorite beers I have brewed to date. In my mind it strikes the perfect balance of the flavors I enjoy most in beers, those being citrus, wheat, and Belgian yeast aromatics.  I toned down the spice additions significantly in this recipe and the balance is evident, with no one spice outshining the other. This beer is best served young, I kegged after a one-week primary fermentation, and at two weeks the wheat flavors are already showing signs of fading.

Batch Size: 10 Gallons
Original Gravity: 1.060
Estimated Final Gravity: 1.010
ABV: 6.6%
IBU: 49.9
Color: 10.3 SRM
Boil Time: 75 Min

68.2% Pilsner Malt
18.2% Wheat Malt
10.3% Vienna Malt
2.9% Special B Malt
.5% Caramunich II Malt

1 Oz Columbus (12.8% AA) at 60 min
1 Oz Styrian Goldings (5.5% AA) at 20 min
.25 Oz Columbus (12.8% AA) at 20 min
1 Oz Styrian Goldings (5.5% AA) at 10 min
.5 Oz Columbus (12.8% AA) at 10 min
1 Oz Styrian Goldings (5.5% AA) at 5 min
.5 Oz Columbus (12.8% AA) at 5 min
.5 Oz Cita (13.4% AA) at 5 min

2.56L Starter of White Labs 568 Belgian Style Saison Blend

Mash at 147 for 60 minutes raise to 165 for 10 min mashout.

This is my entry for the second annual Farmers Cabinet Iron Brewer Competition.

Batch Size: 5.5 Gallons
Original Gravity: 1.048
Final Gravity: 1.024
ABV: 3.1%
IBU: 36.4
Color: 13.1 SRM
Boil Time: 60 Min

66.9% Pilsner Malt
21.3% Abbey Malt
4.3% Carvienna Malt
2.8% Cara Pils
2.1% Caramunich
1.5% Special B Malt
1.1% Chocolate Malt

.77 Oz Magnum (14.10% AA) at 60 min
1.25 Oz Tettnang (4% AA) at 15 min
1.25 Oz Corriander at 10 min
8 Oz De-seeded Tamarind at 5 min

1.14 L Starter of Wyeast 1726 Belgian Abbey II Yeast

Mash at 154 for 60 minutes raise to 165 for 10 min mashout.

More info on the Iron Brewer Competition:

We will be releasing the secret ingredient for our 2nd Iron Homebrew contest which will take place in the Fall! We had a great response last time and hope to make the event even bigger and better this year. Swing by today to grab the secret ingredient.We will have a collab beer on tap made with Terry and the winner of last year’s competition.

The Iron Homebrew competition is an event that puts homebrewers in a head to head competition against Terry Hawbaker, the brewer at our brewery, Cabinet Artisanal Brewhouse. There are no guidelines except to use the secret ingredient in the beer, and it will be judged based upon how it is used.

Tis the season……