Batch #178 - Amarillo Amber Ale

Here's to the final batch of homebrew for 2017, making 14 batches for the year, totaling 121 gallons, with around 24 gallons, from four different batches, bottled and carried to Ontario, for March and Kyle's wedding in September.  That's a record for me, most I've brewed in a year since I started, in January of 1999.  I'm still considerably below my legal limit of 200 gallons, toward which I'd have to brew around 23 times per year, using my current system.

This amber ale was brewed with all Amarillo Hops, so I am celebrating with a label depicting "cadillac ranch", a 1970's art project located outside of the Texas town, since then having acquired plenty of graffiti, memorializing and evolving the installation into the future, while keeping it current with the present.

Happy New Year, Everyone!

MT

Batch #177 - Random Amber Ale

Just sweeping out the grain bin before re-stocking for winter brewing, here's a simple Amber Ale, second to last outdoor brew of the year:

Basalt CO town water
2-Row Barley base malt
2-Row Barley chocolate malt
Simcoe whole leaf hops AA: 13.0%
Irish Moss
Saffbrew S-33 ale yeast

Stay warm,
Cheers!

Batch #176 - Ruby Red Porter

In the north country, at the end of every growing season comes a frost.  So it is at the end of a Life well lived.  Here's to my brave Big Sister Kathleen, eldest of nine, protector of all who came after her, leaves a large void in our family, and a room in my heart, full of wonderful memories.  Here's to You, Sis, until we meet again.

Basalt Colorado city water
2-Row Barley malt
2-Row Chocolate malt
Cascade whole leaf hops
Amarillo whole leaf hops
Irish Moss
Saffbrew T-58 Ale Yeast

Batch #175 - Cascade Red Ale - October 2017

A simple ale, made with only a few ingredients:

Proximity 2-row base malt
Crystal 150 malted barley
Cascade leaf hops
Irish Moss
Saffbrew S-33 yeast

6.0% abv

Here's to You!
MT

Batch #174 - Belgian Abbey Ale - September 2017

This ale was labeled to celebrate "after the rain dance", the morning after March and Kyle's wedding.  While we cleaned up the grounds after late night dancing under the big tent, DJ'd by our Masterful nephew Sam Kisaka, someone stacked some of the many umbrellas used during the deluge the night before, out to dry in the morning sun.  The actual band hired to facilitate the dancing by the swimming pool, was rained out during their encore song, so may of these umbrellas were used to shield their equipment while we helped them pack it up.  Meanwhile, Sam plugged his phone into the PA system, inside the dinner tent, and kicked the evening back into dancetime, for another 3 hours.  I think the bartenders weren't too happy that their services were still needed, but the party went on into the wee hours.

Proximity base malt
2-Row Carapils malt
Caramunich malt
Amarillo leaf hops
Simcoe leaf hops
Saffbrew BE-256 Abbey Ale yeast
5.5% abv

To Rain!
MT

Batch #173 - Session Red Ale - August 2017

Sorry, there's no label for this "Session Red Ale", because I brewed it just for kegging, giving, and enjoying with family and friends:

2-Row Brewers Base malted barley
2-Row Carapils malted barley
Crystal 60L malted barley
Caramel 40L malted barley
Simcoe whole leaf hops
US Tettnang whole leaf hops
Saffbrew T-58 yeast
4.5% abv

Batch #172 - Summer IPA - July 2017

Back to brewing for my own use, and for gifting to others, this is an IPA brewed in my garden, in full, abundant Summer fruiting season.

2-Row brewers malted barley
More Beer's "Aromatic Malt"
Amarillo whole leaf hops
Irish moss
Safale US-05 yeast

6.4% abv

To Summer gardens!
MT

Batch #171 - Belgian Saison Ale

Fourth and final wedding beer batch, one of my favorite beer styles, a Belgian Saison, otherwise known as a "farmhouse ale":

2-Row brewers malted barley
Dark Munich malted barley
Caramel malt 80L
Cascade whole leaf hops
Simco whole leaf hops
Irish Moss
Lallemand Belle Saison yeast

6.25% abv

To Farms!
MT

Batch #170 - Stout

The third batch of wedding ale also aspired to a slightly higher alcohol level, and a rich taste of "chocolate malt", which is simply malted barley, roasted to a chocolate color, but it is a very special barley, which actually imparts a distinctly chocolate flavor.

Brewers base malted barley
Crystal 120L malted barley
2-Row Chocolate malt
80L Caramel malt
Cascade whole leaf hops
Mangrove Jack M42 New World Strong Ale yeast

7.0% abv

To Life!
MT

Batch #169 - Rye Pale Ale

Here is the second Wedding Ale batch, a Rye Pale Ale, brewed for the lovers of a slightly higher alcohol ale:

2-Row barley malt
Rye malt
Caramel malted barley
Cascade whole leaf hops
Centennial whole leaf hops
Irish moss
Saffbrew BE-256 Ale yeast

7.25% abv

Salute'!
MT

Batch #168 - Nut Brown Ale

Here begins the Wedding Beer, for March and Kyle's wedding in Annan, Ontario, celebrated on Saturday, September 2.  This is the first of four batches brewed for the event.

Nut Brown Ale
2-Row malted barley
English brown malt
Belgian special B malt
US Tettnang whole leaf hops
Northern Brewer whole leaf hops
Irish moss
Lallemand Abbaye Belgian Ale yeast

5.25% abv

Cheers!
MT

Batch #167 ~ Belgian Saison Farmhouse Ale

This homebrew was made primarily for the Spring Homebrewers Ball, this year serving to benefit the River Bridge Regional Center, with a 5-gallon keg.  The other 5 gallons went into two small kegs, to get us through the next three batches, all getting bottled for March's wedding at the end of this Summer.

2-Row Barley Malt
Bonlander Munich Malt
Maris Otter Malt
German Hallertau whole leaf hops
Citra shole leaf hops
Irish Moss
Lallemand Belle Saison dry yeast

I used a photo of my favorite farmer, Jerome Osentowski, founder of the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute, since Belgian Saison is usually known as a "farmhouse ale".

Cheers!

Batch #166 ~ Desert Dry Stout

One last experiment with Juniper Berries, before I leave the rest of the berries in the freezer for awhile, a dry stout brewed in February and bottled in March.

Pale Ale Barley Malt (whole grain, milled right before mashing)
2-Row Chocolate Malt ( " )
Maris Otter Malt
US Golding whole leaf hops
Citra whole leaf hops
Juniper berries
Irish Moss
Lallemand Nottingham dry yeast
organic cane sugar for bottling

I poached this photo of a Burning Man kinetic sculpture, a Pennyfarthing Tricycle, shot at dusk by an anonymous photographer.  I capped and labeled 48 12-oz bottles of this homebrewed stout, and as usual, I will save four bottles for at least a year, in case the photographer or the scultptor sends me a higher resolution photo as proof.  I will find a way to get those four bottles to them, in appreciation for a beautiful evening image at Burning Man in the Nevada desert.

Batch #165 - Juniper Brown Ale

"Slow Down Juniper Brown Ale" is another chapter in the juniper berry series, this time labeled to celebrate the "Slow Money" network, and our local chapter, the "2Forks Club", making zero-interest loans to local farmers and food entrepreneurs.  The local food revolution is underway, and we're all doing our parts to bring our food production and processing back, closer to home, to keep our resources within our communities, to regenerate our soil and our health.  This homebrew is also dedicated to the "Gift Economy", which advocates gifts of homebrew to like-minded friends, and gratitude for gifts given to me.  Just say NO THANK YOU to currency.

Rahr 2-Row malted barley
Dark Munich malt
Breiss Chocolate malt
US Golding whole leaf hops
Columbus whole leaf hops
Juniper berries
Saffbrew S-33 dry yeast
organic cane sugar for bottling

Brewed 2017.Jan.15

Batch #164 - Juniper Pale Ale

Beginning again to experiment with dried Juniper Berries as a bittering agent in addition to hops, this pale ale came out nicely.  Since the winning beer label from the "guest label contest" at the 2016 "Homebrewers Ball" (held in November to benefit Fat City Farmers and the "How We Grow" documentary film about our new young local farmers), was for a "frustrated farmer pale ale" label, designed by farmer Harper Kaufman, I asked her if she would like her prize to be a case of this juniper-infused pale ale, and she readily agreed.  A small reward for her monumental efforts to feed us!

Rahr 2-row malted barley
Abbey malt
Northern Brewer whole leaf hops
Juniper berries, dried
Saffbrew T-58 dry yeast
organic cane sugar for bottling

Brewed 2016.Nov.12

Batch #163 - Smoked Pumpkin Ale

Smoking and roasting an organic pumpkin given to me by Whitney Will of Roaring Gardens Greenhouse and Gardens, on my Big Green Egg roaster, I carved the flesh from the pumpkin and boiled it in the beer wort for 30 minutes, when I brewed the next day.  In hindsight, I should have boiled the pumpkin for only the last 15 minutes instead of 30, because it came out a bit "over-smoked", in my view.  However, many of my homebrew fans disagreed.  After aging the bottles for a few months, it has settled into a nice, though powerful, smoky beer.

Rahr Pale Ale malted barley
Dark Munich malt
English Brown malt
Crystal 120L malt
Columbus whole leaf hops
Centennial whole leaf hops
Safale S-04 dry yeast
organic cane sugar for bottling

Brewed 2016.Oct.15

Batch #162 - Habanero Red Ale

Celebrating a collaborative school greenhouse project, between Fat City Farmers, Co-Studio, the Basalt High School shop class, the Middle School science class and the Wrestling teams from High School and Middle School in Basalt Colorado.  Looking forward to seeing these youngsters develop a keen sense of building and growing!

2-row barley malt
"extra-special malt"
"crystal 120L malt
Cascade whole leaf hops
Saffbrew S-33 yeast
organic cane sugar

Brewed 2016.Sep.25