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Northern Brewer Zombie Dirt Clone Tasting and Review

I had a lot of concerns with this in the first week after it was bottled. There was a cloying sweetness in the background that was unpleasant. Having never used Munich malt before I can only assume that was what the sweetness was. Over the following weeks the sweetness began to fade. The overall malt flavor came up. The hop aroma and flavor became more pronounced. After 3 weeks in the bottle the aroma had matured to the pine forest level I describe in the video. The same also applies to the pine flavor.

This turned out to be a great beer that I will definitely be brewing again.


You can view the full brew day video for this one here.

Tasting Notes

  • Color and Appearance
    • Medium Amber
    • Slightly Hazy
    • Good rocky head retention
    • Fast rising carbonation
  • Aroma
    • Pine and spruce with hints of citrus
    • Low to medium malt
    • Grapefruit esters
  • Flavor
    • No detectable alcohol
    • Pine with hints of grapefruit
    • Moderate to aggressive bitterness
    • Medium malt
  • Mouth Feel
    • Low to no astringency
    • Medium body
    • Full carbonation
    • Medium finish

Music:
The Waster
Scott Buckley
http://www.scottbuckley.com.au/

Updated 4/1/18 09:03 AM. A previous version of this story referenced honey malt when it should have been Munich malt.

15 Minute Kitchen Sink Hoppy Wheat Tasting and Review

This one comes down to me not liking WB-06 yeast. It leaves a really strong hefeweizen flavor that I just don’t enjoy. The beer on it’s own isn’t bad. It came out exactly how I would expect for an extract brew. Very clear and middle-of-the-road. There’s nothing special going on with this. I’ll make other extract brews in the future. Just not with WB-06.


Check out the brew day for this one to view the recipe and additional details.

Music:
I Need
Jahzar
https://www.jamendo.com/artist/348998/jahzzar

Brewing an Irish Inspired Red Rye Ale – Tormund’s Finest Ale

This recipe is a combination of several different ones. I started with a standard Irish red ale recipe from BYO Magazine. That gave me a good idea what malt I would be looking for. I knew I wanted to try something other than 2-row or pilsner malt. Settling on Maris Otter I had to figure out how much Rye to add. Bear Republic brews Hop Rod Rye with 18% Rye. I had a target ABV and rough percents. I plugged everything in to the recipe calculator. Made adjustments as needed. The result is Tormund’s Finest Ale.

The hops for this recipe are the ones I had on hand. They are also the ones that will be going into the next All-Grain batch of Highgarden Wit

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
6 gal 60 min 31.6 IBUs 18.0 SRM 1.055 1.015 5.2 %
Actuals 1.058 1.01 6.3 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Pale Malt, Maris Otter 10.5 lbs 73.04
Rye Malt 3 lbs 20.87
Roasted Barley 8 oz 3.48
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 90L 6 oz 2.61

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Hallertauer Mittelfrueh 0.5 oz 60 min First Wort Pellet 4
Sterling 0.5 oz 60 min First Wort Pellet 7.5
Hallertauer Mittelfrueh 0.5 oz 20 min Boil Pellet 4
Sterling 0.5 oz 20 min Boil Pellet 7.5

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) 2.00 tsp 60 min Mash Water Agent
Whirlfloc Tablet 1.00 Items 15 min Boil Fining

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
Irish Ale Yeast (WLP004) White Labs 72% 65°F - 68°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 153°F 60 min

Fermentation

Step Time Temperature
Primary 14 days 67°F
Aging 30 days 65°F

Download

Download this recipe's BeerXML file

Music:
Origins
Jahzar
https://www.jamendo.com/artist/348998/jahzzar