Brewing Around the Realm

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Tavour Unboxing May 2018

I first heard about Tavour from Basic Brewing Radio while listening to their November 16, 2017 episode. I signed up and then and thought about it or a while. Did I really want to order beer over the course of a month and then have it shipped here from Seattle. The distance from my location in York Pa to Seattle is 2,742 miles. I’ve driven across the U.S. several times. I know the travel time is about 5 days. Did I really want my beer to sit on a truck for 5+ days? There’s no expedited shipping option.


At the start of April 2018 I decided to jump in. I would try it for a month. Shipping is a flat rate of $14.90. That meant I needed to purchase at least 30 cans or bottles to make it worth wild. Over the course of the month I purchased 17 different beers. 31 cans total.

I stuck to IPA’s and pilsners. Beers I know I like. I was surprised by the selection. Tavour has something for everyone. From rare stouts and porters to one-off colab IPA’s and anniversary beers.

Its going to take me several weeks to get throughout all of the beers I purchased in this case. I look forward to purchasing another cases in a few months.

Tavour as described on their site:

We’re not a beer of the month club. You only pay for the beer you want, and you have control over when it ships to you. To access our lineup of delicious members-only beers, download our Tavour app on iOS or Android. You can also create an account on tavour.com before downloading our app.

Beers Purchased:

Bale Breaker – Bottomcutter
BuckleDown Brewing – Citra Clencher (2018)
Three Magnets Brewing Co – Sasquatch Snax
Fremont – Parkland Pils
Upslope Brewing Company – Experimental IPA
Anchorage Brewing Company – Within Us
Fremont – The Sister
Evil Twin – Molotov Heavy
Due South Brewing Co – Oaked Category 5
Matchless Brewing – 9th Cloud (Hazy IPA)
Three Magnets Brewing Co – OJuice DIPA
Wildcard Brewing Company – Even Year Tropical IPA
Evil Twin – I’ve Always Felt Closer to IPAs Than to People
Gun Hill Brewing Company – Chain of Command
Bale Breaker – Fresh Off the Farm (5th Anniversary Edition)
Martin House Brewery – Big Hoppa IPA
Urban Family Brewing – Mage Fight

Help out by signing up with Tavour. Save $10 on your next beer purchase.
https://www.tavour.com/?invitedby=276243

Follow me on Untappd
https://untappd.com/user/Bitterresentful

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

Brewing a Belgian Dubbel with WLP611 – New Nordic Yeast Blend

I first heard about the White Labs Yeast Vault back in September of 2017 from the Brew Dudes. At that time I ordered several different yeast strains, including WLP611. The first strain I received was WLP066 which I used in the Sherman’s Planet IPA recipe.

WLP611 as described by White Labs

Isolated from spontaneously fermented apples on a remote island off the coast of Denmark in the fall of 2009, this culture is a unique blend of three yeast strains (two belonging to Saccharomyces cerevisiae and one Torulaspora delbrueckii).

My original thought on a brew for this yeast was to brew a traditional Finnish Farmhouse Ale. It is unbelievably hard to find juniper branches. A main ingredient in the boil for a Finnish Sahti/Farmhouse Ale. At least I couldn’t ind them any where around central Pennsylvania in April. I settled on a Belgian Dubbel. I had been wanting to brew with Belgian candy syrup for a while. And I felt the style would lend itself to the originating nature of the yeast.


The recipe below references WLP500, Monastery/Trappist Ale yeast.  I picked that up when I purchased the grain. I was not sure the delivery from White labs was going to arrive in time.

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
5 gal 60 min 21.0 IBUs 24.6 SRM 1.074 1.010 8.4 %
Actuals 1.073 1.013 7.9 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Pale Malt, Maris Otter 5 lbs 35.4
Pilsner (2 Row) Bel 4 lbs 28.32
Munich Malt - 10L 1 lbs 7.08
Victory Malt 1 lbs 7.08
Wheat Malt, Bel 1 lbs 7.08
Cara-Pils/Dextrine 8 oz 3.54
Special B Malt 8 oz 3.54
Black (Patent) Malt 2 oz 0.88
Candi Sugar, Dark 1 lbs 7.08

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Hallertauer Mittelfrueh 1 oz 60 min First Wort Pellet 4.4
Hallertauer Mittelfrueh 0.5 oz 20 min Boil Pellet 4.4

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
Trappist Ale (WLP500) White Labs 78% 65°F - 72°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 150°F 75 min

Fermentation

Step Time Temperature
Primary 4 days 67°F
Secondary 10 days 67°F
Aging 30 days 65°F

Notes

Originally From: https://beerandbrewing.com/make-your-best-belgian-dubbel/

Download

Download this recipe's BeerXML file

Help out by signing up with Tavour to save $10 on your next unique craft beer purchase.
https://brewingaroundtherealm.com/tavour

Music By:
Scott Buckley
Homeward
http://www.scottbuckley.com.au/

Tormund’s Finest Ale Tasting and Review – An Irish Red Rye

Brewing with rye and roasted barley was a gamble. I had never brewed with either grain till now. It was a gamble that paid off. The roasted barley added a pleasant smoky/toasted aroma and flavor. Adding the rye provided a slight fruity flavor that is a compliment to the malty backbone.

I liked this one enough that it is going to make it in to the regular rotation.


The full brew day video for this beer is located here.

Tasting Notes

  • Color and Appearance
    • Reddish Brown
    • Clear
    • Good smooth/creamy head retention
    • No visible carbonation
  • Aroma
    • Toasty, roasty.
    • Medium malt
    • Smoky
  • Flavor
    • No detectable alcohol
    • No hop flavor
    • Fruity, smoky, toasty
    • Medium malt
  • Mouth Feel
    • Low astringency
    • Medium body
    • Low carbonation
    • Medium finish

Help out by signing up with Tavour. Save $10 on your next beer purchase.
https://www.tavour.com/?invitedby=276243

Find this beer on Untappd
https://untappd.com/b/brewing-around-the-realm-tormund-s-finest-ale/2593225

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

Bringing all of the Hops to the table – Oldtown Standard IPA Brew Day

Purchasing hops in bulk is the only way to go. It’s cheaper in the long run. It come with one downside. You end up with more hops than you can use in the recipe you purchased them for. You can vacuum seal them and store them in the freezer. They don’t’ last forever. The only option is to brew up a big IPA.


I came up with this recipe after looking at several of my older ones. Knowing I wanted something lighter in color I used the Blizzard of Hops recipe as a start.. That gave me pilsner as a base. I liked the Munich from the Zombie Dirt recipe. Having not used Vienna, I wanted to get some of that in there. An IPA needs some crystal malt. I settled on crystal 40. A little research gave me the correct amounts.

The Hop profile is based mostly on the Blizzard of Hops recipe with influence from the Sherman’s Planet recipe.

I picked Burlington Ale Yeast (WLP095) because it was available at my LHBS. Though I would have selected  WLP001 if I had not seen anything else I liked.

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
6 gal 60 min 71.9 IBUs 6.4 SRM 1.060 1.017 5.7 %
Actuals 1.059 1.01 6.4 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Pilsner - US 11 lbs 78.57
Vienna - US 1.5 lbs 10.71
Crystal 40L - CA 12 oz 5.36
Munich Light - DE 12 oz 5.36

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Idaho Seven 1 oz 60 min First Wort Pellet 11
HopShot 0 oz 60 min Boil CO2Extract 8
Chinook 1 oz 20 min Boil Leaf 13
Centennial 1 oz 10 min Boil Pellet 10.5
Centennial 1 oz 0 min Aroma Pellet 10.5
Chinook 1 oz 0 min Aroma Leaf 13
Idaho Seven 0.5 oz 0 min Aroma Pellet 11
Centennial 2 oz 5 days Dry Hop Pellet 10.5
Chinook 2 oz 5 days Dry Hop Leaf 13

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Baking Soda 1.00 tsp 60 min Mash Water Agent
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) 1.00 tsp 60 min Boil Water Agent
Whirlfloc Tablet 1.20 Items 15 min Boil Fining
Yeast Nutrient 5.00 tsp 15 min Boil Other

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
White Labs California Ale WLP001 70% 64°F - 69°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 152°F 60 min

Fermentation

Step Time Temperature
Primary 10 days 65°F
Secondary 10 days 65°F
Aging 7 days 65°F

Download

Download this recipe's BeerXML file

Help out by signing up with Tavour and save $10 on your net beer purchase.

https://www.tavour.com/?invitedby=276243

Music:
Concerning Hobbits
Scott Buckley
http://www.scottbuckley.com.au/

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.