What better way to spend Presidents Day than to exercise a right that was granted by Jimmy Carter; the right to brew beer at home. Having just returned from the Belgian Beer Festival at Max’s Taphouse in Baltimore, I was looking forward to brewing one of my tripel recipes. Logic, however, got the best of me and I decided to brew a couple of batches that would be ready to put on tap in a small amount of time. The problem with going so long between brew days is that the taps tend to dry out. With St. Patty’s Day approaching I figured I needed to get a few things on tap.

Batch 1 was one of my common house recipes: West Coast Pale Ale #4. This one is a bit thinner and lower alcohol than my Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone. It has a nice strong hop character, provided by the Mt. Hood and Chinook hops. The beautiful golden color and moderate head retention make this one a very tasty looking brew in the glass. When it’s ready, I will post some pictures, naturally. The recipe is a simple one. 90% 2 row pale (Great Western) and 10% Crystal 15. Bittering is done with Chinook, with the flavoring and aromatic aspects coming from Mt. Hood. I use a neic thin single infusion mash that works quite well for this style. Fermentis Safeale US-05 is used to minimize diacetyl and give it a nice crisp finish and a slightly fruity character.

Update 26FEB08: This one was kegged on Monday night.  The alcohol came in at right about 5%, as expected.  This is a very tasty, light bodied west coast pale ale that should make an excellent session beer for those who like a beer on the hoppy side.

Batch 2 was a variation of my English Brown Ale recipe. This one is a medium bodied, slightly nutty ale with a deep brown color and medium head retention. Goldings are used for bittering and a combination of Perle and Fuggles are used for both flavoring and aromatic. The grain bill is a simple one: 30% 2 row pale (Great Western), 60% Marris Otter, 8% Crystal 15, 2% Chocolate Malt. Fermentis Safeale S-04 is used to ferment this beer. This English ale yeast is smooth, clean and highly flocculent. Fermentation of this recipe generally takes 3-5 days, with the bulk of the fermentation finishing in the first 36 hours.

Update 26FEB08: This beer was kegged on Monday night.  The color, aroma and flavor are outstanding.  My wife loves this style, and this is one of her favorite recipes.  She insisted on having a glass of it during the transfer to the keg.  This one is going to be an excellent session beer, and is about 4.5% alcohol.  I plan to serve this one slightly under carbonated and a wee bit warmer.

I’ll post again when I keg these guys.