I’ve decided to ask the (very) small reader population help me pick one of the two beers I will brew in my next brew session.  I’m open to any kind of beer, and if you don’t know beer styles that well but you have a commercial favorite, just use the commercial name.  What I’m asking you all to do is add a comment with one or two beers in it.  In a week or so I’ll choose the most popular one, get whatever grains, hops, etc. I don’t already have on hand, and brew it.

I’m looking forward to your suggestions.

While brewing this weekend, I took some time to tidy up my garage a bit.  In the process of doing so, I came across some fruit juice that I had purchased awhile back to make a cider.  Given that I recently acquired a few 2.5 gallon soda kegs I figured I may as well brew up a 2 gallon batch in a keg.  After cleaning and sanitizing the keg I added 2 gallons of blackberry juice (preservative free, of course), a bit of pH stabilizer, and a few trace elements for the yeast to munch on along with the sugars in the juice.  I pitched some dry english ale yeast that I had floating around (wanted to try something other than my standard few options for ciders: english cider yeast, white wine yeast, champagne yeast).  I am going for a bit more complex, medium-bodied sparkling fruit cider.  I got blowoff tube activity within a couple of hours and the fermentation is quite intense right now.  I have no idea how long this one will take, but I plan to keep a close eye on it.

Saturday’s second brew was one that I have been meaning to brew for quite some time now. The goal: to modify my standard imperial stout recipe slightly to make it darker and just a bit more complex. The changes: use a bit more black patent, a tiny bit more chocolate malt, and a bit of rye. I also changed my hop schedule a bit.

The wort from this beer is as dark as any I have ever made, with just enough hops on the nose and a very heavy, rich malty flavor. Notes of coffee, chocolate and rye are all apparent, and seem to be well-balanced. I’m quite happy with how this turned out.

Fermentation will be performed by two yeasts: one of my tried and true english ale yeasts, followed by the addition on day three of a scottish ale yeast that has been conditioned to handle a bit higher alcohol conditions. Expected fermentation time: Primary: 10 days at 68 degrees F. Secondary: 15 days at 68 degrees F. This beer will be kegged for force carbonation after secondary fermentation. During kegging, a vanilla bean that has been soaking in rye whiskey for two weeks will be added to each 5 gallon keg. This will be the first beer served on my new stout tap and beer gas setup. I can’t wait!

Expected alcohol content: ~10% abv, depending on how well the scottish ale yeast can handle their liquor

It should also be noted that this beer is technically an imperial porter, due to the amount of bitterness coming from black malts, rather than hops. Stouts and porters have a long, intertwined history and the terms are often used interchangeably (as I have done with this one). I guess I’m not a purist when it comes to beer styles and nomenclature.

Update 29OCT07:

This beer has been very popular on tap at the house. It’s so exciting to have a nitrogen/beer gas setup at home. This is the creamiest, tastiest stout I have ever made. It is decent in the bottle, but it is MUCH better on draught. My good friend John got married recently and I set up a couple of taps for his family in the house they rented. This beer was on tap over there and was quite a hit. They managed to polish off close to 4 gallons of it during the weekend, as well as a good amount of the pluot pale ale. Cheers, John!

In an effort to recover from the 50+ gallons consumed at the USGP in Laguna Seca, I brewed two batches this weekend. Unfortunately, I didn’t have access to a camera at the time so I don’t have pics. The first of two batches brewed was a Pluot Pale Ale.

Pluot Pale Ale

Having picked-up some locally grown pluots at the Pacifica Farmer’s Market, I set off to brew a variation on my apricot ale that was so popular a couple of years back. Below is a basic description of the recipe, without getting too specific (of course).

The resulting wort was a beautifully rich golden color, with a slight hop aroma and excellent. Fermentis US-05 yeast was used, to add to the light, fruity nature of this beer, and irish moss was used to reduce the haziness somewhat, although it will still be a bit hazy due to the fruit and the wheat.

Fermentation began within 2 hours, and the blowoff tube has been spewing out a strong, steady stream of CO2 for the past two and a half days. Expected primary fermentation time: 10 days. Secondary/settling: N/A. This beer will be transferred directly to kegs for force carbonation after the primary fermentation is complete. Expected alcohol content: 4.5% abv (based on history with similar recipes).

Update 29OCT07:

This beer turned out quite well.  Pluots don’t have a ton of flavor, so the fruit profile is quite delicate, but is certainly present.  Five gallons of this went to my new friend Keith’s house, and was polished off in record time.  I have a couple of gallons remaining on tap at home, but I don’t expect it to last too long.

Michael Jackson (the REAL Michael Jackson) died today.  We will miss you, sir.  You were truly and icon and an ambassador for the brewing world.  Rest in peace.