Reality Flattener Double IPA

Date: June 13th, 2008
Style: Double IPA
Source: N/A
Volume: 4 Gallons (5)

Grains:

• 1.5 lb Munich (8.3L)
• 0.5 lb Caramel (60L)

Extract:

• 9 lb Muntons Light DME
  

Hops:

• 60 min - 1 oz Centennial (9.9% AA)
• 60 min - 1 oz Columbus (12.2% AA)
• 20 min - 0.5 oz Centennial (9.9% AA)
• 20 min - 0.5 oz Columbus (12.2% AA)
• 10 min - 0.5 oz Centennial (9.9% AA)
• 10 min - 0.5 oz Columbus (12.2% AA)
• 5 min - 0.5 oz Centennial (9.9% AA)
• 5 min - 0.5 oz Columbus (12.2% AA)
  
• 0 min - 0.5 oz Centennial (9.9% AA)
• 0 min - 0.5 oz Columbus (12.2% AA)
• Dry - 1 oz Centennial
  
• Dry - 1 oz Columbus

Yeast:

• Wyeast #1056 American Ale (from Gumballhead)
  

Other:

• 15 min - 1 tsp Irish moss
  

Notes:

• 6/14/08: Brewed. First five gallon solo brew and somehow it was probably perfectly executed. Weird. Cold pitched the yeast cake from the Gumballhead Clone. Used the oven partial mash method for the second time. Also, after some late night reading, I discovered that some brewing techniques I employed earlier today to make my life easier will probably introduce some level of oxidation to the beer, as I definitely was careless when handling hot wort. I was under the incorrect assumption that oxidation occurred after fermentation due to the goal of aerating for the yeast. This is not worth worrying about right now. Finally, I am trying to keep the temperatures under control over the next week by surrounding the carboy with cool water and ice. Gravity: 1.082, Alcohol: 10.8%, Temperature: 76 F
• 6/16/08: It took forever for the yeast to kick into gear, but finally, after more than 30 hours, this rather large yeast addition is finally starting up. Today was spent freaking out and attempting to aerate the carboy as nothing was occurring. The ice bath finally appears to be working, and cool night time temperatures should help out. A gravity reading was taken during the freak out session to ensure that fermentation was not happening in covert fashion. Gravity: 1.082, Alcohol: 10.8%, Temperature: 70 F
• 6/23/08: Recognized how much of an idiot I am, as I mistook the five gallon carboy for the six gallon carboy. Oops. Planning for blow off, I didn't fill the carboy to the proper limit, and I wrongly assumed that I had brewed a diluted batch of beer when I really could have filled the correct carboy to the exact point without issues. This is not the five gallon batch I was expecting, although I've never had luck with that. Also, a quick sample of this brew was very awesome. I want this to be done right now, but probably another couple weeks of fermenting, plus a couple weeks of dry hopping remain before bottling is an option. Great aroma, taste, and bitterness.
• 6/27/08: Dry hopped beer with above ingredients, which were added in a tied off and sanitized muslin bag. To be removed and bottled in exactly two weeks. Considered racking to a secondary carboy, but since it is already in the five gallon, instead of the six gallon, it will just have to stay where it is at. Gravity: 1.018, Alcohol: 2.3%, Temperature: 74 F
• 7/16/08: Bottled. Did not take gravity reading. Accidentally burned up the priming sugar and was lazy so I used it instead of taking another attempt at boiling the corn sugar. Hopefully this will not impact the carbonation, but it will likely make the beer slightly darker than it should have been.
• 7/27/08: Tragedy. Tried my second bottle of this stuff, and I tasted some oxidation hiding behind the strong hop flavors. Otherwise, this is a pretty great DIPA that could still be improved somehow.
• 8/29/08: Oxidation sucks.
  

Description:
Name is stolen from Matt, but the context is not known. Recipe was concocted with no real idea about the exact impact that Columbus hops will have on taste and aroma, but I read that this pairing of hop varieties can produce a truly awesome IPA. NB Forum members suggested an addition of one or two pounds of Munich, and I think it should transform the wort to a nice reddish tint if, for once, the brew doesn't come out way too dark.

Waves of Grain Mild

Date: May 30th, 2008
Style: Oatmeal/Rye Mild
Source: N/A
Volume: 1 Gallons, 0.8 Gallon w/ Cocoa Powder (2.5)

Grains:

• 2.75 lb Maris Otter (3.5 L)
  
• 0.5 lb Flaked Oats
  
• 0.5 lb Rye (3.5 L)
  
• 0.125 lb Fawcett Chocolate
  
• 0.125 lb Caramel (160 L)

Extract:

• ~1.2 lb Muntons Light DME
  

Hops:

• 60 min - 0.5 oz Cascade (6.2% AA)
  

Yeast:

• Wyeast #1275 Thames Valley
  

Yeast:

• 15 min - 0.5 tsp Irish moss
• Secondary - 1 tbsp cocoa powder
  

Notes:

• 5/30/08: Brewed. Definitely one of my stupidest, and most failed, brew days ever. Apparently this happens only when I brew solo. Either way, broke the hydrometer with epic clumsiness, did not come close with the mash with a gravity of 1.022 and all my spare light DME was thrown into the pot, and I accidentally added a half ounce of hops instead of one third, which might increase the IBUs more than I am comfortable with. Topped off boil with some tap water to bring it all to about 2.5 gallons.
• 6/4/08: Tasted. The beer is still pretty green, so there was something off about it, but otherwise it tasted like a muted brown ale. Possibly noticed the smooth texture from the oatmeal addition, but I am not so sure about the rye. Not too bitter. Entire fermentation has occurred at around 75 F, unfortunately.
• 6/9/08: Bottled approximately half with three Muntons priming tablets each. The remaining half was siphoned to a one gallon jug, and a teaspoon of powdered cocoa was added. This will be bottled in approximately one week. Also, gravity readings were not taken because UPS is worthless. Tasted more bitter than I wanted, as expected, and it was a little fruity, which could be due to the hops, the yeast, and/or the high temperatures.
• 6/11/08: Tested cocoa addition, and there wasn't a noticeable change other than a strange bitterness. I won't add more cocoa to prevent from increasing this bitterness.
• 6/16/08: The oatmeal worked out well, so I have some confidence for an upcoming oatmeal stout. The rye malt makes the flavors of this beer unbalanced and strange. It is like a lighter brown ale with a sharper flavor attempting to jump out into the spotlight. I'm not quite sure what I would do to improve this recipe without removing the rye...
• 6/23/08: Laziness is preventing bottling of the cocoa mild, but a sample reveal that the cocoa flavor has melded much better since the past tasting. The result is likely more balance between the chocolate and sharp rye flavors. There is still also the same weird bitterness remaining after consumption. Kind of metallic...
• 6/27/08: Bottled the cocoa version. Added three priming tablets per bottle. The Muntons carbonation tablets work well, but they tend to leave behind little floating sugar dots in each bottle. Just a little bit annoying, as it can ruin the beer's mouthfeel when consumed. Gravity: 1.012
• 7/20/08: This beer is becoming fairly oxidized.
  

Description:
Name would be more appropriate if brewed for Independence Day, but it also seems fitting for a somewhat all-grain brew. DME will be added if methods do not produce an original gravity of approximately 1.040. I have no idea what I'm doing. Grain bill was created by mixing ingredients from several successful online recipes. Hops were free, so this beer cost under $14 to brew. Blogger needs a strike through font modifier, as most of the above description has changed due to brewing failures.

Ancient Beaver Scotch Ale

Date: May 10th, 2008
Style: Strong Scotch Ale
Source: N/A
Volume: 3 Gallons, 0.5 Gallons Oaked (4)

Grains:

• 2 lb Golden Promise (2 L)
  
• 1 lb Biscuit (24 L)
  
• 0.25 lb Special-B (247 L)
  
• 0.25 lb Chocolate (212 L ?)
  
• 0.125 lb Peated (2.5 L)
  
• 0.125 lb Roasted Barley (550 L)
  

Extract:

• 9.15 lb NB Gold LME

Hops:

• 90 min - 1 oz Fuggle (4.0% AA)
  
• 30 min - 1 oz Fuggle (4.0% AA)
  

Yeast:

• Wyeast #1728 Scottish Ale
  

Notes:

• 5/10/08: Brewed. First original recipe. Prepared yeast starter nearly two days in advance. Largest mini-mash yet. Forgot Irish moss addition, but that's probably alright because this should be a rather dark beer. Whatever. Gravity: 1.107, Alcohol: 14.2%, Temperature: 68 F
  
• 5/11/08: On a whim I decided to soak ~1/2 ounce of French oak cubes in a shot of Jack Daniel's Whiskey. This may be used to create a one gallon "bourbon barrel" experiment later this summer, although that is highly dependent on the quality of this beer as it ferments and matures. The whiskey will also serve as a sanitizer. Also tried to slow skyrocketing fermentation temperatures by placing the six gallon carboy in the eight gallon brew pot and filling the pot with cool water. No ice was available.
• 5/14/08: Confused by the lack of apparent fermentation activity, a hydrometer reading was taken. A strangely quiet fermentation for such a heavy beer. Weird. Initially tasted good and interesting, but was quickly overcome by an unbearable harshness. Gravity: 1.032, Alcohol: 4.2%, Temperature: 72 F
• 6/4/08: This is fermenting way too warm at about 75 F when it would preferably be in the low 60s. Early taste test was pretty nice.
• 6/6/08: Siphoned to three gallon secondary. Filled nearly to the top. Brought to parent's basement to hopefully age at ~70 F instead of nearly 80 F. Also filled most of 2000 mL flask and added approximately a half ounce of oak that has been soaked in Jack Daniels. This will also be aged at my parent's home and the oak will remain for a minimum of one month. There was a high possibility of oxidation during shipment.
• 6/17/08: Tasted the whiskey/oak experiment and it was tasting pretty good. I'm going to leave the cubes in for at least another week, and likely substitute some unflavored cubes in at that time. The regular version is tasting better and better. The peated malt is not standing out, and I am not noticing much smokiness in general. It still tastes a little bit like alcohol, but hopefully that will fade with another month of aging. I'll need to get more yeast for bottling. Gravity: 1.030, Alcohol: 3.9%, Temperature: ???
• 6/25/08: Removed muslin bag of whiskey-soaked oak cubes. Might add unsoaked cubes at a later time to promote more oak in the taste.
• 9/6/08: Oxidation sucks. The whiskey version tastes/smells less oxidized, but something just isn't right about it. The whiskey did add an excellent aroma, and it was not overpowering in the taste, which I like, so, in the future, I will probably strive for a similar addition of whiskey/oak. The beer is a very dark reddish color, and it somehow still has great clarity when held up to a light source. Probably going to dump both down the drain when I feel more motivated. Bottling would be a huge waste of time.
• 1/14/09: Tried the whiskey/oak batch again. I'm writing this from memory, but it tasted strange. Very potent. Very syrupy and sweet. I might try to drink this later because I'm basically broke. Definitely not an optimal recipe and poor brewing practices are also to blame.
  

Description:
Created this recipe by pulling together the ideas of many online/magazine recipes. Recommended to limit peated malt and roasted barley to about two ounces each, and other assorted malts were picked because they simply sounded good at the time. This could be delicious or a monstrosity. To be brewed before Matt leaves for California and completed by the time he returns. Name was created during first or second brew session after too many beers were consumed. Apparently beavers were hunted to extinction in Scotland in the 1600’s, so the name has some relevance to a scotch ale/wee heavy.

Three Floyd's Gumballhead Clone

Date: May 10th, 2008
Style: American Pale Wheat Ale
Source: www.stoutguy.com
Volume: 2.5 Gallons

Grains:

• 0.25 lb CaraVienne (21L)
• 0.125 lb Melanoidin (35L)

Extract:

• 3 lb Briess Wheat DME (60% wheat, 40% barley)
  

Hops:

• 60 min - 0.375 oz Amarillo
  
• 30 min - 0.375 oz Amarillo
  
• 15 min - 0.375 oz Amarillo
  
• 5 min - 0.375 oz Amarillo
  
• Dry - 0.5 oz Amarillo
  

Yeast:

• Wyeast #1056 American Ale

Other:

• 15 min - 0.5 tsp Irish moss
  

Notes:

• 5/10/08: Brewed. No yeast starter prepared. Converted source recipe from all-grain to extract, but the percentage of wheat malt to base malt unfortunately varied from original recipe's 2/3 to 1/3 ratio. Hops were approximately measured out, and the alpha acid percentage was not labeled by the distributer. A cheap scale would probably be a nice purchase at this point. Color will probably be way too dark as usual. Will be great to develop a better understanding of Amarillo hop flavor/aroma. Gravity: 1.053, Alcohol: 6.9%, Temperature: 69 F
• 5/29/08: Dry hopped in sanitized muslin bag. I definitely regret not taking the time to quickly sample it, especially after putting my nose over the carboy and taking in a whiff of amazing hop aroma.
• 6/5/08: Bottled with a half cup of corn sugar, which is slightly more than usual to hopefully help produce a larger head that is similar to the real one...if carbonation even effects that. Tastes sweet and weird, but the taste occurred after the addition of corn sugar and most previous beers tasted weird until bottle conditioned. Saved yeast cake for future use in a sanitized and refrigerated one gallon jug.
• 6/12/08: Consumed a couple bottles of this stuff today. Pretty good, although the Amarillo hops create a bitterness that tastes somewhat like medicine. It is kind of strange, but this is probably the most drinkable beer I have brewed yet.
• 6/26/08: It is amazing how great beer carbonation can really improve the way a beer tastes. Additionally, all beer pictures on this website portray each beer to be slightly darker than it actually is, for whatever reason.
• 7/20/08: Every other bottle is slightly oxidized.
  

Description:
“Our delicious summer seasonal brewed with Amarillo hops. An American wheat beer with a crisp citrus finish.”

http://www.threefloydspub.com/GH.html

"Wine into Water" Orange Wine

Date: May 4th, 2008
Style: ???
Source: N/A
Volume: 1 Gallon

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon Sunny Valley Orange Juice
• 1 can Old Orchard White Grape Concentrate
• 1 squeezed Lemon
• 12 + 6 oz SueBee Clover Honey
• 0.75 cups Water
  

Yeast:

• Red Star Champaign Yeast (Two Packets)

Other:

• 1 Crushed Campden Tablet

Notes:

• 5/4/08: Hydrated yeast packets in a sanitized, water-filled measuring cup for approximately fifteen minutes, as recommended by instructions. Combined ingredients into three gallon carboy. Forgot to take hydrometer reading. Fermentation appeared to have begun after only a few hours.
• 5/10/08: Added approximately six ounces of honey mixed in possibly a quarter cup of water for no apparent reason, as is typical for this inevitable train wreck. Tastes interesting. The orange and lemon aspects are very noticeable, and the honey added a slight mead-like flavor. Not a complete disaster yet.
• 5/14/08: Transferred to 1.25 gallon jug for secondary fermentation. Tastes worse than before.
• 6/4/08: Transferred to a one gallon jug because last transfer apparently carried a lot of yeast sediment along. The flavors are now less harsh. Clearing up a bit. Should be good if aging improves it. Summer heat and a broken air conditioner have raised the room temperature to about 75 F unfortunately.
• 6/6/08: Transported to my parent's basement for aging at cooler temperatures.
• 9/6/08: Yum. The clarity is now great, and, instead of resembling orange juice, this wine now looks more like a white wine or a mead. The aroma is again similar to my few experiences with mead. The taste is very citrusy, obviously with the orange juice and lemon juice, with a honey slightly coming through in the mix. My only regret of this whole experiment was not taking the original gravity reading, as I would like to know the alcohol percent of what I am drinking. Finally, I'm hoping that I can get at least ten bottles out of this batch and spread that out over the next couple years. Since I saved three more jugs, I probably will start making a couple more wines (with some real fruit) and a mead if I can ever get back over to Northern Brewer anytime soon.
• 1/20/09: Poured about 40% of this crap into two water bottles to celebrate the presidential inauguration at Matt's new apartment. Smells like mead...
  

Description:

This is going to be such a disaster. Inspired by an abundance of stupidity, this concoction is destined for the sink. Name is taken from an Arrested Development quote.

The Tanninator Brown Ale

Date: April 11th, 2008
Style: English Brown Ale
Source: NB Forum
Volume: 5 Gallons (5)

Grains:

• 0.5 lb Crystal (60 L)
• 0.5 lb Brown (60 L)
• 0.25 lb Chocolate (250 L)

Extract:

• 3 lb Briess Gold DME
• 2 lb Muntons Light DME

Hops:

• 60 min - 1 oz Fuggle (4.0% AA)
  
• 15 min - 1 oz UK Kent Golding (4.5% AA)
  
• 0 min - 0.5 oz UK Kent Golding (4.5% AA)
  

Yeast:

• Wyeast #1056 American Ale (from Arrogant Bastard Clone)

Other:

• 15 min - 1 tsp Irish moss
  

Notes:

• 4/11/08: Brewed. Forgot to add chiller to boil for last fifteen minutes. Hopefully it became sanitized despite this failure. Partial-mashed for one hour. Starting to question the ability of adding pennies to the brew pot to prevent boil overs, as we have failed six out of six times. Possibly an old wives tale? Siphoned Arrogant Bastard yeast from the carboy into a 2000 ml flask and cleaned up the six gallon primary. Gravity reading taken prior to yeast readdition, and it is likely that up to a half gallon of yeasty fluid was added in the transfer. Blow off tube was bubbling a few hours after completion. Gravity: 1.050, Alcohol = 6.5%, Temperature = 68 F
• 4/22/08: Replaced the blow off tube with an airlock. Tastes alright. A tad too much influence from the hops, but not as bad as the Fuller's London Porter clone. Cloudy and tan. A little bit too sweet as well, but it could still drop a little in the next few weeks. Gravity: 1.015, Alcohol = 1.9%, Temperature = 67 F
• 4/30/08: Read that it may be preferable to only reuse yeast in wort of greater OG. Oh well, this seems to have worked out pretty well. Gravity: 1.015, Alcohol = 1.9%, Temperature = 67 F
• 5/10/08: Bottled. Gravity: 1.013, Alcohol = 1.7%, Temperature = 68 F
• 5/18/08: Once again, I have failed at allowing the beer to bottle condition for at least a couple weeks before consuming. Carbonation is decent at this point. This stuff is pretty tasty. The grain contribution is excellent. While I wish the hop presence was slightly more restrained, the bitterness and flavor is hardly overpowering to my taste buds. Might not be as enticing to other people.
• 5/23/08: Probably have gone through as many as ten bottles in the past week. So much for waiting for proper carbonation. It has been well received by everyone who has tried it and probably should be brewed again in the near future. Additionally, the clarity is fairly poor, and the color might be a little darker than expected. Perhaps the extract is burning/caramelizing when added to the boil?
• 8/29/08: Tasted one of the last bottles, and it was fairly delicious. At this point it is tasting a bit stale. The hops were much more hidden, which was somewhat disappointing. Either way, great recipe that needs to be remade in the future.
  

Description:
Decided to create a brown ale recipe based upon notes found on the Northern Brewer forum. Borrowed the grain bill from one prominent member’s house ale, and made up selection of extract, hops, and yeast based on suggestions and reviewing other recipes. Name is based off a strangely humorous mythology that we have created after pondering the ever-present threat of tannins. We are stupid.

Stone Arrogant Bastard Clone

Date: March 28th, 2008
Style: American Strong Ale
Source: www.donosborn.com
Volume: 3.2 Gallons, 0.75 Gallon Oaked (5)

Grains:

• 0.5 lb Special-B (247L)
• 0.5 lb Biscuit (24L)
• 0.5 lb Aromatic (19L)
• 0.5 lb CaraMunich (47L)

Extract:

• 3 lb Muntons Amber DME
• 5 lb Muntons Light DME

Hops:

• 75 min - 1 oz Chinook
  
• 45 min - 1 oz Chinook
  
• 5 min - 1 oz Chinook
  

Yeast:

• Wyeast #1056 American Ale

Other:

• 15 min - 1 tsp Irish moss
  
• Secondary - 0.5 oz French Oak Cubes

Notes:

• 3/28/08: Prepared first yeast starter around 2 AM in the morning while drunk. Same procedure as usual, except attempted an approximately full boil. Grains were crushed maybe three weeks prior to brewing. The alpha acid percentages of the Chinook hops were not listed by the distributer. Used chiller for first time. Did not clean it properly before use, and discovered that it came out cleaner than it was when purchased. Oops. Dropped it into boil with fifteen minutes left to sanitize, and it cooled the wort in less than fifteen minutes. Hit target gravity exactly and somehow also hit five gallons exactly after four consecutive failures to do so. Another issue might be the high temperature. The fermentation is going nuts! Using a blow off tube was an excellent last second decision. A pot of sanitized water was successfully used at the other end of the one-inch tube. Gravity: 1.080, Alcohol = 10.5%, Temperature = 76 F
• 3/31/08: Temperature lowered to approximately 70 F as windows were opened and fermentation slowed.
• 4/7/08: Switched the blow off tube for an airlock because I was greeted with a terrible stench when opening up the fermentation closet. The water in the blow off pot had formed this wretched, venous surface film. The smell was funky and fruity. Weird. For some reason, I was terrified. Also, the primary carboy contained a similar strong aroma. … Apparently this skin is called a pellicle, and it forms in lambic primary fermentations and acts as a barrier. Wild yeast?
  
• 4/11/08: Tasted pretty interesting. Somewhat different from other beers I have had previously. Complex. If the sugar drops a good amount in the coming weeks, this beer should become excellent, but as it stands right now, this beer is pretty decent. Needs to drop approximately eight points to reach the intended final gravity. Racked approximately four gallons to secondary and about ¾ of a gallon to secondary with a ½ ounce of French oak cubes to attempt to replicate the Oaked Arrogant Bastard product. Did not sanitize cubes. Beginning in a couple weeks, the plan is to taste test this oaked version and remove when the oak taste becomes too strong. Gravity: 1.024, Alcohol = 3.1%, Temperature = 68 F
• 4/22/08: Sampled the oaked experiment. Tastes really, really good. Probably should be transferred to its third fermenter soon, as this oak taste will probably soon be obnoxious.
• 4/26/08: Finally transferred off the oak to another one gallon jug. Oak taste has become stronger, but the beer still tastes very good.
• 5/14/08: Refilled dried out airlock on five gallon carboy. Also tasted the oaked beer and discovered that the oak flavor is not as apparent as it was before. This may be due to originally taking samples near to the oak cubes. Probably will add a half ounce back to the jug a week before bottling.
• 5/29/08: Bottled the main carboy, but got lazy and ignored the oaked stuff. Accidentally added 3/4 lb of corn sugar for priming instead of a scaled down amount so this thing may be quite carbonated. Oops. Also, it tasted and smelled a little bit off which might be due to high fermentation temperatures. Gravity: 1.020, Alcohol: 2.6%, Temperature: 72 F
• 6/4/08: Bottled the oaked jug. The oak taste has somewhat faded. A taste test against the regular version will help to gauge the impact it made. Also discovered a valve attachment for bottling with the siphon. Very cool. Four Muntons priming tablets added to each bottle. Also, I recently got incredibly impatient and tried a bottle of the regular clone. This was an incredibly failed experiment. I suck.
• 6/9/08: Still impatient. I don't think this beer will actually become carbonated. Lame.
• 7/11/08: Tried the real thing, as Stone distribution now extends into Wisconsin. Arrogant Bastard is just going to be one of those beers that I don't get, I suppose. Huge on hop flavor and bitterness and smaller than expected on maltiness, as it was fairly dry tasting. I'm confused why the recipe I followed recommended special-b malt, as there was little detectable sweetness. This was a really beautiful looking beer, but I have little doubt that the clone recipe I created, if it found a way to become carbonated, would be so much better.
• 8/29/08: I tried this on tap at the Stone Brewery last week (also had the Oaked Bastard from the bottle), and my experience was light years better than what I got from Wisconsin. Either way, the bottles are now very carbonated for no apparent reason. This means the excessive sweetness is greatly reduced and the beer tastes excellent. Fortunately I have as many as twelve more bottles seeking my immediate attention.
  

Stone’s Description:
“This is an aggressive beer. You probably won’t like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth. We would suggest that you stick to safer and more familiar territory – maybe something with a multi-million dollar ad campaign aimed at convincing you it’s made in a little brewery, or one that implies that their tasteless fizzy yellow beer will give you more sex appeal. Perhaps you think multi-million dollar ad campaigns make a beer taste better. Perhaps you’re mouthing your words as you read this.”

http://www.arrogantbastard.com/

Fuller's London Porter Clone

Date: March 12th, 2008
Style: Brown Porter
Source: BYO
Volume: 2.3 Gallons, 0.75 Gallons w/ Raspberry (3.75)

Grains:

• 0.75 lb Fawcett Halcyon (1.2 L)
• 0.33 lb Chocolate (300 L)
  
• 0.66 lb Crystal (60L)
• 0.33 lb Black Patent (550 L)
  
• 0.2 lb Roasted Barley (550 L)
  

Extract:

• 3.15 lb NB Light LME
• 1.0 lb Muntons Light DME

Hops:

• 60 min - 1.5 oz UK Kent Golding (4.5% AA)
• 15 min - 0.3 oz UK Kent Golding (4.5% AA)
• 5 min - 0.3 oz UK Kent Golding (4.5% AA)
• 0 min - 0.3 oz UK Kent Golding (4.5% AA)

Yeast:

• Wyeast #1968 London ESB

Other:

• 15 min - 1 tsp Irish moss
  
• Secondary - 12 oz Dole Frozen Raspberries

Notes:

• 3/13/08: Brewed with Matt. Bought Fawcett Halcyon malt for “British Pale Ale Malt” and used 3.15 lb NB Light LME as substitute for Muntons Light LME. Amounts of LME and DME might differ slightly from BYO recipe due to restrictions of package volume. Partially mashed grains at approximately 156 F for 45 minutes. Used muslin bag/colander for filtering at end, and excellent results ensued. Attempted a 3.75-gallon batch, and downsized ingredients to match. Added 3 cups (approx. one pound) of light DME at sixty minutes along with approximately two ounces of hops. The hops were packaged poorly and might have been old so extra hops were added than recipe asked for. Hop schedule is likely incorrect because notes were not recorded immediately. Late addition hops were added in approximate amounts at fifteen minutes, five minutes, and flameout. One teaspoon of Irish moss and the LME were added at fifteen minutes. Cooled in under a half hour in melting snow bank (above freezing temperatures!). Started fermenting overnight. Pitch black. Also, it was realized that we have no idea how much wort is actually being transferred to carboys with each batch. Seems to be always a bit lower than expected, so probably not making up enough water that evaporates during boil. Used the hydrometer for the first time, and the OG was about eight points higher than desired, and that was with slightly less light/dry extract than the recipe called for. Either more was extracted from the grains that expected, or there definitely was not enough water added after the boil. Gravity = 1.060, Alcohol = 7.9%, Temperature = 74 F
• 3/17/08: Matt thought fermentation had stalled, as he had never seen it ferment, and I was away skiing in Michigan until today. Giving in to the possibility, the beer thief was used to extract enough beer for a hydrometer reading. Spilled beer everywhere, as beer thief was drippy, and found that fermentation apparently happened quickly because the new gravity was much lower than before. Definitely tasting more like beer, although still sweet. Roasted goodness with a noticeably hoppy aftertaste. Unfortunate, but it could fade with time. Not sure that this one has or will have much more body than the Two Hearted Ale or Breakfast Stout had. Light bulb light could not penetrate hydrometer tube, but flashlight could. Gravity = 1.024, Alcohol = 3.1%, Temperature = 72 F
• 3/25/08: Transferred to one-gallon jug and three-gallon carboy for secondary fermentation. Defrosted 12 ounces of Dole frozen raspberries in the microwave for less than one minute and then added to sanitary jug before siphoning. Fresh raspberries were not available from grocery store. Had to crush some to unplug funnel when dumping. Should be interesting to see effect of fruit on the beer flavor and on fermentation. Was hoping to do a jug of blueberry porter as well, but did not want to sacrifice approximately another gallon of beer for the sake of experimentation. Also, tastes a bit too sweet at this point, but otherwise this is shaping up to be a really tasty beer. Hop presence is diminishing, although aftertaste still remains. Gravity = 1.020, Alcohol = 2.6%, Temperature = 72 F
• 4/1/08: Siphoned raspberry experiment into a new one gallon jug as some raspberries were showing signs of potential mold (they were beginning to whiten up a bit). Would have like to have left them in there a full ten days, as recommended by BYO, but this was probably long enough. Should have ¾ gallon of this stuff for bottling, which would be enough for up to nine bottles. Had a strong raspberry taste, go figure, and the original porter taste was masked. A strong raspberry aroma was also present. Hopefully it will mellow out in the next few weeks, but as of now, this has the potential to be pretty good.
• 4/9/08: Took gravity reading today. Possibly went up a point or two. Not going to reach the goal of 1.015. Whatever. Tastes pretty good. Still a little sweeter than I would like. Odd taste on the back of my tongue. Probably too much hop bitterness. It is interesting to try and pick out the flavors added through the various grains. Gravity = 1.021, Alcohol = 2.7%, Temperature = 68 F
  
• 4/11/08: Bottled both versions of this beer. Used Muntons bottling tablets. Three tablets were used per 12-ounce bottle and seven per 22-ounce bottle. Coffee filters failed as a siphon filter. It is likely that bottles are not correctly labeled as raspberry porter or regular. Lame. Also, raspberry porter tasted strange and interesting. It won’t be as good as Surly Two, not as if that was the goal, but it will probably share the characteristic of being less desirable after more than a few sips. Need to remember to drink it with food. Decided to keep all 22 oz bottles through the end of summer to judge any changes made through bottle conditioning and aging.
• 4/19/08: Gave into temptation and opened a bottle a week early. Not very carbonated, obviously. Amazing aroma, but the taste was overly hoppy and sweet. Hopefully, taste improves in the next few weeks, because this could turn out to be very disappointing.
• 4/24/08: Tried the first raspberry porter. Carbonation was right on the money, but the head formation/retention was lacking. Dark with a reddish outline. I think the hops are messing with the aftertaste, but otherwise this is pretty good. The raspberry taste is not at all over the top, but it might be better if it fades a little to allow more beer flavor to come through.
• 6/19/08: Oxidation sucks.
• 8/29/08: Found a bottle that was not very oxidized to the point that it was actually drinkable. While it was overcarbonated at first, eventually it developed a smooth, creamy mouthfeel. Very tasty. This is a great porter recipe. The hops work very well with the malt. The last raspberry porter was very oxidized, but the raspberry flavor had receded slightly to the point that it could have been one of the better fruit beers I have tasted. The malt was not completely covered by the fruit flavors, as I usually tend to find in fruited beers. This beer was sweeter than the regular version, as expected.
  

Fuller’s Description:
“London Porter captures the flavors of the original entire brews perfectly, although you won’t find a cloudy pint these days! Smooth, rich, and strong (5.4% alcohol by volume), London Porter is brewed from a blend of Brown, Crystal and Chocolate malts for a creamy delivery balanced by traditional Fuggles hops. Definitely worth a sip if you fancy something stronger and darker than coffee!”

http://www.fullers-ales.com/london_porter.php

Stone Ruination IPA Clone

Date: February 24th, 2008
Style: Double IPA
Source: BYO
Volume: 2.1 Gallons (2.5)

Grains:

• 0.5 lb 2-row
• 0.25 lb Crystal (10 L)
• 0.25 lb Crystal (20 L)

Extract:

• 3.15 lb NB Gold LME
• 1.0 lb Gold DME

Hops:

• 60 min - 2.0 oz Magnum (11% AA)
  
• 0 min - 1.0 oz Centennial (8.7% AA)
  
• Dry - 1.5 oz Centennial
  

Yeast:

• Wyeast #1056 American Ale

Other:

• 15 min - 1 tsp Irish moss
  

Notes:

• 3/9/08: Brewed alone, with consequences. Was supposed to buy Crystal 15 L malt, but substituted for a fifty-fifty split of 10 L and 20 L malts. Not sure if that is ok, but whatever. Learned how to spill crushed grains on the floor at NB by not putting a bag on the output of the mill. Also learned how to buy incorrect ingredients at NB. Forgot to buy a mesh screen for steeping (twice). Partially mashed grains in 1.5 gallons of water for 30 minutes at approximately 150 F. Filtered grains out through potentially dirty coffee filter. Oops. Next, added fermentables and magnum hops to boil. Magnum hops were bought online and were poorly packaged. More AAs were added to brew to account for potential deterioration. Second hop addition was steeped in brew pot for five minutes after boil ended. Then cool tap water was added to bring to 2.5 gallons and pot was placed into snow bank for approximately twenty minutes.
• 3/17/08: Still fermenting slowly, and still very cloudy. Not transferring to secondary, but probably will bottle by the end of the month. Will need to taste/check gravity prior to dry hopping for comparison.
• 3/20/08: Hydrometer readings below. While starting gravity was intended to be around 1.075, 2.1 gallons in the carboy means this thing might have been up around 1.090. It is unclear what the actual alcohol content of this beer will be, but it could be up in the nines. Regardless, fermentation appears to be mostly complete. Another reading will be taken in a week, likely followed by dry hopping and bottling. As far as taste goes, this thing is insanely bitter. Possibly the most bitter beer I have ever come across. Interesting. Smell is similar to the Two Hearted Ale, but maybe dry hopping will enhance it. Would be nice to have the real thing for comparison. Upon further tasting, this will probably be my favorite homebrew yet. Gravity = 1.015, Alcohol = 1.9%, Temperature = 72 F
• 3/25/08: Dry hopped in a whole muslin bag. Hopefully no contamination occurs. Used more hops than recipe called for to prevent throwing hops out. Remove in 3-5 days.
• 3/28/08: Ten 12 oz bottles and six 22 oz bottles were filled during bottling. Tasted less bitter than the mouth-puckering first sample. Cider-like aroma (acetaldehyde?). Dry hopping has completely changed the taste and not for the better. Matt said taste was similar to what he remembered the real thing tastes like. Hmm… Hopefully some aging will return it to its former glory. Also, will never use muslin bag for dry hopping again. Impossible to retrieve in sizes bigger than a half ounce due to hop volume and expansion. Gravity = 1.015, Alcohol = 1.9%, Temperature = 72 F
• 4/10/08: Cracked open first bottle. Amazing aroma, but bitterness was lacking. Carbonation was also disappointing. I’ll have to mix the bottles up a little bit to hopefully fix that issue. The effects of dry hopping were very apparent and not overdone. Very hazy. Not what I was expecting, but it is still delicious beer that I cannot wait to consume again. Matt commented that the taste was different from what he remembers from Memphis. This one is supposedly less bitter.
• 4/17/08: For whatever reason, I had another one today and it was crazy bitter. Weird. Hopefully the remaining bottles are as good or better than this one. I gotta be more patient after bottling... Also, super cloudy and very dark. Should have been much lighter in color.
  

Stone’s Description:
“So called because of the “ruinous” effect on your palate! This massive hop monster has a wonderfully delicious and intensely bitter flavor on a refreshing malt base. One taste and you can easily see why we call this brew “a liquid poem to the glory of the hop!” Those who seek, crave and rejoice in beers with big, bold, bitter character will find true nirvana in Stone Ruination IPA!”

http://www.stonebrew.com/ruin/

Bell's Two Hearted Ale Clone

Date: January 29th, 2008
Style: American IPA
Source: BYO
Volume: 4.3 Gallons (5)

Grains:

• 1.0 lb 2-row
• 2.0 lb Vienna
• 0.5 lb Crystal (10 L)
• 0.33 lb Carapils (6 L)

Extract:

• 4.5 lb Light DME

Hops:

• 60 min - 0.75 oz Centennial (8.7% AA)
  
• 45 min - 0.75 oz Centennial (8.7% AA)
• 30 min - 0.75 oz Centennial (8.7% AA)
• 15 min - 0.75 oz Centennial (8.7% AA)
• 0 min - 0.5 oz Centennial (8.7% AA)
• Dry - 0.5 oz Centennial
  

Yeast:

• Wyeast #1272 American Ale II

Other:

• 15 min - 0.5 tsp Irish moss
  

Notes:

• 3/9/08: Brewed with Matt. Possibly steeped grains in two gallons of tap water for 45 minutes at ~150 F. No recollection on actual grain bill. Above specialty grains are as described in BYO and not necessarily what was purchased at NB. DME slowly added to boil. ½ tsp of Irish moss added with Centennial Hops at fifteen minutes. Learned about the importance of alpha acids on the fly and used slightly more hops than required by recipe to compensate. Wasn’t as cold outside this time, but wort cooled in less than twenty minutes due to the addition of several gallons of cool tap water prior to being buried in snow bank. Finally got to see the miracle of fermentation. Did not use hydrometer or rack to secondary due to laziness. Extended fermentation due to lack of hop bag for dry hop. Just added a cut up muslin bag to carboy for dry hopping. Sanitized bag through boiling, but made mistake of not sanitizing anything else so hopefully nothing goes awry. Looks really red and really clear right now.
• 3/13/08: Dry hops removed after recommended three days. Bottled last night with Matt. Bought only three feet of siphon tubing (mold or some other foul substance had formed in the old tubing) and siphoning was not easily performed. Probably siphoned too vigorously and created too much aeration. ¾ cup corn sugar solution added for carbonation. Brewed for five gallons but only produced 4.3 gallons. Hmm… Forgot to take a hydrometer reading for some kind of approximation of the alcohol level. Whatever. Tasted somewhat similar to the real thing, but still had a watery sort of taste in there somewhere. Matt likened it to a lack of body. Maybe carbonation will bring everything together.
• 3/19/08: Cracked open a bottle after exactly one week of carbonating. Fitting with what I have read online, two weeks is recommended for adequate carbonation. With that said, this beer rocks. Even without proper carbonating, the lack of body that was noticed at last tasting has basically vanished. Doesn’t have a nice hop smell, and instead is a bit odd in that area. Will have to buy a sixer of the real thing for comparison, but this beer makes me very happy. Will also test final gravity upon next pour for some record to compare with recipe.
• 3/22/08: Read that the off smell in this beer may be due to a fermentation by-product called acetaldehyde. Supposedly this clears up when given time. Also bought some actual Two Hearted Ale for a proper comparison. Was $9.99 (stupid hop shortage!) at some Chaska liquor store, and it seems to suffer from oxidation as evidenced by a distracting cardboard-like flavor that floats around in the back of my throat. The comparison may have to wait.
• 3/23/08: Tasted again and found that there was no aroma from this bottle. Taste was great, and head was identical to that of the real thing. Incredibly clear, although could have used a bit more body. Maybe the result of steeping grains instead of a true partial mash… Tastes more like the Two Hearted Ale I remember when compared to lousy store bought stuff. Perhaps less malt in this one. Also, learned that is worthless to try to measure the gravity of a carbonated beverage. After several hours of allowing beer to flatten, it was determined that the final gravity was at or below 1.018. So this beer might have approached the targeted 1.012, but who knows or cares as this beer is excellent!
• 3/30/08: Finally compared both together and found that the real thing tasted of more malt, hops, was lighter in color, and had more hop aroma. Still, this beer is very excellent and other people seem to enjoy it too. Above photo taken after the beers were compared.

Bell’s Description:
“India Pale Ale style well suited for Hemingway-esque trips to the Upper Peninsula. American malts and enormous hop additions give this beer a crisp finish and incredible floral hop aroma.”

http://www.bellsbeer.com/index.php/brands.html

NB Breakfest Stout

Date: December 20th, 2007
Style: Sweet Stout
Source: Northern Brewer Kit
Volume: ~4 Gallons (5)

Grains:

• 1.5 lb Flaked Oats
• 0.5 lb Roasted Barley (550 L)
  

Extract:

• 3.15 lb Munich LME
• 1 lb Lactose

Hops:

• 60 min - 1 oz Willamette
  
• 15 min - 1 oz Willamette
  

Yeast:

• Wyeast #1084 Irish Ale

Notes:

• 3/9/08: Learned yeast needs to stay cool to stay alive – kit was owned for several months before actually brewing. Did not record alpha acid percentage of the Willamette hops. Used a sixty-minute full boil with tap water. Steeped grains in muslin mesh bag for fifteen minutes at 170 F. Four pennies added to brew pot to prevent boil-over. All else added at start of boil. Took fifty minutes to cool despite brewing on coldest day of year (-20 F perhaps). No hydrometer readings taken. Final volume is uncertain but less than intended five gallons. Maintained ~70 F temperatures throughout fermentation. Matt racked to secondary after one week (was in Maui). After four weeks in secondary, bottled the weekend before spring semester began with ¾ cup corn sugar mixed into uncovered bottling bucket. Jenna assisted with bottling. Only produced a case and a half of beer, which was unfortunate. Result was a dark colored, but very light tasting beer that did not seem to look, taste, or feel like a stout should. Low alcohol as expected. Very watery and uneven tasting. Carbonated decently, but head fades quickly. Disappointing. Some bottles seemed to be tastier than others for no apparent reason. Tasted similar to below NB description, which is probably a good thing…
• 3/23/08: Read a similar reaction to the results of this kit on the NB forum.
• 5/3/08: Finished off the last one. Wasn't too exciting, but was better than anything from an Abita sampler pack I had purchased a day earlier. Probably the best one I've had, but still lousy.
  

Northern Brewer description:
“Beer for breakfast? If that's how you roll, then we recommend this mild, smooth, light-bodied Breakfast Stout. This beer is brewed with a high proportion of flaked oats, which lends a silky mouth feel. It is low in alcohol, so it will sit well in an empty stomach. This beer pairs well with a bowl of Wheaties, pancakes, or piping hot oatmeal. You can also have it for lunch and dinner as well.”

http://www.northernbrewer.com/docs/kis-html/1591.html