Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Kollath & Kraemer Bottling Extravaganza

Bottle date: May 9, 2014

A brief detour to sample some of the unique offerings from Central Waters Brewing and O'so Brewing for Madison's Craft Beer Week notwithstanding, we spent most of the evening bottling our kolsch and brown ales.

Kollasch Kolsch

Ingredients:

  • 94g corn sugar
  • 1.5c filtered water
Desired CO2: 2.2 vol (5 gal @ 60F)

Brown Ale

Ingredients:
  • 57g corn sugar
  • 1c filtered water
Desired CO2: 2.2 vol (3 gal @ 60F)

Bourbon Barrel Brown Ale

Ingredients:
  • 49g corn sugar
  • 6g brown sugar
  • 1c filtered water
Desired CO2: 2.2 vol (2.75 gal @ 60F)

Kollasch Kolsch [secondary]

Racking date: April 21, 2014

Decided not to dry hop this beer after sampling.

Observations:

FG: 1.010
Appearance: Light yellow, straw color. Opaque.
Aroma: Bready slightly spicy/flowery hop note.
Flavor: Light, light-to-medium hop bitterness, bready character.

Molasses Brown Ale Two Ways [secondary]

Racking date: April 21, 2014

Observations:

FG: 1020
Appearance: Deep red hue, fairly clean.
Aroma: Not much.
Flavor: Fairly dry, some dark caramel/toffee notes at end.

Smarch Maibock [bottled]

Bottle date: April 21, 2014

Ingredients:

  • 102g corn sugar
  • 1.5 c water
Desired CO2: 2.3 vol (5 gal @ 60F)

Poor Lyla Belgian IPA: Tasting Notes

Appearance:
Pale orange color, very slight haze, frothy white head, good lacing.

Aroma:
Belgian notes, fruitiness, citrus, piney resin hop smell.

Taste:
Good IPA bitterness. Piney resinous bite quickly gives way to a subtle sweetness. Citrus and bread flavors flow at the end. Finishes dry and bitter. Medium bodied. Would be refreshing in a late July heatwave.

Verdict:
I really like this beer. My best effort at an IPA yet. Great aroma from the mash up of Belgian yeast and citrus/piney hops. Still dealing with over-carbonation problems though.