Like a Phoenix rising from Arizona

It's been awhile, but after some summer traveling and general lie-aboutery, I'm back in the brewhouse (aka the backyard) and I have a couple of batches on the make right now. Read about them, why don't you?

Stupid Sexy Flanders is my Flanders Red Ale, an old Belgian style that relies on a variety of bacteria and yeasts to make the signature sour flavor. Duchesse de Bourgogne is the most famous commercial example, along with Rodenbach Grand Cru. They're really complex interesting beers, and take a little while to get used to. They're also great to cook with, which I'm looking forward to.

Stupid Sexy Flanders
Flanders-style Red Ale
Batch Size - 5 Gallons
OG - 1.055
FG - 1.016
abv - 5.2%
Color - 14.0 SRM

Grain Bill
Belgian Vienna Malt
4lb 0oz
Belgian Pilsen Malt
3lb 0oz
German Munich Malt
2lb 0oz
Belgian Aromatic Malt
8.00 oz
CaraMunich Malt 60
8.00 oz
Belgian Special B
8.00 oz
German Wheat Malt
8.00 oz

60 minute boil

Hops
EK Golding - 5.0% AA - 1.0 oz - 60 mins
Bagged Whole Leaf

Mash Grains at 154°F for 60 mins

Pitch WLP001 California Ale Yeast, Ferment at 70°F. Rack to secondary when SG is in 1.020s, add oak cubes and Wyeast 3763 Roeselare Belgian Blend. Age for 12-18 months, bottle condition.

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On a recent trip to BevMo, I saw a bottle of Traquair House Ale for $5.49. I had to see what a $0.46/ounce beer tasted like.

I wasn't disappointed. Rich, caramelly, malty taste. Drinks really easy for a 7.2% beer. I imagine this is what Groundskeeper Willie drinks in his hovel on special occasions. This should be quite the winter ale.

This recipe is based on the BYO magazine clone recipe, with a couple of slight tweaks. I cold-steeped the roasted barley instead of mashing, as I was going for a smoother flavor without the harsh coffee/chocolate flavor. Cold-steeping is the process of setting apart darker specialty grains and soaking them in room temperature water overnight before brewing. This extracts the sugars and color without the overpowering edge. The other secret to this beer is the drawing off of the first gallon of the first runnings, then caramelizing that gallon for 30 mins before adding it back to the boil kettle. This does a bunch of boring science stuff that even I find too uninteresting to repeat. Suffice to say, boiling make beer taste prettier.

Traquair House Ale Clone
Scotch Wee Heavy Style
OG - 1.076
FG - 1.022
abv - 7.2%
Color - 16.2 SRM

Grain Bill
Golden Promise
16lb 8oz
Roasted Barley
8oz - Cold Steeped

120 minute boil

Hops
EK Golding - 5.0% AA - 1.5 oz - 90 mins
Loose Whole Leaf

EK Golding - 5.0% AA - 1.0 oz - 30 mins
Loose Whole Leaf

Mash Grains at 153°F for 60 mins

Cold-steep Roasted Barley in 1 qt room temperature water overnight, add back to 1st runnings

Remove one gallon of first runnings and Caramelize it (boil down for 30 mis & add back to boil).
Collect another 7 gallons and begin boil. With 90 minutes left in the boil, add the caramelized wort and first hop addition.

Primary 8-10 Days, 2 weeks in secondary, 8-10 weeks conditioned in bottle

Oak in secondary

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With all this beer activity, don't think I've been slacking off over at Huevos Caballos, kids. I just bottled Jerry Reed Cherry Mead in a few different iterations. There's the regular flat cherry mead, two bottles that have been fortified with honey liqueur to make a dessert mead, and three bottles of what I hope will become sparkling mead. It could explode, it could be flat, or it could be perfect. Or some combination of all three...only time will tell.

Also there's a gallon of garlic cooking wine fermenting away. I really have no idea what to expect from this, but I had a bunch of garlic and even more free time.

What's next, you rhetorically ask? I have plans for a Smoked Altbier, a 14.5% abv Russian Imperial Stout, a TOP SECRET dessert beer, the 2009 edition of Trappist John MD, and Carbon Nation is gonna keep on rockin'. If you're lucky, you might even be invited to the Oktoberfest party...