Black Magic Black IPA

Black IPA, Cascadian Ale ... We are not getting into the naming controversy here.  We are summing up the 2012 Big Beer Bash Homebrew Competition sponsored by the KGB, a local beer club, hosted by St. Arnold's Brewery.  We've been entering this competition the past few years and always have had a good time.  The style for this year's competition was Black IPA and a big beer was brewed for it.  To get the recipe I shamelessly based the design on Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale as this is probably the best example of this style out there.  I surfed the net a bit and combined a bunch of ideas for the recipe.  One issue, strictly speaking, is that SSSRA is an imperial Black IPA which is not exactly to the competition style but I didn't really see that as an issue at the time.

Recipe:

In addition to the base grains a half lb of Carafe III was soaked in cold water for an hour and added to the wort upon temperature rise to boil. This was a 10 gallon batchsize.

Single Infusion @ 154-156 F was used.  I can't find the brew notes on sparge water a at the moment but will post when I dig them up.  One thing I can remember well was not placing the pelletized hops in the bag, but rather, putting them in the pot.  These hops never settled in primary, secondary, or the keg clogging the corney keg lines which was quite frustrating.  3 oz of dry hop pellets didn't help this either.  Next time I dry hop I'll get/order whole hops.  Anyway more details when I get the notes.  One thing that I would do for these Black IPA's is use some crushed Carafa III in a packed bed flowing the mash tun runnings through to extract excess tannins.  At least I saw a cool youtube video which tried that and I have a feeling that technique would work well.

The beer aged well and was well received.  The beer scored a 30/50 ... reaching the "Very Good" range which was not too bad for the 2nd beer brewed since the big Move.  I have a feeling that a few more months of aging will help the beer nicely mellowing out some of the astringent tones and some of the warmer alcohol mouthfeel.  Stay tuned for that!

Mid Year Catch Up

Whole Hog has been busy the past several months ... just not on the blog.  The next few posts serve as a catch up.

Kansas Brewery Tour

Christmas Vacation in Kansas included a few good trips to local breweries,


Boulevard Brewing in Kansas City, MO makes great beer, was unable to get tickets to their scheduled tour but was able to see their gift shop, tasting room, and where they make the Smoke Stack Series.

Free State Brewing of Lawrence, Kansas was my first introduction to craft brewing and I was able to enjoy a glass of Copperhead Ale, Ad Astra Ale, and Wheat State Golden. Rotating beers included a solid barleywine and good imperial stout.

Stopping in at 23rd St. Brewery again in Lawrence was a treat for few tasters of their pale ale, IPA, wheat, and lager beers. All were good and this brewpub is a huge upgrade from the previous owners, Emmerson Biggins from yesteryear.

Finally, Wichita Brewing and Pizza opened on the west side of town (my stomping grounds) and they make some good beer (and good pizza as I understand it). Tried a flight of their IPA, wheat, amber ale, and "Thunder Lager" which were all good. Small batch size craft brewery in ones hometown is always fantastic. Met the brewer and almost saw Wichita St. upset Creighton. A perfect way to round out a quick beer tour of Kansas.

Also, The time off was much needed, but its back to work and back to planning the next batch ...

Maiden Brew II

Style = IPA
Method = Extract
Brew Date = November 20, 2011
Drink Date = December 16, 2011
Base Malt = 6.5 lbs Light Malt Extract
Specialty Grain = 1 lb Britich Light Crystal Malt
Specialty Grain = 1 lb Belgian Aromatic Malt
Bittering Hops = 1 oz Northern Brewer [8.4% AA] hops (boil 60 min)
Flavoring Hops=1 oz Northern Brewer [8.4% AA] hops (boil 30 min)
Flavoring Hops=1 oz Fuggles [4.2 % AA] hops (boil 15 min)
Finnishing Hops=1 oz Cascade [6.4 % AA] hops (boil 5 min)
Yeast = WYeast 1056 American Ale
Primary =8 days at 65 F
Secondary = 14 days at House Temperature (65-72 F)
Keg Conditioning = Store at 38 F for 6 days under 16 psig
OG = 1061 & 68 F (Temperature Corrected)
IG = 1014 & 68 F
FG = 1010 & 68 F abv % = 6.8
Batch Size: 4 gallons

Maiden Brew II, based on Whole Hog's original batch Maiden Brew, was intended to be an American Ale but after a rigorous boil and high alpha hops, this brew wound up becoming true to the IPA style. For appearance, the beer has an amber/copper with a good inch of white foamy head. It has a strong haze, but this does not detract from the appearance too much. A swirl of the glass shows good alcohol legs and sip lines are present as the glass goes down. The aroma is good a good mix of floral and citrus tones. The taste is a starts with flavorful citrus tones, orange/grapefruit flavor then a strong but not gripping bitter flavor emerges. It is totally drinkable and at 6.8% abv can sneak up on the home-brewer and friend of the home-brewer.

Whole Hog Moves to Sugar Land

Whole Hog Brewery is not Immune to the Forces of Globalization. As JeffRay prepares for an Overseas assignment (2+ years) the brewery has moved to Sugar Land as the OH, Double David, etc. will act as Steward in the interim.

The move went well: plenty of fine memories, not washed away over time and beer suds, were present as boxes were filled, trailer loaded, and truck moved off toward Sugar Land. Thanks are due to Rick P, a regular at Whole Hog, allowed use of his truck and tie bands (some of which were inadvertently on long-term loan).

Additional unpacking and commissioning are needed for the brewery to back to normal production. But, there should be plenty of time for this to naturally occur.

The first batch of beer to be brewed in Sugar Land will be "Maiden Brew 2" based on the first grain bell sum four years ago. It will be a extract beer, brewed to ensure equipment is in good condition. No doubt, a going-way brew will be brewed in JeffRay's honor. An announcement on this event will be forthcoming as his departure date becomes more clear.

Hello, How has the past two years been?

We've been busy at Whole Hog Brewery, Just not busy posting. Hopefully, We'll get a little bit better next year!

Aussie Beer Tour

The microbrew craze has hit down-under. Microbrews are common and vibrant as those in North America. White Rabbit is a good example of the microbrew whose home is in Western Austrialia but has also expanded to the Mountains north of Melbourne.
It is refreshing smelling the smells, and tasting the tastes that go with custom made, small batch beers. The people are so nice, the countryside is amazing ... words fail the blogger at the moment: