2015 NHC First Round Results

Every year I enter the biggest beer competition in the world, the National Homebrew Competition hosted by the American Homebrewers Association. The NHC is a two-stage competition where the top three beers in each BJCP category from each of the twelve regional centers move on to compete in the final round, hosted annually at the National Homebrewers Conference. With twelve centers taking approximately 750 entries each, this is easily the most competitive brewing competition in the world.

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Every year, the AHA surveys its members and then sets a individual entry cap based on the level of interest. This year, that cap was set at five beers.

With the cap in place, I selected five beers which I thought had the best shot and sent them to the NYC regional center for judging:

For a variety of reasons (flight order, judge fatigue, judge bias, cellaring errors, etc.) there can be some variability with judging. Because of this, I generally feel really good when I’m able to place half my beers in a competition of this size. All in all, I’m pretty happy pushing two beers on to the next round. Although I slightly missed the high bar I set each year, I am reassured knowing that all the beers with exception of one scored quite well.

The outlier in the group was my Vienna Lager which was dinged quite hard for the perceived presence of diacetyl by one of the judges scoring the beer, and for being too ‘big’ by the other. I am personally very sensitive to diacetyl, and this illustrates how judges can sometimes confuse certain beer flavors (in this case, a light touch of caramel) with off-flavors (like diacetyl), particularly in a lager category where judges often search for off-flavors. Other than this scoresheet, the judging was quite good. My only other complaint would be that the bock category did not have any BJCP judges scoring the category.

For the curious, I’ve posted my scoresheets here. With some luck, I’ll be shaking Charlie Papazian’s hand during the awards ceremony at the National Conference.

German Pilsner Brewday and Review

pilsBrewing an outstanding Pilsner has been a bit of an enigma for me. I’ve done a number of Bohemian Pilsners in the past, and they always seem a bit off the mark. This time around, I decided to take a shot at brewing a crisp and hoppy German Pilsner. The goal was to produce an austerely dry beer that classically showcases the herbal and spicy notes found in classic German hop varietals and the crisp refreshing character that is a hallmark of the style. The recipe ended up quite good, although brewer error and less-than-optimal yeast management led to a beer that missed my target.

German Pilsner Recipe

Specifications:
Size: 3.25 gal
Efficiency: 83% (measured)
Attenuation: 78% (measured)

Original Gravity: 1.054 (was shooting for 1.050)
Terminal Gravity: 1.014 (measured)
Color: 3.95 SRM
Alcohol: 5.5% ABV (calculated)
Bitterness: 22.8 IBU

Malt Bill:
6 lb (96.0%) Weyermann Pilsner Malt
4 oz (4.0%) Weyermann CaraFoam

Mash Profile:
144 °F – 30m
Decoction
153°F – 30m
Decoction
168°F – 5m

Water Treatment:
Extremely Soft NYC Water
5g Gypsum (to mash)

Hopping:
20 g Hallertauer Mittelfrüher (4% AA) – 60 m
20 g Hallertauer Mittelfrüher (4% AA) – 10 m
80 g Hallertauer Mittelfrüher (4% AA) – Whirlpool 15 m

Kettle Additions:
0.5 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) – added during boil, boiled 15 m
.5 tsp Wyeast Nutrient – added during boil, boiled 10 m

Yeast:
White Labs WLP830 German Lager – Starter on stirplate to achieve 1.5 million cells per milliliter of wort per degree Plato. Use Mr. Malty to determine proper starter sized based on age of yeast package. Pitch into 44°F wort and allow to free rise to 48°F. Raise temp to 50°F after 2 days. As fermentation begins to slow, raise temperature to 62°F. Once complete, chill 5°F per day until 32°F is achieved. Lager at 32°F 6-weeks.

Tasting Notes:

Judged as a BJCP 2A. German Pilsner.

Aroma (6/12):
Medium grassy hop aroma with some herbal and slightly spicy qualities. Malt aroma is low, but has a pleasant slightly toasty quality. Soft malt is a touch sweet. No DMS or diacetly. Slight hint of alcohol warmth. Low amount of green apple (acetaldehyde).

Appearance (2/3):
Straw colored and crystal clear. Medium white head that quickly dissipates. Low retention.

Flavor (11/20):
Moderate grainy malt with a touch of honey-like sweetness. Firmly bitter with some definite mineral notes. Hop flavor is medium-low with some herbal character. Nice crisp dry finish that is the hallmark of the style. A touch of alcohol. Some yeast fruitiness.

Mouthfeel (4/5):
Light bodied and crisp. Moderate to high carbonation.

Overall Impression (7/10)
A very refreshing beer overall. There are some yeast derived flavors (slight ester, green apple, alcohol) that detract from the overall drinking experience. This slightly off fermentation is tough to not notice in such a simple and austere beer. Beer could benefit from additional lagering and the use of a healthier pitch of yeast. Additionally, during the decoction process, the main mash temperature dropped quit low, likely degrading certain foam positive proteins and causing deficient foam retention.

Good (29/50)

 

Brambic – Spontaneously Fermented Wild Homebrew

Against what may or may not be good logic, I’ve begun a new sour beer project. My goal is to successfully create a delicious sour beer fermented only from airborne yeast and bacteria. There is something beautiful about the idea of successfully producing a delicious sour beer that reflects the micro-flora present where I live. I love the tangible connection that can be made with world-renowned Lambic brewers who continue to brew traditional spontaneously fermented beers (as well as American craft brewers like Allagash, Jester King, and Russian River). I am keeping this project as wild as possible; I will not be culturing yeast from fruit, grains, bottle dregs, or any other source, rather only what I can capture across the cool evening breeze.

Brooklyn wild cultures.

Brooklyn wild. What fermentive creatures lurk in our Gowanus air?

The Internet is full of stories both of success and failure when it comes to truly spontaneous beer. Whenever I attempt a technique that includes a high probability for failure, I try to set as many variables in my favor as possible to get a successful end result. There are no guarantees for success in a project like this, but taking a few simple measures can greatly increase your odds. Using this logic, I decided that running multiple samples and testing their qualities before pitching into a full 2.75 gallon batch of beer was the way to go. This was especially important given the fact that I live an dense urban environment with little vegetation and no fruit bearing trees that could be attractive homes for wild yeast.

My Process

_DSC1962Initially I prepared (3) 8 oz. samples of sanitary 1.030 OG wort and placed them boiling hot into pint sized mason jars. I added 0.3 ml of 88% lactic acid to each sample in order to acidify each below pH 4.5. My goal is to inhibit pathogens from growing in the wort as well as non-pathogenic bacteria that can produce objectionable flavors. Since I would be tasting the wort, I wanted to minimize terrible tasting samples as well as ones that could potentially make me sick.

Each of the three samples were placed around my apartment. One was located on the roof of my building, one in front of an open window at the rear of my apartment, and one in front of an open window at the front of my apartment. Each were covered with a couple layers of cheese cloth to prevent any insects from entering the sample and then left to cool for approximately 24-hours. After 24-hours I fitted each jar with a lid and airlock to create an anaerobic environment, providing control of another variable and putting selective pressure on the organisms growing in the wort.

I completed this experiment in the late fall, which according to American Sour Beers offers the best probability for culturing yeast and bacteria that will have a positive fermentation character.

After approximately one-month, I completed a sensory analysis of each sample (smell and taste). In hindsight, I should have also taken pH and gravity measurements.

_DSC2024Sample A – In Front of Window – Small filmy pellicle. Cabbage, some baby diaper. No apparent alcohol flavor.

Sample B – Outside on Roof – Small filmy pellicle. A couple spots of white fluffy mold. Some alcohol on nose. Light rubbery phenol.

Sample C – In Front of Window – Small filmy pellicle. Cabbage. Some oniony aromas. Pretty sweet, low alcohol.

Encouraged by the initial results, I stepped each into a three new 300-ml sanitary starters. Each were allowed to ferment for another month under airlock.

Sample A – Very sweet. Didn’t appear to ferment much. Clean.

Sample B – Quite sour. Some definite plastic-like phenolics and slight alcohol. Some pleasing barnyard notes.

Sample C – Reminiscent of pickle juice. The most sour. Definite alcohol on nose. Not very pleasant.

After the second round of fermentation, I decided that Sample B (the sample pulled from my roof) was the most pleasing (or least offensive). I pitched it into a fresh 1200 ml starter (also under airlock) and made preparation to brew a full 2.75 gallon batch. For my recipe, I decided on a simple golden grain bill to act as a clean slate for the culture to express itself.

2014 Brambic Recipe

_DSC2036Size: 3.25 gal
Efficiency: 75%
Attenuation: 90% (estimated)

Original Gravity: 1.049 SG
Terminal Gravity: 1.005 SG (estimated)
Color: 3.33 SRM
Alcohol: 5.71% ABV (estimated)
Bitterness: 0.0 IBU

Grist:
4.0 lb (64.6%) Dingemans Belgian Pils
2 lb (32.3%) Briess Flaked Wheat
3 oz (3.0%) Weyermann Acidulated Malt

Mash Regiment:
A turbid mash regiment (basically a thin decoction) was completed through the steps below. A Ferulic acid rest was completed to encourage the formation of 4-vinyl guaicol which Brettanomyces can theoretically convert into 4 ethyl-guiacol which produces some of the ‘funky’ aromas and flavors that Brettanomyces is known for. A short Beta rest was followed by a very high Alpha rest to encourage a dextrinous wort and protracted secondary Brettanomyces fermentation.

113 °F – Ferulic Acid Rest – 10min
136 °F – Protein Rest – 5min
150 °F – Beta Rest – 20min
162 °F – Alpha Rest – 30min
168 °F – Mashout Rest – 5min

Water Treatment:
Extremely Soft NYC Water
4g Gypsum (to mash)
4g Calcium Chloride (to mash)

Hopping:
1.25 oz AGED Cascade (0% AA) – 90 m

Kettle Additions:
0.5 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) –  15 m
0.5 tsp Wyeast Nutrient – 10 m

Yeast:
1200ml Brambic Spontaneous Culture
Fermented at ambient temperatures (70°F or so)

The beer will be allowed to ferment for at least a year until packaging.