New England Series: Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout

After spending the past two weeks in 70+ degree weather in bone dry Colorado, it was actually a pleasant surprise to wake up to a classic Massachusetts spring morning freshly soaked by an early morning shower. At the end of my walk on the mud packed trails of Borderland State Park, nothing sounded better than getting back to my warm home and cracking open a stout, but the problem was that I had no stouts waiting for me and honestly had nothing in mind for a good stout around these parts.

A quick glance at what the coolers had to offer at the local packy (or liquor store for you out-of-staters) brought me to  Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout. I had never heard of Wolaver's before, but "Vermont's Own" adorned the top of the label, which honestly sealed the deal for me. After all, I am searching out New England brews that I have not been exposed to.

Wolaver's is credited as the first USDA certified organic brewery and is a subdivision of Otter Creak Brewing, which are both brewed in Middlebury, Vermont. Wolaver's mission takes simply brewing beer with organic ingredients to the next level by making efforts to support local sustainable agriculture as well as reducing their impact on the environment. This is slowly becoming a trend I think all micro breweries, as well as other businesses big and small, can appreciate and strive for. Anyways...

Picture from utoledo.edu

Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout was everything I was hoping for on this chilly, wet day. It poured an impenetrable dark (and I mean dark) brown with an inch head that dissipated down to something resemblant of cappuccino foam.  The smell is dominated by roasty aromas with hints of coffee and some chocolate, but I must say that the smell did not do the beer justice, in my opinion. The first sip was full of dark, robust malts that were accentuated by notes of sweet chocolate and coffee bitterness. There is also a very full bodied mouth feel that is quite creamy and silky, which can (more or less) be attributed to the high quantity of oats. In oatmeal stouts, oats make up as much as 20% of the grain bill which enhances the body while also adding a distinct creamy mouth feel.

I wish I could get this beer in Boulder. It is an exceptional example of an oatmeal stout that I would absolutely encourage anyone to get there hands on. It is also worth mentioning that this stout just took third place in the stout category at the Great International Beer Festival held in Rhode Island. Not too shabby...

UPDATE: Foreign Extra Stout (HB#1) just about ready to drink!

November 22, 2011

This past Friday (November 18) was the end of the two week bottle conditioning period that the Foreign Extra Stout recipe called for. The two weeks is more of an estimate/minimum number, and from past experience and what I have read, weeks three, four, and even five may produce a more uniform beer with fully developed flavors.

On Friday, I opened a Foreign Extra Stout and poured it into a glass admittedly hoping the beer would be "done" and taste perfect. The taste had definitely developed more of a full finish, which was something lacking when tested after week 1. However, there was also a more prominent and somewhat off putting alcohol flavor for a beer only ~5.5% ABV. Honestly, it gave the stout a "homebrew-y" taste that comes across as semi-artificial and overly syrupy (molasses-y almost). When the glass was tipped so a small layer of liquid was at the top of the glass, you could even see a clear line where there seemed to be a water layer surrounding the dark extract inside (a bit hard to explain). I assumed the worst, which is that something went wrong during brewing or the fermentation. Everything from two small of a boil when adding the liquid extract to decontamination can cause off-tasting alcohol flavors. My main concern was that the off-flavor could be a result of temperature fluctuation that I experienced during primary fermentation. Needless to say, everything that could have went wrong was going through my head in order to sift through what probably did and didn't happen. In the end, I just have to wait to see if the alcohol off-flavor remains or settles down and allows the other flavor profiles to come through...

Fast-forward five days later to today (November 22) and the prominent alcohol flavor is no more. Now, let me point out that I only opened one bottle so it is possible, for example, that the beer I had on Friday (11/18) could have been some freak turn out, or the one I am having now is some miracle bottle that tastes delicious and not something brewed in a tub (not that it was...). I am hoping, and choosing to assume, that all the other bottles consistently taste as good.

The pour produced a big head on top of an almost black colored liquid. When the glass was tipped, the liquid was uniformly dark and did not appear watery around the edges. The nose has notes of chocolate, dark and roasty malts, and a slight rummy smell (perhaps the remnants of the overly alcohol flavors from a few days ago). The beer has a full bodied mouth feel with a robust malt flavor, though it does not taste as chocolatey as it smells. There is a definite bitterness that hits the back of the tongue during the finish, which I am happy to say is more full and complete, from the hops, though it is not overtly "hoppy" like in an IPA.

All in all, the Foreign Extra Stout is better then I could have imagined. It really does have a full taste that doesn't have that "homebrewed" tang that I was sensing this past Friday. I am now comfortable to say that the Foreign Extra Stout is just about done. Though, it is not unreasonable to think that the flavors could develop and settle out even more, thus resulting in an even better brew. Either way I'm marking Homebrew #1 as a success.

UPDATE: First taste of bottled Foreign Extra Stout (HB#1)

I bottled my first homebrew, the Foreign Extra Stout, last Friday (11/4) and am supposed to wait at least two weeks before I opened one. Well, I only waited one week and decided I wanted to crack one open to see how progress is going.

First off, the cap came off with a hiss, letting me know that carbonation is building up. The pour into the glass gave a good sized head.

The taste was about what I expected, but the finish was a little weak. I feel like stouts generally have a lingering thick and malty after taste, but mine didn't have much going on after the sip. Like I said, though, I tested this a week early so the beer still has some conditioning to do. Hopefully the flavors will balance a little more and there will be a stronger finish. From what I am told, the beer will only get better in weeks 2, 3, and 4, so I am looking forward to see how this beer progresses over the next couple of days and weeks.

2011 Boulder Brew and Music Festival

Boulder Beer and Music Festival 2011

A couple friends and I got tickets for the Boulder Brew and Music Festival at the Fox Theater this past Saturday. To be honest I didn't expect much since I had been to the GABF not too long ago with all of the nations best breweries, but the small size and atmosphere really created a festival that I would most definitely go back to next year.

At GABF, I would sample a beer or two from a brewery and move on to the next. I felt like I needed to try as many beers from as many places as I could, which left no time to go back and try ones again that I had liked. The Boulder Brew and Music Festival had about 15 breweries, most local but a few out-of-staters, which was a great chance to go around a try everything once and then go back and try the ones you liked again. It was also a good chance to meet some of the brewers and talk with them without feeling like you were holding up a line.

Walking into the Fox, I was most excited for Copper Kettle's Mexican Chocolate Stout, which was definitely one of my favorites at GABF this year. Needless to say I had my fill of the stout and was even able to talk to the owner for a bit. (He has a tap house in Denver that he runs with his wife and one other bartender. They brew 3 barrels at a time, which is not much, but he said they have been getting great business and plan on bottling soon.)

I also spent a lot of time at the Grand Teton taps drinking their imperial red, IPA, and coffee porter and talking to the guy behind the taps, who I learned was "in the family." Grand Teton's Pursuit of Hoppiness is still one of my favorite reds to date, and their IPA and coffee porter were right in line as well. Unfortunately, I'm having a tough time remembering the name of the IPA.

Odell's had a few bottles of Mountain Standard, which is a really hoppy Double Black IPA. I was lucky enough to get to try it, but it was gone by the time I went back for seconds. I will most definitely be looking for this in liquor stores.

Alaskan Brewing Company, whom admittedly I am not a huge fan of, really surprised me with their Winter ale. It had a great spice to it and a bit of a hoppy finish. It had me going back for more. They also had a White ale that was a little too flowery for my liking, but my roommate Zach decided to have the guy pour a mixture of the Winter and White which actually was quite the concoction. The spice of the Winter toned the floral notes down on the White and actually created something with a good balance of spice, citrus and flowers. Not sure how the Alaskan guys would feel about it though...

Last, I want to mention some cider I had that was like something I have never tried before.The Colorado Cider Company had a cider with hops in it on tap, and it was one of the most delicious (non-beer) alcoholic beverage I've had. It had the usual really crisp, dry, and carbonated flavors of a good cider mixed in with just enough hops to put some bitterness on your tongue and make you realize you are drinking something very unique.

This was only the second year of the Boulder Brew and Music Festival, but judging by the turn out I would say there will most definitely be a third, and I will be there.

UPDATE: Homebrew #1 (Foreign Extra Stout) now in bottles

This past Friday (11/4) after the first day of snowboarding of the year, I racked Homebrew #1: Foreign Extra Stout into bottles.

A few days prior I soaked all the bottles I collected (big thanks to Andrew) in ~10 gallons of water with 2 tbsps of OxyClean in it to get any sediment out of the inside and try and get the labels off. I let them soak for about 36 hours and then took each one and scrubbed the label/glue off with a sponge and used a bottle cleaning brush to get the inside clean. The de-labeling actually went a lot smoother then planned. Avery bottles, for example, would come out of the soak free of labels and with no glue, so little to no attention was needed. However, others, like Rogue, must have been glued on with rubber cement because I had to pick at them with my finger nail pulling off tiny little chunks at a time. I don't think I will be wasting my time with bottles like that if I can help it.

Come bottling day I boiled 5oz of corn sugar in 2 cups of water for 5 minutes. The purpose of the sugar is to add a little more "food" for the yeast to eat, and since the bottles will be capped air tight, no gasses can escape thus creating carbonation. It is important that the sugar water is mixed well through out the wort, but at the same time you want to add as little oxygen as possible, so I dumped the sugar water into the racking bucket first and then siphoned the wort in a whirlpool manner in order to stir things up with out aerating it. Once the wort was transferred it was time to start bottling.

I hooked up the bottling tool to the bottling bucket's racking spigot and began filling bottles. With the bottling tool, you just fill the beer bottle to the top and then when you pull to bottling tool out it is at the right level. Then the bottle is capped and that is it. Chris and I repeated this 45 times until all the bottles were filled.

With a 5 gallon batch I should have technically got 48 bottles, but somehow I miscounted and only cleaned 46, and on top of that a screw top got in their somehow which cannot be recapped. So I ended up with 45 bottles. I also donated one bottle's worth to science to measure the gravity and taste. The gravity was right on point at 1.014 and despite not being carbonated tasted quite delicious. It had some very good chocolaty notes to it.

The bottle filler. When the pin at the end is pushed against a bottle, it lets beer flow.

Filling bottles.

Mr. Bottle Capper

Foreign Extra Stout in test tube

So now the bottles need to condition for 2 weeks and carbonate before I crack one open. They will probably taste even better after 3-4 weeks once the flavors and everything settle.

Patience is a virtue in homebrewing. 

UPDATE: Homebrew #1: Foreign Extra Stout

So I tested the gravity of the Foreign Extra Stout on 10/23 to see how things were going. The kit's recipe said to test it after 7-10 days, which would have been when I transferred to secondary (but I didn't), but I took it a few days late and the gravity reading ended up being at the final gravity (1.014). So everything seems to be going swimmingly.

I also ended up moving the bucket from the basement barthroom to my bedroom since it's starting to get cold out here in Colorado. The ambient temperature was around 59 degrees for a few days, and the yeast was supposed to be fermenting between 62-72 degrees. If the temperatures are too cold for the type of  yeast I am using, than they basically go to sleep and do not complete the primary fermentation stage. I'm sure fermenting at 59 degrees was probably still okay, since the temperatures within the fermenting wort are sometimes up to 10 degrees warmer than the ambient temperature because of more yeast activity, but it is only going to get colder out here so I decided just to move them. So now the Foreign Extra Stout and Red Ale are in my room sitting at about 65 degrees.

Only a few more days until bottling!

Homebrew #1: Foreign Extra Stout

*Before I jump into my first homebrew, let it be known that I decided to seriously make this blog after this batch, so this post might be a little bare compared to posts to come in regards to pictures. It might also be a bit longer and more detailed then ones to come since it is the first*

If I were to bet a few weeks ago on what style of beer I would have attempted to brew first, I would probably have put my money on an Indian Pale Ale or Red Ale. However, after going to Great American Beer Fest in Denver, I got a mean case of the "stout bug." Copper Kettle Brewing Co. out of Denver took gold in the Herb and Spice Category with their Mexican Chocolate Stout, which was easily one of my favorite samples of the day. It was a heavy stout that had a noticeable thick, chocolate flavor, but the kicker was a spicy after taste that would linger in the back of your throat and burn up through your nose because of chilies that were added during brewing. This more or less sealed the deal that I wanted to brew a stout.

So I went to Hop To It and bought their recipe kit for a foreign extra stout for about $40. The kit came with 8 lbs of Amber liquid malt extract, specialty grains (1 lb Roasted barley, 6 oz Black Patent malt, 4 oz Chocolate Malt), 1 oz Challenger hops, 1 oz Styrian golding hops, 5 oz of corn sugar (not used until bottling day), and yeast (Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale). From the smell of the grains it seems like it should have slight chocolate and maybe even coffee flavors.

On brew day (10/11/2011), I more or less followed the recipe to the tee. (However, instead of using the Irish Moss it recommends, I got some SuperMoss, which is basically a concentrated form of Irish Moss):
-Bring 1.5 gallons of water to 160°
-Once at 160°, remove pot from heat and steep specialty grains for 30 minutes
-Take grains out and let drip dry. Add the 8 lbs of extract.
-Once the extract is dissolved, bring water volume up to about 4 gallons and return to heat.
-Bring wort (the word for unfermented beer) to a boil. Add 1 oz Challenger hops and boil for 45 minutes.
-Add 1/2 oz Sterling Golding hops. Boil for 5 Minutes. (*This is where the recipe says to add the Irish Moss, so the timings are a little different from here on out compared to the kit recipe)
-Add Super Moss. Boil for 5 minutes. (The SuperMoss is prepared by taking 4oz of the wort and cooling it in a sterile glass jar. Once it is cooled you add a little less than 1/4 tsp of SuperMoss and shake vigorously. Then it's ready to go)
-Add 1/2 oz Sterling Golding hops. Boil For 5 minutes

*Total boil time = 60 minutes

Once the boil is over, it is important to cool the wort down to below 80° as quickly as possible. Because the book I read stressed the importance of a fast chill, I bought a wort chiller (~$65) in order to easily cool beer down as fast as I could. Wort chillers are a spiral of copper tubing with hose adapters at the end. You hook the hose up and run cold water through the copper coil. You stick the coil in the pot and run the water through (with the excess coming out another tube which we had going outside). We got it to about 70° in, I would guess, under 10 minutes.

Side note: Chris and I had a little scare when using the wort chiller. The hose adapter wasn't screwed on tightly and when we turned the hose on, water was spraying out of the chiller. If this water were to get in our beer it could ruin everything since their could be contaminants that would prevent the yeast from doing their jobs. Luckily we didnt get any water in the pot, so everything should be fine. Lesson learned: Run some water through your chiller to make sure their aren't any leaks that could lay waste to a pot full of hard work (and money).

Once the wort is cooled below 80° we topped it off to 5 gallons and then dumped it back and forth between the fermenting bucket and the pot in order to aerate it. This is the only time you want the wort to be aerated from here on out. At this point, it is critical to aerate the wort in order for the yeast to survive.

After the wort is sufficiently aerated, it is dumped in the fermenter. We took a sample in order to test the gravity (we nailed the target starting gravity at 1.055), and then added the yeast to the wort. Last thing to do was put the lid on, plug the hole with the airlock, and put it somewhere to ferment at 62°-72°.

And that's it. In 7-10 days it says to transfer wort into a secondary fermenter, but I am just going to keep it in the primary fermenter, since from what I read it is not entirely necessary to use a secondary for this recipe. But I will take a gravity reading at about 10 days to see how things are going.

Since I am writing this after brew day, I can also note in this post that the airlock started bubbling after about 6 hours and was bubbling rapidly at about 12 hours. The bubbling in the airlock is a good sign that the yeast is at work.

So that is it. My first beer, a stout, is fermenting (at about 61°, a little low) in a 5 gallon bucket in my room. I will update at the next gravity reading!

The only picture I got. This is the tube I put the sample in to test.
The hydrometer (which measures the gravity) isn't in there though