The new brew season

[FedoraDave]

I consider my brewing season to run from Labor Day Weekend to sometime in late July, when I begin to tire out, and it just gets too hot to brew every week.

And every season I try to challenge myself to try something new. This past season, it was Hopsperiment, where I made a batch using the same simple grain bill, but switching the hops each batch, to learn more about that strain's characteristics, and thus make more intelligent choices about hop usage, which hops go well together, etc. It paid off quite well, as I made an addition to my signature beer, FedoraDave's American Ale, and I'm wild about the result.

The season before that, I challenged myself to try styles I was less familiar with, resulting in a saison that I will definitely keep in the rotation, and an Oktoberfest that pleases me no little and more than somewhat.

Beginning in September, then, I'm going to try experimenting with different grains. This will be similar to Hopsperiment, using a different base malt for every batch. I will probably use Hallertau hops in each batch, as it's fairly mild and not intrusive. I'll be interesting in comparing how Maris Otter and American 2-Row compare, and Vienna and Munich, and Pilsner. Maybe not a great deal of difference, but if I can detect subtleties, I'll have learned something, and it will help me make better decisions when formulating future recipes.

I think I'll also take the base recipe (most likely the 2-Row) and add different specialty grains in different batches, just to see how one thing can affect a change in the whole.

Onward and upward!

[mashani]

There is quite a difference between Pilsner, Vienna, or Munich when used as 100% of your grain bill. You will certainly notice it.

[Beer-lord]

While I don't usually take time off and brew all year long (though the weather here is very different in the winter than up north), I will likely not be brewing in August. I decided on a whim to do 2 beers today planning on doing one today and one tomorrow but the weather actually got cooler (ok, less sunny and humid) after the early morning brew so I decided to do a second one this afternoon while the showers are around and it's breezy and less humid.
So, I'll have a nice pipeline to last me into the early football season and think I won't need to brew in August. Of course, that may change.

[MadBrewer]

My brewing slows down big time over the summer. This year I am way behind, but that's life. Summer is just too busy with kids out of school, they are finishing up sports, there is family trips, parties...all that good stuff that otherwise takes up a free weekend I may have had. I finally brewed the 2nd batch of summer today and it was a perfect day. Warm and sunny but not hot or humid compared to how it has been lately. I didn't even break a sweat. Meant to get up around 6am and get started but I slept in till 9am. No biggie, didn't have anything else planned, finished up around 2pm and just waiting to pitch the yeast.

I like what you are doing Dave, I think it's good to mix things up a bit. There is so much to this hobby no reason to limit ourselves. "My" big thing this year will probably be brewing more lagers. I have only done a couple. I think this winter will be "lager season".

[Whamolagan]

It is always good to break up the brews just to get used to other ingredients. As hot as it is, I "suffer" through it. With the new brew machine I am using, I get to brew a lot more often due to the sheer efficiency on brew day.

[Gymrat]

This is how you learn how various ingredients affect a beer so you really know what you are doing formulating recipes.

[FedoraDave]

So now I need to formulate a recipe. I've been wondering if I should make it a completely SMaSH recipe, or add a little something like 20L, in a small proportion, just to boost the body a little.

[ScrewyBrewer]

For what its worth I've been switching between 2-Row, 6-Row and Pilsner base malts in my recipes for the past year....and have some very interesting results. Though not as dramatic as switching between Munich, Vienna and Marris Otter. As for summertime brewing I'm guilty of having a depleted pipeline too, especially after providing beer for the previous 2 parties I went to. I'm already getting fleeting moments of Fall running through my mind, maybe some dark roasted grain recipes for a change.

[mashani]

You could just use some carapils or carafoam to boost body but not really affect the flavor. Or if you want just a really light caramel / sweet note added you could try some Cara 8 which I've decided I like a lot. It's a very light belgian crystal, it has a slight crystal vibe compared to carapils or carafoam, but it's really mellow, and won't affect the flavor as much as C-20.

EDIT: Or you could just mash at a higher temperature IE 154, and that will give you the full malty affect of whatever malt you are using and give you plenty of body.

[RandyG]

Senor Hat, My brewing times are maybe the same as your's. It gets hella hot here as of late,so I quit brewing around the end of May,and resume in Sept. late. I have problems with temp. control here and during the summer months, I usually try and M.T. my pipeline to free up enough bottles for the "Fall Brewing"season.This HOT summer,I've brewed 2 batches of Saison,one with Amarillo Hops,and one with Citra Hops,both using Belle Saison yeasts. I've got 2 weeks until bottling,and then 5 or 6 weeks til 1st pour. Once it gets cooler, I've got a Mr. Beer Lite,and Mr.Beer Lager to brew with extra hops and DME.I plan on mini-kegging some of each batch and bottling the rest. SWMBO likes the lighter brews.SO. I hope that the rest of your summer turns out well.Brew on,My Friend

[Jon]

Dave, you are going to LOVE this round of beersperiments! The difference that Marris Otter vs 2-row vs Vienna vs Munich bring to the table is amazing. I'd even suggest trying a batch of the cheapest Maris Otter you can find vs. Thomas Fawcett Floor Malted Maris Otter.

Good luck and enjoy your brewing season!

[FedoraDave]

I'll post my results and musings in the "Grains" forum, same as I did with Hopsperiment, just in case anyone wants to follow my Maltsperiment.

Mashani, on most of my beers, I do try to mash at around 155, although, as I noted in another thread, my thermometer turned out to be about four degrees off on the low side, so I was getting more attenuation. I'm using a new thermometer, so things should be more accurate now. I may use the Carapils, though; just maybe 1/4 pound against six pounds of base malt.

This is another reason why I like brewing 2.5g batches. You get variety in the pipeline, but if you're experimenting and get a less-than-desirable beer out of it, you're not stuck with two cases of it.