Saturday, August 31, 2013

The psychology of Rosemary IPA

Yes, it stormed on my brew day.  It didn't get ME down!

I decided that taking Thursday as a short "work from home" day was a great idea.  I always have these great ideas :)

Since I have been busy night and day working on Perch stuff, I hadn't brewed in a long time.  On Wednesday, I reorganized the cellar and truly, the cellar is less than half of where it should be.  I have been giving out more beer, and making less. Clearly this is a recipe for sadness.

The two most popular beers in the rotation are Grilled Lemon Cream Ale and Rosemary IPA, so... I put the word out that I'd be having a double brew day and tat all were welcome. 


Throughout the brew day-fternoon (see, I just made up a word!) about a dozen people visited- it's so nice to have friends come by.  This particular day, a storm blew in right at noon when the brew day was supposed to begin.  I put up an EZ-Up tent and we were no worse for wear.

Paul was there early and helped weigh ad mill the grain, helped with mashing in, and- this is a first- SAT with me for a little bit while the mash water heated up.

I have these brew days, but I'm always doing SOME thing.  Cleaning, getting things ready for the next step, etc.  I honestly believe this is the first time I SAT DOWN at a brew day.  I sat for like... 20 minutes straight!  It was INCREDIBLE! Thanks Paul!

Bryan Myron brought his brew kit and brewed up a Pumking Clone.  I helped him with the batch last year, and it was the BEST pumpkin beer I have ever tasted.

The rosemary for Rosemary IPA was picked in the garden at The Perch.  I actually added additional Cascade at T-15 in this batch.  I felt that the last batch was a bit "flat" or one-noted.  In the prior batch, I used no hops beyond the bittering, letting the rosemary take it all.  This is fine and it's an IPA for non- IPA lovers, to be sure.  I bittered it to 60 IBU's, so it's an IPA, but with no late addition hops- every single person says "OH!  I don't like IPA's and I like it"  This phenomenon attests to the "Perception of Bitterness" that brewers speak of.  It definitely had a lot of hop bitterness, but without the in-your-face super hoppy flavor and aroma, people perceive that there is less bitterness.  Rosemary IPA is fantastically loved by all, and a litle cascade to boost some citrus pine notes will help it be just a --little-- more IPA-ish.

If I run out of Grilled Lemon Cream Ale, my mom will kill me.  So- I made it for self-preservation reasons, really.

No comments:

Post a Comment