Winter Storm Nelson/Simcoe Pale Ale

We are up to about 6 inches of snow and it keeps coming so what else is there to do but brew some beer . I am trying to do this all inside since it is nasty outside and there is no place to put my car to free up the garage. It is also holiday cookie day so Clare and I are sharing the kitchen.

I am going to try out a hop I bought a while back but never tried, Nelson Sauvin, in a pale ale. It is supposed to have a grape like fruity character that sounds like a love it or hate it type of thing. After looking online I decided to pair it up with some Simcoe to keep it interesting.

The recipe:

• Grain:
• 8 lb Pale Malt
• 1 lb Crystal-15
• 0.5 lb White Wheat
• 0.125 lb Crystal-120
• Hops
• 0.25 oz Warrior @ FWH
• 0.5 oz Simcoe @ 10  min
• 0.5 oz Nelson Sauvin @10 min
• 1 oz Simcoe @ 1 min
• 1 oz Nelson Sauvin @ 1 min
• 0.5 tsp Irish Moss
• 0.5 tsp Yeast Nutrient
• 10 drops FermcapS
• Beersmith Specs:
• OG: 1052
• 33.3 IBU
• 7.0 SRM
• 5.2% ABV

The plan was to mash at 152 F for 60 minutes and boil for 60 minutes. First runnings 2.9 gallons at 19.2%. 4.5 gallons total after second runnings at 14.9%. Forgot to check the pre-boil gravity but the original gravity ended up at right on at 1052 (13.6%). This is what it looked like outside, I have no idea where the animation came from, I think Google did it for me. Pretty cool but also kinda scary, how did it know...

I chilled it with the pump and a snow bank since it was available. Ended up getting it down to 54 before pitching the yeast. Tasted good going in, fermenting at 15.5 C until I get back from Arizona for the holidays.

A couple updates

Just a quick update on the Hop Burst IPA. It finished up at 1010 which puts it at about 6.2% ABV. Not too shabby but next time I would like it to start a bit higher to balance the hops more. This is a hop bomb, but in a good way. There is a ton of good juicy hop flavor but the malt is a bit subdued. It is still clearing up which is understandable since there was a ton of hop junk in the fermenter after it finished. Next time I want to make sure the OG is a bit higher, I might scale back the flameout hops slightly, and I will also probably dry hop it to get a bit more aroma out of it.

The dragons milk is tasting pretty good so far but still needs to age a bit more. I wanted a bit more body our of it so they next time I may add some flaked oat or maltodextrine to the recipe. The bourbon flavor could have been a bit more pronounced too. I think I may go for an imperial stout with the next bourbon barrel beer when the time comes.