This evening I seriously needed to decompress from a series of bad news. I picked on the banjo for awhile (working on the alternating thumb roll) and I bottled the Northern Lights Juniper Rye Pale Ale. The beer was a bit darker than I had expected, and taste was heavy on the juniper. My fingers are crossed in hoping that this flavor mellows considerably with bottled conditioning, otherwise I have 5 gallons to drink out of spite (anyone remember the smoked beer like drinking a camp fire.

Tonight I brewed up a recipe that I have been mulling over for quite some time, a juniper Rye pale ale. The idea is merge a floral hoppiness of a pale ale with the unique juniper aroma and essence. The following is a summary of the boil and pitch process. Just as the northern lights can be a splash of color and life during a long, cold winter, I want the Northern Lights Juniper Rye PA to be a bright, vibrant brew that awakens a winter palette that has been overwhelmed with thick stouts and complex porters. I will, as always, keep everyone up-to-date as this beer ferments, ages, and is consumed.

For this particular brew, I am using two hop varieties that I have not previously used; the Magnum and Motueka (a New Zealand variety). Another first for me is the use of Juniper Berries, which should lend a pleasant, bitter-sweet aroma which reminds me of gin. The berries are sweet, with a hint of pine and turpentine. This ingredient is traditional in the Scandinavian beers…the homeland of the northern lights.

Fermentables
2 lbs. – Rye Male
7 lbs. – Pale Liquid Male Extract

Hops
2.0 oz. – Magnum 13.5% AA – 60 minutes
1.0 oz. – Motueka 8.9% AA – 15 minutes
1.0 oz. – Motueka 8.9% AA – 5 minutes

Yeast
White Labs American Irish Ale (WLP004)

Steep rye malt for 30 minutes at ~150 F.

Add pale liquid malt extract, and return to boil. Add 2 oz. of the Magnum hops to the boil. A heavy curtain of hop aroma steams up from the kettle. Add 1 oz. of Motueka hops (whole leaf) in steeping bag. Steep the juniper berries in a small pot and pour mixture into a food processor. A quick pulse will crack the berries and create a juniper “slurry”.

With 5 boil minutes remaining, place the remaining 1 oz. of Motueka hops to another steeping bag. Pour the juniper “slurry” through the hops into the kettle and let the berries fall into the bag. Let the entire mixture steep in the boiling wort for the remaining time.

Cool the wort, place into the fermenter, pitch the yeast, and wait for the bubbles.

This evening I brought over a couple of bottles of my two latest homebrew to Andy’s place for a little tasting and watch the bills on MNF (we won’t mention the game outcome, but it was brutal). Below is a couple of pics of the brews and my intentional impressions.

	The Sticky Sweet Maple Honey Porter has a light mouthfeel and the flavor has subtle tones of maple and the high alcohol lends a near wine-like quality. The nose is floral.
	The South by Southwheat Agave Ale was very clear, both in color and in mouthfeel. Very refreshing with sweet, nectar flavors. I think that this is going to be a hit.

Appearance: Dark Golden with a thick creamy head
Aroma: Soft pine aroma with light hops
Taste: Creamy palate with bright pine notes…very pleasant

Overall: I have never had a juniper-infused ale, but I have been thinking of using that ingredient in an upcoming homebrew. So, when I saw this on the shelf at Rosauers it was quickly grabbed and purchased. I enjoyed this brew; however, it is not what I find to be a session beer. It is great for a pint or two. I can’t wait to brew my Northern Lights Juniper Rye PA…coming soon.

This evening Andy and I went down to the Bozeman Brewing Company’s tasting room. We started off with a Pumpkin Ale. We both thought that it was somewhat over-spiced with, in my opinion, the allspice taking over. My next brew was a Dry Irish Stout on a nitrogenated tap. This was excellent with a milky mouthfeel and great hints of coffee and smoke in the aroma like cowboy coffee. A great beer that I hope stays in rotation. I ended the session with a beer that is big in every way, the Hopzone. I refer to this ale as “Man candy” — heavy hopness, not bitter – hoppy, and a stiff belt of a heavy gravity Double-IPAish beverage. The Bozone never disappoints, they are always stretching their limits with new ideas and techniques. I encourage everyone to support this great local brewery whenever possible.

I finally bottled my latest two batches of homebrew, the Sticky Sweet Maple Honey Porter and the South by Southwheat Agave Ale. Below I will give my impressions of each patch as they went into the bottle.

Sticky Sweet Maple Honey Porter

Dark as the ace of spades and fully on the alcohol. The taste was mild on the roasted coffee notes and the high ABV lent a wine-like warmth. This will be a great winter warmer-type ale.

South by Southwheat Agave Ale

Definitely citrus notes in both the aroma and taste. The color is great orange-tinged straw yellow. Low flocculation caused a very hazy beer, but hey it’s a wheat ale…perfect!

Tonight I brewed my South by Southwheat Ale. It’s a wheat ale twist a couple of twists – the use of agave nectar in place of honey, which I normally use, and Sorachi Ace hops (a Japanese variety that is supposed to lend a mild lemon/citrus flavor – perfect for a wheat beer). I am using the American Hefeweizen yeast from White Labs for this particular brew. Images of the brewing process and brewing particulars to follow.

Fermentables
2.5 lbs. – American Two-row Barley
1 lbs. -  Flaked Wheat
4 lbs. – Wheat Liquid Male Extract
1 lbs. -  Agave Nectar

Hops
0.5 oz. – Sorachi Ace 14% AA – 60 minutes
0.25 oz. – Sorachi Ace 14% AA – 15 minutes
0.25 oz. – Sorachi Ace 14% AA – 5 minutes

Yeast
White Labs American Hefeweizen (WLP320)

Steep American Two-row Barley and flaked wheat for 45 minutes at ~155 F.

Add wheat liquid malt extract and agave nectar, and return to boil. Add 0.5 oz. of the Sorachi Ace hops to the boil. Smell the goodness.

After the boil was over, the color was a tad darker than straw yellow – perfect for the wheat ale…I can’t wait to taste this one.

Today I brewed a recipe of my own devices, a Sticky Sweet Maple Honey Porter. The intent of this was to have big porter with sweet tones of coffee, maple, and floral tones from the Fuggles hops and honey. In what follows is the recipes, images from the brew day, and the brew particulars.

Fermentables
7 lbs. – Dark Malt Extract Syrup
1.5 lbs. -  Honey
1.25 lbs. – Maple Syrup
1 lbs. -  Rye Malt
1 lbs. – American Black Patent

Hops
1.0 oz. – Fuggles 4.6% AA
0.5 oz. – Fuggles 4.6% AA
0.5 oz. – Fuggles 4.6% AA

Yeast
White Labs Irish Ale (WLP004)

Steep black patent and rye for 30 minutes at ~155 F

Add dark malt extract and 1oz of Fuggles hops. Bring up to a boil.

Add honey and 0.5 oz. of Fuggles hops at 15 minutes.

Add maple syrup and the remaining 0.5 oz. of hops at 2 minutes.

Postscript: The fermentation is healthy to say the least.

This evening I had the Copper John Scottish Ale from the Madison River Brewing. The brew is a nose full of smoke and peat tones. The color is a bit light for the style, but the flavor is on. Overall, it is a good Scottish ale, but I think that it is a light in gravity and color.