A question we asked a lot in May: Why do you homebrew? Some menti Others, the desire to express themselves while having fun. Several re savings of brewing your own product. The answers given were varied, an The craft of homebrewing is as much art as it is science - how much of e A creative hobby accessible by all walks of life, perhaps the most simple
for drinking better beer. Plus, once your friends and family figure out exac bound to become more popular. In this feature, we collected bits and piec best homebrewing minds in town.
jason fields & kevin sheppard Homebrewers Jason Fields and
Kevin Sheppard are native San Diegans who have known each other since elementary school. The team had been brewing a chocolate stout for a couple of years, but for Stone’s March Madness Homebrew Competition Jason wanted to add something different - cherries. “We were absolutely floored when we won. It was our first competition,” says Jason, who didn’t even get to taste the beer until the day of
the competition. “We went into it with no expectations, just to get some feedback.” As for brewing on Stone’s system? “All the methods were really similar, just on a much bigger scale. We followed the recipe pretty closely.” The Jason Fields & Kevin Sheppard / Tröegs / Stone collaboration will take part in the Pro-Am Competition at the GABF in September.
Cherry Chocolate Stout (5 gallons, all-grain)
10 lb. 2 Row Pale Malt 3 lb. 2 lb. 1 lb.
Caramel/Crystal 40L Chocolate Malt Black Patent Malt
Added 4 oz. Chocolate in the Mash (I used Ghiradelli Bakers Chocolate) Mashed at 158 for 60 Minutes
90 Minute Boil 2 oz. Warrior Hops for 90 minutes 4 oz. Chocolate last 5 minutes of boil
Cool to pitching temp and add .75lb Lactose
WLP 002 English Ale Yeast
Rack to Secondary and add 5lbs of Cherries (weight before pitting and stemming) I pasteurized the cherries and let them cool before adding Add 2 Vanilla beans. Keg/Bottle and enjoy!!
—Recipe courtesy of Jason Fields
PRO-AM Highlights kelsey mcnair
Representing local homebrew club QUAFF, Kelsey McNair teamed up with Hess Brewing to brew a German Rye Pilsner for the NHC’s Pro-Am Competition. Kelsey, whose San Diego County Session Ale won the Stone March Madness Homebrew Competition last year, combined different pilsner recipes, a grain bill with 20% rye and Nelson Sauvin hops to create this beer. He opted for the use of Nelson instead of traditional Noble or Saaz hops “so you get a fresh blast of what Nelson Sauvin is.” Both Kelsey and Hess are proud of the results, having successfully scaled up the original recipe in order to brew on Hess’ system. If it hasn’t run out, you may be able to taste the results in Hess Brewing’s tasting room under the name “Lucidus.” Below is a recipe Kelsey sent over to us for another of his homebrews, this one being “a light, crisp, hop bomb - perfect for a nice summer day in San Diego.”
WC Session Ale (5 gallons, all-grain)
OG = 1.042 FG = 1.009 IBU = 45 SRM = 3.8 ABV = 4.3%
Malt 7 lbs. Pale Malt (2-row) Domestic 6 oz. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt
6 oz. Crystal 10L Malt 2 oz. CaraVienne Malt
Hops 0.25 oz Chinook (First Wort Ho
IBU
0.25 oz Warrior hops (60 mins 0.25 oz Columbus hops (20 m 0.50 oz Columbus hops (10 m
Step by Step instructions: Heat 14 quarts of water to 167°F, stir in grains and rest at 158°F for briefly. Sparge with water hot enough to keep the grain bed around 17 collecting wort. Take gravity readings of runnings and quit collecting w minutes, adding warrior hops with 60 minutes remaining in the boil, a in the boil, adding Columbus hops with 10 minutes remaining in the b at the end of boil. Cool wort and transfer to fermenter. Aerate and pitc completed, rack to a secondary fermenter and add Columbus, Centen
—Recipe courtesy of Kelsey McNair
Homebrewing Tips from the Experts
“Get good information. Build a collection of books. The first good batch I brewed was awesome because I studied.” - John Wilson, head brewer, Oggi’s Fenton Parkway
“My new brew system reached boil very quickly, and close to 1.5 gal of a 5 gal batch evaporated. After I dry-hopped I miscalculated the priming sugar and
overcarbonated. Be careful!”
8-
-Nick Lalonde, homebrewer
“Here is my advice: Don’t be afraid of extracts and steeping grains […] My friend Andy taught me a bit of flaked wheat gives you a wonderful head retention on IPA […] Pitch plenty of yeast, and lastly, “Relax, don’t worry, have a home brew.’” - Scot Blair, proprietor, Hamilton’s Tavern
“For your first few batches, pick a style that is not too wacky or complicated. Probably the best place to start is a standard American Amber Ale […] See if you can repeat the process more than once and have it within a small margin. Once you get your head wrapped around that, then pick something a bit more advanced.” - Kelsey McNair, homebrewer behind North Park Beer Co. and winner of Stone’s 2010 March Madness Homebrew Competition
“Sanitation is key. Keep brewing
and you’ll get better.” - Rushi Chakrabarti, homebrewer and BJCP certified judge
“My advice: Don’t get lazy on cleaning and invest in the equipment to do a full wort boil! The only fungus you want in your beer is the yeast YOU add. A full wort boil makes a better beer, period. Also, if you are using steeping grains and malt extract when you brew, add the malt extract with 10 minutes left in the boil. Remember that extract has already been caramelized enough during the concentration process.” - Colby Chandler, specialty brewer, Ballast Point; general manager, Home Brew Mart
“Crystal malts should be an accent – do use too much. There are typically way m unfermentable sugars in specialty malts lead to an overly sweet finished beer. Als alcohol brews are easier to make well a to drink. You can always have another.” - Ryan Glenn, distribution manager, Bal
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“I’d suggest homebrewers try usin how they impact the beer. Hopbac wort) are a great way to provide b bitterness. Dry hopping at the end fermentation also provide a bright with 0 and 5 minute additions, so - Paul Sangster, QUAFF homebre
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