Jalapeno Red - Chilled, Ready and Tasted

Okay, I (William) pushed the envelope with a pepper style right out of the gate.  The previous posts showed the process and that home brewers have free license to experiment in creating beer flavors and style.  The Jalapeno Red was an adventure into into the unknown.  We added the jalapenos with 15 minutes left in the boil to give the beer flavor and heat.  And we also added about 2 cups of brown sugar as well to give the yeast something good to eat to boost something later in the process.

We used a box mix for Red Ale with between 5 - 5.5% ABV.   The beer had very good color and head.  We bottled it just right to get that carbonation solid.  The beer had a distinct jalapeno aroma but little malt and hop.  That was an early sign that the Jalapeno bum rushed the party.  So we all tasted, including Derick from next door, and had similar reviews.

It had a strong jalapeno flavor, there was only a little hint of malt and hops.  I personally felt it was unbalanced, that the jalapeno had jumped everything else and beat them up, badly.  The interesting thing about pepper beers is that there is no heat like you would get from eating a Jalapeno in a food dish or fresh.  It is a pepper taste on your tongue that you feel and I must say that was a plus.  All in all it wasn't bad but it wasn't that good either because it was out of balance.  However, it went real well with the nachos I prepared for the family later.

Corb and Kev suggested the next attempt we use a brew mixture that can fight back, such as a stout or double IPA, with strong malt overtones to give it greater balance.  Hops add bitterness and that would probably not work with the jalapeno.  Corb even suggested possibly introducing habaneros to the next attempt.  Corb mixed it with an IPA we had which give it greater balance and you could still smell and taste the pepper.

I have to agree and those other combination would also give it a higher ABV.  We'll keep y'all posted on our next jalapeno beer attempt.  We'll jump into habaneros one day too.

Double IPA #2 Bottling

This week we bottled a repeat of the Double IP with orange and bourbon chips that we brewed a few weeks ago that had two fermentation cycles.  This was one of our first brews that we all liked but we added some citrus to see how the flavors mix.  In Corb and my  enthusiasm to get it bottled, we forgot the priming sugar which is key to helping the beer keep its carbonation when bottled.  Fortunately, we only bottled 4 before Kev saved the day with the priming sugar.  With a good bottling rhythm with the help of Derick next door and storage in a cool place (around 70 degrees) we will be ready in 2 weeks for another tasting of the 50 bottles we prepared today.  

Hit us up if you would like to become one of our volunteer tasters. Our vision is to make great beer for y'all, not just us.

Jalapeño Red Ale Bottling Day

The Brothers experimentation phase 2 is bottled. After a 14 day 2nd fermentation we are excited to unleash something new. You can smell the jalapeño everywhere. It will definitely have a different flavor and taste.

The crew is getting everything ready, sterilizing bottles, etc. for another first: Jalapeño Red. We'll have some taste testers trying it out that will post about it this coming week.

Bros Toured Monday Night Brewing

Kevin, Corby, and William visited Monday Night Brewing to taste, tour and meet some new prospective members of the Brothers that Brew community. When we arrived, there was multiple alumni events going in and a whole bunch a people. 

Initially there were long, but fairly quick line that were unusual for a Thursday.  Monday Night rents out the place for events so this is to be expected sometimes.  Good people interacting and William ran into an old friend as well.

On tap was a Scotch Ale, Double IPA, IPA and a Serrano Pepper IPA.  Of all we tasted the Double IPA stood out as being the best of the bunch. Good hop flavor and aroma, the double is something we would all try again. However the Serrano pepper ale, had a little pepper feel at the end but was a little to light for William 's taste. Corby liked the 

Corby's Back

Corby's back from the San Francisco Bay Area and its brew pubs. He visited Moxy Beer Garden in Berkeley  visited Jupiter Brewing. Beer Revolution with 48 beers on tap, most California.  He even ran into someone familiar with Brothers Brewing, the 2nd African American brewery in the country.  He'll be posting about it soon.

William

6/2 Brew Day - Double IPA

While Corby was in Oakland having fun, Kevin and William decided to keep the brewing going with a Double IPA. We are getting the hang of home brewing because each time it gets a little easier and we're beginning to branch out on flavors.  In brew #4 Kevin added 

Oranges to the steeping process and molasses to the boil.

The rain almost got us, but we got it done and brew #4 is now fermenting.  

The Jalapeño red ale, got transferred to begin it's 2nd ferment and looked and smelled excellent. Bottling brew #3 in about a week.

Fire Tiger Red Ale

On Sunday, May 26, 2013, William decided to go out of the box we his first brew.  It was our second recipe innovation after Kevin's Jackson Stoudt with Bourbon chips. William added... JALAPEÑOS for heat and flavor during the last 12 minutes of the boil. At the end of the boil we added 3 tablespoons of brown sugar for added sweetness and possibly boost the abv. We are measuring the abv with this brew as we want to get the next batches between 8-9% abv.

According to Kev (who lets the beer ferment at his crib), the brew smelled good during the first week of fermenting. Now we're gearing up for the 2nd ferment that will take about 2 weeks before we bottle and unleash pin he world.