"How're the brewz?", I hear you asking. A long-due update then.
Kohaku (formerly known as Torakun before my poor Japanese was corrected by the lovely Kazuyo-sama*) was received quite positively by the lads and laddettes at Honbu Dojo.
*I'm quite sure the combined use of the adjective lovely and the honorific suffix -sama is frowned on in Japan. But then again, we're not in Japan now, are we?
Seeing as how the whole lot was quickly taken care of, and no day-after casualties were reported, I'm counting this as an Ippon (or at least a Waza-ari, what with me being my own worst judge).
Lessons learned from Kohaku: too much Münchner malt without something to complement it will create a gap-like sensation midways the tasting experience. Ginger (and possibly other spices) can adequately fill this gap, but not everyone likes ginger, least of all in their beer.
On the ginger: while I'm inclined to up the dose even more, the Kiai's most-heard critique was "too much ginger". I'm guessing what I'm after can only be achieved by using ginger extract (the stuff used in ginger ale and commercial root beers): that fiery bit of punch at the back of the throat that was still missing in this version. While I'm all for ginger, I'm not sure how to tweak this without taking it to extremes.
Meanwhile, a new brew is in the making: I analyzed the crap out of Kohaku, and decided to gaze no longer on the orient for inspiration, but rather homeward a bit instead. I wanted to create a larger, heavier version of the little tiger, something in the tradition of Belgian Dubbels, only not a Dubbel per se.
Adding pale ale to the malt base should do the trick.
For some reason I couldn't see at Brewday, my OG fell way short of the mark, barely hitting 1050, which is what Kohaku reached using 30% less malt, even though I was sure my mash temperatures were better controlled this time around.
It took me a couple of days and a chapter in Brewing Better Beer to sink in: in all the hullaballoo and enthusiasm of yay-I'm-brewin'-again, I'd forgotten two minor but important things:
Kohaku (formerly known as Torakun before my poor Japanese was corrected by the lovely Kazuyo-sama*) was received quite positively by the lads and laddettes at Honbu Dojo.
*I'm quite sure the combined use of the adjective lovely and the honorific suffix -sama is frowned on in Japan. But then again, we're not in Japan now, are we?
Seeing as how the whole lot was quickly taken care of, and no day-after casualties were reported, I'm counting this as an Ippon (or at least a Waza-ari, what with me being my own worst judge).
 |
| She's a soft nancy compared to me. |
Lessons learned from Kohaku: too much Münchner malt without something to complement it will create a gap-like sensation midways the tasting experience. Ginger (and possibly other spices) can adequately fill this gap, but not everyone likes ginger, least of all in their beer.
On the ginger: while I'm inclined to up the dose even more, the Kiai's most-heard critique was "too much ginger". I'm guessing what I'm after can only be achieved by using ginger extract (the stuff used in ginger ale and commercial root beers): that fiery bit of punch at the back of the throat that was still missing in this version. While I'm all for ginger, I'm not sure how to tweak this without taking it to extremes.
Meanwhile, a new brew is in the making: I analyzed the crap out of Kohaku, and decided to gaze no longer on the orient for inspiration, but rather homeward a bit instead. I wanted to create a larger, heavier version of the little tiger, something in the tradition of Belgian Dubbels, only not a Dubbel per se.
Adding pale ale to the malt base should do the trick.
 |
| ...or so I thought... |
For some reason I couldn't see at Brewday, my OG fell way short of the mark, barely hitting 1050, which is what Kohaku reached using 30% less malt, even though I was sure my mash temperatures were better controlled this time around.
It took me a couple of days and a chapter in Brewing Better Beer to sink in: in all the hullaballoo and enthusiasm of yay-I'm-brewin'-again, I'd forgotten two minor but important things:
- stir during mashing
- do the iodine test
It would have been impossible to forget one but not the other, but missing both the enzyme-enabling stir, and the "did my enzymes work do their job" test, I was playing by ear instead of by numbers.
Mashing aside, everything worked out fine, and we're now one week into cold lagering/clearing. I haven't added any dry-hops (yet) and maybe I'll even choose not to add any at all: so far, NewBrew is quite yummy:. That gap thing which irked me in Kohaku is gone now, thanks to the addition of pale ale, and cutting down a bit on the Münich has made the beer a bit easier, less toasty-grainy while still having a bit of chew to it. Also looks like my minor hop-tweaking improved the basic drinkability, making cold-hopping perhaps unnecessary. As it is now, in it's very green and young, pubescent beery state, it's already quite smooth and easy. Not nearly as smooth as I want it to be, but we're getting somewhere. This Kohaku sibling may turn out to be something to watch...
Until then,
Greetz
Jo
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