Biere de Garde

I received a recommendation from my sister to brew a Biere de Garde for the fall.  I have never made one and thought it sounded like a fun beer.  Saisons get a lot of attention but this style seems to be rather under the radar. Biere de Garde is a farmhouse beer from the border areas of France and Belgium.  It uses lager yeast at room temperature to impart a mildly sweet and fruity flavor.  It should have a low bitterness and excellent smoothness with spicy hops for flavoring and aroma.  I am looking forward to sampling this one. 

Grains:
6# Extra light DME
1# Sparkling Amber DME
1# Aromatic malt
8 oz Pilsen malt
4 oz Special B malt

Grains mashed in with tap water and removed at 170 degrees.

6.4 gallons post mash and pre DME addition.

60 min boil:
.5 oz Hersbrucker at 60
1 oz Saaz and 1 oz Spalt at 15 min
1 tablet Brewvint yeast fuel at 15 min
1 whirlfloc tablet at 15 min

Wyeast 2042 Danish Lager Yeast
Ferment at 65

Water adjustments: 1 tsp gypsum

Target:
O.G. = 1.064 
F.G. = 1.012 
Approximately 6.8% ABV 

Results:
1.0656 OG

Belgian White

I made this one for my wife and brewed it with my little guy.  He named this beer Nolan's Turbo Happy Birthday Nancy beer.  Her birthday is this weekend, remember, buy a big present.....

Grains:
5# Wheat LME
2# Wheat DME
1# Flaked Oats

8 oz Maris Otter malt

8 oz White Wheat malt


Grains mashed in with tap water and removed at 170 degrees.


5.77 gallons post mash and pre DME addition.


30 min boil:
.75 oz Hersbrucker and .5 oz Saaz 30
1 tablet Brewvint yeast fuel at 15 min
.25 oz Hersbrucker and .25 oz Saaz at 5 min

Wyeast 3944 Belgian Witbier Ale Yeast
Ferment at 68, 70, then 65


Water adjustments: .5 tsp epsom salt, .1 tsp chalk


Target:
O.G. = 1.056


Results:
1.0592 OG

Double Extract>Kolsch>Raspberry Wheat

I decided to brew two easy summer beers and settled on a Kolsch and the Raspberry Wheat that I made last year.  I went with extract for the time saving and knocked out both brews at the same time.  My little guy woke up at 5:23am so he got to help.  It was a really easy morning brew.
 
Kolsch

Malt
6 lbs lme German pils extract (two row Moravian pilsner malt with a touch of Vienna malt)

Hops
1.12 oz hallertau at 60
.75 oz hallertau at 5

2565 Wyeast Kolsch at 65-68 for 12-14 days, then keg condition for 3 weeks

Results
1.036 pre boil, 6.25g before malt
1.043 post boil

Water Adjustments
None


Raspberry Wheat

Malt
6 lbs lme 60% wheat 40% German two row

Hops
1.12 oz hallertau at 60
3056 Wyeast Bavarian Wheat Blend at 65-68 for 12-14 days, then keg condition for 3 weeks
4oz Williams Raspberry flavoring at kegging

Results
1.037 pre boil, 6.25g before malt
1.042 post boil

Water Adjustments
.5 Epsom
.1 chalk

Ca=36

SO4=61

Mg=17

Na=27

Cl=70

Carb=67

Hard=162

Alk=59

Pliny!

It has been a really long time since an AG brew so I had to get some Pliny into the fermenter.  Brew day was easy, easy, easy.  I hit all my numbers and had cleanup done in 5 hours.

Grains
12.25# Pale Ale malt

10 oz c-40
10 oz carapils

1# corn sugar

Mash at 150 for 45 mins, 15 min sparge

90 min boil
3.5 oz Columbus at 90
.75 oz Columbus at 45
1 oz Simcoe at 30

2 oz Chinook at 0

1.25 oz Centennial at 0

.5 oz Simcoe at 0

1.5 oz Simcoe dry for 7 days

1.75 oz Columbus dry for 7 days

1.75 oz Centennial dry for 7 days

Target og 1072

Target fg 1011

US-05 at 68

Results

1048 pre at 7.62 without sugar

1056 pre at 7.62 with sugar

1068 post at 6.12

76.9% efficiency

Water Adjustments
2 tsp gypsum