New Brew: Leroy Brown

A lot of brewers make a brown ale early in their portfolio because it’s considered easy. Not too much can go wrong, it can take a neutral & fast-acting yeast, and it can span a wide flavor gamut of hops and malt.

My first ever brew was a brown ale I made back in high school on my parents’ stovetop. Gleaned from Charlie Papazian’s earlier editions, it was a straight-up by-the-book extract affair. My mom later accused me of ruining her kitchen curtains with that “disgusting hop smell.” All in all, it turned out ok. It was drinkable (especially if you were my friends in high school). I remember a slightly cidery note to it, but hey – homebrewing ingredients have come a long way.

Anyhoo. When your several most recent brews have featured oddities like dandelions, passion fruit, Dominican herbs, agave nectar and grapefruit peel…why not get back to basics? This new one will be an American Brown Ale. Dark enough to carry some caramel flavor, but light enough to drink with summer burgers & steaks. We upped the hop IBUs to the forties to hopefully add some bite to the malt base.

Man, who am I kidding? With a name like Leroy Brown, I have to be prudent and throw some rice from Uncle Ben and some syrup from Aunt Jemima in there!! Much better. Some Victory, Melanoidin, Crystal 120 and a little Chocolate malt meet some Frankenstein leftover hops of Newport, Galena, Cascade and Fuggle.

And this one goes out to beer judges everywhere!

OG=1.06 IBU=41 SRM=19

Providing Needles for your Balloons

It is with great remorse and humility that we divulge our paltry scores from the 2008 National Homebrew Competition. One year ago, we were giddily basking in the glow of a silver certificate, taking third place in the eastern region with our sole entry IPA, Simcoexistence (scoring 37/50).

This year, we tripled our efforts and entered our American IPA, Passion fruit Blonde and Belgian Farmhouse. I had very high hopes for both the IPA and the Belgian, but sadly, a few of the IPA bottles have since been developing off-flavors and some acrid fizziness. Methinks the judges got one. What follows is a brief summary of their score sheet comments...

71-Minute IPA (25/50)

Thumbs up: Aroma is a strong, citrusy hop aroma / hint of alcohol. Some caramel aromatics. No off aromas. Slight yeasty & bready notes. Appearance is deep copper & heavy persistent head. Head is almost Guinness-thick. An amber pour with a tight, white head. Flavor is decidedly bitter w/ hops in the finish. Malt is there, but bitter dominates. Sweetness emerges on the last warmer sips. Finish is slick but clean. Overall, a hop-forward beer. A good base beer for an IPA.

Thumbs down: Aroma has some grassy harshness. No malt detected. Cooked vegetal notes suggest infection. Slight butter aroma as it warms. Appearance is slightly hazy. Highly carbonated. Flavor-wise, the malt is overpowered by hops. Balance is off. Vegetal and diacetyl override the hop. Some buttery notes hard to get past. Little malt base to support hops. Overall, harsh, but may improve with age. The off tastes may be from an infection. Diacetyl is a problem and detracts from the overall drinkability.

Passion Fruit Blonde Ale (26.7/50)

Thumbs up: Strong passion fruit aroma carries. Fruity, but not overbearing. Light malt aroma detectable. No diacetyl. Appearance is golden, with well-formed head & retention. Steady and very fine carbonation. Pale straw yellow, good head. Falls with some lace. Flavor is tart and malt. Interesting combination that works somewhat well. Hops are subtle. Finish is medium to dry. Passion fruit flavor is subtle in the middle. Finishes with residual tartness. Edgy. Hops become more noticeable. Overall, a well-made beer. There is a stickiness at the finish that may be a character of the fruit. Strange, yet drinkable. No serious technical flaws. Malt, hops and bitterness are appropriate.

Thumbs down: Aroma is fruity, but not distinct. A touch of acetaldehyde? Minor DMS (slight off-vegetable note). Appearance is hazy & stays when warm. Head falls fast. Flavor is indistinct. Fruit is not identifiable. Some diacetyl. Passion fruit fades at the end. Overall, well-made but not well-knitted. The fruit aroma doesn’t carry through to the taste, and there are some edges that are slightly distracting. Retain more fruit flavor next time, perhaps in secondary.

Belgian Farmhouse Ale with herbs (31.5/50)

Thumbs up: Aroma of fruit and soft phenolic spice with a malt background that increases as beer warms. Farmhouse goaty, spice and possibly St. John’s Wort. Spice dominates with some peppery heat. Appearance is gold with large, long-lasting head & fairly clear. Dark, gold, clear. Tight white standing head. Spice dominates flavor. Malt and fruit support. Medium hop bitterness is noticeable in the middle. Spice lingers through the middle and prominent in the finish. Sweet malt with spice predominance. Pepper bite builds. Overall, a very flavorful beer in which spice dominates. Well brewed. Very interesting beer dominated by spices. Almost a liquid heat.

Thumbs down: [Go to hell. We’re enjoying the 31.5 points for now.]