Combustion – Smoked Porter
- Turned out really nice.
- Ended up with a very high finishing Plato (don’t remember the exact number, need to look it up).
- The sweetness from the higher finish actually worked well.
- If remaking: aim for a finish higher than the original plan, but not as high as this batch.
Southern Tides / Nomocraft Pale
- Our version was quite nice.
- Possible candidate for a remake.
Momonokai – Passion Fruit Peach
- Very well-received by HopHopka people.
- Test batch: used the nicer peach → much better.
- Full batch: used cheaper peach → not as good.
- Conclusion: always use the nicer peach.
- Yeast: used thiol yeast in the test batch but not in the full batch. Want to use that again, as it added something extra.
- Style/method: think it might have been a kettle sour? Not sure. Would like to do a kettle sour in the future.
Sake Yeast Beer Tests
- Helles + Sake Yeast: Started as a nice variation, but over time the sake character disappeared and it ended up tasting like a regular helles.
- Sake Yeast + Koji Rice in Fermenter: Produced nice flavors, but balance is tricky — need the right alcohol level without thinning out the body too much.
- Sancho Gose (World Beer Cup Winner): Attempted to ferment with sake yeast → didn’t fully work. After thinking it was finished, added koji rice in the fermenter. Didn’t ferment much further, but improved the sake character. → Idea: test adding sake rice/koji rice post-fermentation again.
- QA23 Wine Yeast + Sake Rice in Fermenter: Came out really nice. Flavor: phenolic, citrusy, farmhouse-style funk, but not unpleasant.
Berry Belly – Blueberry Beer
- Came out a little too thick.
- Would have preferred to kettle sour and lighten the body.
- Tonka beans were a highlight — nougat-like flavor. → Want to reuse tonka beans in a different context, maybe a dark beer (brown ale, porter, etc.).
Nonik – English Pale Ale
- Really nice.
- Very cheap to make.
- Customers (especially taproom) really liked it.
- Clear demand for this style at the taproom.
Big Dreams
- People really liked it.
- Personally, I thought it was just “meh.”
- Need to analyze what people responded to in it.
Fancy a Cuppa – Earl Grey Beer
- Used 5 kg of Earl Grey tea in a full batch.
- Tea added in the lauter tun; wort brought in from the bottom, mimicking traditional Japanese tea-making.
- Only ~10 minutes contact time with hot liquor.
- Result: very intensely tea-flavored, almost too much.
- Plan: try again with a different tea and/or a smaller amount.
Szechuan Lager
- Flavor was too strong at 1.3 g/L Szechuan peppercorn.
- Nice red-tinged flavor profile, though.
- Idea: use in a red rye beer at a lower dosage.
Voltage – English IPA with Sansho
- Sansho paired really well with the English IPA base.
- Balance and integration worked nicely.
Watermelon Gose
- Didn’t have enough watermelon flavor.
- Added watermelon before fermentation finished → some fermented, produced an off flavor.
- Result wasn’t great.
- Percentage was only ~10% watermelon; probably need 12–15%.
- Could also add another puree (e.g. strawberry, other melon) to boost flavor.
Sancho Lager
- Used too much sancho.
- Used non-premium “budo” sancho, which has a greener profile.
- Still a nice match overall, but needs refinement.
Momochan (Peach Beer)
- Good reception, people seem to like it.
- If remade: would add vanilla to give a “peaches and cream” vibe.
- Might also thicken the body slightly.
