Happiness is a Cold Homebrew

Been studying a lot recently, trying to get my techniques and my system dialed in for consistent and repeatable results. To that end, I asked for a few books from my dad, who dutifully clicked through Amazon and secured them for me. Imagine my delight when that beautiful smiley-faced box arrived in the mail last month with John Palmer’s How to Brew, Jamil Zainasheff’s Brewing Classic Styles and Ray Daniels’ Designing Great Beers enclosed within. Lots of goodness in those pages, my friends.

So, I’ve decided that the best way to hone my skills would be to brew a beer “to style” and see what comes of it. In what ways is it different than how it’s supposed to be, and in what ways is it the same? My reasoning is that if I can successfully brew a beer within BJCP guidelines, I’ll have better data to measure it against as a final product. This past weekend, I cracked open Jamil’s book and pulled out an especially tasty-looking recipe for what he calls a “California Red” or “West Coast Red.” I reprint the recipe here for educational purposes only, as I thing every serious homebrewer should already own a copy of the book. Do yourself a favor and pick it up from your local homebrew shop!

Est. OG: 1.071
Est. FG: 1.015
Est. ABV: 7.4%
Bitterness: 64.9 IBUs
Color: 19.8 SRM 

GRIST
-12lbs 6.8oz UK Pale Malt (3 SRM)
-1lb Crystal 40L (40 SRM)
-8oz Crystal 120L (120 SRM)
-1lb Light Munich Malt (9 SRM)
-8oz Victory Malt (25 SRM)
-2oz Chocolate Malt (350 SRM)

HOPS
-1.2oz Horizon @ 11.2% (60 min)
-1oz Cascade @ 7% (10 min)
-1oz Centenniel @ 10.8% (10 min)
-1oz Cascade @ 7% (0 min)
-1oz Centenniel @ 10.8% (0 min)

YEAST
-Wyeast 1056, American Ale (w/ 1 quart starter) OR White Labs WLP001 (w/ 1 quart starter) OR Safale US-05 (16 grams rehydrated)

Hope this recipe inspires you to “brew to style” more often. I think many homebrewers get wrapped up in the creative aspects of the hobby, and neglect some of the great things that can be learned when they brew a beer according to guidelines. I’ll post some thoughts on the brew day later this week, including how I learned to stop worrying and love a 90-minute mash, and how I got my brew day down to 5 hours by really pushing my lautering system, with some really encouraging results. Stay tuned, and happy brewing!!