The Elfin Blog

It has been quite a while since I’ve brewed beer. July 2004 as a matter of fact. Far, far too long. So with that it mind, and a little time off for Thanksgiving, I decided to brew myself a batch of delicious and nutritious homebrew. I got out my homebrew books and found a recipe I’ve been wanting to try for a while, a recipe for a California Common, or Steam beer. Alas, when I arrived at the brewshop in town, the lady was out of the yeast I needed. On top of that, she only had two ounce packages of the Perle hops I wanted, and not a half-ounce of anything to be had. Feeling a little adventerous and experimental, I decided to wing it a bit, and I took what I could get. The result: an American made IPA. Or a total disaster. We’ll have to see, but I’ve got to say I’m feeling optimistic.

Here’s the recipe I ended up using (for 5 gallons):

7 lbs. Light DME (Munton’s I believe)
8 ounces Crystal Malt 40-L
2 ounces Perle hops (boiling)
1 ounce Cascade hops (finishing)
Wyeast 1056 - American Ale

I steeped the Crystal malt at about 160 degrees (F) for 30 minutes, removed the grains, then added the DME and whole Perle hops. I boiled for 60 minutes. During the last 2 minutes of the boil I added the whole Cascade hops. I smelled up the whole house. It was great. My corrected O.G. came in at 1.0619.

I’m excited to see how this turns out. It’s not going to be a California Common, but what the heck. I’ll have to try that next time. In the mean time, I’ll let you know how this one comes out.