So, after a much belated delay, I, Mo' Problemas, am finally here to give my two cents on the state of craft beer. I hope I can live up to the quality of posts before mine. Ironically, my very first post is not going to be a commentary on a craft beer you can find on your local store's shelves. Instead, this will be a recap of a unique collaboration between myself and our wonderful dueño of this very blog. Now, you may ask why Limoncello, isn't that a girly drink that is the opposite of beer? Or perhaps, why an English Pale Ale? What the hell in god's name do you two inexperienced idiots think you're doing? Well, dear readers, it is simple. Both of us are not what you could say "fans" of the traditional English Pale Ale (cough cough I may despise it cough cough). So, rather than stay satisfied with a mediocre showing from our first all-grain brewing experience, we decided to add a little bit of spice, "science", and ingenuity.
As previously mentioned in our post regarding losing our all grain "cherry", we decided to dry hop this Pale Ale brew with a dose of Citra hops. Much to our pleasure, this led way to a delightful tropical and citrusy smelling beer upon bottling. However, we found it to lack the kick of beers that we drink frequently. This led us to wonder what could we do to improve our beer in an interesting and exciting way.
Enter Villa Massa Limoncello.
As Wayne Gretzky once said: "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." (*Note* As an avid sports fan of everything Boston/Atletico de Madrid, I will be using ample sports references in my musings.) So, in a flash of clarity, we decided to include nature's own alcoholic citric beverage into our beer. A liqueur, best served cold. This citricy, lemony, and surprisingly strong (after experimentation) liquor seemed to fit the exact flavor profile of our beer. We began small, carefully measuring out portions of the liquor mixed with our new (albeit flat) creation. A small amount enhanced the nose, but did not do much for the flavor. A full shot had us going on our way, clearly convinced that we had struck genius during the night. But, bold hearts march on. A full shot led to trying a half liter with two shots. This is where luck struck out. The liquor overpowered the beer, and left a "Shandy" that could only be described as brutal. We reverted to our original full shot measurements and bottled our first two "Reverse Shandy's" of our recent brewing existence.
Day 2 of bottling proved to be an experience quite unique to itself. First, we realized that through the course of experimenting with different levels of limoncello on night one, we had nearly exhausted our bottle of Villa Massa. Cue frantic supermarket searching for a replacement. Thankfully, the quest was short.
Once again, we experimented to make sure that our "genius" from the night before had not been misled. By utilizing our very best scientific techniques to measure the ratio (At this point, I would like to thank my high school Chemistry teacher T-K for drilling into my psyche how important it was to take consistent and accurate measurements from eye level) we realized that our measurements from the night before were not quite the "golden-ratio" we were looking for. But, damn were we close.
Upon review, we decided upon the following formula:
For a 330 ml bottle = 65-70 ml of limoncello
For a 500 ml bottle = 110-120 ml of limoncello
For a 660 ml bottle = 140 ml of limoncello
These measurements were taken by eye utilizing a measuring cup, but to the best of my ability were consistent and accurate.
(Note for all experimental brewers these measurements were used during the bottling phase, and do not include the priming sugar that was added to the bottle. An update of the success of the experiment will be added following the first tasting.)
This bottling continued until alas, we saw our limoncello deplete, leaving us with a half a liter of beer left... Naturally, we decided for one final experiment. An experiment that turned our Shandy into something, well, Randy. This surprise alcoholic addition turned our English Pale Ale into something that smelled like it could have come as a tropical cocktail. All it took was about 50 ml of Ron Diplomático Reserva Exlusiva 12 Años to transform our citrusy English Pale Ale into something a bit more suave and potent. Our surprise will be left to age for a period of months (hopefully) and then we will share to the world if it came to fruition, or was an absolutely horrendous idea.
With that, I leave you. I hope everyone has enjoyed my very first post for Livin' La Birra Loca. I apologize for the word vomit, but I hope that readers find this both informative and intriguing. Experiment with your beer! It will leave you with a greater understanding of what flavor profiles work with others, enhance each other, or leave you feeling a bit queasy. At the very least you can feel like a "cook."
As previously mentioned in our post regarding losing our all grain "cherry", we decided to dry hop this Pale Ale brew with a dose of Citra hops. Much to our pleasure, this led way to a delightful tropical and citrusy smelling beer upon bottling. However, we found it to lack the kick of beers that we drink frequently. This led us to wonder what could we do to improve our beer in an interesting and exciting way.
Enter Villa Massa Limoncello.
As Wayne Gretzky once said: "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." (*Note* As an avid sports fan of everything Boston/Atletico de Madrid, I will be using ample sports references in my musings.) So, in a flash of clarity, we decided to include nature's own alcoholic citric beverage into our beer. A liqueur, best served cold. This citricy, lemony, and surprisingly strong (after experimentation) liquor seemed to fit the exact flavor profile of our beer. We began small, carefully measuring out portions of the liquor mixed with our new (albeit flat) creation. A small amount enhanced the nose, but did not do much for the flavor. A full shot had us going on our way, clearly convinced that we had struck genius during the night. But, bold hearts march on. A full shot led to trying a half liter with two shots. This is where luck struck out. The liquor overpowered the beer, and left a "Shandy" that could only be described as brutal. We reverted to our original full shot measurements and bottled our first two "Reverse Shandy's" of our recent brewing existence.
Day 2 of bottling proved to be an experience quite unique to itself. First, we realized that through the course of experimenting with different levels of limoncello on night one, we had nearly exhausted our bottle of Villa Massa. Cue frantic supermarket searching for a replacement. Thankfully, the quest was short.
Once again, we experimented to make sure that our "genius" from the night before had not been misled. By utilizing our very best scientific techniques to measure the ratio (At this point, I would like to thank my high school Chemistry teacher T-K for drilling into my psyche how important it was to take consistent and accurate measurements from eye level) we realized that our measurements from the night before were not quite the "golden-ratio" we were looking for. But, damn were we close.
Upon review, we decided upon the following formula:
For a 330 ml bottle = 65-70 ml of limoncello
For a 500 ml bottle = 110-120 ml of limoncello
For a 660 ml bottle = 140 ml of limoncello
These measurements were taken by eye utilizing a measuring cup, but to the best of my ability were consistent and accurate.
(Note for all experimental brewers these measurements were used during the bottling phase, and do not include the priming sugar that was added to the bottle. An update of the success of the experiment will be added following the first tasting.)
This bottling continued until alas, we saw our limoncello deplete, leaving us with a half a liter of beer left... Naturally, we decided for one final experiment. An experiment that turned our Shandy into something, well, Randy. This surprise alcoholic addition turned our English Pale Ale into something that smelled like it could have come as a tropical cocktail. All it took was about 50 ml of Ron Diplomático Reserva Exlusiva 12 Años to transform our citrusy English Pale Ale into something a bit more suave and potent. Our surprise will be left to age for a period of months (hopefully) and then we will share to the world if it came to fruition, or was an absolutely horrendous idea.
With that, I leave you. I hope everyone has enjoyed my very first post for Livin' La Birra Loca. I apologize for the word vomit, but I hope that readers find this both informative and intriguing. Experiment with your beer! It will leave you with a greater understanding of what flavor profiles work with others, enhance each other, or leave you feeling a bit queasy. At the very least you can feel like a "cook."
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