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Monday, June 6, 2016

Texas Tea - The Official R.O.T.R. Cigar Beer

As a home brewer, one of the things I value most is that a well thought out great tasting beer brings people together.  The same is true with motorcycles.  I have been riding motorcycles for more than ten years which is about four more years than I have been home brewing.  In that time, I have met a lot of great people who share my passion for brewing and a lot great people who share my passion for riding but until about three years ago, I hadn't met anyone show shared both.  

About three years ago, I was chatting with a colleague and we figured out that we each liked to ride Harley Davidson motorcycles.  Not too long after that discovery I was invited to hang out with him and some of his friends to have a few beers and watch the ROT Rally parade come into downtown Austin, a ROT Rally tradition every motorcycle riders should see or take part in at least once in their lifetime.  Not sure what I was getting into, I accepted the invitation,  went and had a great time.   What I didn't know is that this was my official introduction to a group of motorcycle riders called "Republic of Texas Riders" or R.O.T.R. for short and I was being "evaluated" to see if I fit in with the group.  Apparently I met the requirements for acceptance into the group:
  • Old? - Check
  • Likes beer? Hello, I am a home brewer - Check
  • Has a bike? 2009 Ultra Classic  - Check
  • Smokes Cigars - Check
  • Didn't get anyone into trouble - Check
The rest is as they say history.  We have done several long rides together and I would now consider each of the R.O.T.R. members a brother.  As you can imagine, each of our rides has involved home brew of sometime.  Usually packed in the saddle bags to enjoy during our traditional evening cigars after a long day on two wheels.  Well one thing leads to another and one of the members of the group who used to home brew many years ago decided to bite the bullet again and get back into brewing after a few years on hiatus.  

Of course, like many home brewers, he jumped in with both feet again.  Did one, maybe two extract batches and made the switch to all grain.  So, after his second all grain batch we decided it was time to do a joint brewing project.  What we decided to brew is an Imperial Stout reaching about 10.2% AVB. 

Because I have an all electric system, he brought his gas fired system made up of a kettle and two coolers over to my place (a.k.a. Deafdog Brewing).  He was to brew a 5 gallon batch and I would do and 11 gallon batch.  After primary fermentation both beers would be blended together and added to a Garrison Brothers Bourbon Barrel.  I picked up barrel #3780 after helping the distillery bottle the single barrel bourbon that came out of the barrel.  Once in the barrel, we are planning on leaving it for about two months.  I'll will have the honor of checking the beer on occasion which I'll do on two week increments to make sure the beer does not get too much from the barrel and so I can determine when the beer is done.  

Once complete, the beer will be aptly named "Texas Tea - The Official R.O.T.R. Cigar Beer".  That name is both a call out to how most will be enjoyed and a play on the Beverly Hillbillies them song. 

"Come and listen to my story about a man named Jed, A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed, And then one day he was shootin at some food,  And up through the ground come a bubblin crude.  Oil that is, black gold, Texas tea".

The call out seemed to be a fitting one given how dark this beer is going to be.  So what's in this beer?  In preparation for brew day I created two separate recipes.   One for the 5 gallon and one for the 11 gallon.  Because of the brewing equipment I used DME in the 11 gallon but you could easily remove this and add back more base grain to achieve the desired original gravity.   

Once this thing has aged and is pulled out of the barrel it will be a Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout. It will likely pick up an additional 2-4% ABV in the barrel.  This varies quite a bit based on how wet the barrel is, the size of the barrel, the proof of the spirit etc.  I will estimate in the middle at 3% and will probably not send it into the lab for testing and verification.  Estimated is good enough for our rides.  NOTE: this is not a beer you want to drink while on the ride.  One bottle is usually enough but sometimes two is in order.  We do this after the day if over and we're parked at the cabin/hotel for the night.  I would suggest you do the same if you try to replicate this recipe.

For your convenience, I've placed links to download the Beersmith recipes, the recipes in plain text and a few pictures of the process.   Please let me know if you decide to make this or if you have questions by commenting on this article.  I will respond to every question as best I can.

Beersmith 2.0 Recipe Downloads: 
Texas Tea 11 Gallon Beersmith Recipe
Texas Tea 5 Gallon Beersmith Recipe

Texas Tea - Barrel Aged Imperial Stout 5G
Brewer: Brian Stevenson
Asst Brewer: Bryan Lane
Style: Imperial Stout
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 6.30 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.30 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.00 gal   
Bottling Volume: 4.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.095 SG
Estimated Color: 63.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 69.8 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 76.9 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                                                   %/IBU         
10 lbs 11.0 oz   Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)                        66.3 %        
1 lbs                  Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM)                               6.2 %         
11.0 oz              Black Malt (Bairds) (600.0 SRM)                       4.3 %         
11.0 oz              Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM)                              4.3 %         
5.0 oz                Brown Malt (65.0 SRM)                                     1.9 %         
5.0 oz                Caramel/Crystal Malt - 75 (Bairds)                    1.9 %         
5.0 oz                Special B Malt (180.0 SRM)                              1.9 %         
2.0 oz                Carafa III (525.0 SRM)                                       0.8 %         
2 lbs                  Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM)                     12.4 %        
1.00 oz              Magnum [14.00 %] - Boil 90.0 min                   59.6 IBUs     
1.00 oz              East Kent Goldings (EKG) [7.00 %] - Steep     10.2 IBUs     
1.0 pkg              Dry English Ale (White Labs #WLP007)             

Mash Schedule: 155.0 F for 75 Mins

Notes:
------

DO NOT ADD CORN SUGAR (DEXTROSE) TO THE BOIL.  Begin dosing the corn sugar after 2 days of fermentation.  Follow this schedule: 

Day 1 - Let beer ferment
Day 2 - Let beer ferment
Day 3 - 9.5 oz - Mixed with Just over 1/2 pint of water and boiled for 15 mins
Day 4 - 9.5 oz - Mixed with Just over 1/2 pint of water and boiled for 15 mins
Day 5 - 9.5 oz - Mixed with Just over 1/2 pint of water and boiled for 15 mins
Day 6 - 9.5 oz - Mixed with Just over 1/2 pint of water and boiled for 15 mins


Texas Tea - Barrel Aged Imperial Stout 11G
Brewer: Brian Stevenson
Asst Brewer: Bryan Lane
Style: Imperial Stout
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 13.20 gal
Post Boil Volume: 11.70 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 11.00 gal   
Bottling Volume: 10.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.099 SG
Estimated Color: 63.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 68.5 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 77.7 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                                                  %/IBU         
18 lbs                Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)                      52.3 %        
2 lbs 2.0 oz       Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM)                             6.2 %         
1 lbs 8.0 oz       Black Malt (Bairds) (600.0 SRM)                      4.4 %         
1 lbs 8.0 oz       Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM)                             4.4 %         
11.0 oz              Brown Malt (65.0 SRM)                                    2.0 %         
11.0 oz              Caramel/Crystal Malt - 75 (Bairds)                   2.0 %         
11.0 oz              Special B Malt (180.0 SRM)                             2.0 %         
4.0 oz                Carafa III (525.0 SRM)                                     0.7 %         
4 lbs                  Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM)                            11.6 %        
5 lbs                  Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM)                    14.5 %        
2.25 oz              Magnum [14.00 %] - Boil 90.0 min                  58.8 IBUs     
2.25 oz              East Kent Goldings (EKG) [7.00 %] - Steep    9.7 IBUs      
2.2 pkg              Dry English Ale (White Labs #WLP007)          

Mash Schedule: 155.0 F for 75 Mins

Notes:
------
DO NOT ADD CORN SUGAR (DEXTROSE) TO THE BOIL.  Begin dosing the corn sugar after 2 days of fermentation.  Follow this schedule: 

Day 1 - Let beer ferment
Day 2 - Let beer ferment
Day 3 - 20 oz - Mixed with Just over 1 1/4 pint of water and boiled for 15 mins
Day 4 - 20 oz - Mixed with Just over 1 1/4 pint of water and boiled for 15 mins
Day 5 - 20 oz - Mixed with Just over 1 1/4 pint of water and boiled for 15 mins
Day 6 - 20 oz - Mixed with Just over 1 1/4 pint of water and boiled for 15 mins

 


 

 













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