Dwan Beer Selection October 30, 2004
All our beers are free range, organic, cruelty free products. They are brewed in my very own kitchen in five-gallon batches.
Nut Brown Ale (5%) Spring 2004
Brewed from a “hopped malt extract” kit, this was the simplest batch I’ve ever brewed. It is a straight-ahead brown ale, with a tremendous amount of carbonation and a tendency to bubble over out of the glass.
Belgian Tripple (8.5%) Winter 2003
Brewed in collaboration with the Mighty Hammer Brewery of Minnesota, a deceptively simple recipe leads to complexity in this Belgian classic. Light malt and European hops provide a solid base. The addition of Trappist yeast and Belgian candy sugar create a complex, powerful brew that was really bad for the first couple of months, but has aged into a wonderful beer.
Imperial Stout (9%) Summer 2004
Brewed with “chocolate” malt and extra dark extract in truly outrageous amounts, this is the extreme example of a dark beer. Primary fermentation was so violent that it blew the lid off the fermenter. Fortunately, no harm was done. I consider this one of my first successful beers.
Toungue Splitter (4.5%) Summer 2004
An experiment in hops. Most beers include two or three hop “additions.” This one took six, including two “dry hoppings” directly into the fermentation vessel. The result is in the spirit of a west coast pale ale, but even more over the top with hop flavor. A fine palate cleanser, and a great way to educate yourself about what brewers mean by “hop flavor.”
Vanilla Cream Ale (CA) (4.5%) Fall 2004
A “cream” beer is characterized by the addition of flaked maize to the boil. This lends a cloudy or “creamy” character to the finished beer. In this case, I dry hopped a whole chopped vanilla bean for the entire week of secondary fermentation. This was bottled just two weeks ago, and is showing great promise.
Weak Raspberry Cider (8.4%) Summer 2004
Strong Raspberry Cider (8.5%) Summer 2004
A pair of batches brewed in collaboration with the Mighty Hammer Brewery of Minnesota. Alcohol levels in cider are easily increased by the addition of pounds of honey. Brews with a higher alcohol level require longer aging. These are quite ready.
Guest Brews:
Samuel Adams Triple Bock (~30%) 1997
Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock (~9%) 2004
Samuel Adams brewery has been pushing the limits of the definition of “beer” with their various experiments. These are two of my favorites.
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