Disclaimer: We will come clean. This article was, unfortunately, written at a time when we were not aware that mats of bubbles are symptoms of a dirty glass. Just because we are Drink Me Dirty, it does not mean it is acceptable to drink from a dirty glass. Clean and rinse your glasswares properly. As better informed drinkers, we now vow to spread the gospel of clean glassware. Read more about this topic here. #DirtyGlassMafia
Inside the Half Baked HQ, three men huddled at one corner. They drank with quiet determination, avoiding serious discussions of troubling brews. In doing this they pitched another yeast strain, a wild one. They were brewing a beer of sorts, one not fully thought out.
The Half Baked Brewing Collective (HBBC) is a group of self-proclaimed “Cosmic Beings” that were apparently sent to Earth to provide Earthlings with heady brews and funk grooves. The three beings are from different parts of the world but were destined to join forces in the Philippines, a country that does not even grow hops.
The Collective is composed currently of Chris Crum, Brad Hill, and Luke Davidson. Chris, the founder, is from the land known for Citra hops and Donald Trump. Brad is from a country known for East Kent Goldings hops and David Beckham. Meanwhile, Luke is from a mystical place known for Galaxy hops and Vegemite.
“That’s what this is, I wanted to brew and just jumped right into it!” These were the words of Chris when asked how Half Baked came to be. By brewing small batches, which are often one-offs, these guys test out crazy ideas and stick to what works. Once a batch of beer gets the stamp of approval from the three members, they throw a party to celebrate and share their beers with friends.
To keep up with the Collective’s latest brewing projects, we are dedicating a series of features called, Half Baked Chronicles. Not everything HBBC brews will make it to the taprooms, but at least we will be able to document them here. However, unlike our other features, we will be discussing in more detail the ingredients and brewing processes involved. Of course, we have the blessing of the brewers to discuss the specifics here.
In this first chapter of Half Baked Chronicles, we will be covering three of the Collective’s latest experiments: “Blues Clues” American Pale Ale (APA), Blatant Rip Off Vol. 3 India Pale Ale (IPA), and “The Parliament Citradelic” New England IPA (NEIPA). We were able to try these beers over grilled sausages and good company at the brand-new Half Baked headquarters.
Blues Clues APA (5.8% ABV)
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as an American Pale Ale (18B) in the context of the 2015 Beer Style Guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The most current version of the guidelines can be found on the BJCP website.
DISCUSSION & REVIEW
Hops can be grouped into three categories according to usage: bitter, aroma, and dual-purpose hops. Bitter hops have high alpha acid percentages and are added usually during the boiling phase to extract bitterness. Aroma hops are varieties with low alpha acid content and have oil profiles associated with pleasing aromas. These are added generally after the boiling phase or during fermentation to enhance a beer’s flavor and aroma. Meanwhile, dual-purposes hops share the characteristics of both bitter and aroma hops. Blues Clues is brewed with Magnum and Medusa, two hop varieties with different purposes. Magnum is a hop variety with a high alpha acid content and was used as a bittering hop.
The second variety used, Medusa is a much more interesting variety to talk about. A native to Colorado and New Mexico, Medusa is one of the newest hop varieties in the brewing landscape. Most of the hops used in brewing are from the subspecies lupulus or from hybrids between lupulus and lupoloides. However, two other uncommon Northern American subspecies, pubescens and neomexicanus have gained attention recently. Of which, Medusa is the first neomexicanus subspecies to be farmed commercially. An aroma hop variety with a low alpha acid content, Medusa was used to enhance the beer’s flavor and aroma.
Whirlpooling and dry-hopping are some of the techniques used to brew Blues Clues. Whirlpooling in craft brewing can be as simple as stirring the wort (unfermented beer) in the kettle as it cools down. Additional hops can be added in this process for more flavor, aroma, and even bitterness. Meanwhile, dry-hopping is another process to enhance the aroma of a beer. This is usually done during the fermentation phase or after the brewer has pitched the yeast into the cooled wort. By doing this, additional hops contribute more aromas to the final product. Think of dry hopping as steeping a bag of tea in water. Instead of a bag of tea leaves, think of a bigger bag of dry hop pellets being steeped in a liquid that will soon become your beer. Further, this APA was brewed using a classic IPA malt bill (or a recipe for malts used) comprised of Pale Ale, Vienna, and Acid Malts. A yeast strain called London Ale III was pitched to soften the flavors with its fruity, very light, and softly balanced palate.
Blues Clues has blueberry on the nose. Meanwhile, ripe fruits like passionfruit, strawberry, and apricot surface on the palate. These are attributes we believe were contributed largely by the Medusa hops. With a semi-viscous mouthfeel, Blues Clues could well be called the nectar from the gods.
Blatant Rip Off Vol. 3 IPA (6.8% ABV)
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as an American IPA (21A) in the context of the 2015 Beer Style Guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The most current version of the guidelines can be found on the BJCP website.
DISCUSSION & REVIEW
Blatant Rip Off is a tribute to one of the beers that brought Chris into the craft beer realm. This third iteration is brewed purely with Citra hops, a popular American variety that tends to contribute citrus, grapefruit, and lime characteristics to beers.
The reddish-brown color of “Blatant Rip Off” may be attributed largely to the malts used: pale, melanoidin, crystal, Munich, and Vienna. For the yeast, the Safale US-05 dry ale yeast was used. This is generally an ideal yeast strain for brewing clean American style ales like APA, Ambers, and IPAs. Although according to Chris, the US-05 strain may also create peach-like flavors that may not go well with the desired brewing characteristics.
Interestingly, this IPA has an aroma profile composed of caramel, apple, iced tea, passionfruit, and strawberry. Blatant Rip Off has a light-medium body, with a palate of lightly toasted malts, caramel, Earl Grey tea, and hints of cacao. Its finish is dry, of bergamot and citrus. No peach-like characteristics in this one for sure. Overall, the third version of this tribute beer is a well-balanced brew that can be enjoyed over grilled sausages and burgers.
The Parliament Citradelic NEIPA (5.6% ABV)
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as a Specialty IPA: New England IPA (21B) in the context of the provisional guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) for the said beer style. The most current version of the guidelines can be found on the BJCP website. Note that this beer was fermented using a Voss Kveik yeast strain.
DISCUSSION & REVIEW
The Parliament Citradelic is a New England IPA brewed with a noteworthy yeast strain called Voss Kveik. Voss Kveik is a strain used traditionally in brewing Norwegian Farmhouse ales and is said to bring light earthy spiciness, tartness, and distinct ester profile and orange peel to a beer.
Hop varieties, Citra, Mosaic, El Dorado, and Galaxy were added in whirlpool fashion. This process is expected to extract bright citrus and fruity accents from the hops. The Parliament Citradelic was fermented at room temperature with the Voss Kveik and was then dry-hopped at a lower temperature. Pale malts serve as the backbone of this NEIPA, while wheat and oats were used to give this NEIPA its signature cloudy look.
The result is this hazy bright yellow colored beer with light aromas of pineapples and oranges. A light-bodied NEIPA, The Parliament Citradelic evokes bright citrus, hoppy, and piney notes as expected. Overall, The Parliament Citradelic is a promising New England IPA by HBBC. We are curious how a double dry-hopped version of this would turn out.
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