Iron Brewer (National) Intro

The set-up --- an email comes through and the first six people to respond get invited to compete in a Iron Brewer competition. This is the third time I have tried to get in, the first two attempts I just missed the six person cut-off. Third time was a charm as I am now a member of Iron Brewer round 5.

The premise behind Iron Brewer is similar to that of Food Network's Iron Chef. The brewers are given three special ingredients and seven weeks to create the best beer. Amount used, when used and style of beer are all up to the brewer.

For round five of Iron Brewer we have been asked to brew using:

1. Oak - Medium Toast
2. Fruit (real, puree, or extract)
3. Czech Saaz Hops

This was going to take a bit of thought. The oak can add so many different flavors to a beer depending on the toast and the origin. Flavors from pepper, leather, chocolate, smoke, vanilla, creme brule and so much more.

Just saying "use some fruit" is such a wide open invitation to a blank canvas.

The Saaz hops - Spicy, a bit bitey, peppery and a strong hint of cinnamon.

Wow, this is going to be fun. It just so happens that as I was thinking about what to brew I was transferring a beer for the local homebrew clubs Iron Brewer to cold crash it. I was drinking my hydrometer sample and realized that this recipe would be perfect for the challenge ahead.

Original Recipe:
The local Iron Brewer seceret ingredient was wild rice. After spending a few days thinking about the flavors in wild rice and reading what other people thought of it I decided on a wild rice peach wheat IPA. The rice has a nice earthy yet sweet character that I really wanted to pair with fruit. Peaches are naturally earth and sweet as well and the addition of the hops would guarantee things wouldn't be overly sweet in the finished product. I had found the base of this recipe awhile back on www.homebrewtalk.com and this seemed like a great time to break it out.

Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 6.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.064 SG
Actual OG: 1.059
Final SG: 1.012
Estimated Color: 15.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 51.7 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 60.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item
1 lbs 8.0 oz Wild Rice (3.0 SRM)
6 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
6 lbs Wheat Malt, Bel (2.0 SRM)
1 lbs Caraamber (30.0 SRM)
4.0 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)
0.50 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (60 min)
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (Dry Hop 7 days)
0.50 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (45 min)
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (30 min)
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (15 min)
1.00 oz Liberty [4.30 %] (0 min)
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 min)
4.00 lb Peaches - Frozen (Secondary 14.0 days)
1 Pkgs American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056)


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 14.75 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 4.61 gal of water at 168.9 F 155.0 F


Bottled this the other day and HD has name it "PeachInYourFace" and yes, she says you have to say it all at once. Aroma is that very distinct Cascade hop grapefuity smell and the flavor start out strong with the peach and slides into a nice smooth hop bite but not overly bitter. I feel like the addition of the wild rice helped to fill in the blanks between the flavors and make a well rounded beer. Estimated drinking date, October 23.

Look to the next post for my Iron Brewer (national) recipe.