I got my 2018 NHC first round results today. I put in 3 beers and 1 mead which hits the 4 entry limit-cap.
My entries were:
- Dark Mild
- Weissbier
- American IPA
- Traditional Mead
The mead was not the same mead that won gold in 2014. I used Wyeast Sweet Mead yeast instead of 71B, but other than that it was the same (even made it in late 2011 IIRC).
Results ¶
Here are my 2018 NHC scoresheets with judge’s names/IDs removed.
The tl;dr is:
- 1st Place American IPA – 40 points
- 1st Place Traditional Mead – 43 points
- 3rd Place Weissbier – 40 points
- Dark Mild – 28 points
Random thoughts and low-grade ranting ¶
I’m happy that I’m moving on with 3 entries. But I do have a good rant built up: my dark mild was judged badly.
It’s fine that my mild didn’t win, but the judges describe a mild:
- “brown sugar/toffee”
- “light roast, caramel, nutty”
- “toasted malt, low toffee, low herbal hops, low bitterness, light dark fruit esters (raisin), malty”
And then they both put it closer to “Not to style” than “Classic example” – what‽ I’m not saying I should win everything. I’m not saying I should have won this category. I don’t even have a problem with a 28. My beer may very well have fallen lifeless on this particular day for these particular judges – all that is totally cool. But I do have a problem when judges describe a mild – verbatim from the guidelines – then tell me it’s not to style 
</rant>
I was thrilled with my other scoresheets, I didn’t expect to do so well. The weissbier was particularly surprising since I’ve struggled so much with that style – I’m sure I’ve brewed at least 3 sulfury examples in the past year!
Recipes ¶
I don’t think I’ve ever posted a weissbier recipe, and I did a few things differently with my IPA, so here goes:
American IPA (2018-02-01) ¶
Stats ¶
- OG: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- FG: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- IBU (Tensith): 96.5
- Batch Size: 6 Gallons
- Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Fermentables ¶
| Ingredient | Amount | % | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root Shoot Meridian Pale | 15 lbs | 85 | Mash |
| Briess Carapils | 1 lbs | 6 | Mash |
| Corn Sugar | 1 lbs | 6 | Mash |
| Bards Carastan | 0.5 lbs | 3 | Mash |
| Weyermann - Acidualted Malt | 4 oz | 1 | Mash |
Hops ¶
| Variety | Alpha | Amount | IBU | Form | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinook | 13.0 % | 1.00 oz. | 36.3 | Loose Pellet | FWH |
| Amarillo | 9.5 % | 1.00 oz. | 20.7 | Loose Pellet | 45 Min |
| Columbus | 15.5 % | 1.00 oz. | 28.3 | Loose Pellet | 30 Min |
| Mosaic | 13.0 % | 1.00 oz. | 18.5 | Loose Pellet | 10 Min |
| Citra | 15.0 % | 1.00 oz | 7.0 | Loose Pellet | Flame Out |
| Columbus | 15.5 % | 1.00 oz | 7.3 | Loose Pellet | Flame Out |
| Ekuanot | 12.5 % | 1.00 oz | 5.9 | Loose Pellet | Flame Out |
| Galaxy | 15.0 % | 1.00 oz | 7.0 | Loose Pellet | Flame Out |
| Mosaic | 13.0 % | 1.00 oz | 6.1 | Loose Pellet | Flame Out |
| Citra | 15.0 % | 1.00 oz | 0.0 | Loose Pellet | Dry Hop |
| Columbus | 15.5 % | 1.00 oz | 0.0 | Loose Pellet | Dry Hop |
| Ekuanot | 12.5 % | 1.00 oz | 0.0 | Loose Pellet | Dry Hop |
| Galaxy | 15.0 % | 1.00 oz | 0.0 | Loose Pellet | Dry Hop |
| Mosaic | 13.0 % | 1.00 oz | 0.0 | Loose Pellet | Dry Hop |
Yeast ¶
| Strain | Amount | Starter |
|---|---|---|
| A07 Imperial | 1 New pack thing | Nope |
Steps ¶
- Dough in with 9.7 Gallons of Water at 164°F for a strike temp of 154°F
- 2 tsp Gypsum to mash for calcium
- Rest 60 min @ 154°F
- Sparge 20 min with 170°F water
- Preboil 9 gallons at 1.040
- Boil 90 minutes to reduce to 7 gallons
- Add recirc arm and chiller at 20 minutes
- 1 tsp Wyeast Beer Nutrient Blend at 10 minutes
- 1 whilfloc tab at 2 minutes
- Hot whirlpool with flameout hops 20 minutes
- Chill to 62°F using ice water through Hydra Immersion Chiller
- Transfer to conical and use 90 seconds of oxygen through air stone at 1 LPM
- Pitch 1 pack A07 dated 2018-01-28
- Set space heater for 64°F
- Add 1oz Columbus, 1oz Mosaic, 1oz Ekuanot T-90 pellets to fermentor on day 3
- Jumper to keg with surescreen and 1oz Galaxy T-90, 1oz Citra T-90, 1oz Ekuanot LupuLN2™, 1oz Mosaic LupuLN2™
- Move keg to kegerator on day 3
- Jumper to clean keg, add gelatian, put under 30 PSI for 2 days
- Reduce pressure to 12 psi, pour off a few chunky pints, enjoy!
Weissbier (2017-01-15) ¶
Stats ¶
- OG: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- FG: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- IBU (Tensith): 12.3
- Batch Size: 6 Gallons
- Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Fermentables ¶
| Ingredient | Amount | % | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weyermann Pale Wheat | 4 lbs | 59 | Mash |
| Root Shoot Odyssey Pilsner | 5 lbs | 37 | Mash |
| Best Dark Munich | 8 oz | 4 | Mash |
Hops ¶
| Variety | Alpha | Amount | IBU | Form | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hallertau | 4.5 % | 1.00 oz. | 12.3 | Loose Pellet | 60 min |
Yeast ¶
| Strain | Amount | Starter |
|---|---|---|
| White Labs WLP300 | 1 New pack thing | Nope |
Steps ¶
- Dough in with 8.25 Gallons of Water at 114°F for a strike temp of 110°F hold 15 minutes
- Recirculate and heat to 125°F
- Add 2 tsp gypsum
- hold 10 minutes
- Pull 9 quarts of thick mash (at a water/grist ratio of 1qt/lb) into a decoction pot and heat to 160°F, hold 15 minutes
- Recirculate and heat main mash to 147°F
- Bring decoction to a boil and boil for 20 minutes
- Return decoction to main mash to hit 158°F
- Hold 25 minutes
- 1.038 preboil gravity for 9 gallons
- 1 tsp Wyeast Beer Nutrient Blend at 10 minutes
- 1 whirlfloc tablet at 2 minutes
- Chill to 58°F using ice water through Hydra Immersion Chiller
- Transfer to conical and use 90 seconds of oxygen through air stone and wand at 1 LPM
- Fermentation peaked at 70°F
- Keg at 2.5 weeks, 30 psi for 2 days, 12 psi after