Ultra Kölsch

Ahhh...nice, crisp German Kölsch. The pale ale lager wanna be. Basically this is a Krisper Kölsch that utilizes Ultra hops that I had on hand. Ultra is very similar to Hallertauer and Saaz hops which are used for making German style lagers. Using Kölsch yeast that generally likes ~75 degree temps this is a great substitute for a lager when you just aren't able to ferment at lager temps. But this makes for a very slow fermenting beer when your house only gets up to 68 degrees during the winter months. It is especially slow when it comes to bottle conditioning. I usually try one of my beers after two weeks in the bottle and they are pretty much fully carbonated. At two weeks this one wasn't even close to fully carbonated. At four weeks it's probably just there. This is definitely one of those recipes I will brew again.


Recipe for a 5 gallon batch:

Grains
7 lbs. German Pilsner (2 row)
1 lbs. German Wheat Malt
 .5 lbs. Honey Malt

Hops
1 oz. Hallertau (First Wort Hop)
.25 oz. Ultra (15 mins)
.25 oz. Ultra (5 mins)

Specifics
Mashed at 150* for 60 minutes
Boil time: 60 minutes
WLP029 German Kölsch yeast

Gravity
Original Gravity 1.040
Final Gravity 1.006
ABV 4.5%

Fermenting schedule
Brewed on 12/31
Transferred to secondary on 1/18
Bottled on 1/27

Parti-Tyme Porter

This was a variation of a recipe from the dude that got me started in brewing. It's his "Family Time Porter" that I beefed up a bit. It was actually my first parti-gyle brew (hence the name). The porter was from the first runnings and I made an APA from the second runnings, which turned out to be rather undrinkable. Anyway, the porter ended up being a hit. Everyone who has tasted it has said it's my best brew yet. It's not quite hoppy enough for my taste but I do enjoy it.
I didn't use a secondary for this one, just a month in the fermenter then straight to the bottle.
It pours with a pretty good head but it quickly goes away with minimal lacing. Probably would have had better mouthfeel if I would have used some flaked oats like I have with my other stouts.
With the big grain bill it clocks in at a whopping 7.4% ABV. Now that is party time!

Recipe for a 5 gallon batch:

Grains
15.25 lbs. Marris Otter
12 oz. Chocolate Malt
8 oz. Crystal 80
5 oz. Black Patent

Hops
.75 oz. Northern Brewer (60 mins)
.5 oz. Northern Brewer (30 mins)
.25 oz. Northern Brewer (2 mins)

Specifics
Mashed at 153* for 60 minutes
Boiled for 60 minutes
WLP002 English Ale Yeast

Gravity
Original Gravity 1.063
Final Gravity 1.006
ABV 7.4%

Fermenting schedule
Brewed on 11/21
Bottled on 12/23
(No secondary)