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Sunday, October 2, 2011

Westside California Common

This started out as a classic California Common, which is golden-to-amber in color, but I misread the recipe guide, and used 2 pounds of  chocolate malt instead of 2 ounces.  Luckily, the chocolate malt provided a nice roasty character that gave this beer a coffee-like back-end, without the burnt aftertaste.  Surprisingly balanced and smooth given the mistake.  Delightful!

compton_common

  • 7 lbs. light LME
  • 1.1 lbs. Munich LME
  • 1 lb. Crystal 40L
  • ½ lb. Victory malt
  • 2 lbs. Chocolate malt
  • 1 oz. Northern Brewer 6.5% AAU (bittering)
  • 1.5 oz. NB (flavor)
  • 1.5 oz. NB (aroma)
  • Wyeast 2112 California Lager, fermented at 62° with diacetyl rest at 68°, then lagered at 36°

Homebrewing is often about experimentation, sometimes accidental.  Here, I accidentally brewed a German Schwarzbier, which is a dark, roasty lager.  Not usually as dark and roasty as this one, but close.  The color here is closer to a Russian Imperial Stout, including the slight sweetness and high alcohol.  This one just gets better with age.

Brewed August 2011 and bottled September 2011