Well I'll Be a Monkey's Dunkel - Let's Get Crackin'

Well, It's finally that time..... I think everyone has waited long enough for the final update...  :)

Time to crack open a much awaited home brew.  Yep, 15 days after bottling it's time to finally take a taste.

So here is a bottle.

and here is a glass.....

And here is the traditional way of drinking it in the "hefe" style (with yeast) by rolling the bottle on the counter (or bar) to mix it all up.

Then you make a long pour into a glass and admire the beige head...

None of that white foam on this my friends, for this is the the darker side of weizen...

Once it subsides a little, top off the glass.

Tip it back and enjoy.....

I was a little disappointed at how fast the head subsided though, I must not have gotten enough protein in the mash to stabilize the head... Not that there should be so much as to interfere with drinking, but it should be a little more stable than it was....  Also, I was hoping it would be a little darker.  I was fooled by how dark the malt extract was, but I was thrilled with the "hit" of elderberry flavor.... it definitely had the "twang" I was expecting.... Unlike blonde "hefeweizen" there is NO lemon needed on this one... ;)

The recipe is below, in all it's glory, as I originally wrote it... though I have fleshed out the directions a little bit... I originally used a Brewer's Friend Template which is really a collection of labeled tables.  You can give it a shot, if you would like, but I am going to make a couple alterations and give it another shot... But first, I think a little more "tasting" is in order, to ensure my alterations are in the best interest of this brew.

Yep, this is some SERIOUS research...  LOL

I'll Be a Monkey's Dunkel

ElderWeizen (Dunkel)

8 oz Munich Malt
8 oz Wheat Malt

7 lbs 50/50 Barley and Wheat Malt Extract

1 oz Liberty Hops AA rating 5.2 - 60 minute boil (bittering)
1/2 oz Saaz Hops AA rating 5.1 - 15 minute boil (flavor)

Additions:
1 1/2 cups Elderberry Juice

Yeast - White Labs - WLP 300 (German Weizen Yeast)  pitch @ 75 degrees

OG 1.059
EG 1.013

Heat 1 Quarts water to 130 degrees.
Add grains in mash bag and hold temperature at 120 for 15 minutes. (Protein Rest)
Meanwhile in a separate pot, heat an additional 3 quarts of water to 170 degrees.
When Protein rest is complete, add 2 cups of 170 degree water to bring the temperature up to 150. Apply low heat and hold this temp for 30 minutes for the Beta-Amylase to work.
After 10 minutes, add 2 more cups 170 degree water to raise temp to between 158 & 162.
Hold temp for 15 minutes to allow alpha amylase to work.
Remove grain bag and stretch over secondary brew pot, pour the malty water through the grains.
Pour the remaining 2 quarts of water over the grains as well, to sparge them.
Add an additional 3 gallons of water to the brewing pot.
Begin heating until water reaches 170 degrees.
Slowly stir in the 50/50 Malt syrup  and continue stirring until temp reaches 190 (this will ensure that the syrup doesn't settle on the bottom of the pot and burn)
Bring to a boil and add the Liberty hops (in a hopping bag)
Boil for 45 minutes, then add the Saaz hops (also in a hopping bag).
Boil for an additional 14-15 minutes.
Kill the heat source and remove the hops from the kettle and into the carboy funnel.
Sparge hops with cold water.
Chill brew kettle in an ice bath or by using a wort chiller (your choice)
When the wort reaches 160 degrees, stir in the elderberry juice with a clean spoon.
When the wort reaches 75 degrees, siphon into the carboy, splashing the wort as much as possible to incorporate oxygen.
Add additional water if necessary to fill carboy to the 5 gallon mark.
Take Specific Gravity reading and record.
Pitch yeast and cap the carboy, roll it back and forth on the floor to disperse yeast through the wort.
Connect blow-off tube and let set until Kraeusen....
After Kraeusen (blow-off) replace tube with fermentation lock.
Rack into clean carboy after 1 week, Check Specific Gravity, replace fermentation lock.
When fermentation is complete, record final gravity reading.
Boil 1 pint Water with 1 1/4 cup Wheat malt for 5 minutes.
Siphon beer into fermenting bucket for bottling.
Prime beer with boiled syrup.
Fill bottles and cap.
Let beer age for 2 weeks in bottle, then enjoy with gusto!!!

Cin Cin!!
~~

Well I'll Be a Monkey's Dunkel - The Gravity Of The Situation

Sadly, my Let's Get Crackin' post will be delayed...  One must remember that the process of making beer involves a living creature... Yeast.  Sometimes yeast just takes a little longer than you think it is going too, so you must wait...   I had hoped that the bottle conditioning would only take 7 days... Alas, it seems that it will take 10. 

In the meantime I wanted to talk about WHY the seeming obsession with taking the Specific Gravity.

The Short answer is that, without Gravity readings you have no idea what the alcohol content of your beer is...   Not that it may matter to some, I mean come on, beer is beer, right?  But there are other reasons to monitor the Gravity of your Wort that will assist you in decided when to bottle your effervescent nectar.

When you measure the specific gravity of the wort at the beginning, you are measuring the amount of dissolved substances in the water, mainly malt sugar, dextrins, hop resins and amino proteins.  This changes the density of the water which normally has a specific gravity of 1.000 at 60 degrees F (15.5 C).  Thus, using my own Original Gravity reading of 1.058 means that it is .058 denser than water.   Yeah, that doesn't mean a whole heck of a lot, but it will be necessary later.  Trust me.

The next issue is that I did not measure Specific Gravity at 60 degrees, for the wort would have been too cool for me to pitch my yeast.  I took my reading at 75 degrees, so I need to adjust my reading... For every 10 degrees in temperature need to add .0012 to the Gravity reading.  Since I took mine at 75 degrees I need to add .0018.

1.058 + .0018 = 1.0598

 
I know, it still doesn't really mean anything, at least not until we convert this to degrees Plato... Plato is the measuring unit of the Balling scale.  It allows us to compute the amount of sugars dissolved in every 100 grams of wort as a percentage.  There is a simple calculation for obtaining the degrees Plato.  1 degree of Plato is equal to 4 "brew points".  The brew points I am talking about are the points behind the decimal in your Specific Gravity reading (.0598).  Thus, 1 degree of Plato is equal to (4 x.001).  

.0598 / (4 x .001) =  14.95 degrees Plato

Now you know that every 100 grams of Wort contains 14.95 grams of Sugars (14.95 %).  The reason to do this is if you intend on checking your Malt Extraction and Attenuation calculations, but I am not going to get into those right now.  (you may now breathe a sigh of relief)  LOL

Getting back to Specific Gravity... When racking, you need to measure the specific gravity again.  This is to see if the fermentation is complete.... Most Ales will be finished when the Gravity reaches 1/4 or 1/5 of the original Specific Gravity reading.  Since the Dunkelweizen had an initial reading (Original Gravity or OG) of 1.0598, I was looking for a reading of between 1.014 and 1.011 so I will know that my fermentation is complete.(Expected Gravity or EG)

.0598 / 4 = .014   or   .0598 / 5 = .011

When I racked the Dunkelweizen, the Specific Gravity had only dropped to 1.016 at 70 degrees, thus being 1.0172 (1.016 + .0012 = 1.0172).  I knew the yeast were not finished converting my wort into viable beer and they needed at least another week to finish the job.

Finally, after 1 more week, the beer reached the Expected Gravity of 1.012 at 70 degrees (1.0132) so I knew it was time to bottle.

Now the fun part...   Alcohol has a lower gravity than water, so when you take the subsequent readings, as the number reduces, there is more alcohol in the beer.  When you take your final reading (mine was 1.0132) and compute the difference between the Original (OG) and the Ending (EG) you can calculate alcohol content by weight.

1.0598 - 1.0132 =  .0466 Difference

.0466 X 105  = 4.893% alcohol by Weight

Now since we know that alcohol is lighter than water, we can compute the alcohol by volume as well with a little more multiplication.  1.25 milliliters of alcohol weighs the same as 1 milliliter of water, so our volume content calculation becomes....

4.893 X 1.25 = 6.11% by Volume

I know, I know, I'm talking about brewing beer and suddenly it became a math lesson.  Sorry....

But now you know why taking Specific Gravity readings are crucial.  Not only for computing the alcohol content of your brew, but can assist you in gauging when your beer has completed it's fermentation AND help you compute your ability to extract Malt sugars from Grains.  If you are finding your sugar contents are too low you may need to change your extraction procedures.

Cin Cin!!
~~

Wisdom of the Elders - Pork Tenderloin in Elderberry Sauce

I mentioned that I had something special planned for a few of the Elderberries I picked last week.  So I dug out my "super secret squirrel" cookbook and thumbed through the pages until I found what I was looking for.  It's been awhile since I have indulged in this sort of dinner time decadence.  But it was well worth the wait. 

I use this Herb Seared Pork Tenderloin Recipe a lot; alone as well as with several sauces.  One of my favorites is a Huckleberry sauce, but I am going to focus on the Elderberries this time. It's a lightly tart yet robust sauce that also works well on Venison too.  In fact, it's utterly AWESOME on Venison... Alas, I must make due with Pork Tenderloin, as Venison is a little beyond my reach right now.

To accompany this dish, I would suggest roasted golden beets.

Herb Seared Pork Tenderloin in Elderberry Sauce

Printable Recipe
1 Pork Tenderloin (approximately 1.25 lbs)
1 TB Dried Lemon Thyme
1 tsp Dried Rosemary
1 tsp Granulated Garlic
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
Zest of 1 Lemon
Olive oil

Remove the silver-skin from the tenderloin then dry it with a paper towel.

In a small bowl, combine the Lemon Thyme, Rosemary, Granulated Garlic, Salt, Pepper and Lemon Zest; tossing to mix well.

Rub the Pork Tenderloin with Olive oil.

Rub the Tenderloin with the herb mixture.

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, start the elderberry sauce.

After chilling the tenderloin, begin heating olive oil in an oven proof pan over medium flame and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Add the Tenderloin and sear on all sides.

Move the Tenderloin, pan and all, to the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees.

Remove from oven and tent with foil for 10 minutes to allow the tenderloin to continue cooking (it should reach 165).

Slice into medallions with a carving knife and serve with the warm Elderberrry sauce, below.

Elderberry Sauce

1/2 cup Pinot Noir
1 cup Elderberries, divided
2 shallots, minced
1 TB Red Wine Vinegar
1 clove Garlic, minced
6 oz Demi-Glace
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
2 TB Butter
1/2 tsp Lemon Thyme

Place Pinot Noir, 1/2 cup of the Elderberrries, Shallot, Red Wine Vinegar & Garlic in a small sauce pan, simmer over low heat until reduced to 1/4 cup.

Strain sauce, then return to the pan.

Add the Demi-Glace and the remaining 1/2 cup of Elderberries.

Simmer over low heat until reduced to 3/4 cup.
Finish the sauce by whisking in the Butter and the Lemon Thyme.

Serve over sliced tenderloin medallions.

Mangia!!
~~
Oh, in case you were curious....

This is my personal cookbook... 

Filled with all sorts of "stuff" and "things"  ;)

Stay Hungry!

Wisdom of the Elders - Elderberries in the Northwest

It's the night of the harvest moon (I know, my post is a little late) 

This means that, come the daylight, it is time to harvest the Elderberries.  For this is also the beginning of flu season.  And while I will admit that jam, wine and various other culinary applications of these sky blue berries are not likely to cure the flu, several studies have shown that elderberry (S. nigra) extract increases flu recovery by 50% - 75%.  Which is not surprising since Elderberries contain extremely high concentrations of anthocyanins (anti-inflammatory) and flavinoids (antioxidant).  But I shall dispense with the nutritional chemistry lesson, for these luscious wild berries are destined for the culinary greatness, not medicinal application. 

Unless one follows the old addage, "a little wine for thy stomach sake", in which case one COULD consider the making of wine to be of medicinal use. ;)

Here in the Pacific NorthWest the two native varieties of Elderberry are the Blue Sambucus Cerulea, which is a subspecies of Sambucus Nigra (European Black Elderberry) and the Red Sambucus Callicarpa, a subspecies of Sambucus Racemosa.  Of the two, the blue berries are the most palatable, at least as far as I am concerned.  The red variety MUST be cooked due to the cyanide producing glucoside that is contained within the berries as well as the root, stems and leaves.  While the blue-black variety only contains these glucosides in the leaves, stems and roots.  Though I still would not eat them raw either and especially not when green.  But, heat breaks down the glucosides, rendering them inert.

And here I promised you there would be no chemistry lesson. Oops.

It's easiest to remove the berry sprays from the tree and then comb them from the stems with a fork.

Rinse the berries well, being sure to remove and stem bits, as these will produce a waxy substance when cooked.

Dry the berries and chill until ready to perform a little culinary magic.

Me?  I have something special planned for 2 cups of the berries before juicing the rest for wine and syrup.

Stay tuned!

Mangia!!
~~