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Chop & Brew – Episode 28: AHA Wort Rally Beer Tasting Notes

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-PtdvXkmFw&w=420&h=315]

Chip is joined by a krewe of Chop & Brew All-Stars to taste four different beers made from the same Double Black IPA wort. The wort was brewed for and given to them by Lucid Brewing Company at the American Homebrewers Association Wort Rally on Big Brew Day 2014. The discussion includes tips on dry hopping, yeast strain selection, and fermentation temperatures.
[Original postdate: August 7, 2014]
Related Links:
AHA/Lucid Brewing Wort Rally Double Black IPA Recipe
American Homebrewers Association
Lucid Brewing Company
Chop & Brew Online Superstore

203 Comments

  1. frozen midwestern brother

    If you are interested in home brewers that overcome small city spaces to brew their own…..check out CHAOS home brew club in Chicago. We have all banded together to rent a warehouse space where we have burners, temp control, and barrel projects. It is non profit and volunteer run. We would love for you to stop by and check us out next time you are in the windy city.

    • Chris

      You’re the man bro. BTV and C&B have been inspirational to say the least. I watched this ytube video “Inside the White House: Beer Brewing”. Super interesting, but I thought you could do a lot better. Anyway thanks for what you do. “Chop 4 Chop, Brew 4 Brew”

  2. Lewis

    Hay Chip, love your videos. I live in the UK and have been following you since brew tv, that’s what got me started. You Americans are leading the way in homebrewing. Keep up the good work.

  3. alan

    i’m rethinking my homebrew philosophy after watching this episode. i have not made a habit of repeating beers that i have brewed in the past, even when they were great. i can always pick out one or two problems that i would like to change about most of the beer i have made. i always try to make the correction(s) with the next beer, which is usually 180′ different from the last. especially now that i have upgraded my equipment, i need to focus on a few recipes and dial in my procedure. i’ve been brewing for five years and still, every session is a learning experience. thanks mino and thanks chip!

  4. Dave

    Funny that BTV21 and C&B21 are both mead episodes. I like how you added a cameo from the lovely mrs. Chip in the mirror to put this one over the edge!

  5. Matthew

    Alan,
    Not saying that it is not a good idea to dial in your process but brewing the same recipes is painfully boring. In my opinion that is best left to the pro’s. Instead, it is better to work on your fermentation process. Making sure that you are pitching the correct amount of yeast and providing it with O2, nutrients, AND controlling the ferment temp. is far more important than anything else in the process. Investing in a Ranco controller with a fridge/heat wrap is what has taken my beers from okay to award winning. I could see doing a number of batches with one or two yeasts but doing the same recipe over and over sucks. We’re homebrewers after all…

  8. Gkhodge

    Very impressive. I am entering my first homebrew contest and feel overwhelmed , but this dude has the Charlie P RDWHAHB mantra down cold. Dude! I know my buddies love my brews, so I am not too worried , but then again…what if some steward shakes it up and yeasts up my Helles? Who cares, right?

    • absentmindedbrewer

      Don’t get intimidated by contests. I entered my first competition with the fifth beer I ever brewed and pulled a first place in English pale ales. On the other hand, I’ve entered a couple competitions with my smoked porter (my favorite recipe that I wouldn’t change a thing about) and have never placed with it. You have the right idea – just relax and see what happens. Sometimes you’ll be surprised and one will land home. But even if you don’t, its a great engine for feed back. I find myself entering styles that are new to me pretty often, knowing I probably won’t place but the comments can be great. I always think it’s a good idea for new brewers especiallybto enter even if they’re not competitive. If you get a knowledgeable judge, the comments can be better than any medal or ribbon.

  9. darkbroodbrews

    Yet another great episode, Chip and crew! A tiny bit of shameless self-promotion here: I just started a new beer and food blog of my own, also covering the BJCP and Cicerone exams, that is kicking off with daily updates of my current internship as an assistant brewer for a local brewpub! All this goodness is at Brews & Stews: http://brewsandstews.wordpress.com

  10. absentmindedbrewer

    Don’t get intimidated by contests. I entered my first competition with the fifth beer I ever brewed and pulled a first place in English pale ales. On the other hand, I’ve entered a couple competitions with my smoked porter (my favorite recipe that I wouldn’t change a thing about) and have never placed with it. You have the right idea – just relax and see what happens. Sometimes you’ll be surprised and one will land home. But even if you don’t, its a great engine for feed back. I find myself entering styles that are new to me pretty often, knowing I probably won’t place but the comments can be great. I always think it’s a good idea for new brewers especiallybto enter even if they’re not competitive. If you get a knowledgeable judge, the comments can be better than any medal or ribbon.

  11. WalleyeGuy

    Hey Chip, Can you give us more details on shaking the bucket during the fermentation of a cider/mead? Is this just during primary? It makes sense that you can’t aerate when the must is in a CO2 atmosphere – who would have thought? I just bottled my first cyser a few weeks ago. I had it in secondary for like 6 months to degas. Tastes great, but man that was a long wait! Keep up the great episodes!

    • absentmindedbrewer

      WalleyeGuy, I believe Mino was talking about during the first few days of primary. At this point, particularly for mead, the shaking (or using a degassing wand hooked up to a drill, like a lot of people do – check out the BrewingTV episodes on Mead with Curt Stock, and a later episode on making wine) drives off the CO2 making for a quicker, healthier fermentation (which can lead to a quicker turn around), and it helps mix up any nutrient additions you’re adding during the first few days (Mino briefly mentions his staggered nutrient technique in this video, but you can check out Episode 21 of BTV for Curt Stock’s method also, including a written form of a few of his recipes detailing his method). Once active fermentation slows down and you have already driven off most of the CO2, you probably want to avoid vigorous shaking or stirring, as you’ll be mixing in more O2 which the yeast won’t use and drive off at this point (which will lead to off-flavors). The general school of thought between agitating the must and staggered nutrient additions, is that your mead will be tasty in a few months rather than a few years. I’m not a huge expert when it comes to mead and cider, but that is pretty much my understanding from the few batches I have done of each, and from the excessive amounts of brewing videos I watch online 🙂 Hope this helps!

  14. Joseph

    Chip,
    Thanks so much for posting this video! Really good to get an hours worth of solid footage from one of the great brewers in today’s craft beer scene. Keep up the good work and making such good and informative videos!

    Joseph

  15. cory odell

    I want to say I just started watching chop and brew and I like it a lot. I started becoming a fan of yours back when you were doing the videos for brewing tv which just this year I watch all the episodes and was a little disappoints that there was no more to watch when I got to the last one. then I stumbled on to your new video show. all though different from brewing tv it had your feel to it and cooking part I like because I like trying something different. I started getting my equipment to start brewing some beer I’ve wanting trying brewing for a while now. now I can. I look forward to watch more of chop and brew. chop for chop, brew for brew!

  16. Harley

    Dude totally not playing on my iPhone. All your other episodes do but for 24 I get the dreaded playback error..keep the shows comin.

  17. Benny Morosco

    Chip!
    I want to say thank you for continuing on after Brewing TV . I have learned so much from you guys and I love the passion that keeps C&B going strong! so just a simple Thanks!

  19. Ryan

    Thanks for another great episode Chip! I wanted to ask a few questions on “The Fur” recipe. Would you happen to know the mash temp or batch size? I assumed it was 5 gallons and 150-152 degrees, but wanted to clarify. Thanks man!

  20. Marlon Blanco

    It is nice to see you (Chip) and the other guys together now that BrewingTV is in the rearview mirror; keep the vids coming it is an invaluable help to us newbee brewers. HOG

  21. darkbroodbrews

    I’ve written up a full review with commentary of this presentation, breaking down everything Gordon says and implies to try to form a somewhat cohesive mapping of the proposed changes. Please check it out and feel free to comment and say what you wanna!
    There is a landing page with links to the four parts of the review, Chip’s video recording, Gordon’s slides, and other places to make your voice heard on the subject.
    I’ve put together a writeup with commentary on the NHC presentation by Gordon Strong about the newly-proposed changes to the BJCP Style Guidelines. You can find it in four parts on my blog:

    http://brewsandstews.wordpress.com/bjcp-2014-update

  22. Tom

    Hey Chip !
    Been a fan since Brew TV and just found your site here.
    It don’t get no better than back porch Music, home made Food, and home made Beer,
    Thanks for being there for us.
    Lots of Fun to watch !
    Wishing the best for you and your’s !

  23. Doug

    I just re watched the Belgian dark and strong episode tonight. I really like the way you are able to weave good information and grab ass’in into the show. Keep up the good work.

  24. Glen Giddens

    I enjoyed episode 28 very much. That is something I would really like to do. It was very interesting to hear the differences that different hops and yeast make in the same wort. Chip you always do a great job of leading, and keeping everybody on track in your films.

    • chopandbrew

      Thanks. That means a lot! I used to be a new producer for 10 years so that sense of timing, focus and talking points within a topical discussion are an occupational hazard left over from those days. Cheers! Chip

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