I've brewed 87 of the 108 styles in the 2021 BJCP Guidelines.
This year, I've brewed 9 new BJCP styles.
I recently decided I wanted to brew a non-Roll-a-Style batch.
As I mentioned in the Seattle Trip posts, my wife and I recently visited Washing State.
I used to live in Washington, and while I never drank as a child, I remember Rainier Beer being around.
I thought it would be fun to brew a beer as a tribute to Rainier Beer.
I wasn't able to find much information on what hops or malts Rainier uses, but talking it through with ChatGPT, "we" came up with what I think are reasonable assumptions.
As I usually do when I make these 'Merican Light Lagers, I designed the beer with more hops than I would think were used. But, it should be something I would like more.
The resulting recipe is:
"Johnny" is a kid who lived just down the street (Old Belfair Hwy) from me when we lived in the Bremerton, WA area. He was probably the closest I've had in my life to a "bully". I won't go into any details, but at times he and his sisters did some mean things to my sister and myself.
While preparing for our Seattle Trip, I actually found him on facebook. I don't know if he'd remember me and I didn't really think it worth engaging him, but he looks like a fine upstanding gentleman now.
I'm sure I would enjoy sipping a Rainier lager with him in a Port Orchard dive-bar if we ever crossed paths again.
Anyway, I brewed Johnny McClure Rainier Lager Sunday.
I got started pretty late for me. I actually didn't start collecting water until after getting back from church. My brew days seem to be sliding to later and later starts.
Everything went well. It does sort of suck to finish so late in the day (almost 2pm), but that is to be expected when I start so late.
I was also able to drink some during the brew day since I was brewing around the lunch hours.
I did a sampler of the beers I have on tap:
- Summer Lovin' American Wheat ... Our classic American Wheat with coriander and orange zest. One of my wife's favorites. Wonderfully refreshing beer with lots of orange flavor. Tasting great.
- Gob Stopper Grape Ale ... My Roll-a-Style 29D. Grape Ale. When I brewed this, I was a little worried that I wouldn't really like this beer. But, I've been pleasantly surprised how it turned out. The grape flavor is there, but subtle enough that it still is more beer than wine. That being said, I'm ready for this one to be done.
- Cuttlefish Czech Amber Lager ... My Roll-a-Style 3C. Czech Amber Lager. Crystal clear with a gorgeous mahogany color. Bready base but crisp and clean enough to give that lager perception. The hops come through just enough to balance the malt and flavor it with that Czech hop spiciness.
- Voodu Magic Tropical Stout ... My Roll-a-Style 16C. Tropical Stout. By taste I don't really know how to compare it to "Tropical Stouts", but it is rich and fairly "fruity" with great coffee and dark chocolate notes. It has a little orange / lemon background flavor that I associate with the Voss yeast I used to brew this.
I also had myself a Rainier Lager, which honestly didn't suck.
I don't expect that Johnny McClure will taste a whole lot like Rainier. It should be considerably more hoppy as I used a whole 3 ounces of hops in the beer, which is 3 times as much as ChatGPT and I speculated would be appropriate for more of a clone.
But, this is how I like it. You brew your "Rainier" lager however you want. I'll brew mine like this.
I got the beer boiled and chilled to 50 degrees F, and then racked the beer into my Anvil bucket fermenter.
I set up the fermenter in the basement with my poor-man's ice water chilling system.
Fermentation was sort of slow to start up. But, eventually it got going late on day 2, and I'm sure it will turn out great.
Stay tuned on Sheppy's Blog: McClure, and you'll find out what I think of the finished beer.
Or ... check out the comments on Johnny McClure Rainier Lager if you're too impatient to wait until I post something on this blog.
As always, my photos don't do justice to the beauty of the experience, but hopefully you enjoyed these somewhat.
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