Begin Brewing!

The only lager I've ever  brewed was a Ttopical Stout. Despite my best efforts with that one, it didn't do that well in competition. Judges noted yeasty notes they did not like, despite the beer never getting above the yeast's optimum temperature range. I suspect that was due to pitching only a single packet of dry lager yeast and not a large starter. I decided to start 2019 by brewing another lager, a traditional German style Pilsner. This time I'll be pitching both a 1 liter starter and some dry yeast, plus plenty of yeast nutrient to ensure a healthy yeast population. I'll also be using a good quality temperature control system to ensure a consistent temperature, Ingredients 10 pounds Swaen Pilsner Malt (the closest I had to German Pilsner) 1 pound Briess Pilsner Malt 4 ounces Cara-pils/Dextrine Malt 0.5 ounces Magnum hops @ 12.6% AA (60 min.) 0,5 ounces Hallertau hops @ 4.5% AA (10 min.) 1.0 ounces Hallertau hops @ 2.5% AA (4 min.) 1/2 tsp. Yeast Nu...

When I visited Jamaica several years ago, a bartender at our resort introduced me to Dragon Stout, their local beer.  I loved it.  I ended up going shopping and buying a lot of the local beers, but nothing appealed to me as much as Dragon Stout and its higher-alcohol cousin, Dragon Stout Spitfire. Truth be told, I liked Spitfire just a little more. I brought some back with me. Having re-read a BYO Magazine article about Debittered Black Malt  (note: a subscription is required to access the article), I was reminded that they had published a recipe for a Dragon Stout Clone there. As documented below, it's slightly modified from their version and is scaled for use in the Picobrew Zymatic.  I also switched out the corn sugar in their recipe for some Turbinado sugar, which I thought might lend a more brown-sugar flavor to it. Recipe 7.25 pounds 6-row Pale Malt 0.50 pounds Crystal 80L Malt 0.50 pounds Debittered Belgian Black Malt 1.00 pounds Turbinado Sugar 0...