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After a lengthy hiatus, the creative bug bit me again and I made another beer label for my latest homebrew, a hoppy brown rye ale. I settled on Ryezome as the name, a reference to the 3 pounds of rye used in the recipe, and rhizomes, the rootstalks of certain plants such as hops, that grow under ground and act as a liaison of sorts between the roots and shoots of plants. The label is just a representation of an image that popped into my head when daydreaming about the beer. I liked the idea of a root system being torn out of the ground by something as unassuming as a hot air balloon, and I found it fitting for both the style of the beer and the title. 'Nuff said. :)
The beer itself was originally supposed to be a hoppy amber rye ale, but while ProMash claims the color is well within guidelines for an amber, anyone who looks at it would immediately think brown, so I'm going with that. Since its right here in front of me, I might as well throw the recipe out there:
6 lb 2-row Pale Ale malt
3 lb Munich malt
3 lb Rye malt
.5 lb 40L Crystal malt
4 oz. Carafa malt
.5 oz Cascade pellets 6.3% AA (35 min boil)
1.1 oz Nugget pellets 11.6% AA (18 min boil)
1.0 oz Columbus pellets 12.3% AA (18 min boil)
1.0 oz Columbus pellets 12.3% AA (Dryhop)
.5 oz Cascade pellets 6.3% AA (Dryhop)
WLP001 California Ale Yeast - 1L starter made
After having serious issues with stuck mashes, I decided after this one stuck that I'd just siphon the wort out of the top of the tun instead of trying to get it to run out the bottom through the false bottom. It worked admirably, as I reached about 73% efficiency which is about as good as I've gotten (75% and up is ideal). I've since decided that my problems may be due to warped plastic on the bottom of the mash tun. :( A new tun may be in my future.
