Turns out there is some good news coming out of Washington, D.C., these days, but you have to be a homebrewer. Two recent happenings—a competition and a harvest—in the nation’s capital in the past few weeks have helped highlight homebrewing.
On a visit to the Smithsonian Museum of American History’s Victory Garden on the National Mall earlier this year, homebrewing legend Charlie Papazian spotted the bines of Cascade hops that grow on the grounds and remarked that it would be fun to brew with the crop, according to a media release.
As a gift to Papazian, who will retire from the Brewers Association next month, the museum sent him the entire harvest, ten bags’ worth, to brew a special beer. After sharing the bounty with some friends and colleagues, Papazian needed to figure out just what to brew.
Thanks to history, he quickly settled on a porter, being drawn back to the early 1980s and the Falstaff Brewery, which then brewed Narragansett, said the release from the American Homebrewers Association. The porter produced by the brewery was representative of the time, so Papazian wanted to re-create the beer as faithfully as possible, allowing for the fact that Cascades have evolved since that time.
Now, here’s a chance to brew like Charlie, and don’t worry about getting your Cascades from a national institution. Your regular supplier will do just fine.
Charlie Papazian’s Flubadub Gansett Porter Recipe
ALL GRAIN
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons (21 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 76%
OG: 1.048
FG: 1.012
IBUs: 24
SRM: 24
ABV: 5%
MALTS AND ADJUNCTS
8 lb (3.6 kg) Pilsner malt, plus 1 cup (250 ml) for the cereal mash
1 lb (454 g) flaked corn
8 oz (227 g) aromatic malt
4 oz (113 g) black (patent) malt
4 oz (113 g) black debittered malt
HOPS SCHEDULE
0.75 oz (21 g) German Hallertauer [4.5% AA] at 60 minutes (3–4 HBU/95 MBU)
2.5 oz (70 g) wild hops, [1% AA] at 5 minutes (2–3 HBU/70 MBU)
1 oz (28 g) homegrown Cascade hops [5% AA] at 0 minutes (5 HBU/140 MBU)
1.25 oz (35 g) homegrown hops, blended into a powder at dry hop
YEAST German- or Bavarian-type lager yeast. Yes, lager yeast. I use my own 35-year-old yeast, which is sold by White Labs as WLP 862 Cry Havoc.
ADDITIONAL ITEMS
1/4 tsp (1 g) powdered Irish moss
0.75 cup (175 ml) corn sugar for priming bottles or 0.33 cups (80 ml) for kegging
DIRECTIONS A step-infusion mash and separate cereal mash are employed to mash the grains. Add 6 qt (4.3 l) of cold water to 1 cup (250 ml) crushed Pilsner malt and 1 pound (454 g) of flaked corn and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, add 9 qt (8.6 l) of 140°F (60°C) water to the remaining crushed grain, stir, stabilize, and hold the temperature at 132°F (53°C) for 30 minutes. After half an hour, add the boiling corn and Pilsner malt to the main mash. Add heat if needed to bring mash temperature up to 155°F (68°C) and hold for about 30 minutes. Then raise temperature to 167°F (75°C), lauter, and sparge with 3.5 gal (13.5 l) of 170°F (77°C) water. Collect about 5.5 gal (21 l) of runoff. Add 60-minute hops and bring to a full and vigorous boil.
The total boil time will be 60 minutes. When 10 minutes remain, add the Irish moss. When 5 minutes remain, add the 5-minute hops. After a total wort boil of 60 minutes, turn off the heat, add the 0-minute hops, and place the pot (with cover on) in a running cold-water bath for 30 minutes. Continue to chill in the immersion or use other methods to chill your wort. Then strain and sparge the wort into a sanitized fermentor. Bring the total volume to 5.5 gal (21 l) with additional cold water if necessary. Aerate the wort very well.
Pitch the yeast when temperature of the wort is about 70°F (21°C). Once visible signs of fermentation are evident, ferment at about 55°F (12°C) for about one week or until fermentation shows signs of calm and stopping. Rack from primary to a secondary and add the hops powder for dry hopping. If you have the capability, “lager” the beer at temperatures between 35 and 45°F (1–7°C) for 3–6 weeks.
Prime with sugar and bottle or keg when complete.
Recipe courtesy of Charlie Papazian and the American Homebrewers Association.
Congressional Homebrewing
The other event in Washington was the annual Hill Staff Homebrew Competition. Eligible federal employees and congressional staffers were invited to enter their beer into a handful of categories. Winners of the third annual competition were announced earlier this week.
The 2018 winners
Capitol Hill Staff Homebrew Champion (1st place entry from each category competes for trophy):
Category 1: U.K. and Belgian Ales (5 entries)
- First Place: Scottish Export Ale, Gray Maxwell, Office of Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD)
- Second Place: Belgian Golden Strong Ale, Michael Pinkerton, Office of the Senate Finance Committee
- Third Place: Saison, Claudia Urrabazo and Yuri Beckelman, Americus Homebrewers Association, Office of Democratic Whip, Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD, 5th District)
Category 2: Bitter American and European Ales (10 entries)
- First Place: Black IPA, Pierce Wiegard, Office of Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK)
- Second Place: New England IPA, Deborah and Dean Haynie, Office of Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
- Third Place: American Pale Ale, James Johnson, Office of Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ, 6th District)
Category 3: Spiced and Wood Beer (7 entries)
- First Place: Sweet Stout, Josh Caplan, Office of the Senate Budget Committee
- Second Place: Rauchbier, Eric Lausten, DC Homebrewers, Office of Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL, 3rd District)
- Third Place: Sweet Stout with peanut butter and cocoa nibs, Ann Tumolo, Office of Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH, 2nd District)