RECIPE DEVELOPMENT
My first commercial recipes were developed for Devil's Peak Brewing Company of which I was also a co-founder at the time. I am now excited to be expanding my business with the launch of FURTUR BREWING (www.FURTHURBREWING.com) under which I will be developing recipes for the South African market and beyond!
PORTFOLIO
ZAR IMPERIAL RED IPA - LIMITED RELEASE!
Brewed a single batch when I was in Cape Town in July for IPA day as collaboration brew with Experimental Brewers.
An American style imperial red IPA with double the malt and double the hops; a big beer with bursting citrus and dank aromas, and a firm bitterness delicately balanced with malty goodness. Launch on August 1st in Cape Town and Johannesburg!
7.5% ABV
75 IBUs
An American style imperial red IPA with double the malt and double the hops; a big beer with bursting citrus and dank aromas, and a firm bitterness delicately balanced with malty goodness. Launch on August 1st in Cape Town and Johannesburg!
7.5% ABV
75 IBUs
Devil's Peak First Light Golden Ale
First Light Golden Ale
First Light Golden Ale is my ale answer to South Africans’ thirst for lager. It is meant to be light, crisp, and relatively dry, but with enough malt backbone and hop character to make it interesting.
The recipe for this beer is based essentially on a lager recipe, but fermented with a US top-fermenting, ale yeast and a slightly higher hopping rate. The grain bill comprises pale malt, Munich malt, a light cara-malt, and wheat malt.
The fruitiness in the beer is derived from the hops – an experimental hop grown by SAB near Outeniqua Pass called US4/78. Bitterness is targeted a bit higher than a typical lager at about 20IBUs for better balance. The beer’s starting gravity is 1.044 and finishes up at about 4.5% ABV to get patrons to say, "another please!".
What people are saying: "Light and easy drinking, love it" (from RateBeer)
Write Ups: RateBeer, Beginner Brewer
The recipe for this beer is based essentially on a lager recipe, but fermented with a US top-fermenting, ale yeast and a slightly higher hopping rate. The grain bill comprises pale malt, Munich malt, a light cara-malt, and wheat malt.
The fruitiness in the beer is derived from the hops – an experimental hop grown by SAB near Outeniqua Pass called US4/78. Bitterness is targeted a bit higher than a typical lager at about 20IBUs for better balance. The beer’s starting gravity is 1.044 and finishes up at about 4.5% ABV to get patrons to say, "another please!".
What people are saying: "Light and easy drinking, love it" (from RateBeer)
Write Ups: RateBeer, Beginner Brewer
Devil's Peak Silvertree Saison
Silvertree Saison
Saison Dupont from Brasserie Dupont in Tourpes, Belgium is my favorite saison. For many, it defines the style – bone dry, champagne-like effervescence, fruity, and somewhat bitter. Silver Tree Saison was my salute to Dupont for producing such a simple, yet elegant beer that begs me to drink more (until the 6.5% ABV catches up!).
While Dupont’s recipe is as basic as it gets in the grain department with nothing more than pilsner malt, I’ve thrown in a bit of historical flare for something different. The grain bill comprises pilsner malt, Munich malt, oats, and wheat malt. For hops, I use the traditional Styrian Goldings and Saaz, but also throw in an interesting hop from New Zealand called Motueka, which possesses a bit of lime character. In terms of Belgian beers, saisons tend to have much higher hopping rates than the bulk of the malt forward, Abbey-style beers. For bitterness, I target 23IBUs with a lot of late hopping.
The signature of a properly made saison is an extremely dry finish and fruity esters, and there are really only two main saison yeasts that can pull off 95% apparent attenuation without turning into a phenolic mess – Dupont’s yeast and Brasserie Thiriez’s, from just over the border in France. Legend has it that Dupont’s yeast is actually a descendant of red wine yeast that made its way to Belgium a number of centuries ago. The result of using proper saison yeast in Silver Tree Saison is a terminal gravity of about 1.003, a bit more than 5% ABV, and citrus-fruit esters.
What people are saying: "DPBC’s most recent addition to the family has yielded a visual offering that is not as hard-edged as their Blockhouse or First Light, but perfectly balanced, just like the beer itself. Full of detail as usual with a refreshing golden-yellow hue across the label, this beer is going to see in summer just perfectly." (from Craftbru)
While Dupont’s recipe is as basic as it gets in the grain department with nothing more than pilsner malt, I’ve thrown in a bit of historical flare for something different. The grain bill comprises pilsner malt, Munich malt, oats, and wheat malt. For hops, I use the traditional Styrian Goldings and Saaz, but also throw in an interesting hop from New Zealand called Motueka, which possesses a bit of lime character. In terms of Belgian beers, saisons tend to have much higher hopping rates than the bulk of the malt forward, Abbey-style beers. For bitterness, I target 23IBUs with a lot of late hopping.
The signature of a properly made saison is an extremely dry finish and fruity esters, and there are really only two main saison yeasts that can pull off 95% apparent attenuation without turning into a phenolic mess – Dupont’s yeast and Brasserie Thiriez’s, from just over the border in France. Legend has it that Dupont’s yeast is actually a descendant of red wine yeast that made its way to Belgium a number of centuries ago. The result of using proper saison yeast in Silver Tree Saison is a terminal gravity of about 1.003, a bit more than 5% ABV, and citrus-fruit esters.
What people are saying: "DPBC’s most recent addition to the family has yielded a visual offering that is not as hard-edged as their Blockhouse or First Light, but perfectly balanced, just like the beer itself. Full of detail as usual with a refreshing golden-yellow hue across the label, this beer is going to see in summer just perfectly." (from Craftbru)
Devil's Peak Woodhead Amber
Woodhead Amber Ale
Woodhead Amber Ale is a US West Coast-style amber, or “red”, ale. The beer is meant to be deep amber in colour, malty (but, not sweet!), yet hoppy like West Coast beers should be! I find this style to fill a well needed gap between pale ales and IPAs whose grain bills tend to be light and hop bills heavy.
The grain bill comprises pale malt, light and dark cara-malts, biscuit malt, Munich malt, and a touch of light chocolate malt to add to the colour. The real character of this beer stems from (you guessed it!) the hopping. I wanted a beer with big hop character without having to dry hop it. I achieved that with judicious late hopping entirely with Amarillo and Centennial hops targeting 35IBUs. The intermingling of the US “C-type” hops with the complex malt bill results in a fourth dimension of flavours and aromas.
The success of an amber ale, to me, is to make one that isn't a cloyingly sweet mess due to a high residual sugar content. I achieve this by using a US top-fermenting, ale strain that chews through the 1.050 starting gravity wort to end up with about 5% ABV and a medium body mouthfeel.
What people are saying: Fiery amber colour. Thin head. The aroma has a fair amount of caramel. On the palate, this expresses itself as fresh, chewy crystal malt, backed with moderate bitterness and slightly leafy hops. High quality amber. (From RateBeer)
The grain bill comprises pale malt, light and dark cara-malts, biscuit malt, Munich malt, and a touch of light chocolate malt to add to the colour. The real character of this beer stems from (you guessed it!) the hopping. I wanted a beer with big hop character without having to dry hop it. I achieved that with judicious late hopping entirely with Amarillo and Centennial hops targeting 35IBUs. The intermingling of the US “C-type” hops with the complex malt bill results in a fourth dimension of flavours and aromas.
The success of an amber ale, to me, is to make one that isn't a cloyingly sweet mess due to a high residual sugar content. I achieve this by using a US top-fermenting, ale strain that chews through the 1.050 starting gravity wort to end up with about 5% ABV and a medium body mouthfeel.
What people are saying: Fiery amber colour. Thin head. The aroma has a fair amount of caramel. On the palate, this expresses itself as fresh, chewy crystal malt, backed with moderate bitterness and slightly leafy hops. High quality amber. (From RateBeer)
Devil's Peak King's Blockhouse IPA
The King's Blockhouse IPA
The King’s Blockhouse IPA is my attempt at getting the South African craft beer lover turned on to the glorious hop. This US-style IPA showcases the diverse aromatic characteristics that hops can deliver to beer resulting in an olfactory indulgence that most folks thought only wine connoisseurs could enjoy.
While I love hops, I also love balance. I achieve balance in this beer by providing a malt backbone strong enough to compliment the extremely high hopping rate, which I suspect is the highest currently in any IPA produced in South Africa. But “malt backbone” doesn’t equate to loads of cara-malts, the use of which I believe yields less-than-stellar IPAs. The grain bill comprises pale ale malt, Munich malt, light cara-malt, and wheat malt.
What about the hops?! Well, the name of the game is US “C-hops”. I use Columbus, Chinook, Centennial, Amarillo, and Citra hops to achieve about 53IBUs and finish the beer off with a huge load of dry hops. It is only through dry hopping that one can achieve the sticking-your-face-into-the-hop-bag effect that this beer has. The aromas range from citrus through the tropical fruit department at Pick n Pay in January – guava, granadilla, and mango. In terms of bitterness, 53IBUs would be considered on the low side in the US; however, with an ABV also on the low end relative to US examples at 6%, I believe this level of bitterness is commensurate for the current South African market.
As with most of the beers I brew, this beer also is meant to finish clean with a relatively low terminal gravity. The workhorse US ale yeast accomplishes this by achieving 80% apparent attenuation from a starting gravity of 1.058. The result – a highly drinkable IPA bursting with fruity hops.
What people are saying: "Amazing aroma of citrus and granadilla and lovely clear golden color. Taste is crisp, with a clear balance between hops and malt and good bitterness. One of the best IPAs I have tasted and stands up to the great American ones." (from Rate Beer)
While I love hops, I also love balance. I achieve balance in this beer by providing a malt backbone strong enough to compliment the extremely high hopping rate, which I suspect is the highest currently in any IPA produced in South Africa. But “malt backbone” doesn’t equate to loads of cara-malts, the use of which I believe yields less-than-stellar IPAs. The grain bill comprises pale ale malt, Munich malt, light cara-malt, and wheat malt.
What about the hops?! Well, the name of the game is US “C-hops”. I use Columbus, Chinook, Centennial, Amarillo, and Citra hops to achieve about 53IBUs and finish the beer off with a huge load of dry hops. It is only through dry hopping that one can achieve the sticking-your-face-into-the-hop-bag effect that this beer has. The aromas range from citrus through the tropical fruit department at Pick n Pay in January – guava, granadilla, and mango. In terms of bitterness, 53IBUs would be considered on the low side in the US; however, with an ABV also on the low end relative to US examples at 6%, I believe this level of bitterness is commensurate for the current South African market.
As with most of the beers I brew, this beer also is meant to finish clean with a relatively low terminal gravity. The workhorse US ale yeast accomplishes this by achieving 80% apparent attenuation from a starting gravity of 1.058. The result – a highly drinkable IPA bursting with fruity hops.
What people are saying: "Amazing aroma of citrus and granadilla and lovely clear golden color. Taste is crisp, with a clear balance between hops and malt and good bitterness. One of the best IPAs I have tasted and stands up to the great American ones." (from Rate Beer)