Gringo '09

Last year I decided to make a hoppy Mexican lager. The Gringo was only a three gallon batch, I used the Cali Common 2112 yeast, and then lagered the beer for close to three months in my fridge. The end result is hard to categorize because I drank it in intervals, and never felt like I got a good idea of what this beer was. At first the beer was unbalanced, hoppy and light, with a clean finish. As the beer aged, the citrus came out more, and the final couple of bottles were quite good. I decided to brew up 5 gallons this time around, and make some adjustments. I think in the past year my knowledge of hops and appreciation of very hoppy beers has increased. With that knowledge, I knew more of what I wanted from the Gringo. Toning down the IBUs, I only used .35 ounces of Centennial hops for a bittering addition, and opting to add close to 4 ounces in the last 15 minutes. I also used mostly Pilsner malt and some light DME in the boil along with 2 lbs of cane sugar. The plan to round out the citrusy hops is to add 12 oz of Light Agave Nectar in the secondary. Even though I have a better idea of what I'm aiming for...which is a light bodied, extremely hoppy and citrusy beer with a sweet, smooth finish... we'll see what turns up. The key is patience, in my notes I wrote down that 10 weeks was when the bottles (the last two!) tasted great. Encouraged by those last bottles of last year's Gringo, I'm hoping that this time around what I have in my head turns out to be the end product.
Stay tuned...