Homebrew Summer: Chata F*** Up

No local business has brought more amateur brewers and civilians’ beery dreams to life over the past decade than Citizen Brewers. A Grantville hideaway that works with clients to brew up and bottle beers for private consumption, it was founded by Judd McGhee (pictured above, at right) Over the past decade, he’s struck up many beer-inspired friendships, including one with Eli Palma, who just so happens to have brewed more pro-am creations as part of our Homebrew Summer program over the past five years. This year, these beer buds had the chance to work together on a horchata stout called Chata F*** Up, an experimental brew that may seem an odd choice for summer temps, but was purposefully designed to go down as easy as the virgin beverage that inspired it. The beer will debut at a special release party at Citizen Brewers from 3 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, August 23, but you can download the recipe right now!

Eli Palma
Homebrewer

There’s something incredibly exciting about being welcomed back into a professional brewhouse, especially when you’re brewing with a friend who also happens to be the head brewer. Citizen Brewers always feels like you’re entering a secret beer clubhouse. It’s such a cool, relaxed space where you can truly feel at ease while brewing and collaborating on beers. Judd’s passion for the craft is always evident, and it’s inspiring to watch him work. Coming up with a special recipe for HBS took some time. After contemplating and tossing around ideas over a few pints, we had a sudden surge of rebelliousness, thinking, No one’s going to brew a stout for Homebrew Summer, right? We did exactly that, aiming to make it super drinkable, like a horchata. It might seem like a stout would be too heavy for warmer weather, but with its creamy, rich texture, horchata is surprisingly light and incredibly refreshing. That contrast inspired us. I started with an award-winning recipe and layered in some tasty horchata-inspired elements. We think we got pretty close and we’re excited to share it. Try pairing this stout with some spicy Mexican food for a truly indulgent experience.

Judd McGhee
Owner, Citizen Brewers

I have brewed with Eli a handful of times at Citizen Brewers. We’ve always had a good time, so I figured I’d reach out and see if he had any plans for Homebrew Summer this year. Luckily, he hadn’t committed to another project yet and obliged. The agreed upon recipe is for a sweet stout he’d previously developed that would now become horchata-inspired. The concept (and name) of the beer is uniquely Eli’s, so I’ll have to Chata F*** Up about that. We made a few minor adjustments to the dark malts. We were aiming for it to be less malt astringent and decided to incorporate more pearled malts to help round down the potential harshness of the roasted malts. The mash temperature was 154 to help create a full body and the horchata flavoring was introduced after fermentation. The end results is a smooth, luscious horchata sweet stout.

Any tips for homebrewers using this recipe?
Checking in on the product during each stage to see if it meets your expectations and then being willing to make adjustments on the fly may help out your next brew session and beer.

New homebrew recipes and pro-am beer release information will be posted to our site throughout the summer, so check back with San Diego Beer News on a regular basis (or subscribe to our free weekly email newsletter and we’ll send all the recipes and release information straight to your inbox). Cheers and happy homebrewing!

Citizen Brewers is located at 5837 Mission Gorge Road in Grantville