Sourish American Review

Being too impatient to brew a real Lambic or Geuze, I brewed a pseudo-Lambic from a recipe from Amercian Sour Beers with the a substitution of yeast.

Appearance: Bright golden yellow with some yeast-haze. Smallish white head with retention enough to leave some white bubbles on the surface of the beer.

Aroma: Funky with some barn-yard like brett character. Lemony sourness is there too. A little bit of the cherry-like aroma. Overall the nose is intriguing but not strong.

Taste: Again like the nose. Slightly sour, funky, lemony.-rhind like. Really not as sour as I was thinking and hoping it would be. Not sure how to describe it. Does not have the cherry-like flavors of Flanders Red. The end has subtly fruity and tannic notes.

Mouthfeel: Prickly carbnoation, but probably not as carbonated as it should be. Light to medium-light body. Tannic notes in the aftertaste contribute to an impression of dryness.

Overall: Very pleasant funky and sour beer, with the very aggressive sourness that some lambics have. Not really sure how it would compare side-by-side to a "real" lambic. Will keep it around to see how the flavor develops over time.

For next time: Brew a Lambic using the "right" sour blend.
 

Brett C Saison Brew Day

This beer is a club recipe for a brett experiment. A bunch of people will use an identical grain bill but different strains of yeast, some with brett only and some with brett in secondary only. There's going to be a lot of bretty beer when the experimental beers are tasted.

Brett C Saison
5 gallons
10# Pils
1# Munich Dark
0.5# Torrified Wheat
0.5# Cane Sugar

.75 oz Magnum, 12.4%, 60min
1oz Santiam, 6%, Whirlpool

Brett C primary

Mash at 150F.

Expected OG/FG/IBU/ABV: 1.062 / 1.090 / 29 / 6.9%

7/19/15
Made starter with 1L water, 100g DME, and yeast nutrient. Pitched 1 vial of Brett C (WLP 645) 68F ambient.

7/20/15
No signs of fermentation yet.

7/23/15
Again no apparent signs that the starter is fermenting. Shook starter a bit. I've heard that Brett usually works way more slowly that brewer's yeast. I hope that I will have enough of it to get a good primary ferment with it.

7/25/15
The starter had a ring of trub gunk where the beer meets the side of the flask, indicating that fermentation has passed high krausen.

 Brewed 7/26
Brew day didn't go smoothly due to equipment issues and using my buddy's system rather than my own. No gravity readings etc. Long cooling period necessitated pitching the day after brewday.

7/27
Got  ~5.1 gallons into the carboy, but not much trub. Pitched decanted starter at 68F and let set in 70F ambient to begin fermentation. 

7/28
About 24 hours after pitching, the fermentation was going very vigorously. Continuous airlock bubbling and lots of churning due to CO2 production. I guess I was totally wrong to be concerned about not having enough brett yeast in the starter. 

7/29 
Fermentation going, but less vigorously.


8/1
Fermentation is no longer causing air lock bubbling, but bear is still turbid with yeast.

8/24
Racked to secondary.

Munich Helles Review

My third lager was is a Munich Helles, with a malt and hop bill straight from Brewing Class Styles but a yeast substitution. In any case, I was hoping for a light, refreshing beer to go into my kegorator for July and August.


Munich Helles

Appearance: Golden body, very slightly hazy but nearly crystal clear even after a long lagering time. Billowing white head, with OK retention.

Aroma: Grainy, pilsner aroma. I don't get much hop aroma. Maybe a tiny bit of DMS but pretty clean.

Taste: Again malty, light, pretty dry. Bready character but not as intense as a good hefeweissen beer. Subdued and earthy hop bitterness prevents a cloying quality.

Mouthfeel: Light body, good medium carbonation. Probably I should carb it up a little more.

Overall: A light lager with a good malt character. Appropriate for hot summer days. I like it and would definitely brew it again in order to have an easy drinking, sessionable beer in one of my kegs. More flavorful and bolder than mass-market 'Murican pale lagers, but still refreshing and light enough to be consumed in relatively large quantities.

Kiwi Konnection Pale Ale

A Pale Ale (or maybe "Session IPA") with New Zealand hops, appropriate for the summer. The malt bill is based on that of one of my previous Pale Ale's, but the hop combo has some Nelson Sauvin and Rakau hops from NZ, along with some 'Murican Calypso hops.

The high alpha acid percentage of the hops is sufficient to entirely avoid and early-boil bittering addition. Even with 5min, 1min and flameout additions, Beersmith says I can get ~44 IBUs, for an IPA-like 1:1 ratio of malt to bitterness. So maybe this beer is more like a session IPA or the like.


BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Kiwi Konnection Pale Ale
Style: American Pale Ale
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 6.88 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.88 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal  
Bottling Volume: 4.85 gal
Estimated OG: 1.053 SG
Estimated Color: 6.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 43.6 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 75.3 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
9 lbs                (Half US 2-Row, half Maris Otter)          Grain         1        81.8 %       
10.0 oz               Munich Malt (9.0 SRM)                    Grain         2        5.7 %        
10.0 oz               Victory Malt (25.0 SRM)                  Grain         3        5.7 %        
8.0 oz                White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM)               Grain         4        4.5 %        
4.0 oz                Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM)    Grain         5        2.3 %      

0.50 oz               Calypso [15.40 %] - Boil 5.0 min         Hop           6        5.4 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min   Hop           7        4.2 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Rakau [10.80 %] - Boil 5.0 min           Hop           8        3.8 IBUs 
   
0.50 oz               Calypso [15.40 %] - Boil 1.0 min         Hop           9        1.2 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Boil 1.0 min   Hop           10       0.9 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Rakau [10.80 %] - Boil 1.0 min           Hop           11       0.8 IBUs  
  
0.50 oz               Calypso [15.40 %] - Steep/Whirlpool  30. Hop           12       10.5 IBUs    
0.50 oz               Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 30.Hop           13       9.3 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Rakau [10.80 %] - Steep/Whirlpool  30.0  Hop           14       7.4 IBUs   
 
1.0 pkg               Safale American  (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)  Yeast         15       -   
        
0.50 oz               Calypso [15.40 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days     Hop           16       0.0 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Da Hop           17       0.0 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Rakau [10.80 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days       Hop           18       0.0 IBUs     


Mash Schedule: 154F, Batch Sparge, Mash Out, 6.8 gal
Total Grain Weight: 11 lbs
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 17.75 qt of water at 165.8 F                     154.0 F       60 min       
Mash Step               Add 8.80 qt of water at 201.1 F                      168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 2.56gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
------
Treated mash water with Gypsum and CaCl, for 5.2 mash pH. No treatment of Boston area sparge water.

Starter made the previous week for a planned double brew day that never happened.

Brewed 7/1/15
Hit Mash temps, and Mash pH.

Gravity of pre-boil wort was a little too high - like 1.046. Only slightly off though.

Volume into kettle seemed about right.

Whirlpool details: At flameout, turn on recirculation pump but do not start cooling. Let stand 5 mins, then cool wort to 180F. Let stand 30 mins. Then cooled to ~100F before transferring into carboy and placing in cool basement to finish cooling.

Got ~ 5.4 gallon into fermenter after leaving behind some trub and hop gunk in the kettle.
 
Pitched decanted starter the next morning at 68F.

I started brewing after a day of work, turning on the burner at ~ 4:30 PM. Done with brew and cleaning by 9:30PM. Not bad.

7/2/15
Good krausen. 67F ambient air.

7/7/15 
Krausen mostly down.


 

Funky Rye Brewday

This will be my second brew from American Sour Beers, though really this beer will be brett-funky, not sour exactly.

The book only has percentages for the grain bill, and I neglected to look at The Mad Fermentationist before formulating the recipe, so numbers are slightly off compared to the original, and there are a couple of ingredient substitutions. Finally I was really lazy this brew and didn't record the gravity, mash ph, etc... I hope the brett will have funkified this recipe around November or December for a nice winter time session ale.

Recipe: Funky Rye Session Ale
Style: Mild

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 6.88 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.88 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal  
Bottling Volume: 4.85 gal
Estimated OG: 1.043 SG
Estimated Color: 20.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 30.9 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 75.3 %
Boil Time: 60 MinutesIngredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU       
5.25 gal              Boston, MA                               Water         1        -           
3 lbs 8.0 oz          Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)           Grain         2        38.9 %      
3 lbs 8.0 oz          Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)         Grain         3        38.9 %      
1 lbs                 Rye Malt (4.7 SRM)                       Grain         4        11.1 %      
8.0 oz                Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM)   Grain         5        5.6 %       
8.0 oz                Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)               Grain         6        5.6 %       

1.00 oz               Goldings, East Kent [5.70 %] - Boil 45.0 Hop           7        20.1 IBUs   
1.00 oz               Goldings, East Kent [5.70 %] - Boil 15.0 Hop           8        10.8 IBUs   
1.0 pkg               West Yorkshire Ale (Wyeast Labs #1469)   Yeast         9        -           
1.0 pkg               Brettanomyces Claussenii (White Labs #WL Yeast         10       -           

           
1.0 pkg               Brettanomyces Claussenii (1 tube into secondary fermenter)     


Mash Schedule: 154F, Batch Sparge, Mash Out

Total Grain Weight: 9 lbs
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 15.25 qt of water at 165.3 F                     154.0 F       60 min       
Mash Step               Add 7.20 qt of water at 202.6 F                      168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 3.34gal) of 168.0 F water

6/24/15: Made a 1.020 starter since the Yeast package was old and discounted at the LHBS.

6/26/15: Decanted fermented starter beer, and stepped up to a 1.040 starter.

6/29/15: Brewed. Brewing went well despite my laziness in failing to take notes, etc... Cooled to 100F and racked to fermenter. Approx. 5.5 gallons into fermenter.

Put in basement to cool to pitching temps. 30 seconds of Oxygen, pitched decanted starter at ~ 68F.

6/30/15:  Good krausen has formed.

7/1/15: Krausen is still good and active. Moved to 72F ambient air temps.

7/27/15: Racked to secondary, added a small bit of the Brett C starter I made for the Brett C saison.

8/14/15: After a few weeks of no visible activity, the Brett C had left some krausen gunk along the neck of the carboy. Some foam / pellicle on the surface of the beer too.