Funky Mild Review

This is my second attempt at a beer from American Sour Beers. This one isn't actually soured, but dosed with Brett-C in the secondary fermentation. 

Appearance: Deep ruby brown. Nearly opaque but in bright light it is clear. Low but persistent tan head. The camera on my phone doesn't do the appearance of my beers any favors.

Aroma: Noticeable bretty cherry quality. Kind of musty with a chocolate note. Like dark bitter chocolate mixed with cherries. The Brett smell is similarly funky to my Brett C saison but definitely has a stronger cherry like nose. Perhaps that's an interaction between the Brett and the dark or crystal malts. I don't think I get any English yeast type esters.

Taste: Similar to the aroma. I get some bretty horseblanket funk. Maybe some leathery notes, a bit of chocolate, but doesn't have as much cherry as the nose. Low sweetness, very low bitterness, hops not detectable. Maybe some dry, spicy notes from the rye malt, but it all blends together.

Moutfeel: Fairly thin, like a mild is supposed to be. But mid to high carbonation range, which is probably a little too high. Aftertaste is bretty funk, maybe with a slight taste of bitter chocolate. Pretty dry - the brett must have consumed some of the sugars left over from the English ale yeast.

Overall: I'm not sure what to make of the taste profile of this one. Not clearly a sour, not clearly a mild, not a saison. Just different than anything that comes to mind. It's pleasant but has a stronger taste than a mild and probably a little more alcohol, both due to the brett. Probably not quite the session beer due to its more robust taste... but probably still is pretty low ABV.

I would like to continue brewing the beers from American Sour Beers. Maybe next is the Buckwheat Sour Amber or the Lambic. We'll see.... I currently have too many unfilled carboys so I'm looking to fill them with some sours or the like.




 

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.

Mild Review

My second "normal" homebrew batch size was a Mild, following JZ's recipe for that style. With a low alcohol level but a nice flavor, why not brew 5 gallons?

Appearance: Mahogany brown color. A little hazy but nearly transparent. Very small, off-white head on top. Obviously low carbonation.

Aroma: Malty, bready, biscuity aroma. I would say it's grainy - a bit like grain before I mash in. Caramel and light roasty or nutty aroma as well. I don't get hop aroma although I might get a tiny bit of dark fruit aroma, like raisins or so.

Taste: Malty, caramel and toasty, maybe nutty. It doesn't seem too sweet. Low bitterness at the end. Certainly not a very strong taste but nevertheless satisfying.

Mouthfeel: Low carbonation. Thin body but it's not like water. Improves as it warms up.

Overall: I think it. I think it serves its purpose as the kind of beer one could drink without having to worry about the effects of alcohol. But it does have a good flavor. A good beer to drink at a party and serve to people who normally drink crappy beer.

Mild Brew Day

My significant other is very busy these days with studying as she is in grad school. That's left me with some time on my hands, which, naturally, I've chosen to spend brewing over the last few weekends. Friday night she told me that she'd be busy all Saturday, so I decided to brew a nice easy drinking session beer - an English mild. And, since I had limited time to formulate the recipe, I basically copied it out of Brewing Classic Styles and finally did another 5 gallon batch. I pretty much followed the recipe exactly except that I didn't have the right hops so the IBUs are probably going to be a bit off. I kind of guesstimated. Hopefully it won't be overly bitter or cloyingly sweet but somewhere in the acceptable zone for the style.


Mild
5 gallons

7# Maris Otter
8oz Crystal 60
6oz Crystal 120
4oz Chocolate Malt
2oz Black Patent

All hops 60 min
.2oz Kent Goldings, 5.6%
.2oz Tettnanger, 4.5%
.1oz Warrior, 15% 

Union Jacks M07 Yeast

Expected OG/FG/IBUs/ABV: 1.03 / 1.011 / ?? / 3.2%

Brewed 10/13
Brewday went well, but my efficiency was high, I ended up with about 5.25 gallons of 11.2B / 1.045 SG beer.

Split into two 3-gallon carboys. And pitched at about 65F. By the next day, one carboy was going pretty well with quite some krausen, though the other had only slight krausen. Perhaps one carboy got more yeast than the other.

On 10/13 the second carboy was developing a full head of krausen.