3725 Bieres
Oh, dear blog, how I have neglected thee.
I've brewed some since this blog died (and I'm apparently trying to revive it.) I've created two bieres with the Wyeast 3725 Bier de Garde. (I won't discuss that they should've added an 'e' at the end of 'Bier'... uh, no.) I find it way different than any of the other Saison strains that have been offered by the wonderful folks at Wyeast. =) Way different, and I haven't even made a Biere de Garde with it yet. I have, however, tasted a homebrewed Biere de Garde made with this strain and it was very good. After I tasted my own first 3725 biere it took me awhile to put a finger on the fact that it does put more emphasis on malt (or malt and hop) in a more basic way like, for example, 1056 American Ale does. It lets the ingredients shine a bit more than other Saison strains.
So, I've made 2 Saisons with 3725. Here they are:
The Lesser
13# 11 oz Gambrinus Pale Malt
3 1/2# Wheat (Wagner Wheat)
1.75 oz US Northern Brewer 8.1% AA (90 min)
2 oz German Hallertau 4% AA (K.O.)
Wyeast 3725 Bier de Garde (24 oz starters)
Mash Schedule: 124:30min 148:60min 169:15+min
OG: 1.045 TG: 1.004 91% Apparent Attenuation, 5.5% abv.
Apparently you can be malty and attenuative at the same time.
The Bigger (Les Bon Temps)
18# 6 oz Gambrinus Pale Malt
1# Wheat
2 oz US Northern Brewer 8.1% AA (90 min)
2 oz German Hallertau 4% AA (K.O.)
Wyeast 3725 Slurry from previous beer.
Mash Schedule: 148:50+min 168:15+min
OG: 1.054 TG: 1.003 94%AA, 6.8% abv
With this biere, I also decided to dry hop the kegged portion. One ounce of Hallertau in secondary for seven days before I transferred it to keg. It seemed to add a lot more hop flavor. More than aroma, I think. I have yet to bottle this beer (and the Lesser). The Bigger is still on draft and it has changed a lot. Since all protein and yeast have dropped out and it's become bright, the head has become extra dense (but quickly fades), it has become a little spicier and less earthy. It has also become rounder and more complex.
With the Bigger biere I decided to skip the lower temperature rest because it only had 5% wheat. The smaller biere had 20%. I wanted to see if 5% of unmalted wheat without a protein rest would aid in adding head retention. I don't think it worked for me. You see, I've had a head retention problem almost all year long. The last biere to have a reasonable amount of head retention was bottled on January 9th. I feel like each successive biere has had less and less head retention. I'm bummed. I have some sort of anti-heading bug in the system, I guess. Maybe I need to tear everything apart and clean, rinse, and sanatize as needed.
Any ideas?
I've brewed some since this blog died (and I'm apparently trying to revive it.) I've created two bieres with the Wyeast 3725 Bier de Garde. (I won't discuss that they should've added an 'e' at the end of 'Bier'... uh, no.) I find it way different than any of the other Saison strains that have been offered by the wonderful folks at Wyeast. =) Way different, and I haven't even made a Biere de Garde with it yet. I have, however, tasted a homebrewed Biere de Garde made with this strain and it was very good. After I tasted my own first 3725 biere it took me awhile to put a finger on the fact that it does put more emphasis on malt (or malt and hop) in a more basic way like, for example, 1056 American Ale does. It lets the ingredients shine a bit more than other Saison strains.
So, I've made 2 Saisons with 3725. Here they are:
The Lesser
13# 11 oz Gambrinus Pale Malt
3 1/2# Wheat (Wagner Wheat)
1.75 oz US Northern Brewer 8.1% AA (90 min)
2 oz German Hallertau 4% AA (K.O.)
Wyeast 3725 Bier de Garde (24 oz starters)
Mash Schedule: 124:30min 148:60min 169:15+min
OG: 1.045 TG: 1.004 91% Apparent Attenuation, 5.5% abv.
Apparently you can be malty and attenuative at the same time.
The Bigger (Les Bon Temps)
18# 6 oz Gambrinus Pale Malt
1# Wheat
2 oz US Northern Brewer 8.1% AA (90 min)
2 oz German Hallertau 4% AA (K.O.)
Wyeast 3725 Slurry from previous beer.
Mash Schedule: 148:50+min 168:15+min
OG: 1.054 TG: 1.003 94%AA, 6.8% abv
With this biere, I also decided to dry hop the kegged portion. One ounce of Hallertau in secondary for seven days before I transferred it to keg. It seemed to add a lot more hop flavor. More than aroma, I think. I have yet to bottle this beer (and the Lesser). The Bigger is still on draft and it has changed a lot. Since all protein and yeast have dropped out and it's become bright, the head has become extra dense (but quickly fades), it has become a little spicier and less earthy. It has also become rounder and more complex.
With the Bigger biere I decided to skip the lower temperature rest because it only had 5% wheat. The smaller biere had 20%. I wanted to see if 5% of unmalted wheat without a protein rest would aid in adding head retention. I don't think it worked for me. You see, I've had a head retention problem almost all year long. The last biere to have a reasonable amount of head retention was bottled on January 9th. I feel like each successive biere has had less and less head retention. I'm bummed. I have some sort of anti-heading bug in the system, I guess. Maybe I need to tear everything apart and clean, rinse, and sanatize as needed.
Any ideas?
Yard City SaisonFest I
Someone else writes about SaisonFest
A great professional Saison Drink a' Thon we had one Saturday in September. A bit blustery as I remember. It worked fine inside our cozy shack. While men and woman drank and nodded their heads at one another, the merriment and radiant laughter of children was heard.
Did you ever notice that any informal beer tasting seems to gravitate toward a certain space or area or object? It's probably that way with any gathering. But, I notice that the kitchen is a popular spot. We have some good kitchens in our circle! There's even one with an island and it's own separate sink! We don't have a good kitchen at my house. Our gatherings are best had out on the back patio, but the weather dictated an indoor festivus. Apparently this event married itself to our dining table. It was a great time, with a healthy turnout of over a dozen-ish folks plus some offspring. We had just enough drinkers for the 750s so everybody got a little taste.
Now, the list:
We also opened a bottle of YCB Super I somewhere along the way, but it was an oxidized messy drainpour.
My favorites include: The Thiriez Blonde up against the Li'l Jib. It was great to be able to see that the Wyeast 3711 French Saison strain is the Thiriez strain. I was surprised to see that Li'l Jib tasted as good as it did next the the Thiriez Biere. I really enjoyed Smoga's homebrewed Biere de Garde. It was awesome. Balanced, flavorful, malty. Smoga's beer and the Le Bon Temps that was on draft were an interesting comparison. Same strain, two very different beers. I was sad that the Brise Bon Bons hadn't sealed properly and was more lactic than it would've been normally. It was all good. I don't know if we can top it next year. I'll have at least four Yard City beers that were not available this year, probably more.
here.
A great professional Saison Drink a' Thon we had one Saturday in September. A bit blustery as I remember. It worked fine inside our cozy shack. While men and woman drank and nodded their heads at one another, the merriment and radiant laughter of children was heard.
Did you ever notice that any informal beer tasting seems to gravitate toward a certain space or area or object? It's probably that way with any gathering. But, I notice that the kitchen is a popular spot. We have some good kitchens in our circle! There's even one with an island and it's own separate sink! We don't have a good kitchen at my house. Our gatherings are best had out on the back patio, but the weather dictated an indoor festivus. Apparently this event married itself to our dining table. It was a great time, with a healthy turnout of over a dozen-ish folks plus some offspring. We had just enough drinkers for the 750s so everybody got a little taste.
Now, the list:
1. Dickey - YCB
2. Bobbie - YCB
3. Ne Goeien - Lost Abbey, San Marcos, CA
4. Saison du Pelican - Pelican Pub & Brewery, Pacific City, OR
5. Li'l Jib - YCB
6. Thiriez Blonde - Brasserie Thiriez, FR
7. Tannum - YCB
8. Saison Lo Terminal - YCB
9. Hunca Munca - YCB
10. L' Amalthee aka "Goat Biere" - Brasserie Lebbe, FR
11. NeDe Gard - Brewery 'Smoga', East B-town
12. NeDe Gard Dry Hopped - Brewery 'Smoga', East B-town
13. Le Bon Temps, draft - YCB
14. Brise Bon Bons, Fantome, Soy, BE
15. Saison de Janice - Altman Brasserie, Indianola, WA
16. Hennepin - Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown, NY
17. 8% - YCB
We also opened a bottle of YCB Super I somewhere along the way, but it was an oxidized messy drainpour.
My favorites include: The Thiriez Blonde up against the Li'l Jib. It was great to be able to see that the Wyeast 3711 French Saison strain is the Thiriez strain. I was surprised to see that Li'l Jib tasted as good as it did next the the Thiriez Biere. I really enjoyed Smoga's homebrewed Biere de Garde. It was awesome. Balanced, flavorful, malty. Smoga's beer and the Le Bon Temps that was on draft were an interesting comparison. Same strain, two very different beers. I was sad that the Brise Bon Bons hadn't sealed properly and was more lactic than it would've been normally. It was all good. I don't know if we can top it next year. I'll have at least four Yard City beers that were not available this year, probably more.
New WSB Logo
Thanks, Wade! (goes good with my color scheme.)
8% Bottled/Mars Transferred
I bottled the 8% Saison on Tuesday, May 27th. Since it had been in secondary a good while I decided to help it along with some 1007 German Ale. It was very bright! The flavor was great and had plenty of grassy hop nose from both Saaz and Spalt. There was some late heat in the back of the throat, but the whole beer seemed fairly delicate and not one of substance. So, it's OG was 1.063 and the TG was 1.003. I know. It is hard to believe, but look at the record! Anyway, that's 95% apparent attenuation and a solid 8% abv. I noticed when I took the MarsBiere down to the lagering freezer yesterday, that the other half of the 8% had been down there since May 7th? It's already been 3+ weeks? I remember when I used to keep better records. Now I have to decide whether I should put a potentially lethal 8% Saison on draft? I dunno. I guess I'll think on it. Whaddaya think?
Biere de Mars (Biere de Yard? OG 1.056) terminaled at 1.006... with 5% crystal malt! and no sugar in the kettle! That's still 89% AA and 6.6% abv. Maybe this is the yeast for the 100% Crystal Malt beer we've talked about. CaraFoam anyone? =)
Biere de Mars (Biere de Yard? OG 1.056) terminaled at 1.006... with 5% crystal malt! and no sugar in the kettle! That's still 89% AA and 6.6% abv. Maybe this is the yeast for the 100% Crystal Malt beer we've talked about. CaraFoam anyone? =)
The biere in my glass
I drank some Belgian Pale today. We finished the keg with the 1214 strain. It was good. Estery and more earthy than the one we have now. Currently on draft is the Belgian Pale fermented with the 3944 Belgian Wit strain. It's very different. The emphasis seems to be more so on the malt and hops. At least in this case. I can get the Styrians in the aroma. It has phenols, but I think those have become more background to malt and hops. It's balanced, dryish, slightly malt emphisized. Biscuity from Castle Biscuit and grainy from the GW 2-row. The aftertaste is fully grainy 2-row. I thought that I liked the 1214 half more, but now I'm not sure. They were both good. I should have them next time side by side.
My next task is to buy a bag of Gambinus Pale malt and compare it with GW 2-row.
My next task is to buy a bag of Gambinus Pale malt and compare it with GW 2-row.
Biere de Mars, et al.
We created a biere yesterday. Bier #6 on the year. (Boo yah, in yer face, etc.) I'll be calling it a Biere de Mars even though it's just a Saison with more color and a bit more maltiness than most others I've made. Ingredients include:
19# Castle Pils (the last available from Olybrew at present time... economic downturn, etc.)
1# Wagner Wheat
1# Castle Aromatic 20L
1# Weyermann CaraHell 9-12L
2oz Weyermann Carafa Spcl 425L
2oz US Northern Brewer 8.1% aa (75 min)
1oz Kent Golding 6% aa (KO)
1oz Bavarian Spalt 2.9% aa (KO)
Wyeast 3711 French Saison
I got permission to split my nearly 1 quart of Slurry from the previous two batches into 2 seperate biers. One portion of pitch 3 was on a 1.090 Super Saison made at Big Brew on May 3rd. That bier has finished, or nearly so, at 1.008 for a whopping 11% abv. But enough about that. The Current Biere de Mars is humming along at a comfortable 74-76F. I plan to lager one half for 3-5 weeks and bottle the other half with bugs from the Yard City Sour w/ Lambic Blend in the style of New Belgium's old Bier de Mars.
On brew day I ran out of Propane -both tanks! And ran down the street to steal some from an unsuspecting neighbor. I also ran out of oxygen! Fortunately I made it to Kitsap Lumber 15 minutes before closing time. It was a lengthy late day but at least I got to see The Posies live in BREMERTON!
Holy double rewards, Batman!
19# Castle Pils (the last available from Olybrew at present time... economic downturn, etc.)
1# Wagner Wheat
1# Castle Aromatic 20L
1# Weyermann CaraHell 9-12L
2oz Weyermann Carafa Spcl 425L
2oz US Northern Brewer 8.1% aa (75 min)
1oz Kent Golding 6% aa (KO)
1oz Bavarian Spalt 2.9% aa (KO)
Wyeast 3711 French Saison
I got permission to split my nearly 1 quart of Slurry from the previous two batches into 2 seperate biers. One portion of pitch 3 was on a 1.090 Super Saison made at Big Brew on May 3rd. That bier has finished, or nearly so, at 1.008 for a whopping 11% abv. But enough about that. The Current Biere de Mars is humming along at a comfortable 74-76F. I plan to lager one half for 3-5 weeks and bottle the other half with bugs from the Yard City Sour w/ Lambic Blend in the style of New Belgium's old Bier de Mars.
On brew day I ran out of Propane -both tanks! And ran down the street to steal some from an unsuspecting neighbor. I also ran out of oxygen! Fortunately I made it to Kitsap Lumber 15 minutes before closing time. It was a lengthy late day but at least I got to see The Posies live in BREMERTON!
Holy double rewards, Batman!
Verkdai
Today I racked the Saison II to secondary and retrieved a boat load of slurry from the carboys. It is tasting nice and pineappley. It finished at 1.003. That's 95% AA from the 1.063 where it started and 8% alcohol by volume. This yeast is crazy. I'm beginning to think that the next beer with it needs 5% or less of sugar. I was going to use 20%! Doh! The next beer will be a super saison with a high gravity of 1.095. So, I think I'll have to tone dow the sugar to 5% or under. Maybe no sugar. Maybe all Pils.
I also racked the Tannum to a keg and carbonated it at the appropriate PSI (25) at the dispense temperature (52F) to equal my desired volumes of dissolved CO2 (3.0ish). This might work. It seemed good on first pour, but maybe most things do. We'll see. I've always had trouble dispensing Belgian's because of how much carbonation I want from them.
The first pint of Tannum tastes good. It has a light and bright character. The bitterness hit differently. Some bright grapefruit. Lemony, maybe?
I also racked the Tannum to a keg and carbonated it at the appropriate PSI (25) at the dispense temperature (52F) to equal my desired volumes of dissolved CO2 (3.0ish). This might work. It seemed good on first pour, but maybe most things do. We'll see. I've always had trouble dispensing Belgian's because of how much carbonation I want from them.
The first pint of Tannum tastes good. It has a light and bright character. The bitterness hit differently. Some bright grapefruit. Lemony, maybe?
Bottling Waved Off
I took a sample of the Saison made on April 1st (now being called 'Tanum') and I decided not too bottle it tomorrow. It's still a bit green and more stuff can drop out before I bottle. But, thank goodness for Anytime Lock! With speed and quality work Mike had me in and out with a new latch re-keyed to fit my current key set quicker than you can say, "Tanum Saison, 5.8% abv, 90% Apparent Attenuation!"
Thanks, Anytime!
Thanks, Anytime!
Latch
Draft biere is coming. 1214 Belgian Pale by Monday the 21st & Ahtanum Saison by the end of that week.
My lock ate my blog.
...picking up the pieces of a broken lock.
The one to my front door!
Anyway, this is what I made on Friday, April 11th.
Saison II for '08
22# Great Western 2-row
l.5# Dextrose
1 oz Newport pellets 11.6% AA
2 oz US Saaz pellets 4.4% AA
1 oz German Spalt pellets 2.6% AA
1 oz Styrian Golding flowers 4.7% AA
Wyeast 3711 French Saison - pitch no. 2
Irish Moss & yeast nutrient
Infused @ 148.5 for over an hour. I was aiming for a 1.33 q/# ratio. Mashed out to 168F.
Hopping: 35 IBUs
.5 oz Saaz: First Wort
1 oz Newport: 90 min.
.5 oz Saaz: 90 min.
1 oz each Saaz, Spalt, Styrians: Knock Out
10 gallons of 1.063 OG.
It's been fermenting between 76-80F. And boy did it take off. That's what I like about the 2nd or 3rd pitch of a yeast. It takes off and there's no starter, just slurry.
I mashed in at 8:20 am on this beer. I usually can't do so until about 10 am. I thought I'd see how it was setting up the day before so I could get an earlier start. Well it would've been faster... but... I checked for conversion after 1 hour and it looked like it hadn't converted. And there also wasn't as much liquor in there as I wanted. So I put the two together and thought I needed more liquor to convert. I added about 3 gallons from the hot liquor tank and was able to remain the same mash temp. Well whether it was truly converted or not the first time, I let it go nearly another hour before I checked and it was (of course!) fully converted. Doh. So, if you're going to save yourself time, make sure you don't waste it.
This beer is the fourth I've made this year. And it's the second pitch of the 3711. I recovered the slurry on Thursday night from primary, for pitching on this beer friday afternoon. That's the goal with multiple pitchings this time. Keeping the time between recovery and repitch to a minimum. This time was ideal. Unfortunately there will be a week between this recovery and the next pitch on Big Brew. =(
I also wanted to point out that the first beer was 1.049 with no sugar. This beer was 1.063 with 9% sugar. And sensing a theme... I'd say the next one will be big grav with up to 20% sugar. I'm still futzing with the numbers on number 3.
Brewing Bender
Single day, double shot.
On the tuesday of Spring Break I opted to make a batch of beer. April Fool's! I decided I'd make 2 batches of beer back to back in one day! I know. You say Sam Calagione used to brew 2 or 3 batches a day 5 days a week when he first opened Dogfish Head. Well, it was a first for me and my body ached for days afterwards.
My friend Wade opened up his garage for use. I usually make beer in the great outdoors, so it was nice to be semi indoors and have the heat dish available. I started assembling gear at 8 am. I brewed for about 9 hours and was there for a total of about 12. When the kettle came up to a boil for the first beer I began heating the hot liquor for the second while I was cleaning out the mash tun. It worked fine, but I think I could've shaved a few minutes off at this point. The biers:
Ahtanum 'ApriFoo' Saison
14# 5oz Castle Pils
3# 12oz Wagner hard white wheat
5 oz Ahtanum pellets 5.5% AA (2.5@90min 2.5@ KO)
Wyeast 3711 French Saison
9.75 gallons @ 1.049 OG
Cracklin' Belgian Pale
17.5# Great Western 2-row Brewers Malt
1.25# Briess C-40
3/4# Castle Biscuit 25L
5 oz Slovenian Goldings 4.7% AA (3.5@90 1.5@ KO)
Wyeast 1214 Belgian Ale & 3944 Witbier
10+ gallons @ 1.051 OG
That's 20 gallons in under 12 hours. Both are in primary. The Saison has fermented between 76 & 80F with the Pale at 66-68F.
Rosie Russnet: Brewing Assistant and Brown Dog
On the tuesday of Spring Break I opted to make a batch of beer. April Fool's! I decided I'd make 2 batches of beer back to back in one day! I know. You say Sam Calagione used to brew 2 or 3 batches a day 5 days a week when he first opened Dogfish Head. Well, it was a first for me and my body ached for days afterwards.
My friend Wade opened up his garage for use. I usually make beer in the great outdoors, so it was nice to be semi indoors and have the heat dish available. I started assembling gear at 8 am. I brewed for about 9 hours and was there for a total of about 12. When the kettle came up to a boil for the first beer I began heating the hot liquor for the second while I was cleaning out the mash tun. It worked fine, but I think I could've shaved a few minutes off at this point. The biers:
Ahtanum 'ApriFoo' Saison
14# 5oz Castle Pils
3# 12oz Wagner hard white wheat
5 oz Ahtanum pellets 5.5% AA (2.5@90min 2.5@ KO)
Wyeast 3711 French Saison
9.75 gallons @ 1.049 OG
Cracklin' Belgian Pale
17.5# Great Western 2-row Brewers Malt
1.25# Briess C-40
3/4# Castle Biscuit 25L
5 oz Slovenian Goldings 4.7% AA (3.5@90 1.5@ KO)
Wyeast 1214 Belgian Ale & 3944 Witbier
10+ gallons @ 1.051 OG
That's 20 gallons in under 12 hours. Both are in primary. The Saison has fermented between 76 & 80F with the Pale at 66-68F.
Rosie Russnet: Brewing Assistant and Brown Dog
What a pair!
Look at these kids. Two vigorous Lambic ferments. Jib sticker has the GueuzeFest mix. Both were at 65F for most of the time. Then the kitchen heated up a bit. Ferment without the extended mix of bugs is calming down a bit sooner than its neighbor. And now they are residing nearby their other wild neighbors under the stairs in the basement... for a very long time.
Lambic II
I finally made biere this year. Rebecca said the weather would be favorable and boy (boi!) was it. Today I made lambic. Lambic number 2 in a series of 3 that would be blended to make a Gueuze (head exploding Gueuze!) that we'll be drinking in about 3 1/2 years. D'oh. The wheat is from my mother's family's farm in and around Lewiston, Idaho.
Lambic II
13# Castle Pils
6.5# 'Wagner' Wheat
8oz Debittered Hop Pellets
Wyeast 3278 Belgian Lambic Blend
Starter from 'Gueuzefest '07'
Mash schedule: 122 - 158 - 174
Boiled for 2 hours.
O.G. 1.052
On half the batch I pitched 3278 with no starter and a healthy amount of oxygen. On the other half I pitched unstarted 3278 and a starter from 'Gueuzefest '07'. You call it Thanksgiving, we call it Gueuzefest. Every Thanksgiving Wade and I drink several bottles of Gueuze. I made a starter for the dregs this year. I started it and then stepped it up one time. That's what I pitched today.
The first in the series of 3 was 5.5 gallons of 1.057 wort with 2 packs of 3278. The mash schedule was 113, 131, 143, 156, 171.
This is the end. Thank you.
Lambic II
13# Castle Pils
6.5# 'Wagner' Wheat
8oz Debittered Hop Pellets
Wyeast 3278 Belgian Lambic Blend
Starter from 'Gueuzefest '07'
Mash schedule: 122 - 158 - 174
Boiled for 2 hours.
O.G. 1.052
On half the batch I pitched 3278 with no starter and a healthy amount of oxygen. On the other half I pitched unstarted 3278 and a starter from 'Gueuzefest '07'. You call it Thanksgiving, we call it Gueuzefest. Every Thanksgiving Wade and I drink several bottles of Gueuze. I made a starter for the dregs this year. I started it and then stepped it up one time. That's what I pitched today.
The first in the series of 3 was 5.5 gallons of 1.057 wort with 2 packs of 3278. The mash schedule was 113, 131, 143, 156, 171.
This is the end. Thank you.
70 bottles of beer in the hall
Wednesday, March 12th was the day. Somehow the Super Saison finally got bottled up! I could hardly believe it. Nearly 6 months to the day since cold conditioning began. I did it in one day in two sessions. One in the morning, and one in the afternoon. I nabbed out the 3711vss French Saison strain that I used to make Jib, and started it 5 days before to make sure that it was alive. I primed it at about 2.8-2.9 volumes. I believe there was still a decent amount of CO2 still in the beer from the gas that was in the headspace during Lagering. It is incubating now upstairs all cuddled in a blanket and heating pads at about 80 degrees. Schnuggy! With the tiny sample I pulled out and carbonated with the carbonator cap, I can see that while it wasn't overly 'hot' when it went in, it certainly had been tamed. And appears now to be dangerously consumable.
Super Saison
10 x 750 ml
4.5 x 375 ml
21 x 12oz
= 563 oz = 4.4 gallons
Super Woody
1 x 1500 ml 'magnum' pi
8 x 750
4 x 375
21 x 12
= 557 oz = 4.35 gal
total = 8.75 gallons of love
Super Saison
10 x 750 ml
4.5 x 375 ml
21 x 12oz
= 563 oz = 4.4 gallons
Super Woody
1 x 1500 ml 'magnum' pi
8 x 750
4 x 375
21 x 12
= 557 oz = 4.35 gal
total = 8.75 gallons of love
'08 Ideas
1. Lambic
2. 3711 Saison 1
3. 3711 Saison 2
4. 3191 Berliner Weiss Blend Bier
5. Roselare Bier (rumored to be in the next VSS series in April)
6. Belgian Pale w/moderate hopping and Lambic Mix in the secondary
7. Dubbel 1214/3787 split
8. Sour Mash Saison or Wit. I made a Wit 2 years ago with 50% Weyermann Acidulated. It was good, but it didn't have the richer, earthier character that I believe a true sour mash would have. I've only sour mashed to 5% before. I'd like to make a 100% sour mash bierre.
9. Sour cherry beer with sour cherry juice in the kettle and/or secondary.
10. Golden Ale with a low temp ferment of 55-60F with 1007 German Ale.
2. 3711 Saison 1
3. 3711 Saison 2
4. 3191 Berliner Weiss Blend Bier
5. Roselare Bier (rumored to be in the next VSS series in April)
6. Belgian Pale w/moderate hopping and Lambic Mix in the secondary
7. Dubbel 1214/3787 split
8. Sour Mash Saison or Wit. I made a Wit 2 years ago with 50% Weyermann Acidulated. It was good, but it didn't have the richer, earthier character that I believe a true sour mash would have. I've only sour mashed to 5% before. I'd like to make a 100% sour mash bierre.
9. Sour cherry beer with sour cherry juice in the kettle and/or secondary.
10. Golden Ale with a low temp ferment of 55-60F with 1007 German Ale.
Marriage un-Parfait
Or: 'Cuvee de Crapp'
At the beginning of March I starting working on a project that was a long time coming. A 'grande cuvee' of a bunch of wild beer that was apparently going nowhere, at least as far as the flavor profile was concerned. Oh, it had gone somewhere. It had all reached terminal gravity and then some, but there was no real sourness in any of them. Some mild tartness in some, but not the sour character that I wanted. The aromas were there though. With the Brettanomyces Lambicus 'pie cherry-like' aroma dominating. (Mmm, yummy!) Since I have made these beers, I've learned more about how to make them produce an appropriate sourness. The Yard City Sour that I made in July is already well into tart and heading into sourness. Bon Voyage!
> Cast of Characters <
1. 1007 German Ale & Brett Lambicus (or 'Brett Lamb' as he was known on the '69 Stealers.) May '06 - 4 gallons
2. B. Anomalus & Pediococcus Apr '07 - 5 gallons
3. 1007 German Ale & Pediococcus Apr '07 - 4 gallons
4. 3726 Farmhouse, B. Clausenii, & L. Delbruekii '06 - 3 quarts (Most desirable of all.)
5. 'B5' Belgian Quad from the barrel '07/'08 - 1.5 gallons
So, about 15 gallons of wierdbier that wasn't too interesting on it's own. Blend it up, and... Viola! Still not that good. I sat on it a couple of days, carbonating some with the carbonator cap. Multiple tastings, hemming, hawing... Then, I finally decided to keep three gallons to 'fix' and dump the rest. Yippee! Dump!! After having some of this beer all over the house for a good while, it was liberating to downsize a couple o' carboys. Between all the gravities involved, there was still ample terminal for the bugs to eat. That's why I toyed with the idea of bottling some up unprimed. But, I didn't. At least it got done.
The 'fixer'? It was 3 gallons of the afore mentioned mess, about 1/2 gallon of a 3278 Lambic Mix starter (with lotsa starchy wheat), and a 1.5 gallon feeder of DME and maltodextrin to equal about a 1.040 starter. My guess is that this will turn tart, but not sour and be somewhat complex. I may bequeath it to Brad.... when he grows up.
At the beginning of March I starting working on a project that was a long time coming. A 'grande cuvee' of a bunch of wild beer that was apparently going nowhere, at least as far as the flavor profile was concerned. Oh, it had gone somewhere. It had all reached terminal gravity and then some, but there was no real sourness in any of them. Some mild tartness in some, but not the sour character that I wanted. The aromas were there though. With the Brettanomyces Lambicus 'pie cherry-like' aroma dominating. (Mmm, yummy!) Since I have made these beers, I've learned more about how to make them produce an appropriate sourness. The Yard City Sour that I made in July is already well into tart and heading into sourness. Bon Voyage!
> Cast of Characters <
1. 1007 German Ale & Brett Lambicus (or 'Brett Lamb' as he was known on the '69 Stealers.) May '06 - 4 gallons
2. B. Anomalus & Pediococcus Apr '07 - 5 gallons
3. 1007 German Ale & Pediococcus Apr '07 - 4 gallons
4. 3726 Farmhouse, B. Clausenii, & L. Delbruekii '06 - 3 quarts (Most desirable of all.)
5. 'B5' Belgian Quad from the barrel '07/'08 - 1.5 gallons
So, about 15 gallons of wierdbier that wasn't too interesting on it's own. Blend it up, and... Viola! Still not that good. I sat on it a couple of days, carbonating some with the carbonator cap. Multiple tastings, hemming, hawing... Then, I finally decided to keep three gallons to 'fix' and dump the rest. Yippee! Dump!! After having some of this beer all over the house for a good while, it was liberating to downsize a couple o' carboys. Between all the gravities involved, there was still ample terminal for the bugs to eat. That's why I toyed with the idea of bottling some up unprimed. But, I didn't. At least it got done.
The 'fixer'? It was 3 gallons of the afore mentioned mess, about 1/2 gallon of a 3278 Lambic Mix starter (with lotsa starchy wheat), and a 1.5 gallon feeder of DME and maltodextrin to equal about a 1.040 starter. My guess is that this will turn tart, but not sour and be somewhat complex. I may bequeath it to Brad.... when he grows up.
Jib
'Lil Jib is the 'Infamous Saison' made on December 7, 2007.
13.25# Castle Pils
4.5# Wheat
1# 9 oz Dextrose
2 oz US Northern Brewer 7% aa
2 oz German Spalt 4% aa
2 oz German Spalt 2.6% aa
Wyeast 3711 VSS 'French Saison'
Mash regime: 126F, 150F, 169F
10.5 gallons of 1.052 OG wort.
I thought this bier was finished at 1.006. That would've been 88.5% AA, the most I'd have had from a yeast ever. It was still turbid and I thought since it was a low floculator it was done. BUT, after it sat it finished at... 1.002! 96% AA! and 6.6% abv. Wow.
Year End Tally
Well, I was more prolific this year. Still, slightly disappointed that I didn't squeak out at least one more batch of beer than I did. In the recent past I had made 12 or 13 batches per year. And last year included in those were one batch each of mead and cider. And also in the past these were 5 gallon batches. This year I made 17 batches of beer at about 10 gallons each. I got to make multiple batches with big original gravities. So, I learned a lot about maximizing my own outfit. How much grain, how much liquor, etc. Set up, tear down, organization. Taking kids to and from school and making a kick ass dinner... brewing all the while! I also just learned a lot about making beer by doing it and by talking to other club dingbats.
The number would have been more gratifying if John hadn't pushed out 21 (or more) batches of beer. Oh, well there's always next.... I mean this year. (D'oh! I need to get off my lazy ass and make some beer this year.)
Since my notebook was lost (why can't they make ones that stick to the top of your car while driving!?) I don't have all my batches written out for this year. I'm missing info for the first three.
1. Yard City Gold A golden ale. I used all Amarillo hops. (?)
2. 1.076 Starter Stout for Imperial Stout yeast (?)
3. Bourbon Barrel Imp Stout: Boo, hiss, etc. (?)
4. Pedio Beers: 1007 & Pedio, B. Anomalus & Pedio T Apr 3
5. Saisons: 3724, 3724 & B. Anomalus (in my glass right now) W Apr 4
6. "Bobby" Saison: 3726 'Farmhouse' (1 bottle left) Th Apr 5
7. "Dicky" Saison: 3726, second pitch (Also 1 bottle left) Sat May 5th, Big Brew
8. Bourbon Barrel BarleyWine I: 1084, 1098 pitch from Silver City T May 22
9. Uptown B town Blonde Gets Her Ass Handed to Her in Yard City F June 8
10. BBBW II: Sat June 16 w/ Jack
11. Super Saison: 3726, third pitch. 1.103 OG (see below... somewhere) Th Jul 19
12. Yard City Sour: Red Beer w/ 3278 Lambic Blend F July 20
13. Summit Ave Presbyterian Pale Ale: APA w/ Summit Hops Sat July 21
14. B5 Belgian Quad for the silly barrel: Sept 20
15. WGV Bitter: 1968, 1056 Oct 5
16. AngleBrown: 1028, spot on (below)
17. Infamous Saison: VSS strain 3711 "French Saison" F Dec 7, 07
Oh, Yeah.... I didn't make the Dubbel that I've wanted to make. I'll do it soon. And I only made 50 gallons of Saison.....
The number would have been more gratifying if John hadn't pushed out 21 (or more) batches of beer. Oh, well there's always next.... I mean this year. (D'oh! I need to get off my lazy ass and make some beer this year.)
Since my notebook was lost (why can't they make ones that stick to the top of your car while driving!?) I don't have all my batches written out for this year. I'm missing info for the first three.
1. Yard City Gold A golden ale. I used all Amarillo hops. (?)
2. 1.076 Starter Stout for Imperial Stout yeast (?)
3. Bourbon Barrel Imp Stout: Boo, hiss, etc. (?)
4. Pedio Beers: 1007 & Pedio, B. Anomalus & Pedio T Apr 3
5. Saisons: 3724, 3724 & B. Anomalus (in my glass right now) W Apr 4
6. "Bobby" Saison: 3726 'Farmhouse' (1 bottle left) Th Apr 5
7. "Dicky" Saison: 3726, second pitch (Also 1 bottle left) Sat May 5th, Big Brew
8. Bourbon Barrel BarleyWine I: 1084, 1098 pitch from Silver City T May 22
9. Uptown B town Blonde Gets Her Ass Handed to Her in Yard City F June 8
10. BBBW II: Sat June 16 w/ Jack
11. Super Saison: 3726, third pitch. 1.103 OG (see below... somewhere) Th Jul 19
12. Yard City Sour: Red Beer w/ 3278 Lambic Blend F July 20
13. Summit Ave Presbyterian Pale Ale: APA w/ Summit Hops Sat July 21
14. B5 Belgian Quad for the silly barrel: Sept 20
15. WGV Bitter: 1968, 1056 Oct 5
16. AngleBrown: 1028, spot on (below)
17. Infamous Saison: VSS strain 3711 "French Saison" F Dec 7, 07
Oh, Yeah.... I didn't make the Dubbel that I've wanted to make. I'll do it soon. And I only made 50 gallons of Saison.....
Saison Lo Terminal / WeirdBierre
An update from "Corking & Capping" below.
I redubbed this beer 'WeirdBierre' recently after I tried the first bottle. The first try was a capper, and then we uncorked the first corkable the other night. The corking seemed to work well. It had a nice 'pop' and I like having to take the wine key out for it. Anyway, back to the beer.
It's weird... Complex, almost 'multiple personality', in character. One minute I think one thing about it, and the next it has changed so much that I wonder what I was thinking the first time. At the very least I think that it will change favorably and greatly over a period of time. Uncorks with pop and visual 'smoke'. (I know it's not smoke, stupid!) Pours with plenty of head. It is dense and ever present with constant beads of CO2 to help keep it up. In fact the first one was so manic and constant with carbonation I thought that it was actually fermenting before my eyes. (Maybe it was!) Color is light gold with white head. The aroma is massively fruity. Maybe acetaldehyde, but definite cider character. Tutti Fruity. Some grainy malt. As it warms, the Brett funk becomes more obvious. At times it seemed more malty and other times more fruity. It's crazyweird. I'll try to elaborate on this bierre later when I have one in front of me. The labels are comin' soon, also. More on that later...
I redubbed this beer 'WeirdBierre' recently after I tried the first bottle. The first try was a capper, and then we uncorked the first corkable the other night. The corking seemed to work well. It had a nice 'pop' and I like having to take the wine key out for it. Anyway, back to the beer.
It's weird... Complex, almost 'multiple personality', in character. One minute I think one thing about it, and the next it has changed so much that I wonder what I was thinking the first time. At the very least I think that it will change favorably and greatly over a period of time. Uncorks with pop and visual 'smoke'. (I know it's not smoke, stupid!) Pours with plenty of head. It is dense and ever present with constant beads of CO2 to help keep it up. In fact the first one was so manic and constant with carbonation I thought that it was actually fermenting before my eyes. (Maybe it was!) Color is light gold with white head. The aroma is massively fruity. Maybe acetaldehyde, but definite cider character. Tutti Fruity. Some grainy malt. As it warms, the Brett funk becomes more obvious. At times it seemed more malty and other times more fruity. It's crazyweird. I'll try to elaborate on this bierre later when I have one in front of me. The labels are comin' soon, also. More on that later...
Strangebrew '08
Saturday, Jan 26th & Sunday, Jan 27th
Bottling: An Adventure in Corking & Capping
Another bottling day down. Today I bottled Saison Lo Terminal. (Say it like your French.) Aka sick saison, aka brett saison, aka yer mom's saison... It's Wyeast's 3724 Dupont Strain with their Brettanomyces Anomalus which I'm sad to say is no longer available. Glad I got to use it three times before they parked 'er in the shed. This was a beer that started at 1.061. I believe I transfered it at 1.006 when it was "done". Boy was I wrong. It finished at 1.003 for 7.7% abv. I made it in April in a Saison brewing frenzy which included both 3724 and 3726 beers, as well as some Pediococcus beers.
In tasting it along the way, I wasn't sure what to think. It seemed like it was getting fruitier, but still had some unidentifiable character I called 'mealy'. Anyway, the ferment was pretty evenly split between both animals. Since 3724 notoriously gets ultra sluggish at 1.035 (the rumors are true!) the B. Anom. was really able to kick in and take it to town. I tried it last night and it had really changed. I was surprised. It had become way more defined and pleasantly fruity and had developed just the slightest edge of acidity that wasn't there the last time I had tried it. (September?) It might just be the sleeper hit of the season (saison).
It's an experimental bierre with experimental packaging. I got ahold of some of the bigger 29mm crowns so that I can cap champagne bottles. I also bought a Gilda hand corker so that I can cork 'em wine style then cap 'em ala Lindemin's, Cantillon, and old La Chouffe bottles. AND if that's not enough, this is supposed to be the first labeled batch.
Something I found out today is that not all champagne bottles are created equal. Not only are they differently shaped with different crown options, but there are different lip shapes and collar shapes so as to make it more of a puzzle than I originally thought. I ended up using only #7 corks as I couldn't get any of the #8's to fit in all the way. I think there's also more of a learning curve on the corker also, after today's use. I don't have it totally dialed like I wanted to, but at least I finally did it.
I primed it with dextrose to equal about 2.8 volumes.
I bottled with Wyeast 1007 German Ale.
Totals:
24 12 oz bottles
5 750 ml capped only
3 750 ml corked and capped
2 375 ml corked and capped
2 22 oz
1 .5 L
0 partridge/pear tree
In tasting it along the way, I wasn't sure what to think. It seemed like it was getting fruitier, but still had some unidentifiable character I called 'mealy'. Anyway, the ferment was pretty evenly split between both animals. Since 3724 notoriously gets ultra sluggish at 1.035 (the rumors are true!) the B. Anom. was really able to kick in and take it to town. I tried it last night and it had really changed. I was surprised. It had become way more defined and pleasantly fruity and had developed just the slightest edge of acidity that wasn't there the last time I had tried it. (September?) It might just be the sleeper hit of the season (saison).
It's an experimental bierre with experimental packaging. I got ahold of some of the bigger 29mm crowns so that I can cap champagne bottles. I also bought a Gilda hand corker so that I can cork 'em wine style then cap 'em ala Lindemin's, Cantillon, and old La Chouffe bottles. AND if that's not enough, this is supposed to be the first labeled batch.
Something I found out today is that not all champagne bottles are created equal. Not only are they differently shaped with different crown options, but there are different lip shapes and collar shapes so as to make it more of a puzzle than I originally thought. I ended up using only #7 corks as I couldn't get any of the #8's to fit in all the way. I think there's also more of a learning curve on the corker also, after today's use. I don't have it totally dialed like I wanted to, but at least I finally did it.
I primed it with dextrose to equal about 2.8 volumes.
I bottled with Wyeast 1007 German Ale.
Totals:
24 12 oz bottles
5 750 ml capped only
3 750 ml corked and capped
2 375 ml corked and capped
2 22 oz
1 .5 L
0 partridge/pear tree
BBBWB1
The bottling of the first half of my Bourbon Barrel Barleywine:
Did it today with the help of Keely, Shamus, Moira, and my brother in law Casey. Kids at one point got a bit drenched in StarSan. {hope that's okay charlie t.!?}
2 cases of 12 oz. bottles and 2 22 oz. bottles. I primed it at 3 3/4 ounces of dextrose supposing to equal 2.3 volumes for 5 gallons. Well. It was 4.75 gallons and the beer had retained more CO2 than I had supposed.... so it'll be be closer to 'normal' 2.5 volumes. I used Wyeast 1007 German Ale. At least it's done. Now all I have is about 14 more gallonsof beers to bottle before the end of the month.... d'oh..
Did it today with the help of Keely, Shamus, Moira, and my brother in law Casey. Kids at one point got a bit drenched in StarSan. {hope that's okay charlie t.!?}
2 cases of 12 oz. bottles and 2 22 oz. bottles. I primed it at 3 3/4 ounces of dextrose supposing to equal 2.3 volumes for 5 gallons. Well. It was 4.75 gallons and the beer had retained more CO2 than I had supposed.... so it'll be be closer to 'normal' 2.5 volumes. I used Wyeast 1007 German Ale. At least it's done. Now all I have is about 14 more gallonsof beers to bottle before the end of the month.... d'oh..
AngleBrownIsNow
What can Brown do for me...
This beer has been so good. I'm so happy that I made it. Dick. Jane. Dogs... It's so simple and good. Anyway, I said the beer may not have been finished below, but it was. 72% AA and 4.4% abv, and near perfect. (But, of course it'll be tweaked next time cause that's what we do, right?) (I bought some Simpson's (UK) Chocolate for next time.) I put the beer on before it was 3 weeks old! {Michael Jackson was right! I always thought it wasn't quite right when he said/wrote that many English beers were ready at three weeks. I kept thinking of secondary conditioning, but that need only be done mostly in the cask. whatever.}
Yeah, it's toasty... lightly roasty. So lightly that I didn't notice it until I had it up against a beer of similar color and character... Northen Lights (Spokane) Chocolate Dunkel. I'd put a link.... but they don't have a website! Anyway, the AngleBrown has toasty nose with some coffee maybe. It definately has some lingering coffee. Definate toasty flavor, though. I didn't think it too dry (and it's not) but it is definately accentuated by the Wyeast London 1028. Dryish, some minerally character. Bueno. It just dropped bright. It has some red tones, but not deep red. Not like the afore mentioned wesiteless bier. (boo)
This is what I hear.
This beer has been so good. I'm so happy that I made it. Dick. Jane. Dogs... It's so simple and good. Anyway, I said the beer may not have been finished below, but it was. 72% AA and 4.4% abv, and near perfect. (But, of course it'll be tweaked next time cause that's what we do, right?) (I bought some Simpson's (UK) Chocolate for next time.) I put the beer on before it was 3 weeks old! {Michael Jackson was right! I always thought it wasn't quite right when he said/wrote that many English beers were ready at three weeks. I kept thinking of secondary conditioning, but that need only be done mostly in the cask. whatever.}
Yeah, it's toasty... lightly roasty. So lightly that I didn't notice it until I had it up against a beer of similar color and character... Northen Lights (Spokane) Chocolate Dunkel. I'd put a link.... but they don't have a website! Anyway, the AngleBrown has toasty nose with some coffee maybe. It definately has some lingering coffee. Definate toasty flavor, though. I didn't think it too dry (and it's not) but it is definately accentuated by the Wyeast London 1028. Dryish, some minerally character. Bueno. It just dropped bright. It has some red tones, but not deep red. Not like the afore mentioned wesiteless bier. (boo)
This is what I hear.
AngleBrown/3Wood
I took a grav sample of the Brown Ale today. It seems hoppier right now than I wanted, but that may change. OG was 1.046 and it is now at 1.013 and I don't think it's entirely done. It could stop here and be legitimate, though. 72% AA and 4.4% abv.
Sample, sample, sample! Took another hit off the Super Saison: wooded version. It truely is a great beer no matter whose label would be on it. It still isn't obviously woody. Not much further along than the last post on it. So, I'll leave it for now. I'm wondering, however, if there is stratification occuring with the wood on the bottom of the keg. I'm thiefing from the top to the middle. Perhaps there is more wooded character further down... to the roots?!
(I can barely read it, too!)
Sample, sample, sample! Took another hit off the Super Saison: wooded version. It truely is a great beer no matter whose label would be on it. It still isn't obviously woody. Not much further along than the last post on it. So, I'll leave it for now. I'm wondering, however, if there is stratification occuring with the wood on the bottom of the keg. I'm thiefing from the top to the middle. Perhaps there is more wooded character further down... to the roots?!
(I can barely read it, too!)
B5ii
Today I transferred the 1214 B5 into its corny keg so it can travel to the Bourbon Barrel in Indianola. It had attenuated a little more since the initial transfer. It's moved down to 1.016. 83% AA and 10.3% abv. Molto bene. I couldn't understand enough of the aroma and flavor from my small sample. It was NOT hot in any way because of the cooler ferment. It did have developing heat from the 10% alcohol, but nothing obtuse in flavor or aroma.
The 3787 brother is still fermenting. God! Talk about slow. I guess it might be a testament to what Wyeast's discriptor says in regards to incremental feeding. I can't help to think that the Trappist's probably don't do this, but whatever. It hasn't been as user friendly as 1214 in this case. I also noticed that Wyeast doesn't even recommend using 3787 for this style of beer anyway! Hm. Anyway it has jumped down to about 1.026 from the previous post below. And by jumped I mean eased on down the road like an old man tryin' to catch the 20 in Yard City.
The 3787 brother is still fermenting. God! Talk about slow. I guess it might be a testament to what Wyeast's discriptor says in regards to incremental feeding. I can't help to think that the Trappist's probably don't do this, but whatever. It hasn't been as user friendly as 1214 in this case. I also noticed that Wyeast doesn't even recommend using 3787 for this style of beer anyway! Hm. Anyway it has jumped down to about 1.026 from the previous post below. And by jumped I mean eased on down the road like an old man tryin' to catch the 20 in Yard City.
Cask Box
I experimented with priming 3/4 of a gallon of WGV Pale into a Big Time Brewery Beer Box.
The box has a 1 gallon plastic type bladder inside that is fitted with a plastic spigot. I primed it at about 2 volumes and fermented it at ambient temperature for 12 days before we set it up to drink. I vented it once on day 10 and once on day 12. I was scared it was going to explode and make a giant mess! It puffed out quite a bit, but it did fine. Upon pouring it had some carbonation. It worked... kinda. I wanted a little more carbonation, but it might be risky if done again in the future. I think it was a bit lackluster. I may try it again with the Brown Ale. But, it's more likely that I'll try the same thing with 1 gallon of beer in a 2 gallon bucket fitted with the same spigot.
Any ideas on the priming rate in respect to the extreme headspace?
The box has a 1 gallon plastic type bladder inside that is fitted with a plastic spigot. I primed it at about 2 volumes and fermented it at ambient temperature for 12 days before we set it up to drink. I vented it once on day 10 and once on day 12. I was scared it was going to explode and make a giant mess! It puffed out quite a bit, but it did fine. Upon pouring it had some carbonation. It worked... kinda. I wanted a little more carbonation, but it might be risky if done again in the future. I think it was a bit lackluster. I may try it again with the Brown Ale. But, it's more likely that I'll try the same thing with 1 gallon of beer in a 2 gallon bucket fitted with the same spigot.
Any ideas on the priming rate in respect to the extreme headspace?
AngleBrown
I made this today:
13.5# Crisp Marris Otter
2.5# Briess Victory Malt
1/2# Briess Chocolate Malt
1/4# MFB Kiln Coffee
3.25 oz WGV Hop Pellets - 5% AA
Wyeast 1028 London Ale (Two 16 oz starters)
1g each NaCl & CaSO4 to boil for 'flavour'
c. 30+ quarts at 165F fall to 154F (-11) for 1 hour. Ramp up to 171 over 15 minutes.
Ph 5.3
10 gallons of 1.046 OG
I'm hoping for 4.2 - 4.6% abv beer.
Oh, and I'm drinking my WGV pale out of this glass... RIGHT NOW!
13.5# Crisp Marris Otter
2.5# Briess Victory Malt
1/2# Briess Chocolate Malt
1/4# MFB Kiln Coffee
3.25 oz WGV Hop Pellets - 5% AA
Wyeast 1028 London Ale (Two 16 oz starters)
1g each NaCl & CaSO4 to boil for 'flavour'
c. 30+ quarts at 165F fall to 154F (-11) for 1 hour. Ramp up to 171 over 15 minutes.
Ph 5.3
10 gallons of 1.046 OG
I'm hoping for 4.2 - 4.6% abv beer.
Oh, and I'm drinking my WGV pale out of this glass... RIGHT NOW!
B5
Big Beautiful Belgian Beer for the Barrel:
Miracle: Wyeast 3787 had worked well for several days and then it appeared as if a 75% of the yeast had dropped out and left more than 50% of the wort to the remaining 25% of the community. I let it drag on for some weeks until I had an idea develop. Rack the beer to secondary, make a starter for the slurry and drop it back in for "secondary primary". It worked. Mildly vigorous and still working. A big part of the whole thing was temperature. The initial drop out could've been chiefly due to the drop down in temp to 64/65F, The next bit was heated up to 70+ and has remained warm. I can't wait to see if it beats it's 1214 brother @ 80% AA.
Miracle: Wyeast 3787 had worked well for several days and then it appeared as if a 75% of the yeast had dropped out and left more than 50% of the wort to the remaining 25% of the community. I let it drag on for some weeks until I had an idea develop. Rack the beer to secondary, make a starter for the slurry and drop it back in for "secondary primary". It worked. Mildly vigorous and still working. A big part of the whole thing was temperature. The initial drop out could've been chiefly due to the drop down in temp to 64/65F, The next bit was heated up to 70+ and has remained warm. I can't wait to see if it beats it's 1214 brother @ 80% AA.
YCS II
Yard City Special: Haven't had the beer in about 5 days. Great hop aroma. Slight harsh taste is CaCO3 in the boil. Only nearly 3 grams and I can detect it. Maybe CO3 isn't for the boil at all. Probably more tolerant in dark beers, but might be better only as a part of total mash water treatment.
