AG #12 - Springtime

[Naich]

Springtime by naich -- beerforge.com/recipe.php#171
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A fruit salad, using up the remains of some Citra I have to add a hint of passion fruit. Although brewed in springtime, this is named after the song by Leatherface.

Volume: 23L, Efficiency: 80%
Alcohol (ABV): 5.3%, Original Gravity: 1.055, Final Gravity: 1.014
Bitterness (IBU): 39, Colour (EBC): 7

Recipe
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Malt/Fermentables:
1. Pale Malt - Marris Otter (5 EBC) : 5090 g (100%)

Hops/flavourings:
1. Styrian Goldings - AA 7.2 - (90 min) : 16.6 g (17%)
2. Styrian Goldings - AA 7.2 - (30 min) : 23.1 g (24%)
3. Citra - AA 13.8 - (15 min) : 11.5 g (12%)
4. Cascade - AA 5.5 - (15 min) : 23.5 g (24%)
5. Cascade - AA 5.5 - (1 min) : 23.1 g (24%)

Yeast: Safale US-05 (Attenuation 75%)

I normally do an overnight mash, but the prospect of not having to get up at 5.15 appealed, so this time I did the sparging at night before boiling in the morning. It didn't really work. It wasn't much fun doing it on the Friday night because I was knackered from work and just wanted to sit down and then go to bed. It's also extra hassle to have to steralise the containers for the overnight wort. The boil takes longer because you are heating the wort up from about 30c, rather than sparge temperature of around 65c, so I only gained about 3/4 of an hour over an overnight mash. Worth a try though, I guess, but I'll stick to the overnighters from now on.

Anyway, here are the pictures. I didn't take many. First the obligatory grain shot. I started in daylight, so thought I'd make the shot a bit prettier by setting it against some flowers:


First runnings. Both sparges got stuck, which was pretty boring:


Fast forward to the morning and the boil. Here are the hops waiting to go in:


And here are the hops being boiled:


There was an extended 75C steep of about an hour, as I rushed out to attend a family emergency. I don't think it would have had too much effect on it.

This time I remembered the Whirlfloc and got some nice clear wort. Lovely, hoppy and fragrant. The OG was down on the estimate but this was probably partly due to the 90 minute mash time rather than my normal 8 hour. The quantity of wort was spot on though, which was nice. The picture is a bit crap because I took it on my phone:


I'm looking forward to seeing how this one comes out. It's the first time I've tried a blend of hops in my own recipe.

[Kev888]

Interesting experiment, thanks for posting on it - waiting overnight before the boil is something I'd wondered about but not tried... not sure that I will now

I just kegged a batch based on your 'incompitent ale', which tastes unusually good for this stage so I've high hopes for it. The best of luck with this one; the citra sound nice particularly heading towards summer - I must try them at some point.

Cheers
Kev

[Naich]

I just kegged a batch based on your 'incompitent ale', which tastes unusually good for this stage so I've high hopes for it. The best of luck with this one; the citra sound nice particularly heading towards summer - I must try them at some point.

Cheers Kev. Glad the Incompentant is coming together. Did you use the correct version of it or the incompetent one?

The Citra is very nice, no doubt about that, but having drunk little else for a couple of weeks I'm starting to tire of it a bit. It's like a having tarty girlfriend who's great fun and goes like the clappers but starts getting you down by being loud all the time, especially when you just want a bit of quiet

Hopefully it'll be a bit more understated in this one, complimenting the citrus notes of the Bobek and the grapefruit of the Cascade rather than clubbing you over the head with a lychee. See? I can do wine ponce as well as sexist tit

[far9410]

you must have amazing insulation for an 8 hour mash, or does temp drop not matter after all that time?

[Kev888]

Did you use the correct version of it or the incompetent one?

Well I had good intentions, but in the end substituted the incompetent parts with others of equal quality, I seem to have a fair stock of such things

The Citra is very nice, no doubt about that, but having drunk little else for a couple of weeks I'm starting to tire of it a bit. It's like a having tarty girlfriend who's great fun and goes like the clappers but starts getting you down by being loud all the time, especially when you just want a bit of quiet
Hopefully it'll be a bit more understated in this one, complimenting the citrus notes of the Bobek and the grapefruit of the Cascade rather than clubbing you over the head with a lychee. See? I can do wine ponce as well as sexist tit

Impressive, and very economical too, to get them both in at once!
Hmm, maybe I'll have to do a double brew in a while then, perhaps a strong blousy citra number for when I'm feeling up for it, and a softer sweeter one on the side for a rest in between

Cheers
kev

[Naich]

you must have amazing insulation for an 8 hour mash, or does temp drop not matter after all that time?

When it's wrapped up, the mash tun looks like this :


That's 4 sleeping bags and the insulation in the coolbox mash tun has been improved with several layers of aluminised mylar film. Over 8 hours the temperature drops from 68C to between 60-62C. For most of the time there isn't anything going on - the enzymic action all happens in the first couple of hours. The only thing to watch out for is that the temperature doesn't drop below 55C, which is the temperature at which some bacteria can start breeding.

[Naich]

Did you use the correct version of it or the incompetent one?

Well I had good intentions, but in the end substituted the incompetent parts with others of equal quality, I seem to have a fair stock of such things

I was thinking the other day (as I was driving back to the house and the thoroughly steeped (if not stewed)) brew, I think I have had maybe one or two brewdays which went off without a hitch. Every other one has had some something going horribly wrong, usually my fault, but on the rare occasion I don't cock something up, something else always seems to happen to make it all go pear shaped. I'm thinking maybe some sort of curse or evil goblins living in the shed?

[Kev888]

Ha Ha! Could be.. and yet generally, somehow, the beer still gets made.. must be hidden powers battling unobserved in the brew shed

Cheers
kev

[Naich]

Just racked it and had a glug. It's not as fruity as I hoped it would be. I think it needed to have some 30 minute Cascade and maybe more Citra too. It's by no means bad - it's got a nice fresh taste from the Bobek, with subtle Cascade flavours and is very pleasant. If I had made this 6 months ago before I thought I knew what I was doing, I would have been well pleased. The problem is that I knew what I wanted it to taste like, and it hasn't quite got there.

I've lobbed some Cascade in to dry hop for a week, so that might perk it up a little. I've got some Amarillo to try out next and then I might have another stab at this one.

[WishboneBrewery]

Could I get clubbed with a lychee too?

Apparently, longer mashes produce more fermentable sugars than shorter mashes. I've been trying to limit my mash duration to 1 hour for the beers where I want to try and keep some extra body (obviously along with a higher mash temp). Its to do with the enzymes snipping off the ends of the longer-chain starch molecules into fermentable sugars.

[Naich]

I think that is what is supposed to happen, but with this one with a 90 minute mash has resulted in it attenuating down to 1.006, which is lower than most the ones I've done with an overnight mash. The difference is that there are no adjuncts in this, just pale malt, so presumably the composition of the grist matters too?

Lychees are the ones with the weird-arse stone in the middle, aren't they?

[WishboneBrewery]

think so, and bobbly skin you have to peel off... have the same consistency as an eye ball

[deanrpwaacs]

Well after stalking this thread i have done this biab style .
I did an overnight mash and added some extra cita and casscade at the later stages so fingers crossed and i will keep you posted as to how it turns out.
Smells great and the us-05 is munching as i type.
Regards Dean.

[Naich]

Excellent. I'll be bottling this tomorrow so I should get some idea of how it's turned out.