Another Mild - Now With Pics..

[seymour]

Looks amazing, Jim. I can't wait to hear all about those hops!

[Matt]

Looking good Jim, would be interested to hear how the Yorkshire Square yeast performs

[jimp2003]

Took a sample today and it is down to 1.010 and hopefully it will not drop much more than than as I want a bit of body to it. The flavour is very malty so I am very happy so far. There is a definite fruitiness but as the hops and yeast are both new to me I am not sure yet which of these is contributing this character to the beer.

The sample was a bit murky and there was a slight sharpness that I usually find if there is lots of yeast in suspension. I will drop the temp down to 5 degrees or so to try and get the yeast to fall out and bottle towards the end of the week or next weekend. I can't wait for this to be ready...

[Matt]

How's it shaping up Jim?

[jimp2003]

Hi Matt.

I have only just now been able to package this beer as the brew fridge was blocked by building materials stored in the garage during the bathroom being refitted. I usually bottle all my beers but decided to dust off the old king keg and bunged it in there with 45g of sugar in a solution.

I am not sure how I feel about this beer yet. On the plus side the appearance is exactly as expected - a rich amber colour and a bit murky due to me boiling down the 5l of first runnings to 2l and not chilling that part of the wort. But the FG is 1.004 which gives 90% apparent attenuation!! Maybe my mash temp readings were off, but I don't think so.

Also there is a real acetaldehyde, green-apples aroma and flavour which is quite off-putting . It is more in the aroma than flavour and is difficult to get past to taste anything else in the beer. This is disappointing particularly as I did not crash cool the beer as I had planned so the yeast has had 3 weeks to help clear up.

I hope that the acetaldehyde and low FG are not down to any unwanted beasties having got in the brew - we will see. I will leave it somewhere warm for a week and then cold condition for a couple more weeks.

If it turns out ok I think I will be blending some of it with my spiced xmas beer which is in bottles having only attenuated down to 1.020 and is way too sweet for me - every cloud has a silver lining and all that.....

Cheers!

Jim

[Matt]

That's weird as everything sounds tickety boo, the yeast was obviously happy. Fingers crossed that time will clear it up Jim, I'm sure it will.

[jimp2003]

Quick update on this one.

After a couple of weeks in the keg I have been drawing off the odd pint of this through the day and I have to say all of my fears about it were misplaced - it is absolutely gorgeous!

The lower FG has meant that the beer is really refreshing and the fruitiness of the yeast and the hops comes through well. The aftertaste is all toffee malty goodness but is clean and not cloying. It is still a little cloudy but the colour is really nice and it pours with a nice tight head that lasts all the way down the glass.

I would probably struggle to recreate it unless I could get the yeast to perform as well again bit I will have fun trying.

Cheers!

Jim

[ArmChair]

How did the hops turn out in this brew?

[jimp2003]

I've gotta say I don't really remember the hops from this brew. But then again I have trouble remembering what I did yesterday at the moment..