AG#16 - Jet Black (Cascadian Ale)

[Lugsy]

First brew in a few weeks due to grain shortages and life generally getting in the way. I didn't think I'd be brewing today as we were camping for the weekend in Whitby but our trip was cut short when it turned out that the campervan awning we borrowed off SWMBO's mum wasn't up to 30 odd mph winds - we got back from a day in the town yesterday to find it ripped up and inside out on top of the van with all our stuff scattered across the field So that's £300+ down the drain for replacing the awning, definitely the most expensive night's camping I've ever had!

Anyway, this is a Cascadian ale named after the famous Whitby Jet and the mood we drove home in last night

Grain Bill:

Maris Otter 4000g
Munich 350g
Crystal 200g
Unmalted Wheat 200g
Carafa Special III 200g
Black Malt 100g
White sugar 500g

Hops:
Target 12.5%AA 30g 90 minutes
Citra 13.8% 10g 90 minutes
Amarillo 8.9% 20g 15 minutes
Cascade 5.5% 20g 15 minutes
Citra 13.8% 20g 15 minutes
Amarillo 8.9% 20g flame out
Cascade 5.5% 20g flame out
Citra 13.8% 20g flame out

Mashed at 65C for 90 minutes followed by two or three batch sparges, 90 minute boil.

Yeast: US05, ferment at 20C

Brew length 26.5l
Predicted OG 1.052
Predicted FG 1.010
Bitterness 71 EBU
Colour 138 EBC

I'm in the middle of sparge #1 at the moment and bringing the first runnings to the boil before the bittering addition, colour looks good so far

I'm using a kind of bastardised maxi-BIAB method as usual. I'm adding sugar to thin it a little as my last few brews have been a bit sweet for my liking, just hope 500g isn't too much but I think the hops can handle it. Not sure how it'll turn out, I'm looking for a little bit of roastiness but not too much so I'm hoping I haven't overdone it with the black malt (first time I've used it so not sure what to expect) and the Carafa III.

I'm assuming a loss of somewhere around 3 litres to hops and break so I should get 23 or so litres in the fermenter although my efficiency has been pretty high with recent brews so it could turn out stronger than planned - oh well

[simco999]

Yum yum - lots of hoppy goodness.

I've just done a maxi BIAB too. Lots of faffing but think it will work out ok.

Let us know how it turns out.

[Lugsy]

The brew went pretty well and efficiency was very good again - I ended up with 22 litres at 1.060 in the fermenter which I'll top up to 25 litres when the initial ferment has died down enough to fit the extra liquid in. Colour is nice and black but with almost no roast flavours, just a load of hops! Looking forward to seeing how this turns out

[WishboneBrewery]

Sounds very tasty

[kevthebootboy]

Sounds abit like a black IPA !

Nice work our kid

[Lugsy]

Cheers boys! Yes it is a black "IPA" but I don't like calling it that - black pale?

Anyway, just taken my first hydrometer sample and it's down to 1.012 already without the dilution I was planning. Colour isn't as black as I was hoping but there's a lot of suspended yeast in it still, I think it'll be fine when the yeast drops out. It tastes great, just a touch of roasted flavour that immediately gets swamped by the hops - nice bitterness and a fruit explosion! Maybe I'll keep it at this strength after all

[Lugsy]

I've just barrelled this and decided not to use any priming sugar - I'll force carbonate instead and see if I can reduce the yeasty flavours I've been getting recently. The colour's come out lovely and black, looks like a stout but tastes like a fruity American pale with just a hint of bonfire toffee. Job done!

Now for the bad bits. It's too sweet/malty so next time I'll reduce or leave out the Munich and crystal. And it's still not bitter enough! I'll at least double the bittering hops for the next one to somewhere over 100 IBU's, I'm determined to get a properly bitter beer soon.

[WishboneBrewery]

Sounding good there

[leedsbrew]

sounds like a winner winner chicken dinner!

[Lugsy]

I'm down to the last few pints of this now and I have to say it's just getting nice - always the way for me, the last couple of pints are the best! I'll do this again soon but with a couple of changes now that I've learned a bit from this one:

Firstly, more hops! More bittering, more late additions and a nice big dry hop to finish it off.

Secondly, I'll cut back the black malt to 50g or less and just use extra Carafa Special III to get the colour (this one's just a bit too stouty if you know what I mean, not exactly roasty but a bit too bitter in that way)

Thirdly, I need to address my yeasty flavour issue, possibly crash cooling for a few days to drop more yeast out of suspension before I prime.

Finally, STOP BLOODY DRINKING IT BEFORE IT'S COME GOOD!

Then I think it might be a good beer

[WishboneBrewery]

Bottle it and stash it away somewhere! My Black IPA has improved a lot with a bit of age and the subtle roasted flavours are just right.