What are you brewing?

[nzbrewer]

Since this is the most popular thread on the RealBeer.co.nz forum I thought I would start it here just to see what happens

[Stu McKinlay]

"Big Exit" Saison Barleywine 

 

42% Pilsner

35% Pale Ale Malt

15% Wheat

7% Caramunich 2

1% Cararoma

 

Sauvin / Motueka 1:3 part blend @ 60, 30 and 15min

1.086, 58ibu

 

Wyeast 3711 French Saison, second gen (did a Return to Megenta remix with the first gen)... @ 22c and rising

 

2 mashes... my first time ever, and it was a long day but suited looking after kids here and there.  Second mash used the Pilsner and a bit more wheat, it was a bitch to get running clear so I ended up flagging it.  The first was a beautiful.

[MrC]

Brewing this today.  It's a smaller and hoppier version of my previous Belgian Blonde that I really liked.  I've altererd the hop additions and added a small amount of Pale Malt based on something I read in Brew Like A Monk.  Should be a nice summer drinker. 

 

Belgian Blonde

OG: 1.067

IBU: 20

ABV (%): 6.6

Batch Size: 22L

Boil Time: 90min 

 

FERMENTABLES

5.2kg Weyermann Pilsner Malt

0.3kg Wheat Malt

0.3kg Cara-Pils

0.15kg Sugar, Table (Sucrose)

0.3kg Global Cologne

 

HOPS

17g Motueka [7.8% AA] 60min

15g Motueka [7.8% AA] 30min

15g Motueka [7.8% AA] 0min

 

YEAST

Wyeast 3522 (Ardennes)

[JackoNZ]

First brew of the year, a play on my favourite pale ale.

 

Simcarillo Pale Ale II

4.90 kg Global Cologne       

0.29 kg Carafa II Special 

0.25 kg Global Light Caramel 

0.20 kg Cara Malt 

0.08 kg Black Malt 

 

 

20.00 gm Centennial [9.20 %]  (60 min) 23.4 IBU      

15.00 gm Simcoe [12.20 %]  (15 min)  11.5 IBU      

15.00 gm Amarillo [7.50 %]  (15 min) 7.1 IBU       

15.00 gm Amarillo [7.50 %]  (10 min)  5.2 IBU       

15.00 gm Simcoe [12.20 %]  (10 min) 8.4 IBU       

20.00 gm Simcoe [12.20 %]  (0 min)  

20.00 gm Amarillo [7.50 %]  (0 min) 

25.00 gm Simcoe [12.20 %]  (Dry Hop 7 days)  

 

S05

OG of 1.056

55 IBU 

[Tony]

Hey Nat,

 

still using Gladfield's a lot? How do you find it? Particularly in comparison to other pale/pilsner malts?

 

Reason I ask, is I find it (in comparison) a bit 'flat' and lacking in character. I don't know if it's because it's fresher and perhaps has a slightly higher moisture content, or I am tending that it is simply the character of the malt.

 

I prefer Weyermann's or MO, for my lagers or PA's. Is it an availability or cost factor for you?

 

I'm interested in your thoughts?

[Dougal]

Jumping on the low gravity bandwagon today to grow up some yeast for a brown ale.

 

Little Red

1.040, mash at 69C

Gladfield Ale Malt	3.338 kg	79.9 %
Medium Crystal	0.250 kg	6.0 %
CaraRed	0.209 kg	5.0 %
CaraPils	0.208 kg	5.0 %
CaraAroma	0.130 kg	3.1 %
Chocolate Malt	0.042 kg	1.0 %

Willamette 45 g @ 60 

Willamette 32 g @ turn off 

Willamette 50 g Dry-Hopped 

Amarillo 24 g Dry-Hopped

 

Wyeast 1882-Thames Valley Ale II

[Soren]

Gearing up for the first homebrew of the year:

 

Bourgogne des Marlborough:

 

40% Vienna

40% Gladfield Ale

6.7% Caramunich

6.7% CaraHell

3.3% CaraAroma

3.3% Pale Crystal

 

17 IBU of what ever low alpha hop I can find, Hallertau Aroma perhaps.

 

Mashing at 70C to get a bunch of unfermentables for the bugs to chew on.

 

Still contemplating the fermentation but at the moment I plan to:

 

Pitch a small amount of 1272 and ferment for a couple of days, rack of the trub and dead yeast and add my cocktail of bugs: 2 types of brett, lactobacillus and pediococcus. Stick it in a dark place for a year and see what happens...

 

The alternative is to add both the yeast and the bugs from the beginning.

 

Thoughts?

[Mike Neilson]

Dont use hops, pitch the lacto with the 1272 or 6 hours before the 1272, Then add the bugs in the secondry and dont let it get hot say over 16 degrees. The brett creates quite a funny chartcter when warm and it gets fuselly hot easily

[Soren]

what, no hops at all??

interesting take on pitching the lacto from the beginning and the rest of the bugs later. exactly the kind of advise

i was hoping to find as I've never made a true sour before.

does the lacto need the nutrients before the yeast eats it all or is it your preference to have it really lactic?

BUT, the brewday has been postponed: my fermenters was not cleaned properly before xmas and have grown some funky bright red fungus. one might say that would be perfect for a flanders red but i'm not that brave.... letting them soak in caustic for a few days.

[denimglen]

Anything over about 5 ibu will inhibit lacto.

 

Lacto is a bit of a slow worker so it needs a head starts to get some fermentables.

 

In saying that though, you don't need to worry about lacto, you'll get pretty much all your acidity from the pedio.  Most lambic and Flander's producer wanted to reduce the amount of acidity they got from lacto, hence the Flander's being around 10 - 20 IBU and the use of aged hops in Lambics - which will still inhibit lacto.

 

If you want it really sour (like Rodenbach Grand Cru) pitch everything in the beginning, give it a couple weeks to work it's magic, then secondary for as long as you can stand it.  For something less sour (Duchess or Rodenbach Klassic) ferment with your ale strain first then pitch all the bugs into secondary.

[Soren]

great info! do you think I could get away with no lacto at all? just went trhough my yeast supply and realize I freaking forgot to order it! still have the other bugs though.

 

I want it really sour, grand cru sour at least. so i suppose I do need the lacto?

[denimglen]

From what I've read I'd say 'no' but then Wyeast and WL both include lacto in their lambic or Roaselare blends.  So that's up to you mate :-)

 

Not really, if you shoot for about 10-20 IBU, that lacto isn't really gonna do much, pretty much all the sourness in lambics and Flanders comes from pedio.

 

http://www2.parc.com/emdl/members/apte/flemishredale.shtml is an awesome resource.  Wild Brews is great too if you can get your hands on a copy.

[Soren]

cool, I'll try with out the lacto.

 

great site there glen, like a thesis on sour ales! I do have wild brews in the library but have only read bits and pieces of it so far...