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

[Mike Neilson]

I agree with Lambics but Berliner Weiss?? I sit on the fence with the Berliner Weiss, I reacon you could do both athentic still being the best right?

[Greig McGill]

I've been pestering a few commercial brewers to brew a Berliner Weiss for a while now. It's a really nice style, and nobody does one. Who will be first? *throws down gauntlet*

[Mike Neilson]

Tuatara

[Mike Neilson]

Oh dude now I have seen the woodruff im defintly brewing another this time if my one dosnt get sour enough I will add lactic acid!! that should do it.

[Mike Neilson]

Just had my last Berliner Wiess now (unless I have hidden some from myself like this one) I had a few mouthfulls by itself than I had it with about two drops of lactic acid and wopow Sour!!!!!! actually feels like its stripped abit of my enamel off my teeth!! I then added a little Peach Syrup to it. My good what a beer!! High carb High Acidity and highly drinkable.

Heres what im going to do next month Sour Mash 20% of my mash in a Thermos on Friday night than leave it and keep it warm till Sunday morning, Mash Grist as per brew than once converted im going to add back to the mash just before lautering. Than boil for 90 mins and ferment with Koelsch yeast. Once fermented Sour with Lactic acid to approriate level than bottle. I think this way I will get some Lacto funk from the sour mash and the acidity from the Lactic acid I think it will be more controlled and be to style and with out having to relly on the lactic fermentation which may not work??

How did you get on with your denim?

[denimglen]

Lacto went nuts for two days before I pitched the Sacc slurry.

Once I added the sacc slurry (and a bit of foam control) it looked like everything died down and I feared a stuck fermentation.

Few days later took a gravity reading and it's at 1.009. Not really sour at all surprisingly, lightly tart and tastes good otherwise.

Will let it hang about on the cake for another couple weeks then I'll rack to secondary and hopefully it'll pick up in a few months.

Like you Mike, I'm thinking sour mash for MK II, would be at lot easier, faster, cheaper for such a small beer.

[Mike Neilson]

Hmmm, what was the evidence of the Lacto going nuts? im just wondering as all I saw on my one was a oil slick on top than a haze, than I pitched the Yeast.

Pretty hard style to brew aye!! Done it twice and im still looking at the cheats way, Searious though the closest I have come to it was today with the lactic addition, so........................

[Tony]

Rauchbier.

2 kg Weyermann pilsner
1.5 kg Smoked malt
500 g Munich
500 ml Weyermann October munich extract

30 g Pacifica 45 min
25 g Pacifica 15 minutes

Danish lager yeast 1 L starter

3 step mash

24 IBU
5.4 ABV

[Reviled]

"It'll be pretty smokey mate."

You reckon?? I would've upped the smoked malt personally tbh

[Soren]

depends on how fresh the smoked malt is. I find the bamberg looses a lot bit of smokiness over time. a 'real' rauchbier is almost 100% bamberg though, and obviously the malt they use in germany is as fresh as it gets... looks damn tasty though!

[Reviled]

"obviously the malt they use in germany is as fresh as it gets"

Ive done a fair bit of reading on the subject and the stuff they use in Bamberg is smoked by the brewery, and apparantly the weyermann stuff doesnt even come close to the smokiness of the bamberg malt...

Soren did you use the weyermann stuff or smoke your own for the Big Smoke?

[Soren]

I used weyermann, about 40%. Eventually I'd like to use manuka smoked malt but it was just too much hassle at the time. The first batch I brewed was with old malt (I think about 2 years) and I could hardly perceive the smoke out of the bag and the wort, but it did come to live after fermentation. Still not quite as much as I'd like though.