I've gotten distracted by barley wine recipes, so this starter is going to sleep for a bit. I also have a near full keg of pale ale on tap and another in waiting. So I don't need to worry about my hoppy pipeline for a bit.
Last weekend I finally got around to brewing my beer. It is basically a re-brew of the first brett Countdown Blond I did in the summer. This time I added rye for a more substantial mouthfeel, added crystal malts for a bit of sweetness, and I will avoid the lacto which thinned it out way too much.
30% Pils (4lbs)
22.5% Vienna (3lbs)
15% Malted Wheat (2lbs)
7.5% Munich (1lb)
7.5% Malted Rye (1lb)
7.5% Rolled Oats (1lb)
9% Crystal 55 and Honey Malt, because I had a little of each left over from other beers.
Hops are an equal parts blend of Pacific Jade/Cascade/Amarillo (last time was Pacific Jade bittern and flavor, Amarillo late addition, and Cascade dry hop). Wanted to up the hop flavor this time. Still kept bitterness low (29IBU), since I also apricots which add to the bitterness. All late additions.
45g (15g each) @ 15 minutes
45g flameout
45g dry hop - yet to be done, closer to serving time.
OG was 1.046 (horrid efficiency). I just pulled the starter from the fridge from a few weeks earlier and pitched it without waking it up. Results showed. After a week it was only down to 1.020. Nothing near the fast and furious fermentation from my prior 2 batches where I had a heartier and more active pitch. I needed to free up the primary (my kettle), so I kegged it. I sliced up 500g of dried apricots and put in hop sacks. And I connected a blow-off tube to the gas-out post.
I used dried apricots this time, because I ended up with a harsh astringency in the first batch which I'm guessing was from the apricot and mango pits and skins.
There is still quite active fermentation based on the blow-off activity. I'll let that simmer a bit, then remove the blow-off tube and let it build some pressure on its own. I fly back to the States for the holidays, so this one will sit until next year.
Based on the taste at racking, I really like the hop blend with this grist. It had a real spiciness (maybe accentuated by the rye) along with the fruit. Looking forward to this one.