brackbrew
Well-Known Member
My last brew was made using a recipe I adapted form "The Homebrewer's Recipe Guide:"
Crimson and Clover Ale
6lbs light dried malt extract
6lbs clover honey
1/2 lb crystal malt (40 Lovibond)
2 oz. roast barley
1.5 oz Saaz hops (bittering)
1/2 oz Fuggles hops (aroma)
1tsp Irish Moss
1 package Irish Ale Yeast (White Labs #WLP004)
In adapting, all I did was substitute orange blossom honey for the clover honey, having read somewhere that clover honey can often lend a grassy taste to brews. The brew turned out to be a disaster, wildly sweet and inconsistent. The bottle conditioning took longer than expected--some of the bottles even burst approximately 1-2 months after bottling. A friend and fellow brewer seems to think fermentation wasn't complete. Unfortunately I don't know what happened to my gravity readings, because I was stupid and forgot to write them down in my log. Aside from my own stupidity, or an incomplete fermentation, does anybody see any glaring issues with the recipe? Would the substitution of different honey have caused the overwhelming sweetness? The same friend who offered the suggestion of incomplete fermentation also thought the bittering profile of the beer seemed insignificant considering the amount of "sugar" in the recipe. Any thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks for your help!
Crimson and Clover Ale
6lbs light dried malt extract
6lbs clover honey
1/2 lb crystal malt (40 Lovibond)
2 oz. roast barley
1.5 oz Saaz hops (bittering)
1/2 oz Fuggles hops (aroma)
1tsp Irish Moss
1 package Irish Ale Yeast (White Labs #WLP004)
In adapting, all I did was substitute orange blossom honey for the clover honey, having read somewhere that clover honey can often lend a grassy taste to brews. The brew turned out to be a disaster, wildly sweet and inconsistent. The bottle conditioning took longer than expected--some of the bottles even burst approximately 1-2 months after bottling. A friend and fellow brewer seems to think fermentation wasn't complete. Unfortunately I don't know what happened to my gravity readings, because I was stupid and forgot to write them down in my log. Aside from my own stupidity, or an incomplete fermentation, does anybody see any glaring issues with the recipe? Would the substitution of different honey have caused the overwhelming sweetness? The same friend who offered the suggestion of incomplete fermentation also thought the bittering profile of the beer seemed insignificant considering the amount of "sugar" in the recipe. Any thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks for your help!