santosvega
Active Member
Hi guys, long time lurker, first time poster here.
I'm currently in the middle of a bit of a SMaSH experiment wherein I'm brewing four identical brews using Optic, Halcyon, Pearl, and Golden Promise, with a touch of Fuggles and that's it. Nottingham yeast for all. Golden Promise is sort of the control group if you will, as I use it regularly.
Anyway, today saw my racking both the GP and Pearl versions to secondary, and as is my habit I had a little taste of both. The GP tasted clean and sweet as was expected. I didn't know quite what to expect from the Pearl, as there's not a great deal of info out there about it. Midwest describes it as having a 'dry and bready' character. Anyhow, upon tasting it I was struck by a light but distinct smoky character -- not overwhelming; say about the level of smoke you taste in Dewar's scotch. Not unpleasant but definitely not what I expected. Now, I should point out that these two brews were started within a day of each other with identical processes and identical OGs, but the Pearl seemed to ferment much more slowly and less vigorously.
So I guess my questions are:
1. Does anyone here have experience with Fawcett Pearl? Does it, indeed, impart a smoky undertone?
2. If it's not supposed to, are there fermentation issues that could account for this smokyness?
Thanks to all in advance
I'm currently in the middle of a bit of a SMaSH experiment wherein I'm brewing four identical brews using Optic, Halcyon, Pearl, and Golden Promise, with a touch of Fuggles and that's it. Nottingham yeast for all. Golden Promise is sort of the control group if you will, as I use it regularly.
Anyway, today saw my racking both the GP and Pearl versions to secondary, and as is my habit I had a little taste of both. The GP tasted clean and sweet as was expected. I didn't know quite what to expect from the Pearl, as there's not a great deal of info out there about it. Midwest describes it as having a 'dry and bready' character. Anyhow, upon tasting it I was struck by a light but distinct smoky character -- not overwhelming; say about the level of smoke you taste in Dewar's scotch. Not unpleasant but definitely not what I expected. Now, I should point out that these two brews were started within a day of each other with identical processes and identical OGs, but the Pearl seemed to ferment much more slowly and less vigorously.
So I guess my questions are:
1. Does anyone here have experience with Fawcett Pearl? Does it, indeed, impart a smoky undertone?
2. If it's not supposed to, are there fermentation issues that could account for this smokyness?
Thanks to all in advance
