Vienna Strong Ale

This was a TOTAL MISTAKE that turned into a TOTAL WINNER. It tastes like a biscuity, slightly sweet Oktoberfest...but wrapped in the nice warm blanket of a 9.2% beer. The original recipe came out to 2.1 gallons, so this recipe is just the original accident blown out to a full 5 gallons. Critiques welcomed! Give it a go and see what you think. My goal is to age it out for a year...but with only 2 gallons to go around...I doubt that'll be the case.


5 Gallon - 45 min. steep/mash @ 158-162 degrees - Boil 90 min. (keep to 60 min. hop schedule)

MALTS

7.1 lbs. Extra Light DME (add at 90 min.)
2.8 lbs. Vienna
1.2 lbs. Crystal 40
1.2 lbs. Victory


HOPS

34 grams chinook (60 min.)
17 grams Kent Golding (20 min.)
34 grams Hallertau (5)
34 grams Hallertau (Dry Hop 1 week in primary)

YEAST

S-05 yeast cake

I really want to brew this! Do you or anyone have an AG conversion? I'm new to brewing but I do brew AG.

I've only ever done partial mashes, but this is a website I've used for loose-conversion that's been successful.
http://www.jaysbrewing.com/2011/11/17/lazy-chart-for-converting-dme-lme-grain/

If you do end up making it, I recommend a larger 20 min. addition. Of course, I like a little hop profile in all my beers...and this one is a straight up winter warmer. Quite malty, little to no hop profile.

I still have a couple stashed away. I might just open up one and see how it tastes at the 3 month mark. Actually, it's been EXACTLY a 3 months...to the day

Just make sure not to prime your bottles if your FG is 1.012 like mine. I lost a 1/3 of my batch due to gushing a month after priming. Guess she had a few other gravity points to loose before she was done!

Yikes! I am truly deeply sorry for your loss! Haha. Thanks for the FG tip. I'll definitely brew this one in the next few weeks. I prefer more malt than hop in my beer so I doubt if I add more hops. I'm excited to taste this one through the months as it ages before winter! Thanks again mrphillips!

Hope you like it! It has a very nice alcohol warmth. It's not a summer beer, but with a little restraint (more than I've got), it'll be the perfect treat by the time the snow falls again.

I'm finally going to brew this one this weekend. What temps did u age the beer after bottling? Does age temp matter a whole lot? I live in Nebraska and just this week we are forecasted for a 40* temp change.

Woo Hoo! I'm glad you're giving it a go! I had one last night (its been bottled for 4 months), and while there is still a noticeable alcohol warmth, I can tell that the biscuity flavors from the vienna and victory are really getting to know the sweetness of the crystal malt. I will say that if I were to take a second go at it, I would cut the crystal malt down from 1.2 lbs. to something like 10 oz...but as I've stated before, I'm not the hugest fan of malt-sweetness. It sounds like you are, so do what you will!

I always keep my bottles in a tucked away closet at room temperature, and have never had a problem. For me, room temp. is 68-70 degrees. You really don't want to fluctuate your temperature very much. Anything within 5 degrees is perfectly fine (and honestly, probably up to 10 wouldn't affect it), but you wouldn't want to switch from 40 degrees, up to 70, and then back again. Just find an out-of-the-way place with a constant temperature, and all will be well. Again, make sure you keep it in the bucket for AT LEAST a month, and every week or so give the bucket a couple of rotations to liven-up any lazy yeast.

Post pics! Are you doing a full 5 gallons?

I'm still very new to brewing so I am still developing my ability to identify different ingredient tastes. My favorite beers are Bochs and Kölsches, but I haven't brewed either yet.

Luckily I live in a basement apartment so my room temps are fairly steady throughout the year. I think I should be fine keeping the bottles in my kitchen corner. I was just afraid that aging required very accurate and consistent temps, similar to lagering.

Yes I'm brewing 5 gal. I have brewed 3 different beers and each time I have concluded that I need to bring up my final wort volume as I have about a 3/4-1 gallon of trub/yeast when it comes time to bottle. I don't yeast scavenge(not sure if that's the correct term) yet. With each batch I teach myself another brew process step (sampling OG/FG, calculating efficiency etc). Maybe I should add that I BIAB. My processes have become a lot better each time I brew. All of the yeasts I have used have been very inexpensive so I haven't had the need for yeast starters yet.

Have you ever used Irish Moss? My understanding is that it really helps with clarity, which has been an issue for me. Is it true that it works best with wheat beers?...would it benefit all beers?

Thanks for all your input and feedback!


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I have heard very good things about Irish Moss, but have never used it myself. From what I've read, adding it with 10 min. left in the boil will do the trick.

I always use Irish moss-it helps flocculate proteins in the kettle. You just add 1 tsp. with 15 minutes remaining in the boil. My beers are pretty clear, in general. You don't quite get the brilliance of a commercial beer, but pretty close.

My last batch was cloudy, but I think it was either a mashing problem or a feature of the yeast strain (wy1469).

I am making this now. I scaled it back down to a 2 gallon batch, so I am making it on the stove in my kitchen. Its a welcome change from sitting outside when its cold and rainy.

Excellent! Let me know how it turns out. I'm gunna open up one tonight and see how the aging is going. Its been in the bottle 5 months.

At 5 months, there is no more alcohol burn, a burn that WAS present 2 months ago. The mouthfeel is creamy and well rounded. The taste is biscuty and caramely, with a distinct toffee and slight chocolate flavor that wasn't there before (just goes to show how a beer can evolve over time). Finish: the hints of chocolate and toffee linger and slowly disolve on the palet.

This is a beer I am entering in a comp this december. Not a summer brew, but if you brew it now, it'll make a nice winter warmer.

This has been in the primary for about a month. I will secondary the beer for a week for clarity purposes before bottling in the next few days. I hope to age it for a few months and then pop a bottle every so often to see how the taste changes. I will let you know my results.

The only changes I made to the original recipe was that I scaled everything down to 1-1.5 gallons. I also used US goldings instead of East Kent, and boiled for 60 mins vs 90. Also, no dry hop to this point.

If you are planning on aging it for over 6 months (which I recommend), then dry hopping would probably be a waste of hops. The only reason I dry hopped mine was because I had some hops left over.

Keep me updated!

Subbed. This one sounds really tasty!