Historical Beer: Kentucky Common Kentucky Common Cream Ale

[TasunkaWitko]

Recipe Type

All Grain

Yeast

SafAle US 05

Yeast Starter

None

Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter

None

Batch Size (Gallons)

1

Original Gravity

1.051

Final Gravity

1.010

Boiling Time (Minutes)

60

IBU

24.08

Color

SRM 11.58

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

At least 14 days @ 67-ish

Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

None

Additional Fermentation

None

Tasting Notes

Fresh, refreshing, drinkable and addictive; very well balanced.

This recipe is the result of quite a bit of research that I did in order to come as close as possible to the original, which was brewed in Louisville, Kentucky by German immigrants between the Post-Civil-War era and Prohibition.

Because I brew on a small scale and on the stovetop, I am not claiming this as the definitive recipe, but I do believe it is sound and able to be brewed by any homebrewer at any level.

Please do not take the stats, fermentation times etc. too seriously; they are simply as stated by my Brewer's Friend app, and it is not my intention to have someone chase numbers with obsessive diligence, because I certainly didn't. Just brew the beer, using these numbers as a guide rather than as stone tablets handed down to Moses, and enjoy it!

The cereal mash of the original has been replaced with flaked corn, and the 90-minute boil has been reduced to 60. If anyone brews this in larger batches, a 90-minute boil may be necessary to ward off DMS; having said that, I had no issues with it for my 1-gallon batch.

For the grain bill, conversions to larger batch amounts may be problematic, but the percentages are very reliable and true to the original. If your conversions conform with the percentages, then you will be fine. Where the Crystal malt is concerned, feel free to deviate a bit to the lighter or the darker, as the actual Crystal malts used were subject to availability and consistency of product.

For the aroma hops, Saaz or any other noble hop will probably work just as well as the Hallertau Mittelfrüh that I used; feel free to deviate for the same reasons as regarding the Crystal malts. For the bittering hops, the choice of Cluster is pretty solid; the original used "'Western' (probably California Gray)," and if you can find those, please let me know, because I wasn't able to.

I'm sure that there are a dozen "right" ways to do it but my mash, sparge etc. I essentially followed this procedure:

[ame]https://vimeo.com/11354805[/ame]

Use whatever works for you.

I fermented for three weeks at room temperature between 64 and 68 degrees, then cold-crashed for a few days, and then bottle conditioned for a little over two weeks before sampling. The original time frame was something like 3 days before being casked and shipped to the brewery, but I'm not going to worry about that, and I don't recommend that you do, either.

More information, research, development and notes can be found here:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=583757

Please keep in mind that there is a lot of brain-storming and rambling on that thread, but it does contain great information and will walk you through the process, explaining why I did what I did and chose as I chose.

Here is the recipe, as it was brewed:

Kentucky Common
Cream Ale
TasunkaWitko's Adaptation

All-Grain
1 Gallon

OG - 1.051
FG - 1.010
ABV - 5.44%
IBUs - 24.08
SRM - 11.58


Fermentables:

19.22 ounces American 6-Row Pale Malt (60%)
11.84 ounces American Flaked Corn (37%)
0.5 ounces American Black Malt (1.6%)
0.45 ounces American Caramel/Crystal 60L Malt (1.4%)


60-Minute Mash @ 154 degrees


60-minute boil

Hops:

1.5 grams Cluster (7.6% AA) @ 60 minutes
1.5 grams Cluster (7.6% AA) @ 45 minutes
3.0 grams Cluster (7.6% AA) @ 15 minutes
1.5 grams Hallertau Mittelfrüh (3.75%) @ Knock-out

Other Ingredients:

Irish Moss - 0.4 grams @ 15 minutes


Yeast

Safale US-05

If you brew this, please let me know how you like it, and please post a photo, if you can. If you have any questions, please feel free to post them, as well.

Thanks for taking a look at this, and happy brewing!

Ron

 

[z-bob]

It looks good to me, and Cluster is a good choice for the hops.

I've brewed several cream ales and I really like the style (much to my surprise), but I haven't tried adding a touch of Black Patent and dark caramel to make a Kentucky Common yet.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Hey, Z -

Sorry I didn't reply earlier...it's been a long hunting season so far!

Yes, this turned out very well, and the caramel, in my opinion, makes this beer really special. My reading and research indicate that the Black Patent - just a touch of it - is a development by the German brewers in Louisville:

The dark malt additions more than likely came into play because the typical Louisville area water was and is rather alkaline due to the underlying Karst features and the German trained brewers were very familiar with the benefits of dark roasted malt additions to acidify the mash and improve brewhouse efficiency.

https://www.bjcp.org/docs/NHC2014-kycommon-handout.pdf

The water that I brew with comes from a spring in central Montana that is rather high in bicarbonates; perhaps there is a connection there?

 

[TasunkaWitko]

I enjoyed another one of these last Friday evening, 24 November 2017.

Just like before, it was wonderful and exactly as advertised: tasty, drinkable and addicting. I finished the glass wanting more, and I am really loving this colour, as well.

I really can't think of any changes that I would make to this, although some folks might want to bring the IBUs up just a bit. Right now, I have them at just a hair over 24, but I could see that some might prefer them to be a little closer to 30...maybe around 28. I personally wouldn't go over 30, as I feel that would defeat one of the goals of this style, which is to lean a bit malt-forward.

This is a very special beer and I imagine that it will show up on my rotation often. If anyone is looking to give this a try, I don't think you would be disappointed!

Ron

 

[TasunkaWitko]

I enjoyed the last of this batch on Christmas, and it was as good as the first:

I'll have to make some more of this before too long, because everything about it was great. I know I keep saying it, but it bears repeating: this beer is one of the most drinkable I have ever brewed, and it is simply delicious.

I am thinking that this recipe is really darn good, right where it is. I was trying to decide if the IBUs need to come up just a hair or not...my own personal taste says no, and what I know about the expected characteristics of this beer tells me that it is just right the way it is, so I probably won't.

If anyone tries this, please let me know what you think of it - I sure enjoy it!

Ron

 

[z-bob]

I have a bunch of Canadian 2-row malt already. It has pretty high diastatic power but I don't think I trust it with 37% adjuncts. Maybe 30%. So rather than buying a sack of 6-row, my recipe looks something like this (sorry about the metric; it's 4 gallons):

Title: Kentucky Common
Brew Method: BIAB
Style Name: Kentucky Common
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 15 liters (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 19 liters
Boil Gravity: 1.041
Efficiency: 75% (brew house)
STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.052
Final Gravity: 1.012
ABV (standard): 5.3%
IBU (tinseth): 24.59
SRM (morey): 13.28
FERMENTABLES:
2.3 kg - American - Pale 2-Row (67.3%)
1 kg - Grits (29.2%)
60 g - United Kingdom - Black Patent (1.8%)
60 g - Belgian - Special B (1.8%)
HOPS:
20 g - Cluster, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.5, Use: Boil for 30 min, IBU: 18.26
20 g - Sterling, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.7, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 6.34
YEAST:
Danstar - Nottingham Ale Yeast
Starter: No
Generated by Brewer's Friend - https://www.brewersfriend.com/
Date: 2018-01-02 22:52 UTC
Recipe Last Updated: 2018-01-02 21:46 UTC

I haven't brewed it yet. I'm still waffling about which dark crystal to use (I have Spcl-B, C60, and Cara-Rye) but at less than 2% it probably doesn't matter. Also which 5-minute hops (Sterling, Willamette, Fuggle, or something else floral. I'm out of Mt Hood or I'd use that)

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Let me know how it turns out - I kind of like the looks of that "English twist" that your recipe has on the American original... I am just brainstorming here, but it might not hurt to stick with the Special B, use Fuggle hops and maybe even Maris Otter as the base malt...and see what you end up with? It won't be totally the same, but could be really darned tasty, I'm guessing.

 

[z-bob]

Let me know how it turns out - I kind of like the looks of that "English twist" that your recipe has on the American original... I am just brainstorming here, but it might not hurt to stick with the Special B, use Fuggle hops and maybe even Maris Otter as the base malt...and see what you end up with? It won't be totally the same, but could be really darned tasty, I'm guessing.

I'm curious what makes it "English". The Nottingham, or the UK Black Patent malt? Or the Willamette, which vaguely resembles Fuggle or EKG? What I was shooting for is a very neutral "American" ale, but without any Cascade-like hops.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

It was just an impression that I got while reading your post - Kensington Common, anyone?

 

[TasunkaWitko]

@z-bob - were you ever able to give this a go?

 

[z-bob]

I did brew a Kentucky Common about 2 months ago. It tastes good, if you like flat beer. (which I do, but it would be so much better with some carbonation) I think my Nottingham yeast pooped out from lack of nutrients because of all the corn. Next time I brew one, I will add just a little Fermax yeast nutrient or use a different yeast.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

I hope it works out next time - sounds like it would have been a great one ~

 

[TasunkaWitko]

I am about to brew this again - has anyone else tried it?

 

[gunhaus]

I've brewed this Ron, as well as Revvy's version with the flaked rye, and I really like them both. In my case I actually used Perle hops with the Hallertau both times in yours. On Revvy's I used Perle in one batch, and Cascade in another - On that one and the second batch I made of your version, I used Wyeast 2112 and brewed them as "common" beers from that standpoint. VERY tasty that way BTW
-John

 

[z-bob]

I hope it works out next time - sounds like it would have been a great one ~

I forgot about this thread until gunhaus revived it. My KC beer did carbonate, it just took 3 months to do so. (I probably let it clear too much before bottling) I just finished the last of it last month. It was very good when it was finally ready

 

[TasunkaWitko]

I brewed this again yesterday; it was an easy brew with no complications, and I think the beer is going to be great, as usual.

Two very slight modification, just because....

1 )I swapped the amounts of Black Malt and Caramel 60 with each other , just to see what would happen. Considering the very small amounts of each, I don't think there will be any real, noticable difference.

2) I used Kazbek hops in place of the Hallertau or Saaz, simply because I had it on hand. I've been fascinated with this hop ever since I heard it's description ("like Saaz dialed up to 11...."), and have enjoyed it in the beers I have used it in, so far.

 

[z-bob]

2) I used Kazbek hops in place of the Hallertau or Saaz, simply because I had it on hand. I've been fascinated with this hop ever since I heard it's description ("like Saaz dialed up to 11...."), And have enjoyed it in the beers I have us

Have you tried Sterling hops? I'm wondering how Kazbek compares.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Have you tried Sterling hops? I'm wondering how Kazbek compares.

I haven't tried Sterling yet, but I like what I've read about them!