Mild w/ Cascade

[lawlslawls]

I had to do a silly thing today. I was in the middle of boiling wort for a mild when I discovered that the Styrian Golding (themselves an improvised substitute for East Kent Goldings, which my LHBS was out of) that I was going to use for bittering had disappeared. As I was in mid-boil, I couldn't abandon the batch to get more hops. So, I had to throw in the Cascade that I had on hand. I'll keep you all posted as to how this Americanized version of a mild turns out. Recipe below if interested:

Batch Size: 2+ Gallons
Boil Size: 3 Gallons
2lbs Marris Otter
2lbs Two-Row (US)
.9lbs English Pale Ale
.4lbs Crystal 60
.32lbs Pale Chocolate
.28lbs Crystal 120
.5 oz Cascade 7.3%Alpha
Wyeast 1968 ESB

Mashed at ~162(varied between 152 - 170) for 60 minutes
Boiled 30min
Added entire .5oz of Cascade at 30 minutes, added another gallon of water to wort and brought back to boil, then boiled for another 60 minutes

My fermenters are only 3Gal, so I split the wort between two fermenters then added tap water to lower the gravity to where I wanted it

I overshot the dilution on the first fermenter, resulting in ~1.3Gal with an OG of 1.030

The second fermenter has roughly over a gallon, with an OG of 1.036

I split the Wyeast pack roughly equal between the two. I broke the smack pack roughly an hour before pitching. There was a small amount of liquid left in the package that was not used, so as to somewhat lessen the effects of overpitching.

The fermenter with the higher OG is sitting in an insulated bag with 3 frozen 500mL water bottles; I'm aiming for 68F. The other fermenter is not in an insulated bag; it will be allowed to ferment at room temperature, which I believe is 73F. I am not using airlocks on either fermenter; instead, I'm leaving their caps slightly screwed on to let them undergo open fermentation.

I will report back with results.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

Should be fine. Outside of the long boil it looks good. But I have to ask, why such a complex base malt arrangement? I make a wonderful dark mild and my base malt is just maris. Works fine. I don't see the advantage of the added complexity.

 

[lawlslawls]

the base malt complexity is because I had bought 2 pounds of MO and 2 pounds 2 Row at my LHBS intending to make an American IPA; hence the 2-row. The grains got mixed into one bag, and when I decided not to do the IPA, the grains were already milled and sitting in my closet. So I decide to do a Mild, and go to purchase 3lbs of MO for a base malt, but the LHBS is completely out (their deliveries are completely unpredictable. I've been waiting on a racking cane for over a month) The only English base malt they had in stock was 0.9lbs of English Pale Ale, so I decided I would make the best of a bad situation and blend the Pale with the MO and 2-Row. The next time I brew a mild, I'm thinking I'll use Simpson's Golden Promise as the sole base malt.

So that's the story behind the complexity. The recipe actually started out as Jamil's Mild recipe (75% base malt, 15% crystal 60, 7.5% pale chocolate, 7.5% crystal 120), just with 8% pale chocolate and 7% crystal 120 instead. I had calculated those percentages assuming I would use 4 lbs of malt, but I absent-mindedly added an extra pound of the MO/2-Row blend, bumping up the actual malt weight to 5 lbs. So, my percentages are a little lower than Jamil's.

I did a 90 min boil because I thought I remembered hearing Jamil saying that melanoidin production was very important in the Mild episode of The Jamil Show. Now that I think about it, I think it may have actually been his Scottish ale recipe where that was important. Do you think a 60 min boil is preferable?

 

[sandyeggoxj]

Ha, that is a funny story. I totally get where you are coming from!

I just do a 60 minute boil. I add hops at 60 and 15, albeit not much. It seems to be fine. The crystal malts add a nice body.

It is good to mix it up. When you just follow the directions is has less heart and more assembly line feel.

I ferment mine with Cal ale and Americanized euro hops. So I have a bastard of a mild as well. I tell people English mild if they want to know more but mostly call it a dark session ale.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

I'm not sure the boil time is better one way or another. Just factor in the ibus accordingly.

 

[lawlslawls]

Ha, that is a funny story. I totally get where you are coming from!

I just do a 60 minute boil. I add hops at 60 and 15, albeit not much. It seems to be fine. The crystal malts add a nice body.

It is good to mix it up. When you just follow the directions is has less heart and more assembly line feel.

I ferment mine with Cal ale and Americanized euro hops. So I have a bastard of a mild as well. I tell people English mild if they want to know more but mostly call it a dark session ale.

I like the idea of calling it a dark session ale. it lets people know what they're in for, without prejudicing them by calling it 'mild'

 

[sandyeggoxj]

Everyone who tries mine associates mild with low alcohol. While it is low In alcohol, the mild term originally meant that it was a beer to drink fresh.

 

[DavidJP]

I wouldn't think the longer boil would hurt. I started brewing whilst in the UK and the books I used routinely recommended a 90minute to 120 minute boil as standard.

 

[lawlslawls]

Just checked my attenuation levels. The 1.036 is down to 1.012, giving 65% attenuation and 3.15% abv. The 1.030 is down to 1.010, giving 62% attenuation and 2.55% abv.

I prefer the smell of the batch that was left at room temperature, which has hovered around 70. It has a warmer, more inviting smell, like good homemade bread. The batch that was left in an insulated bag has less aroma, and much less character. It smells like generic, inoffensive beer.

 

[lawlslawls]

120 minute standard, for real? I think the next British beer I brew will get a 120 minute boil. Any idea what the extra boil time does? Is it melanoidin production?

 

[DavidJP]

120 minute standard, for real? I think the next British beer I brew will get a 120 minute boil. Any idea what the extra boil time does? Is it melanoidin production?

I really am not sure of the exact reason, although I'd guess that maybe part of it. I just looked back at one of my books "Home brewing, the CAMRA guide" by Graham Wheeler, circa 1994. He's sort of the Papazian/Palmer of UK brewing. Here's what he has to say about boiling period

"The wort should be boiled vigorously for a minimum period of one hour, preferably two, or until hot break occurs. Weaker beers generally require a longer boil than strong beers, sometimes as long as two and a half hours. A vigorous or "good rolling boil" is essential to allow volatile products to escape, and for the oxidation processes to occur. The violence of the boil is far more important than the boiling period. Prolonged boiling will drive off subtle flavour compounds, but under boiling will produce an unstable beer; it is all a matter of compromise. It is generally accepted that the optimum boiling conditions are achieved when the wort evaporation loss is about 10 per cent per hour, and about one and a half hours is considered to be about right under these conditions."

P.94-5

 

[lawlslawls]

Two weeks in now, and the wyeast 1968 ESB is just refusing to drop out. I don't think it's a sanitation issue and I caught an infection, but I don't know what else would cause yeast to drop out. I haven't been able to find much info on this problem, so I've contacted wyeast for more information

 

[cmoewes]

120 minute standard, for real? I think the next British beer I brew will get a 120 minute boil. Any idea what the extra boil time does? Is it melanoidin production?

I think the longer boil encourages more maillard reaction and carmelization which enhance flavor. I've recently started taking a gallon from my first runnings and boiling them down to almost a syrup before adding them back into the kettle. Really punches a caramel and maltyness to my milds and bitters.

 

[lawlslawls]

Two weeks in now, and the wyeast 1968 ESB is just refusing to drop out. I don't think it's a sanitation issue and I caught an infection, but I don't know what else would cause yeast to drop out. I haven't been able to find much info on this problem, so I've contacted wyeast for more information

Wyeast got back with me (within 12 hours; those people are fast!) and I'm posting the message here:

"1968 is our most flocculent strain – once the wort gets close to terminal gravity, it tends to form creamy-tan colored clumps that are pea-sized or larger, and it does like to hang out at the top of the vessel when fermentation is done.

It should be possible to siphon the beer out from under the layer of yeast (this is essentially what many traditional English ale breweries do); otherwise, I’d suggest cooling the fermenters/beers to closer to 60F to try to encourage the floccs to fall.

Hope this helps, and good luck!"


I don't really want to clog my auto-siphon (it's already so damned temperamental), so I'm going to cold crash the fermenter in the fridge for a few hours sometime later this week, then rack and bottle