My Adaptation of Kentucky Common Ale

[TasunkaWitko]

Hi, Tex, and thank you much for your thoughts on this. I could see how lagering would really kick this up a notch and a half! I will be having some extra S23 soon, and might give that a try. Thanks for the suggestion.

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

 

[txtaquito]

Happy to make the suggestion! I figured since Cali Common is lagered, why not a KY common? It really has been a delicious beer. My only regret this past batch was that I mashed the midnight wheat. It added a smoky/charred barrel character to it. Its not over powering but I dont really desire it. The reason I did this was because I used RO water in this past batch and built the water profile per 2015 Louisville, KY reports from scratch. I took into consideration the acid from the midnight wheat but not the flavor impact. I like a smoked malt beer but it wasnt expected in this style and I feel it just doesnt belong so I will go back to using it only in the recirc.

 

[txtaquito]

The left was the lager, the right the ale. Also, you are correct in the IBU department. I shot for about 30 IBU. Its a perfect balance with the malt character.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Those look nice - really nice!

 

[bstacy1974]

So I'm originally from Kentucky and have been wanting to brew a KY Common for awhile.
I'll have to substitute a few ingredients as my LHBS didn't have everything I needed, but I'm going to give this a shot on Sunday.
I have to go with 2 row rather than 6 row. No flaked corn, so I'll do my first cereal mash with corn meal.
I got Cluster, but will go with some Tettanger as a finishing hop. Might even use a little Magnum for bittering.
I know I'm straying from your recipe, but I got to brew with what I got.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Hi, BS74 - It sounds to me like you've got a fairly good plan. I don't really know what the implications are of using 2-row instead of 6-row. I am guessing you will end up with beer, and by the sounds of it, good beer! I'll be interested in learning how your cereal mash goes, too. If you don't mind, I'd be grateful if you could describe the process when you do it, so that anyone reading this might have an idea about how to do it, if they give it a try. I think the Magnum will be fine, and I like the idea of Tettnanger finishing things up.

There are some other notes here that may or may not be useful:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/kentucky-common-cream-ale.638251/

Let me know how it goes - looking forward to it!

 

[bstacy1974]

Hi, BS74 - It sounds to me like you've got a fairly good plan. I don't really know what the implications are of using 2-row instead of 6-row. I am guessing you will end up with beer, and by the sounds of it, good beer! I'll be interested in learning how your cereal mash goes, too. If you don't mind, I'd be grateful if you could describe the process when you do it, so that anyone reading this might have an idea about how to do it, if they give it a try. I think the Magnum will be fine, and I like the idea of Tettnanger finishing things up.

There are some other notes here that may or may not be useful:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/kentucky-common-cream-ale.638251/

Let me know how it goes - looking forward to it!

I certainly will.
I plan on following this technique for the cereal mash.
I tried to get a brew day together last weekend, but spent time with my boys instead! The wife and daughters were out of town so we had lots of man time. Hockey, basketball, and BBQ brisket all weekend!

So one remaining question would be what water profile to use for this brew. I'm going with the Brun Water Amber Full profile, with a target mash pH of 5.4, unless someone says otherwise.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

I love barbecued brisket - I bet it was great to spend that time with the boys!

As far as water profiles go, I am afraid that I can't be much help, but here are my (very) amateur thoughts on it: In my research, I discovered that the water used in Louisville (at the time) seemed to be rather high in bicarbonates and was influenced by the limestone in the area; this is the reason that the Bavarian brewers there added a touch of Black Malt. By pure coincidence, the spring water that I brew with is similar, if not in actual numbers, then at least in general characteristics. The beer turned out very well using this water, and while I am sure that there is "better" or "more correct" water to use, I was quite happy with it. Here is the profile of that water, which might or might not be a good starting point:

http://bigspringwater.com/about-us

Hope this helps -

Ron

 

[bstacy1974]

Hi, BS74 -
Let me know how it goes - looking forward to it!

So I got a lot going on today, but I have to get this beer started. I have two kegs in the keezer and if I planned this just right, this beer should be ready by the time one kicks.

I got up early to get the smoker going. Put a 6.5lb pork shoulder on at 6:30am. Started this beer about an hour ago.

Right now I'm boiling the cereal mash. Very interesting process. Not nearly as difficult as I expected. And with my limited local supply of malted and flaked grains, I'll start looking for different grains at the health food and specialty grocery stores.

I'll post my final recipe and numbers a little later. With some brew day notes.

 

[bstacy1974]

Brew day was pretty good. Just seemed very long due to the time added by the cereal mash. So, here are the details.

Recipe
BS Kentucky Common

All Grain Recipe

Batch Size: 5.60 gal Style: Kentucky Common (27 )
Boil Size: 6.89 gal Style Guide: BJCP 2015
Color: 13.0 SRM Equipment: Ben's Home Brewery
Bitterness: 29.7 IBUs Boil Time: 60 min
Est OG: 1.048 (11.9° P) Mash Profile: Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Est FG: 1.012 SG (3.0° P) Fermentation: Ale, Single Stage
ABV: 4.8%

Ingredients
Misc
2.50 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60 min) Misc
0.70 g Baking Soda (Mash 60 min) Misc
1.60 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Mash 60 min) Misc
3.70 g Calcium Chloride (Mash 60 min) Misc
Grain
2 lbs 8.00 oz Yellow Cornmeal (1.3 SRM) Grain
6 lbs Brewers Malt 2-Row (Briess) (1.8 SRM) Grain
8.00 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (Briess) (60.0 SRM) Grain
3.00 oz Black Malt (Briess) (500.0 SRM) Grain
Hops
0.30 oz Magnum [12.0%] - Boil 60 min Hops
0.75 oz Cluster [7.0%] - Boil 30 min Hops
1.00 oz Tettnang [4.5%] - Boil 5 min Hops
Yeast
1 pkgs Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) Yeast

Mash (Perform Cereal Mash First)
Single Infusion, 154F, 60 mins, 1.5 qt/lb water ratio, RO water

Cereal Mash
1.5 lbs 2-row subtracted from recipe
2.5 lbs Yellow Cornmeal subtracted from recipe
2 gallons water (I used RO)

Process
Start the cereal mash first.
Add everything to a stock pot with at least a 3 gallon capacity.
Heat over medium high heat, stirring constantly, to 122F.
Hold at 122F for 15 mins.
Heat again, stirring constantly, to 149F.
Hold 149F for 15 mins.
Bring to a boil. You shouldn't have to stir constantly at this point, but still stir occasionally to keep things from sticking. I had a slight scorch mark in my stock pot when completed.
Put cereal mash to the side to let cool.

Start normal infusion mash. Adjust mash water volume for the removal of the 4 lbs of grain. (I forgot to do this and overshot temp due to the thin mash.)
Using Brun' Water Amber Full profile. Add brewing salts to mash water.
Time or somehow adjust both the normal mash and cereal mash to the same temp, then combine the two mashes together in the mash tun.
Add brewing salts to sparge water according to Brun' Water. Heat to temp, sparge, and runoff to boil volume.
Boil. Add hops. Chill. Transfer to fermenter. Aerate. Pitch rehydrated yeast.

OG was low, 1.045, probably due to the thin mash. We'll see how it turns out.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

This looks great, and I like your recipe! Keep us informed as to how it goes - I love this beer and it will be pretty cool to see how it works out for you.

 

[bstacy1974]

Transferred to a keg tonight. Going with a quick carb technique so I can start drinking late tomorrow or Christmas day.
FG came out as 1.010 for a final ABV of 4.6%. Nice sessionable brew.
The flavor of the hydrometer sample was very tasty. Some caramel with a bit of roastness but very balanced with the bitterness of the hops.

 

[RedIvan16]

This recipe and thread is awesome, guys. I definitely want to give this style a try down the road, but I have a quick question. I brew all grain but BIAB. Would that be an issue with this style because of the corn grits? Or should I use flaked corn instead?

 

[hottpeper13]

I do a cereal mash with BIAB like this.... Do the cereal mash like BS74 said but instead of cooling it add it to the bag with the rest of the mash liquor and get it to the strike temp, then mash in the rest of the grains. This way shortens the day a bit. I prefer the flavor of the cereal mashed beer to the one with corn flakes, it seems fuller at the same FG.

 

[bstacy1974]

A little over a week in the keg. I like the flavor but need to work on the body. It's a bit thin but not too bad. Definitely replaces my house Amber recipe.
And being born and raised in Kentucky, I can say that this recipe may be the 2nd best thing to ever come out of Louisville!

 

[TasunkaWitko]

It looks great to me ~ I think you hit it really well!

I didn't seem to have any trouble with mine being "thin" in the body department. Is it possible that this is due to the 2-row versus 6-row? I don't know...just speculating. Time in the keg might help, too, perhaps? In any case, it looks to me like you did great with it and I really appreciate the account of the cereal mash, which I might try next time, if I can.

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

 

[TasunkaWitko]

I brewed this again on Sunday; 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.

Fermentation was starting on Monday morning, with the blow-off tube giving slow blips...last night I woke up to the sound of it in the hallway closet chugging along at a pretty steady pace. I think we're off to a good start, and I'm glad to be brewing this again.

 

[hottpeper13]

I have one in primary now. Used Bob's Red Mill stone ground yellow corn meal in a cereal mash and 2565 Kolsch yeast,should be awesome. I switched to Proximity malts,so that's new also. I make this beer every spring for a festival that unfortunately won't happen this year,or at least it's looking bleak rite now. It's always a hit and one of the best beers I make.