While it was tasty to drink, the judges didn't like it very much. Some complaints of beer being too light in color and in character (only 6.3% abv), so there's that. If I were to brew this for a comp, I'd probably go with 2-row vs pils, go up to 7% or so and add a second dry hop.
Similar problem i have when entering my hazy pale ale. Not strong enough to be an IPA and it doesn’t look or feel like a regular pale ale.
I just chatted with the guy who placed #2 at the Comp and he actually made a modern IPA for that, so there's hope! His was higher abv and Strata/Mosaic instead of Simcoe/Mosaic.
Hazy Pale Ale is a favorite style of mine. I just got back from a trip to New Zealand, and there were a lot more Hazy Pale Ales on tap than Hazy IPAs. Who would have thunk that not every country likes to consume 8.5% beers while at the pub! I have never tried to enter anything into 34C. Experimental Beer, it seems like too much of a crapshoot left up to the judges whims, but I am not sure there is a better spot. For now, I just figure that is a style for me to brew and enjoy, and submit other beers to competitions.
Can you mention the brand of Pilsner DME that you used?
To tell you the truth, I don’t even recall and I bought it from my local. I believe they only carry Briess Dme though. I can give them a shout though if you’d like
If you have the time to give them a shout and report back, that would be appreciated. Thanks!
For bittnerness I use about a 1.0 BU/GU ratio. So this beer was 70 ibus.
Check and it’s briess dme they carry for Pilsen lite
How do you get such a great color with DME? Whenever I throw it in when I miss OG, I get 10+ SRMs over target.
When you do OG adjustments, are you using Pilsen (or extra light) DME? Or you you using "golden light" or "pale ale" DME?
Hmmm. Which dme are you using? Pilsner lite dme is a touch darker than when using just Pilsner malt but literally only a touch. I’d say max, 4.5-5 SRM. I also wait to add most of my dme at flame out.
An old bottle of Pilsen light LME from Briess I had on hand. Good advice to wait until the last second of the boil. The last time I did this was in a panic after getting horrible mash efficiency on a triple and still needed a longer boil to hit my numbers. I looked oxidized going into the fermenter. Still tasted good, but not pretty. It took me way too long to realize efficiencies scale with OG.
Lme is definitely darker than dme especially if it’s old as the lme itself can oxidize.
What's both delightful and impressive about your beer is the clarity.
Thanks brother. I did use biofine at 3.5ml per gallon, so it got help
What was your biofine rate and what was your process? If it’s an older bottle, you have to shake the **** out of it before applying. It separates on its own over time.
Yeah biofine fine rates and how you add it will really determine your clarity
Your making me thirsty. How long of a rest at 160 do you do?
I hold it at 160-161 for 10 minutes.
Anyone here know where I can get Biofine here in Europe (Germany) or what a suitable alternative product would be, or am I stuck with gelatine?
I add it to the purged serving keg Prior to close transfer to it. I’ll hook up the co2 to the liquid post of my keg. I’ll have the measured amount of biofine in a syringe. Then I’ll remove the prv while the gas is running, place the syringe tip in the prv opening and add it to the keg. I’ll let the gas run a few more seconds. Then I close up the prv. Then I’ll close transfer the beer to the keg. This beer should have already been crashed and cold. The racking mixes it pretty well but since the keg was purged, you can lay it on its side and rock the keg around to mix it better
Thanks for explaining your process. I'll try once I start doing closed transfers. Still trying to figure out how to fit my fermonster in the fridge for the cold crash lol
Yes, if I lived alone I would do that in a heartbeat but my girlfriend is already complaining about me taking over the whole basement with my brewing equipment, so I'm stuck with a small fridge. She's also been greenwashed so dirt cheap old freezers won't pass her energy efficiency requirements
I took over the old breast milk chest freezer….almost got killed for that one lolYes, if I lived alone I would do that in a heartbeat but my girlfriend is already complaining about me taking over the whole basement with my brewing equipment, so I'm stuck with a small fridge. She's also been greenwashed so dirt cheap old freezers won't pass her energy efficiency requirements
I just need to get some quick fit NC connectors with a lower profile than the traditional ones and then the Fermonster should just about fit.
AIUI Biofine is just silicic acid - so kieselsol.
