Brown Ale with Bell's Yeast

[Brew_G]

This coming weekend, I'm going to brew up (BIAB) a hoppy brown ale that I've tweaked over the last few weeks, with input from others on here. I'm bottled my chocolate oatmeal stout today and want to get another going ASAP in time to serve to mostly non-discerning beer drinkers at my daughter's birthday party in January.

As the subject says, I'm planning on using some Bell's yeast that I'm in the process of stepping up from a six pack of Two Hearted Ale. Unfortunately the local stores didn't have any Amber, Pale, or Brown Ales, so I went with what was available. It's my first shot at harvesting, and it seems to be going OK so far. It's been over 24 hours, and I see decidedly more particles in suspension today than when I pitched (it's about 50/50 ~1.030 wort and beer/dregs for a total of about 500 ml). Either way, if it turns out that I don't have enough yeast to pitch, I'll pick up some Wyeast 1272 that morning and use it. More than anything, the harvesting was just an experiment that seemed like a fun challenge to take on. And I got to drink some Two Hearted.

The other thing I'm doing for the first time is first wort hopping. I wanted to give it a try and see if I could get that smooth hop bitterness from it, and keep the bittering hops to a minimum. The combination of Willamette and Centennial isn't classic for a brown ale, but I was inspired by Brooklyn Brown and its use of Willamette and Cascade. Not sure how that'll play with the maltiness of the grain bill, but I suppose we'll see.

I'm open to feedback!

Batch size: 5.5 gallons
OG: 1.057
FG: 1.015
ABV: 5.50%
IBU: 38.92
SRM: 22.63

9.00 lb Maris Otter (80.0%)
1.00 lb Crystal 60L (8.9%)
0.75 lb Victory (6.7%)
0.50 lb Chocolate Malt (4.4%)

0.50 oz Willamette (FWH) (5.99)
0.50 oz Centennial (FWH) (11.29)
0.50 oz Centennial (20 min) (11.29)
0.50 oz Willamette (10 min) (3.58)
0.50 oz Centennial (10 min) (6.76)
0.50 oz Willamette (flameout)

Yeast: Harvested Bell's or Wyeast 1272 - American Ale II

 

[Gavin C]

I've never had any Bells. Made Northern brewers dead ringer a while back. Way off on my numbers and wasn't overly happy with the result. Steering clear of IPA's for a while. Enjoying other less hoppy types more.

Next up is an ESB with Marris Otter as a base. Can't wait

Your Brown recipe looks very good

 

[Brew_G]

I've never had any Bells. Made Northern brewers dead ringer a while back. Way off on my numbers and wasn't overly happy with the result. Steering clear of IPA's for a while. Enjoying other less hoppy types more.

Next up is an ESB with Marris Otter as a base. Can't wait

Your Brown recipe looks very good

Thanks. I've been doing a lot of chopping and changing in the last week or so, and I think I've gotten it to a point where I'm happy with it. The big question is the hops, but I think it'll be a pretty good combination. I want some good hoppiness, but I'm hoping for a nice smoothness to it.

I really like Bell's beers. I'm not a big IPA guy, but Two Hearted is fantastic, and their brown and amber are quality. I'd love to be able to use their yeast, even if only to say that I've been successful in harvesting yeast from a bottle!

 

[JonM]

That looks like a nice recipe!

And I've had great success using Bell's yeast, especially in stouts. Man, is it good in stouts. It's great stuff. I've even harvested their Winter White Belgian style yeast and used that in the SWMBO Slayer recipe.

 

[Gavin C]

Thanks. I've been doing a lot of chopping and changing in the last week or so, and I think I've gotten it to a point where I'm happy with it. The big question is the hops, but I think it'll be a pretty good combination. I want some good hoppiness, but I'm hoping for a nice smoothness to it.

I really like Bell's beers. I'm not a big IPA guy, but Two Hearted is fantastic, and their brown and amber are quality. I'd love to be able to use their yeast, even if only to say that I've been successful in harvesting yeast from a bottle!

I have not harvested from bottle dregs yet. Routinely harvest from my primary. Look into getting some Bells and give it a go. Love that side of things.

 

[Brew_G]

That looks like a nice recipe!

And I've had great success using Bell's yeast, especially in stouts. Man, is it good in stouts. It's great stuff. I've even harvested their Winter White Belgian style yeast and used that in the SWMBO Slayer recipe.

Thanks! I've been mulling over it for a while, and I'm pretty happy with how it looks. I'm wary of having the Centennial overpower the Willamette, though.

I really hope I can get the harvest to come good. It'll be a feeling of accomplishment to use a yeast I worked hard to harvest up. Plus, being a fan of Bell's beers, it would cool to see how that yeast works in this recipe.

I might have to come up with my own SWMBO Slayer, just to keep the little lady happy!

 

[Brew_G]

I have not harvested from bottle dregs yet. Routinely harvest from my primary. Look into getting some Bells and give it a go. Love that side of things.

Me too. It takes me back to when I did chemistry experiments (both supervised and...errr...unsupervised) when I was a kid, but getting beer at the end of it!

 

[JonM]

In this experiment, step one is "Open and drink two or three Bell's beers."

 

[Brew_G]

In this experiment, step one is "Open and drink two or three Bell's beers."

Absolutely!

Just got the green light to brew this Sunday, so it's off to the LHBS this afternoon.

Also, I stepped up my yeast to a stir plate last night. It had been three days in the jar, and as it settled you could definitely see layers of yeast on the bottom, but there were still plenty in suspension even after six hours of chilling in the fridge. I just took that 500 ml and added it to 600 ml of 1.040 wort in a 2L flask and popped it on my stir plate.

I'm hoping to get decent growth for the next 24 hours, put it in the fridge before work tomorrow, decant some wort when I get home, then step up to about 1.5L tomorrow evening to prep for a Sunday brew. Here's hoping it works...

 

[Gavin C]

Absolutely!

Just got the green light to brew this Sunday, so it's off to the LHBS this afternoon.

Also, I stepped up my yeast to a stir plate last night. It had been three days in the jar, and as it settled you could definitely see layers of yeast on the bottom, but there were still plenty in suspension even after six hours of chilling in the fridge. I just took that 500 ml and added it to 600 ml of 1.040 wort in a 2L flask and popped it on my stir plate.

I'm hoping to get decent growth for the next 24 hours, put it in the fridge before work tomorrow, decant some wort when I get home, then step up to about 1.5L tomorrow evening to prep for a Sunday brew. Here's hoping it works...

Decant off the spent wort and save some to your hydrometer jar. Take a reading and you will know if your yeast has done what you want. If not have some comparable dry yeast on hand. Hope brew day goes/went well

Here is an image of confirmation a yeast starter is ready to go

 

[Brew_G]

I completely missed your reply, Gavin.

I brewed yesterday and did OK, I suppose. My main problem was that I started with too much water for my mash and didn't get enough boil off, so I came in at around 1.054-1.055. Everything went smoothly otherwise, and I probably would have hit my numbers had I had the right amount of water to start. As it is, I'll just end up with a bit more beer with slightly less alcohol in it (about 5.25% or so if yeast attenuates as expected). I'm OK with that!

I adjusted the hop bill/schedule just a bit from the above. I didn't buy the hops until this week, and the AAs were a little less than I thought, so I upped the "bittering" additions just a bit, and also added a little more at flameout for effect.

0.50 oz Willamette (FWH)
0.50 oz Centennial (FWH)
0.50 oz Centennial (20 min)
0.75 oz Willamette (10 min)
0.50 oz Centennial (10 min)
0.75 oz Willamette (0 min)
0.25 oz Centennial (0 min)

It smells great, and a test of the OG sample gave me a good feeling about this one!

The harvested yeast came along really nicely...though I did buy some 05 to have on hand, just in case. When I decanted Saturday morning in preparation for the third step, I had a nice, thick layer of yeast at the bottom of the flask. I added another 1.2L or so of 1.040 wort on that and popped it back on the stir plate. Within a couple hours there was a beautiful, thick foam on top and it was plenty cloudy. Later on, I wanted to warm it up just a little, so I blew a space heater on it...but I stupidly left it on while I ran out on some errands! My wife called and told me, so she turned off the heater, but not until it probably warmed up the starter so much that it killed off quite a few of the yeast. Here's a pic from before decanting:

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1418056203.247632.jpg

Nonetheless, the final spent wort was 1.008 after spending Saturday night in the fridge. I wanted to keep some for my next brewday, so, before brewing, I put a small amount in a sterilized jelly jar and popped that in the fridge. I pitched the remainder at 67F and put the carboy in my 61F basement with an insulated jacket around it. As of this morning (about 12 hours later), there were visible signs of fermentation, my blowoff was bubbling regularly, and the temp was 65F. If I get home and see vigorous fermentation (fingers crossed), I'll consider that part of my brewday a resounding success!

 

[Brew_G]

And as of 5:30 pm, I have active fermentation and about 1/2" of kräusen! Nice...

 

[Brew_G]

Holy crap...this stuff smells great! I think the Bell's yeast is helping with a bit of fruitiness. Now for it to keep smelling like that, and taste half as good as it smells!

 

[Brew_G]

It think I'm tasting avoid amount of diacetyl in this. I got it in my FG sample and it's still there over two weeks after bottling. It's not horrendous, but I'm picking it up pretty strong. My wife tasted it, too, and suggested I call it a Butterscotch Brown!

Main fermentation was at 67-68F, and then dropped to 63F when things slowed. At around day 6 or so it got down to 61F, so I moved it out if the basement to try to bring the temps up. I was able to get it to 63F here and there, but it sat at 59-69F for about a week before bottling (it was in primary for about three weeks). I'm guessing that caused the diacetyl problem. I've since gotten a tub and aquarium heater so hopefully that'll eliminate that issue going forward.

I'm pretty bummed about this. I was really looking forward to serving this at my daughter's party this coming weekend, but I'm questioning whether I really want to...

 

[Brew_G]

Well, this went over really well at the party today! There's definitely some diacetyl, but it seems to have mellowed over the last 7-10 days. Nearly the full two cases was crushed today, despite there being plenty of other beers available (including Two Hearted). I guess I'll consider it a win, despite the butteriness!