Franken Brown?

[dficker]

I have done a few partial mashes, so now I decided to 'experiment' and make a small batch all grain attempt. I already planned on racking an Oktoberfest style ale (Maybe can call it an Alt) to secondary and wanted to re-pitch some of the slurry from that batch. I also had 1oz of Hallertauer in the freezer too. Wanted to shoot for an American Brown Ale, but using the German Ale yeast and Hallertauer kinda makes it a hybrid. It turned out a deep amber/red color. I was also impressed that I was able to draw 5 gallons of wort @ SG=1.053 with my stovetop/cooler mashing.

Batch Size:
3 Gallon

Grains:
4.0 lbs 2-Row (American)
2.5 lbs Briess Crystal 80L
(Mashed in a cooler for 90 mins 2Q/lb - 145 average; batch sparged @ 170 around 2Q/lb)

Hop:
1 oz Hallertauer (60 mins)

Yeast:
Wyeast German Ale (re pitched slurry from previous batch)
(Currently fermenting kinda high -- 74ish, I moved it to a cooler location, but it will probably finish above 70)

SG: 1.053

Plan to leave in carboy for 2 weeks and go straight to bottle.

So what did I make??

 

[Walker]

Well, it'll probably be pretty sweet and have a high final gravity because of the large dose of crystal, but you never know until you taste it!

post the results.

 

[dficker]

I think I made a good mixed style beer here....lets call it a German Red Ale...

the head is thick and tan to slightly red and does not fade at all. Nice dark red color in the beer. Not much hop flavor as I expected, but I has a nice full body. Its is malty to sweet, but has a little 'bite' at the end, I suppose from the high dose of Crystal?

 

[alcibiades]

yup, crystal amount is the cause of the sweetness, but it is also the lovibond type. 80L is pretty high up there.

 

[dficker]

Here's a snap. I think its pretty tasty. Its as dark as a stout.