I have brewed this beer a number of times. Done the original version and a few tweaks of my own. I really like the version that I have on tap now. Similar to the original but I discarded the black patent and added some cherry smoked malt, and used malted rye instead of the flaked rye. Seems to add a bit of a different spicy flavor than the flaked rye. Also fermented with wlp007 at the higher end of its range. Used home grown cascade for hops to. I know its not the same beer, But i really like it.
Historical Beer: Kentucky Common "Kiss Yer Cousin" Rye Kentucky Common Ale
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madscientist451
Well-Known Member
How much homegrown cascade?
OK, to correct myself, I overshot the expected OG and did hit 1.05 instead.... not too bad.
Interesting fact, the reading this morning did show that I had 1.046, but there was a lot of trub floating in the liquid. I was wodnering if the trub is affecting the reading in some way, so I just let it stand there till I got back from work 8h later, in the meantime the trub settled completely, so the liquid was clear. Now I am reading 1.05. Both readings have been taken at the same temperature. Only difference was the trub.
Interesting. Did not expct the trub to change the result into this direction.
Happy days! My effciency is not as bad as I thought it was
But unfortunately, no activity yet.
Interesting fact, the reading this morning did show that I had 1.046, but there was a lot of trub floating in the liquid. I was wodnering if the trub is affecting the reading in some way, so I just let it stand there till I got back from work 8h later, in the meantime the trub settled completely, so the liquid was clear. Now I am reading 1.05. Both readings have been taken at the same temperature. Only difference was the trub.
Interesting. Did not expct the trub to change the result into this direction.
Happy days! My effciency is not as bad as I thought it was
But unfortunately, no activity yet.
I used 5 oz total for a 11 gallon batch. 1@60,1@30,1@15,1@5 and 1@ flameout.
EcuPirate07
Beer is a food group
Did anyone ever get a good water profile on this one? I brewed this years ago and I’m gonna brew it again this weekend but now I actually care about water profiles.
![Craft A Brew - Safale S-04 Dry Yeast - Fermentis - English Ale Dry Yeast - For English and American Ales and Hard Apple Ciders - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [1 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fVGNh6JfL._SL500_.jpg)
Funny.... the more experience I've gained, the more I do NOT care about water profiles.
Regarding the overall topic, being that this is my first post on this topic... I have brewed Mike Dixon's old sour mashed version of a KC. To me, it was not sour at all, despite the mash smelling funky after 3 days. The finished beer tasted much like an English bitter. If I brew it again, which eventually I probably will, I will brew it the same way, but hold on to the sour mash for at least 4 or 5 days to see what happens. I don't think the sour mash really helped it or hurt it much, so I want to take it longer to see what happens.
I might be doing the same with a one gallon batch, just to see how it tastes. I maybe infect the mash with the juice from my wildly fermented home made sauerkraut. Going to be fun!
Bottled it today, first sample tasted really really promising!
OG was around 1.05, FG is around 1.07. Cannot tell the FG precisly as my new hydrometer is meassuring a bit off.....
Now the hardest part..... bottle conditioning..... I can't wait!!!!!
.... placed the last beer I bottled (heavy trub and lots of yeast inside) on the heater, should be fine to drink in 5 days
OG was around 1.05, FG is around 1.07. Cannot tell the FG precisly as my new hydrometer is meassuring a bit off.....
Now the hardest part..... bottle conditioning..... I can't wait!!!!!
.... placed the last beer I bottled (heavy trub and lots of yeast inside) on the heater, should be fine to drink in 5 days
I started on them a week in with UK-style carbonation, all the way through to highly carbed, and it was delicious every time. The lower carb levels allows the grains to be fully exhibited, a sip to develop. The higher carb levels are also great: light, refreshing, perfectly balanced. The head is so silky smooth that even a little bit goes a long way.
Ok, I tasted the final beer and l like it very much. I might go a bit lower on the hops next time. I used 4 year old hops, sealed and flushed and properly stored, so I added a bit more as I thought the alphas went down over time, but it looks like they didn't. Tastes now like about 25-30ibus, which is fine but I think I would enjoy it more around 15-20 ibus.
But that's my fault. Overall I am impressed how much taste this beer has, given the fact that there is no late hop addition and a very clean yeast used.
It almost tastes a bit British to me, that might be the combination of corn, rye and daaaaark Crystal, mimicking British style esthers.
I might have to do a taste test with a simple pale ale smash type beer with rye additions and another with corn, to really figure out what flavour they each add individually.
Anyhow, great and unusual beer, thanks for sharing!
But that's my fault. Overall I am impressed how much taste this beer has, given the fact that there is no late hop addition and a very clean yeast used.
It almost tastes a bit British to me, that might be the combination of corn, rye and daaaaark Crystal, mimicking British style esthers.
I might have to do a taste test with a simple pale ale smash type beer with rye additions and another with corn, to really figure out what flavour they each add individually.
Anyhow, great and unusual beer, thanks for sharing!
Funny you should mention the aged hop IBU thing... we were just talking about this on AHA forum this morning...
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=31457.msg408543#msg408543
Actually, my hops were even five years old.
I did not recognize a lot of this "freshly opened hop bag" smell when opening the pack so some aroma might got lost, but the pure ibus were definitely not down much.
Reading what the other guys wrote in your link, I would say I agree.there is not much ibu loss over time, at least not when sealed and frozen.
.... Actually I do not even know if my hops were frozen all the time, as they were handled by the shop and not by me, the majority of the time.
I don't believe rye was a typical ingredient, based on things I have read. But, none of us were alive 100 years ago to know for sure either.
I agree. Next time l might skip the rye, just to see how it tastes without it. Flaked barley instead to give the nice head
When I drink the rye version though, I have the instant urge to bring some oak flavour in. I never had a beer that I imagined to work that well with oak barrel flavour.
I will open a bottle, add some toasted oak chips and taste it after a few days to see where we would be going with that...
When I drink the rye version though, I have the instant urge to bring some oak flavour in. I never had a beer that I imagined to work that well with oak barrel flavour.
I will open a bottle, add some toasted oak chips and taste it after a few days to see where we would be going with that...
I'd like to try this as a steam beer.
Is 68 F too warm?
My cooling fermentation chamber is currently lagering near freezing so I am bound by the nearly constant 68 F of my basement.
Which would be the best lager yeast to use? The ones I have easy access to are: Wyeast 2112, Saflager S-23, Saflager W-34/70
If it's too warm for a steam beer, I'll use US-05.
tx.
Is 68 F too warm?
My cooling fermentation chamber is currently lagering near freezing so I am bound by the nearly constant 68 F of my basement.
Which would be the best lager yeast to use? The ones I have easy access to are: Wyeast 2112, Saflager S-23, Saflager W-34/70
If it's too warm for a steam beer, I'll use US-05.
tx.
Also keep in mind this thread/recipe predates the BJCP guidelines. T
This thread might even be kind of the foundation for those guidelines, that's why i am wondering why rye is not mentioned there....
I found that one corner of my basement was still 61F so I went ahead and used 2112 for a batch over the weekend. Fermentation was well underway in 12 hours.
Curious how it is going to turn out because at the 24 hour mark had crazy bubbler activity and the outside temp of the bucket was 67 F. Next day it was down to 64 F and today it is 63 F.
Curious how it is going to turn out because at the 24 hour mark had crazy bubbler activity and the outside temp of the bucket was 67 F. Next day it was down to 64 F and today it is 63 F.
Aubie Stout
Well-Known Member
I traded PM's and even bottle swapped with O'Daniel on his Common recipe, hate that the original thread is gone. I was fond of the 24hr mash for mine. It added a HINT of sour. It was a flavor contribution that everyone could perceive, but couldn't quite tell you what it was. I'll have to go through my notes and see what I have for this brew.
Completely overshot my numbers when brewing this. Estimated 75% and ended up at 85%. The result was 6.7% ABV.
Was a little harsh just after kegging but now that it has aged for a few weeks it is really smooth. Dangerously so.
I kept hitting the tap as I brewed a Zombie Dust clone today which is probably why I forgot to add the yeast nutrient.
Was a little harsh just after kegging but now that it has aged for a few weeks it is really smooth. Dangerously so.
I kept hitting the tap as I brewed a Zombie Dust clone today which is probably why I forgot to add the yeast nutrient.
I've been watching this thread for a couple of years. Think my next brew will be a Kentucky Common (no rye tho', I'll use corn grits for all the adjunct) I did a small cereal mash 2 weeks ago using wheat flour and it was much easier than I expected, so I'm not so intimidated by having to cook several pounds of grits.
Have y'all decided what yeast works the best? English or German ale yeast? I also have a couple of pack of dry lager yeast, and a corner of my basement is in the 50's right now.
Have y'all decided what yeast works the best? English or German ale yeast? I also have a couple of pack of dry lager yeast, and a corner of my basement is in the 50's right now.
Any reason you want to exclude the rye? Without the rye, it won't be the same beer at all.
I know it won't be the same beer. I just wondered if there was a consensus on what yeast to use for Ky Common beers in general. I'm leaning towards either a Kolsch yeast, Nottingham, or S-04.
I've used the S-05 and PacMan. They worked well. I'd think an English yeast would be good.
Has to be a fast fermenting ale yeast. I use Notty and suggest it's most authentic. This is no German style. Maybe S-04, but I haven't seen this beer described as being too distinctive when it comes to yeast, and Notty I think is cleaner than S-04.
I found a small bag of rye flour in the pantry, and it doesn't smell rancid or stale (it doesn't smell like anything.) So I think I'm going to brew the recipe at the top of the thread afterall. Here's my recipe, adjusted for 4 gallons instead of 5 and doing a cereal mash instead of using flaked grains.
HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: Kiss Revvy's Cousin
Style Name: Kentucky Common (with Rye)
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 4 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 5 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.036
Efficiency: 75% (brew house)
Original Gravity: 1.045
Final Gravity: 1.009
ABV (standard): 4.64%
IBU (tinseth): 24.31
SRM (morey): 12.68
Mash pH: 5.58
3.75 lb - American - Pale 2-Row (57.7%)
28 oz - Grits (26.9%)
12 oz - Rye Flour (11.5%)
2 oz - United Kingdom - Black Patent (1.9%)
2 oz - Belgian - Special B (1.9%)
HOPS:
0.75 oz - Cluster, Type: Pellet, AA: 6, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 24.31
MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 150 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 4 gal
2) Sparge, Temp: 120 F, Time: 10 min, Amount: 8 qt
OTHER INGREDIENTS:
350 ml - lactic acid, 1.5%, Time: 60 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
YEAST:
Danstar - Nottingham Ale Yeast
Starter: No
Fermentation Temp: 65 F
NOTES:
Recipe source: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/kiss-yer-cousin-rye-kentucky-common-ale.290419/
I scaled it down to 4 gallons and substituted corn grits and rye flour for the flaked grains. The grits and flour will have to be cooked before mashing.
I will be using sour mash (Sauergut) to acidify the mash; that's the 1.5% lactic acid. I haven't actually titrated it, but if it's anywhere between 1% and 2% acid it should be okay.
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It's boiling now. I used masa harina tamale flour for the grits (or flaked corn) and rye flour for the flaked rye, and did a cereal mash. If I brew this beer again, I will do a full volume mash instead of a dunk sparge -- or add my sparge water a half-hour into the mash. The BIAB bag drained amazingly slow with all that flour, then I had to drain it again after the sparge.
The wort looks good and smells good. My Cluster hops are higher AA than I thought so I'll need to adjust that a little, but it's been a good brew day! (the day is not over yet)
The wort looks good and smells good. My Cluster hops are higher AA than I thought so I'll need to adjust that a little, but it's been a good brew day! (the day is not over yet)
I've made this beer a few times. It's always turned out really well. It's nice to have a nice low ABV beer in the rotation.
