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I've been 'lowering the level' of a keg of Double IPA recently that, although a good beer, missed a few marks, and I've been thinking about ways to correct the short comings. I don't want to rebrew it just yet, What I want to do is see if I can improve on this beer, already in the keg.
Basically what I designed the recipe to be was a 8.5ish % DIPA with around 95 IBUs. Due to physical limitations with my brewing equipment, I limited my grain bill to 14 lbs and augmented with 3 lbs of amber DME added 5 minutes before end of boil. I pitched 1.5 liters of active WLP-090 Super San Diego ale yeast. OG was 1.069/16.8P, FG quit at 1.011/2.8P, which was well short of my hoped for 1.005/1.3P. I'll admit that 1.005 was a pretty ambitious target, but 1.011 was a disappointment. The late addition DME left a lot of residual sweetness that didn't get dried out, and despite the Lovibond rating on the package still left the wort quite a bit darker than planned. I will say that the target 95 IBUs (at least in the lingering aftertaste) go a ways toward balancing the malt, but the end result was a 1990s version hoppy Amber Ale with quite a bit of caramel overtone. I'm OK with the color, and even the caramel is a bit of a pleasant throwback to an earlier style. But the initial lack of malty sweetness/hoppy bitterness. makes me ready to move on to the next beer instead of another of the same beer. Plus, I've still got over half a keg left.
So here's what I'm thinking, and would like some input. A few years ago I made a Dry Lager using amyloglucosidase which brought the final gravity down to 0.998 SG. It was a pretty good beer that clocked in at 3.9% ABV and only 95 kcal, less than 3 carbs. The downside was thin mouthfeel. I had used amylo both in the mash and also in the fermentation after 'primary' (95%) fermentation. That's what dropped it from around 1.007ish where it looks like fermentation would have stopped, to 0.998 FG. Now this DIPA is sitting at 1.011, has conditioned and cleared, and was racked off the settled yeast and trub about a month ago. What I'm considering doing is allowing the temperature to rise to ambient room temperature and dosing it with amylo. I doubt that there's much if any active or dormant yeast in the existing beer, so a repitch will have to be done. I'd like for the SG to drop to at least 1.007, and preferably 1.003 or less. I'm thinking a closed transfer into a 3 gallon keg, dosing with 0.5 tsp amyloglucosidase, letting it work its magic for several days at room temperature, then pitching some active krausening yeast into the mix. Attach a spunding valve set at 1 BAR and see what happens next.
Does it sound like this science experiment might work? I've only had one experience with amyloglucosidase, and I've never added yeast to a settled, matured beer in an attempt to restart a fermentation. What factors have I overlooked, or can be done to achieve success? If the beer gets ruined, it won't be the end of the world, but I would like it to work.
Opinions and suggestions solicited.
Basically what I designed the recipe to be was a 8.5ish % DIPA with around 95 IBUs. Due to physical limitations with my brewing equipment, I limited my grain bill to 14 lbs and augmented with 3 lbs of amber DME added 5 minutes before end of boil. I pitched 1.5 liters of active WLP-090 Super San Diego ale yeast. OG was 1.069/16.8P, FG quit at 1.011/2.8P, which was well short of my hoped for 1.005/1.3P. I'll admit that 1.005 was a pretty ambitious target, but 1.011 was a disappointment. The late addition DME left a lot of residual sweetness that didn't get dried out, and despite the Lovibond rating on the package still left the wort quite a bit darker than planned. I will say that the target 95 IBUs (at least in the lingering aftertaste) go a ways toward balancing the malt, but the end result was a 1990s version hoppy Amber Ale with quite a bit of caramel overtone. I'm OK with the color, and even the caramel is a bit of a pleasant throwback to an earlier style. But the initial lack of malty sweetness/hoppy bitterness. makes me ready to move on to the next beer instead of another of the same beer. Plus, I've still got over half a keg left.
So here's what I'm thinking, and would like some input. A few years ago I made a Dry Lager using amyloglucosidase which brought the final gravity down to 0.998 SG. It was a pretty good beer that clocked in at 3.9% ABV and only 95 kcal, less than 3 carbs. The downside was thin mouthfeel. I had used amylo both in the mash and also in the fermentation after 'primary' (95%) fermentation. That's what dropped it from around 1.007ish where it looks like fermentation would have stopped, to 0.998 FG. Now this DIPA is sitting at 1.011, has conditioned and cleared, and was racked off the settled yeast and trub about a month ago. What I'm considering doing is allowing the temperature to rise to ambient room temperature and dosing it with amylo. I doubt that there's much if any active or dormant yeast in the existing beer, so a repitch will have to be done. I'd like for the SG to drop to at least 1.007, and preferably 1.003 or less. I'm thinking a closed transfer into a 3 gallon keg, dosing with 0.5 tsp amyloglucosidase, letting it work its magic for several days at room temperature, then pitching some active krausening yeast into the mix. Attach a spunding valve set at 1 BAR and see what happens next.
Does it sound like this science experiment might work? I've only had one experience with amyloglucosidase, and I've never added yeast to a settled, matured beer in an attempt to restart a fermentation. What factors have I overlooked, or can be done to achieve success? If the beer gets ruined, it won't be the end of the world, but I would like it to work.
Opinions and suggestions solicited.
