Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer Summer/Winter Solstice Clone

[bratrules]

Am going to make this for sure am going to wait till the weather gets a little cooler. i post my results as soon as i do it!!!!!

 

[Magnanamous]

I just tried the Winter Solstice last night and thought it would be a nice seasonal beer to have around. My question is when the beer seemed to clearly be an ale why does the OP use a lager yeast? I'm happy to use it but my fermentation chamber (a.k.a guest room closet) stays at a steady 67F. Would this be too warm for the yeast? And if it isn't would it be warm to the point of imparting feelthy ester bubble gum banananasty to the beer?

 

[scottland]

Im almost positive it's brewed with California Lager yeast. It ferments well up to around 65. Is your wort temp 67 or your ambient temp? 67F is probably fine for wort temp, if that's your ambient temp, use something like California Ale yeast. It'll be close, but not dead on.

 

[g-star]

Just gonna chime in and say this recipe is a winner. Brewed the winter solstice back in mid October, and enjoying it now. I used S-05 and fermented in the low 60's, nice and clean with pronounced caramel notes. I used 0.75oz of pure vanilla extract at bottling.

Its very close to the real thing...certainly better than the kit offered by Austin Homebrew, which I tried last year and is not even in the ballpark.

Cheers!

 

[tmontana48154]

Brewed this for swmbo who love summer solstice. Lasted for only 3 weeks because she loved it so much:rockin:, said it was better than summer solstice.
Used. .5 oz of Madagascar vanilla extract.

 

[aknox]

I'm going to attempt the partial mash recipe next Friday. I will let you know how this goes. The one corner of my basement is currently 61*.

 

[scottland]

That'll be the perfect temp. Good luck, and let us know how it turns out. The only trick to this beer is to be very careful with the vanilla; it becomes overpowering in a heartbeat.

 

[aknox]

I will probably soak two split vanilla beans in 4 oz of vodka. I had success with this method on the Southern Tier Pumpking clone.

 

[aknox]

Getting ready to BIAB the Summer Solstice Saturday. I will try to keep you all posted.

 

[AlkiBrewing]

I'm all set to brew an AG batch of this (winter solstice) and have a question. The recipe I have calls for two weeks primary @ 62 degrees and two weeks secondary no temp listed. My basement is not heated and stays @ 58-59 degrees. Would letting it ferment at that temp be an issue? I'm thinking it would be okay just might take a little longer but being a rookie thought it best to ask those with more experience Any advise/info would be appreciated.

Cheers!

 

[Wolfhound180]

Has anyone brewed this with vanilla beans and not extract? I have a few nice ones and was going to soak them in vodka. How does the vanilla come through?

 

[Locus415]

The recipe I have calls for two weeks primary @ 62 degrees and two weeks secondary no temp listed. My basement is not heated and stays @ 58-59 degrees. Would letting it ferment at that temp be an issue?

I would pitch closer to 70-72 and let it get started for a day or two and then drop it into your basement. If you keep it off bare concrete and just let it rise as it ferments, you should end up around 62 degrees for the first week and then it should drop a bit during the second week and floc out nicely.

 

[AlkiBrewing]

Locus415, thanks for the info. That sounds like a good plan giving the yeast a day or two to get started then moving to the basement.

 

[homebrew44]

I know this calls for 150 mash temp, is that the same temp to use for sparge?

Thanks

 

[bratrules]

I know this calls for 150 mash temp, is that the same temp to use for sparge?

Thanks

When you sparge you want to get your grain bed to 168 to 170. So you have add your sparge water at a higher temp to get to those temps.

 

[homebrew44]

Does 150 sound low for the mash temp for this recipe.

 

[bratrules]

No a 150 mash sounds fine. If you want a sweeter brew you can go to 154. But I would stick to 150.

 

[BasementBrewmistress]

Any chance I can cheat by splitting the difference and use Crystal 60? I'm on the hook to brew a few batches and this is the only recipe I have that needs 40 or 80.

If not, no biggie. It's more laziness than anything else.

**Edit** We decided to brew the oatmeal stout also, so it'll be worth it to brew the recipe as is.

 

[homebrewbeliever]

So I'm brewing this recipe this Saturday, and when I went to my brew shop, they were all out of the California Lager yeast! They didn't even have the white labs equivalent. SO, since this beer IS a cream ale, I just got white labs WLP080 - Cream Ale Blend. Do you think this will substantially change the flavor of the beer? I think it might work well, actually, but I am still a novice at this whole thing.

 

[scottland]

I'd use both crystal 40 and 80, each adds a different flavor.

As for the yeast, it'll be close, but not quite exact. Ferment it in the low 60s, and you'll be fine

 

[g-star]

So I'm brewing this recipe this Saturday, and when I went to my brew shop, they were all out of the California Lager yeast! They didn't even have the white labs equivalent. SO, since this beer IS a cream ale, I just got white labs WLP080 - Cream Ale Blend. Do you think this will substantially change the flavor of the beer? I think it might work well, actually, but I am still a novice at this whole thing.

I recently listened to the CYBI show for the Anderson Valley Boont Amber, and the brewer from AV spoke extensively about the house yeast, which is derived from an English strain. It got me thinking about this clone, and if that distinctive taste (some describe as blueberry pancake) in this beer and the amber is coming from the yeast and associated esters.

I've brewed the Winter Solstice twice based on this recipe using S-05 fermented cool and WLP810 at 60F. I thought it came out very well and was close, but fell short of cloned, mostly due to it lacking that signature flavor. As the yeast is a mutated house strain, it may be impossible to recreate using commercial offerings from WL or Wyeast.

 

[scottland]

I wonder if AVBC bottle conditions any of their beers?

 

[bnmir]

Yes, I realize this an older thread, but I recently had one of these and it got me thinking I need to try and brew one.
I really think there are other spices than just vanilla in this beer, anyone care to hazard a guess what they might be?

 

[Locus415]

Having brewed this and being a big fan of the original by AVBC, I can confirm that the only "spice" addition is vanilla in the Summer version. The hard part to nail is the "crema" part of the "cervesa." A bit higher mash temp or some maltodextrine can help... and good yeast health during fermentation.

 

[brewski1]

I plan on brewing this next weekend and was wondering if anybody added vanilla beans to the secondary as opposed to the extract at bottling time? And if so, how many beans did you add to a 5 gallon batch?

 

[bnmir]

I used 2 beans in 5g of my pumkin beer and the vanilla is very noticeable, so I think you might want less than that.

 

[reverendnathan]

I used 2 beans in 5g of my pumkin beer and the vanilla is very noticeable, so I think you might want less than that.

Someone earlier in the thread mentioned that, too. Splitting vanilla beans in half is popular, maybe cut one bean and half and start from there.

 

[reverendnathan]

On Can You Brew It? for the Boont Amber clone they went with WLP002 / WY1968 Fuller's ESB Ale yeast. Boont's recipe is simple but they all concluded the flavor was complex and the yeast was a good choice. Do you reckon AVBC uses an English Ale yeast for solstice, too? Anyone think they have the know-how to weight in?

 

[scottland]

Sorry, just responding to this. Ya, I could definitely see this beer fermented with WLP002. The two big flavor components are tons of crystal malt, and the vanilla addition (which you really have to go easy with). The rest is fairly secondary.

 

[oregonianredbird]

An earlier poster mentioned possibly using WLP029 kolsch yeast, and I'm considering the same thing. Has anyone tried that with this recipe? I have some extra 029 in the fridge, so I'll report back if I make the brew in the next month or so.