I'm honestly very surprised how pleasant this beer came out, especially since I generally prefer american APA/IPA heavily hopped beers. Anyway, I wanted to make something the wife could enjoy (she drinks maybe 6 ozs twice a week) but also wanted to simplify a batch to bare bones to see if I could identify my off flavors from my process that I seemed to be getting with the extract/specialty steeped batches. This was really kind of an experiment but came out significantly better than I expected.
So anyway, here's what I made.
3 lb Great Western domestic 2 row
4 lb Briess light LME
1.5 oz sterling 6% AA (all at 60 minutes)
No specialty grains (actually there is some in the LME but I didn't add any)
70 minute mash 2.5 gallons at 152 degrees, dunk sparged in a seperate pot with 168 degree water for like 1 minute and drained. Total boil volume was about 4 gallon. Boiled 10 minutes (didn't skim) then added all of the hops. Boiled an additonal 50 minutes then added LME, boiled 10 more minutes. Added whirflock last 5 minutes. Cooled to 75 degrees after topping to 5.25 gallons pitched rehydrated Notty. Waited about 3 hours (went out to dinner) then filled water bath and temp stayed right around 62 degrees for entire 3 weeks in primary fermenter. Racked to Keg and conditioned at 40 degrees for around 2.5 weeks uncarbed for the first 2 weeks at 40 degrees. Finished force carbing yesterday.
The color is pretty light something like budweiser. Clarity could be better but I had just shaken the crap out of it for 15 minutes or so to get the CO2 in so can't really judge that yet. Taste reminds me a lot of becks or St Pauli Girl but with none of the German mass produced metalic hop off taste, and better body, creaminess probably because of the fact that it is kegged.
It seems counter-intuitive to make a beer with no late hop additions and no specialty grains but I have to admit that I think this is the best batch I have made. I am hoping it is the mainly the benefit of it being a partial mash and that my Pale Ales are going to be better now as all future batches are going to be PM. But I certainly plan to brew this again.
So anyway, here's what I made.
3 lb Great Western domestic 2 row
4 lb Briess light LME
1.5 oz sterling 6% AA (all at 60 minutes)
No specialty grains (actually there is some in the LME but I didn't add any)
70 minute mash 2.5 gallons at 152 degrees, dunk sparged in a seperate pot with 168 degree water for like 1 minute and drained. Total boil volume was about 4 gallon. Boiled 10 minutes (didn't skim) then added all of the hops. Boiled an additonal 50 minutes then added LME, boiled 10 more minutes. Added whirflock last 5 minutes. Cooled to 75 degrees after topping to 5.25 gallons pitched rehydrated Notty. Waited about 3 hours (went out to dinner) then filled water bath and temp stayed right around 62 degrees for entire 3 weeks in primary fermenter. Racked to Keg and conditioned at 40 degrees for around 2.5 weeks uncarbed for the first 2 weeks at 40 degrees. Finished force carbing yesterday.
The color is pretty light something like budweiser. Clarity could be better but I had just shaken the crap out of it for 15 minutes or so to get the CO2 in so can't really judge that yet. Taste reminds me a lot of becks or St Pauli Girl but with none of the German mass produced metalic hop off taste, and better body, creaminess probably because of the fact that it is kegged.
It seems counter-intuitive to make a beer with no late hop additions and no specialty grains but I have to admit that I think this is the best batch I have made. I am hoping it is the mainly the benefit of it being a partial mash and that my Pale Ales are going to be better now as all future batches are going to be PM. But I certainly plan to brew this again.
