May 29, 2011

Meg Wit

Meg Wit
1.058 -- 1.014 -- 5.76% ABV


Fermentables:
8.5 lbs flaked wheat (pregelatinized)
8 lbs Pilsener
2.5 lbs six row
1 lb flaked oats
1.25 lbs acidulated malt

Hops:
2.5 oz Hallertaur (4.8%) 60 min

Spices:
1 oz Bitter Orange Peel (5 min)
2 oz crushed Indian Coriander seeds (5 min)
1 oz Bitter Orange Peel (Flameout)
2 Chamomile Tea Bags (Flameout)

The Mash:

4 Gallons Strike water (Protein Rest Infusion) -- 122 degrees -- 30 min
2.88 Gallon infusion (sacc rest) -- 154 degrees -- 60 min
2.64 gallon infusion (mash out) -- 168 degrees -- 10 min

Total Mash Water -- 9.52 gallons
2.65 gallons absorbed
5.63 gallons of sparge water to make a total of 12.5 preboil
(slightly less than normal due to slower boil for witbier)



Brewday Notes:


6.6.11


Things went very well until I forgot to sanitize the pump. This probably happened since I forgot to use my hop screen earlier. having to go old school with the immersion chiller
first round of oranges and all the coriander boiled for five minutes and then removed and put aside.
Pump boiled for ten extra minutes.
Second round of oranges and the tea added along with the previously steeped at flame out.
1.054 at 90 degrees



The Yeast



Each will get about a half gallon starter of Wyeast 1214 collected from Belgian Summer Ale.




Notes:



6.7.11 -- Pitched yeast
6.13.11 -- Gravity reads 1.018 (sleeping bag cool box) I stopped switching the ice out last night to allow the fermentation to warm a little.

6.24.11 -- Gravity 1.014 -- 76% attenuated. I expected a little more by now. I am going to let it go more since it has not been two weeks yet. Sample tastes nice.

6.30.11 -- Gravity stable at 1.014 (laundry room fermenter; I have not checked the hall one. It will be interesting to see if there are any differences). Will keg soon. Edit: hall version exactly the same.
7.14.11 -- TASTING MEG WIT:

Appearance: Very appropriate for a Wit -- a hazy straw yellow that shows off the whiteness of its namesake. Head starts fluffy and then settles down to a lace.
Smell: First scents are of yeasty esters and phenols, but grain and orange/coriander are also perceptible.
Taste: A nice blend of yeast, sourness, and spice. This is not as clean tasting as other wits, nor is it as spicy. I was going for a more historic example, and I think this fits. The yeast flavor goes well with the spices and makes for a peppery sensation while the chamomile works well with the unmalted grains to lay down a nice bass note. A slight hop bitterness in the beginning, but then it yields to the orange, coriander, and chamomile. Others in A.L.E.Z. detected a rubbery flavor, but I honestly cannot find it. I have entered this beer in a competition in Jacksonville, FL, and I am interested to see if the judges have the same thing to say.
Mouthfeel: The unmalted grain lends to the mouthfeel well here. The beer is not heavy, but there is a velvety quality to it. Carbonation adds well to this, and also helps showcase the spicy flavors.
Overall: I think I have done well here. As I alluded to earlier, I am a fan of the rustic nature of this beer, and the concerns about the amount of acidulated malt I used have been all but assuaged. Like I also said earlier, if I were to make another witbier, I would not make changes. I am happy with this one, and I am anxious to see if the certified judges have similar sentiments.

May 6, 2011

Patersweizen / Belgian Summer Ale

Paterweizen -- 1.044 - 1.013 -- 4.1% ABV
Summer Abbey Ale -- 1.047 - 1.006 -- 5.4% ABV
66% efficiency

This was originally going to be another batch of El Jefe, but Blockader was out of Pilsener malt. I substituted something new, Abbey malt in its place:



The Malts:


10 lbs Wheat malt


5 lbs Vienna malt


4 lbs Pilsener Malt


Belgian Summer Ale: add 1lb sugar


The Hops:


2 oz Hallertauer (3.9%AA -- 60 minutes)


Abbey Ale: add 1oz Styrian Goldings (5.4%) -- 15 minutes


The Yeast:


Paterweizen -- Weinhenstephaner Hefeweizen


Belgian Summer Ale -- Wyeast 1214


Reflections on Brewday: My efficiency sucks 66%. I don't know if it is the fact that I am using wheat (I remembered the rice hulls this time even), or something else I am doing. Everything else went great. The scrubby was really slowing me down; I think I saved at least 90 minutes taking it off.


Paterweizen Notes:

5.29.11 -- Gravity at 1.013 -- kegged


Belgian Summer Ale Notes:



5.29.11 -- Gravity at 1.011 -- Racked into secondary with culture of Brett B and 1 oz medium toast French oak chips

7.7.11 -- Gravity down to 1.009. Seems to have a little way to go, though the Brett flavor as well as the wood is starting to show through.

9.26.11 - 1.005 wood and Brett are tasting good. Will check again I. A few weeks to see if it is stable.

10.18.11 -- reading 1.006 - 1.007. I can't imagine it going up, so I am calling this stable and ready to bottle.  Brett aroma is really there.  The beer is really dried out, and maybe a bit thin.  Wood flavor is nice, but one-dementional (I am going to start using cubes.).  Overall this is going to be a good summer beer.

10.25.11 -- Bottled at around 4 volumes CO2