You're So Witless

This is my Witless Belgian Wit Beer.  Although this beer is around 30 IBU's it is really easy drinking.  This is my first time using tea in a brew and it went really well.  This beer was in the keg for about four weeks before the flavours really came together.

If you wanted to make this beer easier drinking cut the ibu's and coriander in half.



You're so witless Belgian Wit Recipe

3Kg Sorghum Syrup @ 60 minutes

400g Maltodextrine @ 60 minutes

680g White Sugar @ 60 minutes

14g Perle 10%AA Hops @ 60 minutes

14g Saaz 8% AA Hops @ 15 minutes

14g Coriander (cracked) @ 15 minutes

154g Orange Peel (about 5 Oranges) @ 15 minutes

1 tsp Yeast Nutrient @ 15 minutes

1 tsp Calcium Carbonate @ 15 minutes

10g Saaz 6% @ 5 minutes

4 teabags of Chamomile steeped in 500mls and added at @ 0 minutes

*** Cold Crash ***

1 packet of S-33 Belgian Ale yeast

BRY-97 Follow up

Hi All,

So the BRY-97 brew turned out really good.  This recipe was a little unbalanced with too high bitterness.  Upping the Amber candy syrup probably would have balanced it out.

Now for the yeast.  I experienced a delay in the Krausen forming like all other brewers.  Although I understand it is fermenting quite well before the Krausen forms.  This beer finished in the usual 3 weeks time and cold crashed for a few days.  It produced a lot of trub compared to US-05, I'm talking two to three times the amount.  And as such I ended up sucking some into the keg.

I also brewed a glutenous beer with BRY-97 and it fell clear quite quickly, faster than US-05.  Although it ferments very cleanly it does remove a lot of the hop aroma.  This makes the yeast perfect for Pale Ales or Blonde beers which are not as hop aroma forward.

So the positives of this yeast:

• Solid fermentation
• Very clean flavour
• Has no problems fermenting Sorghum
• Falls clear

The negatives:

• Slow to form a Krausen
• "Steals" the hop aroma

I didn't bottle carbonate any of this batch, so if you do please share your experiences.

BRY-97 Trial Brew

Hi All,

After getting my hands on some of the new Danstar BRY-97 American West Coast Ale yeast, I wanted to do a test brew with it.  I haven't had good experiences with Danstar previously when I used the Munich yeast (produced horrible flavours and was never great), but I have high hopes for this new one.  Most of what I'm reading is that it's ferments quickly, thoroughly, with a clean flavour at high temps and compacts quite well.

This is the recipe I brewed with this yeast:

Columbus IPA

Code name:  "Explorers Should know better"

Batch:  20.5L

IBU:  96 approx.

OG:  ?

FG:  ?

Brew date:  29/01/2013

Estimated ABV:  5.5%

Actual ABV:  ?

Recipe:

1.4 Kg Sorghum Syrup @ 60 minutes

250g Maltodextrine @ 60 minutes

30g Columbus  Hops (12% AA) @ 60 minutes

15g Columbus Hops (14.6%AA) @ 15 minutes

1 x whirlfloc tablet @ 15 minutes

1tsp Yeast nutrient @ 5 minutes

1tsp Calcium Carbonate @ 5 minutes

60g Columbus Hops (14.6%AA) @ 5 minutes

1.4 Kg Sorghum Syrup @ 0 minutes

250mL Amber Candy Syrup @ 0 minutes

*** Cold Crash ***

1 packet of Danstar BRY-97 Yeast

Dual Spires Black Lodge

Great name, even better beer.  Thanks to the generosity of another brewer who goes by the name "rlbois1" on homebrewtalk website I've been able to brew a new dark beer.  I didn't think I was alone in my love for this brew so I decided to get some other beer drinkers opinions.

This is the brew in question:

And here is the review from my wife and another fellow brewer (fwiw both drink a lot of great craft beers).  This beer was served from the keg.

Review 1:

• Creamy off white head
• Murky red colour
• Good carbonation
• Some hops and sorghum malt on the nose.  Balanced between them both.
• Firm bitterness
• Light body
• Some twang
• Licorice into finish with no esters.
• Last mouthful was "dry, lasting hop bitterness, nice tarry sweet balancing note"
• Overall a good beer 6 out of 10

Review 2:

• Rich aroma, sweet
• Strong hops on the tongue
• Candy syrup and molasses lingers in aftertaste
• Taste liquorice in the aftertaste
• Fuller mouthfeel compared to my other gluten free beers
• Lacing evident in the glass
• Fairly clear
• 7.5 out of 10 - Overall very drinkable. 

Thanks again to rlbois1 for the recipe which you can find here -> Dual Spires Black Lodge Ale

 

"What are you lookin at" IPA

Having just recently switched to kegging (in the last couple of months), I've been able to skip over the very long bottle carbonation times I experienced before.  And for my love of hop forward beers, it's been a blessing in disguise.

This recipe is based on the Punk IPA clone from BYO clone brew magazine and others opinions from Aussie Homebrewer forum.  If you don't like bitter IPA's this beer is not for you.  The bitterness comes on like a Scottish punk and punches you right in the face.  It tastes fantastic.  As always mouthfeel just isn't enough but it's always an area of continued research.

This beer is definitely going to become a staple in my keg rotation.

"What are you lookin at" IPA

Batch size:  20L

Recipe:

1.4 Kg Sorghum Syrup @ 60 minutes

350g Maltodextrine @ 60 minutes

54g Columbus (12% AA) @ 60 minutes

1 x whirlfloc  tablet @ 15 minutes

34g Ahtanum Hops (8% AA) @ 15 minutes

1 tsp Yeast nutrient @ 10 minutes

500mL Amber Candy Syrup @ 0 minutes

1.4Kg Sorghum Syrup @ 0 minutes

*** Cold Crash ***

Yeast Nutrient

2 x US-05 Yeast

50g Amarillo Dry Hop @ 7 days

Double IPA - Drinking

This would have to be my favourite beer so far.  I was happy with the amount of body (although it can always do with more), the abundance of hop flavour and the huge grassiness from all the dry hopping.

I passed it onto a local craft bar owner who rated it as the best gluten free beer they've tried yet.

I've also entered the beer in the Queensland Amateur brewing competition to get some critical feedback.  I'll be sure to post the results when I hear back.

As per the photo, it definitely looked the part.

Was it a hop too far?  No.  It turned out just right :)

Chinook IPA - Drinking

The Chinook IPA turned out very drinkable.  It had a nice amber colour (as per the picture), grassy flavour from the dry hopping and strong grapefruit flavours from all the Chinook hops.

Definitely need to brew it again.