Fruit Treatments

June 15, 2010

Split my wheat beer into my 3-gallon carboys (gravity was 1.011 at transfer) and added two different fruit treatments. Both were a mix of fresh and store-bought frozen fruit. The fresh fruit was cleaned, frozen and then thawed for blending.

Mango/Peach Blend

• passionfruit not in season, so went with peach and mango
• 2 big, fresh mangos (green skin)
• 4 small, fresh mangos (yellow skin)
• 2 fresh peaches
• 1 lb. frozen peaches
  
• blend resulted in ~ 4.75 cups fruit puree
  

Berry Blend

• 1 qt. fresh raspberries
• 1 qt. fresh blueberries
• 1 qt. fresh blackberries
• 1 lb. frozen wild berry blend mix
• blend resulted in ~ 4 cups of fruit puree
  

Batch No. 24 - American Wheat w/ Fruit

American Wheat Ale

Inspired by a recent issue of Zymurgy, the plan here is to brew an american wheat, split in half and treat each 2.5 gallons with a different fruits in the secondary. Current idea is to treat one half with a mixture of passionfruit and mangos, with the second half getting a mixture of berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries).

Brewed - June 6, 2010
Style - American Wheat
Source - Zymurgy / NHB

June 15, 2010 - Fruit Treatments

Ingredients:

• 6.0 lbs. Wheat LME
• 1.0 lbs. Bavarian Wheat DME
• 1.0 lbs. German Munich Malt (partial mash)
• 0.7 lbs. Flaked Wheat (partial mash)
• 0.5 oz. Mt. Hood (60)
• 0.5 oz. Mt. Hood (30)
• 1.0 tsp. Irish Moss (15)
• 0.5 oz. Cascade (10)
• 0.5 oz. Cascade (KO)

• Wyeast #1056 American Ale (2 packs)

OG – 1.056
Primary - 8 days
Secondary - TBD

Bottled - TBD

FG - TBD
Attenuation - TBD
ABV - TBD

Notes:

• Partial Mash 2 gals @ 150 for 60 mins; sparge 2 quarts 170 water
• 750 ml starter
• used two packs of old 1056 yeast (maybe in my fridge for ~ 11 months?)
• net 2 gallons from sparge
• will split this batch in half and treat each with different fruits
• I was concerned about the yeast and slow start, but this was down to 1.011 at transfer
• Fruit blends added 6/15/10

Starter made in a growler now since I smashed my big beaker

Batch No. 23 - Summer Saison

Summer Saison

I love saisons, so wanted to do a nice, light, sessionable version for the summer.

Brewed - May 29, 2010

Style - Saison
Source - NHB / NHB

Ingredients:

• 3.15 lbs. Pilsen LME
• 1.0 lbs. Pilsen DME
• 1.0 lbs. Bavarian Wheat DME
• 0.3 lb. Flaked Wheat (partial mash)
• 0.5 lbs. Belgian Caravienne (partial mash)
• 1.0 oz. Kent Golding (60)
• 1.0 tsp Irish Moss (15)
• 1.0 oz. Styrian Goldings (10)
• 0.25 oz. Saaz (10)
• 0.75 oz. Saaz (KO)

• Wyeast #3711 French Saison
  

OG – 1.046
Primary - TBD
Secondary - TBD

Bottled - TBD

FG - TBD
Attenuation - TBD
ABV - TBD

Notes:

• Partial Mash 2 gals @ 150 for 60 mins; sparge w/ 2 quarts 170 water
• 750 ml starter
• Target fermentation temp in the low 80’s
• Net from sparge ~ 2 gallons
• 1.006 gravity at transfer

Batch No. 22 - Belgian Blonde

Belgian Blonde

Brewed - May 21, 2010

Style - Belgian Blonde
Source - various sites / NHB

Ingredients:

• 4.0 lbs. Pilsner Light DME
• 1.0 lbs. German Munich (partial mash)
• 0.5 lbs. Flaked Oats (partial mash)
• 0.5 lbs. Caramel Pils (partial mash)
• 1.0 lbs. Belgian Pils (partial mash)
• 1.0 oz. German Hallertau (60)
• 1.0 tsp Irish Moss (15)
• 1.0 oz. Saaz (5)

• Wyeast #3522 Belgian Ardennes
  

OG - 1.050
Primary – 8 days
Secondary - TBD

Bottled - TBD

FG - TBD
Attenuation - TBD
ABV - TBD

Notes:

• Partial Mash 2 gals @ 150 for 60 mins; sparge w/ 3 quarts 170 water
• Net from sparge ~ 2 gallons
• 750 ml starter
• Target fermentation temp in the mid-70’s
• 1.013 gravity at transfer
  

Tasting Notes - Brett Beers

Tasting notes of both brett beers side by side with the regular versions on May 19, 2010:

1. Rêve de Wallonia

• clear dark orange with good pop upon opening
• steady carbonation and thin egg white head lingering
• fizzy green apples with a sharp lemon peel and musky grains
• pale malt, stale lemons
• texture is thin and silky with a mild leathery or thin syrupy feel
• stale lemons and malt; mild earthy tones and slightly “dirty”
• anything but popping with freshness
• stale fruits, caramel and light orange
• very interesting side by side with the brett version
• quite dry with stale fruits in the finish
• husky and earthy with stale lemons
  

2. Rêve de Wallonia w/ Brett

• quick carbonation that would have gushed over if I didn’t pour into a glass
• same dark orange appearance with more spotty head that fades quickly once out of the bottle
• slight yellowish hue to it
• obvious pineapple brett, leather and zesty lemons
• more fruity notes here and zesty spice as opposed to the more husky and musky notes of the regular version
• lots more bitterness too which is kind of surprising
• orange peels with slight sour zing and silky, leathery texture
• really like the nose but quite bitter to me
• texture is thin with sticky dry finish
• much of the husky-ness is gone and certainly tastes a little cleaner and drier
  

3. Saison de Deux Médecine

• mild gusher as expected
• light gold with soapy white head fading slowly; steady bubbles
• lemons, pepper, dried yarrow, a little ginger
• fresh, floral nose
• mildly medicinal flavors from the yarrow
• light, lemony texture
• light and dry with very clean mouthfeel
• much crisper and cleaner than the Wallonia
• much more of what I expected going in too
• get the ginger with nice floral and dried flowers
• quite nice overall and very happy with this except for that fact that as I only bottled ~ 2 gallons of finished product, it’s almost all gone!!
• would like it to be a little more complex or yeasty though
• aside from the carbonation, I’m very happy with this batch
  

4. Saison de Deux Médecine w/ Brett

• slight hiss upon opening with slight white head fading quickly
• more vibrant gold in color with next to no bubbles
• pineapple brett, lemons and ginger on the nose
• very clean again with little to none of the bitterness found in the Wallonia w/ brett
• crisp, light fruits and most of the medicinal qualities gone away
• less of a leathery texture than expected
• beer is very clean to begin with, so I think that helps the brett shine more and pop with freshness and fruity flavors
• dried flowers, oranges and ginger – yummy!!!
  

Batch No. 21 - Belgian Tripel

Belgian Tripel

Brewed - April 25, 2010

Style - Belgian Tripel
Source - various sites / NHB

Ingredients:

• 4.0 lbs. Golden Light DME
• 3.0 lbs. Wheat DME
• 2.0 lbs. Pilsner DME

• 1.0 lbs. Pale Malt (partial mash)
• 1.0 lbs. Belgian Biscuit (partial mash)
• 1.0 lbs. Belgian Aromatic (partial mash)
• 0.5 lbs. Belgian Caramel Pils (partial mash)
• 0.5 lbs. Flaked Oats (partial mash)
• 1.0 lbs. Belgian Pils (partial mash)

• 1.0 oz. German Hallertau (60)
• 1.0 lbs. Candi sugar (15)
• 1.0 oz. Sterling (15)
• 1.0 tsp. Irish Moss (15)
• 1.0 oz. Saaz (5)
• 1.0 oz. Saaz (KO)
• 1 Valencia Orange peel zest (KO)

• Wyeast #3522 Belgian Ardennes

OG – 1.102
Primary – 14 days
Secondary - TBD

Bottled - TBD

FG - TBD
Attenuation - TBD
ABV - TBD

Notes:

• Partial mash in 2 gallons of 155 water; sparge with 3 quarts of 170 water
• Candi sugar was clear, rock chunks
• 5 min. Saaz addition was a package of old hops unopened in the freezer
• 750 ml stater used (now a normal procedure for regardless of target OG)
• Target OG was more in the 1.090 range but I never took into account all the grains and 2 gals. Net from the partial mash, which obviously has a significant OG of its own before the batch is topped off to 5.5 gals for the main boil
• Need to start using software at some point to really understand the partial mash impact on a recipe
• 1.024 gravity at transfer

Bottling of brett beers

Date - April 4, 2010

Bottled both brett beers today in part b/c I was thinking of entering them into the Puget Sound Pro-Am and needed some carbonation if I wanted to do so. Because the brett takes hold of anything plastic or porous, I used old equipment here and it will be set aside for future brett beers only. It was kind of time to replace some stuff anyways, so I purchased new hoses, siphons, bottling wand, etc. for all regular beers.

Nothing else really different here compared to other bottlings, but I was concerned about carbonation and possible bottle bombs w/ the brett. For a few weeks, I put the bottles in a big plastic bin and then left in my shower during the day to contain any possible mess.

1. Saison de Deux Médecine w/ Brett

• 1.006 at bottling ~ 6.55% ABV and 89.3% attenuation
• the brett took it from 1.014 to 1.006 FG and 75% to 89.3% attenuation
• last time I used ~ ½ cup of sugar for just over 2 gallons of end product and it turned out quite over-carbonated; so ¼ cup per gallon is a little high
• so this time I used closer ~ 1/5 cup of sugar per gallon (slightly under ½ cup total) and the end product (based on bottle filling) was 2.25 gallons
• carbonation still seems like kind of a crap shoot to me though and is something I need to try to understand better in terms of volume of CO2, etc. that you want for certain styles and how to achieve that based on sugar and OG/FG
  

2. Rêve de Wallonia w/ Brett

• 1.008 FG at bottling ~ 8.7% ABV and 89.2% attenuation
• the brett to it from 1.010 to 1.008 FG and 86.5% to 89.2% attenuation
• less impact of the brett (in terms of numbers) in this beer
• same approximate sugar amounts used here