I hadn't made a beer in three months after a glut of brewing while my wife was away in February, so even she said I should do a brew! It's fermenting away happily, and will be well finished by the time we return from our two week holiday in Ireland which begins on Saturday.
And for the brewing geeks, here's the very simple recipe.
Bitten Bullet Klosteiner
Size: 22.5 L
Efficiency: 87.58%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Original Gravity: 1.055 (measured)
Terminal Gravity: 1.014 (estimated)
Color: 25.49 EBC
Alcohol: 5.41%
Bitterness: 39.3 IBU
Ingredients:
4.4 kg Pale Ale Malt500 g CaraCrystal
11 g Chinook (11.2%) - boiled 60 min
11 g Chinook (11.2%) - boiled 25 min
11 g Centennial (7.2%) - boiled 20 min
12 g Centennial (7.2%) - boiled 15 min
1 tsp Irish Moss - boiled 15 min
24 g Centennial (7.2%) - boiled 5 min
12 g Centennial (7.2%) - boiled 0 min
Safale US-05
Infusion mash at 66C for an hour, with a mashout/batch sparge at 78C. Done!
Considering dry hopping with some cascade in the primary just before we leave.
Now that sounds good (the recipe, less so the allusions in the name)! I could drink a pint of that now - I've got a real centennial craving that just cannot be sated!
ReplyDeleteI wonder is there a business for hop scented handkerchiefs (yes, ponsey medieval-style), or little bags of hops you could wear around your neck for constant aroma. Maybe hop patches?
ReplyDeleteIt smells good right now, so hope the aromas will last.
I've always wanted to use a little bowl of hops to sit in the bathroom as air freshener (I didn't think of this when I commented earlier!!).
ReplyDeleteA bag of hops to have nearby to take a big whiff at every now and then would be great - I love the smell of fresh hops.
Or perhaps you could upgrade your brewing operation to a nano brewery and sell pale ales and the like to local pubs (obviously assuming licensing laws etc are too much of a hassle).
ReplyDeleteRecipe does look good, might try something similar in the States, but using extract and grains - not sure I am ready to go all grain quite yet.
Out of interest, do you make any chemical alterations to your water?
Looks great. I am doing something similar this weekend in Belgium so I can introduce my poker buddies to hops. There is a distinct lack of hops around here.
ReplyDeleteBTW, how do you like your Weck kettle? I have been thinking of getting one and stopping with propane. Did you add the ball valve yourself or did it come with it? How accurate does the thermostat work. I'd like to use it as an HLT and be able to dial in my mash liquor temp easily
Al, yes, I do have to make alterations with my water as it's middle-hard, and not great for paler ales. I have to admit I cheat though and use pH 5.2 Stabilizer. It works a treat, but I will be getting the right gear to manually adjust my water profile in another couple of brews. I'd love to do a nano-brewery, and in fact, I was asked to make a beer as a promotional tool, but the laws here tangle me up :) I will check it out though.
ReplyDeleteSmokyB, I had some lovely hoppy beers in Brussels a month or so ago. The Zinne Bir and V Cense springing to mind immediately. I was in shock! :D
The Weck is pretty good. Mine only has a 1.8kW element, and to be honest I'd prefer something a bit stronger. I modified the lid so it would keep some heat in but let steam out, and I get a fantastic boil (if the clarity and evaporation are anything to go by. With the lid off it's not so impressive. You can get a 2kW model which would bring down the wait time a bit. Using it the way I do to heat the strike water and then use as a boiler, it works great. The temperature control is pretty accurate, generally reading a couple of degrees lower than the dial, so once you know that, it's all good. Bit of a slideshow here :)
Ah yes, the long-awaited Klosteiner! Good to see some C-hops getting the love in Germany. My latest Late Hop Pale Ale used a good amount of Centennial and Cascade, but I'm wondering if I should've subbed the latter out for Columbus or Chinook to get a bigger hop flavor. Only time will tell.
ReplyDeleteAnd, although not having yet attempted it myself, I support your dry-hopping efforts. Godspeed!
Eric, I fully intended dry-hopping this beer tonight, but I've run out of time and couldn't be arsed now. I was packing for a trip to Ireland tomorrow, and now I have a beer in my hand and need to get to bed for an early start.
ReplyDeleteI haven't dry-hopped a beer in a long time now, so would have liked to give it a go again. As it is, this smells pretty good, and right along the lines of what I wanted. By the time I get back it'll be ready for bottling. Happy days! :)
Well, Eric, as fate would have it, I now have time to dry hop that Klosteiner. I'm popping in 27g of centennial as I'm mysteriously out of cascade.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to try my "klosteiner" next week. Barry made me to rael citric pale ale lover! Who needs Rauchbier instead?
ReplyDeleteNow it looks like I'll have to make a smoked pale ale, just to confuse you :D
ReplyDelete