Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Session Beer Series: Summer (Solstice) Ale

So I very rarely want to clone a beer. The following beer is not meant to be a clone but I would like a beer that tastes similar. I wanted a refreshing slightly sweet malty beer. The beer that I have based the recipe on is the Anderson Valley Summer Solstice (Cerveza Creme). This was one of the beers that really opened my eyes to craft beer. I tasted it maybe 5 years at the Avila Beer festival (when it was still fun) and it was the only beer that I had multiple tastes of. This beer was made to be drank while you are out in the sun listening to live music.
So this is my first time using a "lager" yeast. The yeast I chose was White Labs California Common strain. So it is really a quasi lager yeast. It ferments relatively high for a lager but relatively cool for an ale. So this is also my first beer to use my new fermentation fridge. So I have the fridge set at 63 with plus 2 degrees of range. The first few days I smelled quite a bit sulphur, which I have heard happens during most lager ferments.


Recipe: Summer (Solstice) Ale
O.G.-1.042  F.G.-1.010   IBU-5 
SRM-10   ABV-3.8   Cal-150

Grain Bill (75% Efficiency):
4.75 lb 2-row (82.6%)
8 oz Crystal 40L (8.7%)
8 oz Crystal 80L (8.7%) 

Hops:
.5 oz Cascade, 5%, pellet, 15 min 4.8 IBU
  
Yeast:
1 vial White Labs WLP810 California Common

Brew Day:
Brewed: 6/5/10
Kegged: TBD

Water:
San Diego (Alvarado) Tap Water
1 campden tablet for 5 gal.

Mash Details:
H2O/Grain Ratio: 1.4 qt/lb
Mash Volume: 2 gal
Sacc Rest. Temp/Time: 150F @ 60min
Strike Temp: 162F
Batch Sparge Volume: 3.55 gal
Sparge Temp/Time: 170F @ 30min

Boil Details:
Boil Volume: 5.25 gal
Boil Time: 90min
Post Boil Volume: 3.75 gal

Ferment Details:
O.G.: 1.041
Ferment Temp: 63-65F
Length: 14 days
F.G.: TBD

07.01.10 Update:  Added Real Vanilla Extract. I dosed it in a glass till I was at a point I like. Then I upscaled for the batch. Except I miscalculated the amount of beer in the keg and this turned into Cream Soda. I will pay better attention next year. Plus I will add half the dose I wanted and taste a day later to make sure my taste buds are fresh.

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