I am on to Year Number Two. My 2010 Flanders Red is bottled and I will be doing an official tasting soon. I did force carb some of it up because I couldn't wait to try it. I am crazy about the smell, sweetness level and mouthfeel. It is a bit lacking in the acid area, but I have read that this can happen with the first pitch of the Wyeast Rosealare yeast. Also last year I started it with a neutral yeast then added Wyeast Rosealare. I did feed the bugs with maltodextrin around the 6 month mark. I didn't notice a big change in sourness, but the cherry pie flavor from the Brett is now really popping.
My brewing water has also changed. I have started to dilute my brewing water fairly heavily with distilled (or close to) because San Diego has very high Sulfates and Belgian beers are brewed with pretty soft water. I have not done side by side testing, but I believe this is really helping me cut down on some of the harshness I get with the bitterness and additionally raising the malt flavor. See below for my water calcs.
Recipe: 2011 Flander's Red
Batch Size 6.75 gal O.G.-1.062 F.G.-TBD
IBU-15 SRM-13 ABV-6.5-7.5%
Grain Bill (77% Efficiency):
4 lb Vienna Malt (27%)
3.8 lb Maris Otter (25%)
4 lb Munich Malt 10L (27%)
2 lb Flaked Corn (13%)
6 oz Aromatic Malt (3.3%)
6 oz Caramunich I (3.3%)
6 oz Special B (3.3%)
Hops:
.8 oz Golding, 5.5%, pellet, 90 min 15.3 IBU
Yeast:
2 pitch of Wyeast Rosealare
US-05 Half a packet sprinkled in on Day 3 after no activity
Brew Day:
Brewed: 5/14/10
Water:
see picture above
H2O/Grain Ratio: 1.07 qt/lb
Mash Volume: 3.5 gal
Sacc Rest. Temp/Time: 154F @ 60min
Strike Temp: 171F
Batch Sparge Volume: 7 gal
Sparge Temp/Time: 170F
Boil Details:
Boil Volume: 8.25 gal
Boil Time: 90min
Post Boil Volume: 6.75 gal
Ferment Details:
O.G.: 1.062
Ferment Temp: 68F
Length: 10 days
Then ambient in house
Always remember to check back for updates every 3 months.
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