Long holiday weekends call for ambitious brewing plans.
It’s been quite a while since I was out in the garage brewing, so I decided on Saturday to go with an India Brown Ale, which is more or less just a slight grain variation on the last IPA I brewed, adding some chocolate malt, roasted barley and biscuit malt into the mix. I know, I know…I’ve been talking a big game recently about how eager I was to brew up a Victory Wild Devil clone using brett, but I made a game-time decision to go with this one. But don’t worry, you’ll hear more about brett in just a minute…
The color after the boil came out just right, Newcastle-ish. But this had a a hell of alot more hops, as in about 6 ounces worth in the boil (for a 5 gallon batch — take that Miller Lite). I plan to dry hop with a couple more ounces to give it that beautiful IPA aroma, balanced (hopefully) by a nice biscuit and toffee maltiness. Very excited for this one.
After I got done cleaning up after the brew day, I sat down to relax and enjoy a beer, and out of nowhere was hit with the brewing bug again. I thought I’d gotten it out of my system for a while, but I was fortunately mistaken. I figured I’d take advantage of the energy burst, so on the spot I decided I would brew a lambic the following day, which is a style I’ve never done before. I did some research and reading, and formulated what seemed to be a pretty standard all-grain recipe…half malted and flaked wheat with the other half pilsner malt. One ounce of Saaz in the beginning of the boil.
The real trick with lambics, of course, is the fermentation. So in primary I went with a standard Belgian abbey strain from Wyeast, and in secondary I’ll add a big helping of brettanomyces to give it that funky “wild” quality, along with some bacteria including pediococcus and lactobacillus. I may also drop in some oak chips to impart a little barrel-aged characteristic. After 6 months or so, once the brett has had time to do its magic, I’ll add my fruit (haven’t decided what to go with yet, maybe cherry or peach). I was shooting for a target OG of 1.050, but ended up coming in a little short at 1.036. I’m not worried about it, since the fruit will help add quite a bit more sugar in secondary fermentation. I won’t be bottling this for some time to come, and won’t even taste it until about a year from now.
Recipes below, both for 5 gallon batches. Oh, and a short video update on my mini hop yard at the bottom.
The Captain’s India Brown Ale
Mash at 152 for 60 minutes
Target OG 1.066
8 lb. Golden Promise
1.5 lb. Caramunich I
1 lb. Biscuit malt
10 oz. Crystal 60L
8 oz. Chocolate malt
2 oz. Roasted barley
1 oz. Warrior (in boil at 60 min.)
1 oz. Magnum (in boil at 60 min.)
0.3 oz. Amarillo (in boil at 20 min.)
0.3 oz. Simcoe (in boil at 20 min.)
0.3 oz. Amarillo (in boil at 15 min.)
0.3 oz. Simcoe (in boil at 15 min.)
0.3 oz. Amarillo (in boil at 10 min.)
0.3 oz. Simcoe (in boil at 10 min.)
0.3 oz. Amarillo (in boil at 5 min.)
0.3 oz. Simcoe (in boil at 5 min.)
0.3 oz. Amarillo (in boil at flame out)
0.3 oz. Simcoe (in boil at flame out)
2 oz. Simcoe (dry hop)
1 oz. Amarillo (dry hop)
Wyeast 1335 British Ale II
The Captain’s Lambic (Fruit TBD)
Mash at 152 for 60 minutes
Target OG 1.050
4.5 lb. Pilsner malt
3.5 lb. Malted wheat
1 lb. Flaked wheat
1 oz. aged Saaz* (in boil at 60 min.)
Wyeast 1762 Belgian Abbey II (primary)
After 2-3 weeks, rack to secondary and pitch Wyeast 5526 Brettanomyces Lambicus to introduce souring characteristic
Let age in secondary at least 6 months, then rack beer onto 6-8 lb. of tart fruit (sour cherry, peach, raspberry, etc.)
Let age another 6 months, then bottle
* You can artificially age the hops by throwing them in the oven for a few hours at a low temp, about 200 degrees F, until the pungent aroma is muted. Not as good as using old, cheesy hops, but it works.
July 5, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Sounds awesome Aaron. Save me a bottle of both. I’ll pay for shipping of course. I would love to try them.
July 5, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Absolutely Dave!
July 6, 2009 at 9:54 am
I’m not an expert on Lambics, but a protein rest might help you hit your target gravity in a mash with that much wheat.
http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter14-4.html
July 6, 2009 at 10:28 am
That’s a good tip, Nick. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a few beers I’ve made, but my current set up won’t allow for it very easily. I’m using a plastic Rubbermaid cooler for my mash tun, so there’s no good way I can heat it up to 150-152 degrees after the rest, unless I wanted to make a very stiff mash at 122 for the protein rest, and then add very hot water to try and get it up to saccharification levels. But that could mean a very thin mash if I’m not careful.
I’m also wary of a protein rest because I’ve read it can negatively impact modified malts in the mash and make for a watery beer with poor head retention.
What’s been your experience?
July 6, 2009 at 11:09 am
I know Palmer indicates a protein rest can lead to watery beers. I never use one when using mostly American two-row malt. I do generally do the rest with wheat beers and with some lagers when using European pilsner malts. I have had good luck.
I brewed a Czech Pils this weekend using a protein rest with a two-step infusion. I doughed in with .75 qts/lb to hit 120deg, then added .6 more qts/lb of boiling water to hit 154deg with a final ratio of 1.3 qt/lb, which is still pretty thick.
This calculator from TastyBrew was invaluable in completing this mash: http://tastybrew.com/calculators/infusion.html
July 6, 2009 at 11:30 am
Good to know, thanks Nick. I’m thinking of doing a kolsch soon, and a few recipes I’ve seen use the protein rest depending on how much unmodified wheat is in the grain bill. I’ll give your method a shot and see how it goes.