RecipeDB - Kentucky Common

[Fourstar]

Kentucky Common

Ale - Cream Ale
All Grain

Brewer's Notes

3g CaCl2 to mash
6g CaSO4 to boil

Dry liquified suagr in pan until just liquid, transferred immediately to a cake pan in a water bath to speed up cooling. ended up a ruby red candi sugar with a lightly burnt toffee flavour.

Flaked Maize is polenta. If using polenta, cereal mash it or boil first to partially gelatinise before adding to the barley grist mash.

Mash at 67deg.

Malt & Fermentables

%	KG	Fermentable
	3.6 kg	BB Ale Malt
	1 kg	TF Flaked Maize
	0.15 kg	TF Crystal
	0.1 kg	Weyermann Carafa Special II
	0.2 kg	Cane Sugar

Hops

Time	Grams	Variety	Form	AA
	15 g	Magnum (Pellet, 14.0AA%, 60mins)

Yeast

1000 ml

Wyeast Labs 1272 - American Ale II

23L Batch Size

Brew Details

• Original Gravity 1.05 (calc)
• Final Gravity 1.013 (calc)
• Bitterness 23.4 IBU
• Efficiency 70%
• Alcohol 4.81%
• Colour 29 EBC
• Batch Size 23L

Fermentation

• Primary 7 days
• Secondary 14 days
• Conditioning 4 days

 

[Fourstar]

an extinct style i have been interested in recreating. some details i have ripped from a historical brewing text below which fueled the recipe i have used.


KENTUCKY COMMON BEER.

Like California steam beer, Kentucky common beer is mainly consumed by the laboring classes, and is chiefly brewed in
Louiville, Ky. It is marketed while still in an early stage of fermentation.

Materials employed are: Barley malt and about 25 to 30 per cent of corn, with some sugar color, caramel or roasted malt to give a dark color.

Balling of wort about 10 to 11 per cent. *(pretty much what deg plato is. e.g. 1.040 - 1.044SG)

Mashing temperatures vary greatly, both low and high initial temperatures being taken. In the latter case the corn mash is
cooled with water before running into the mash-tun.

Boiling. The wort is boiled with about one-half pound of hops per barrel, and cooled to 6odeg F. (12deg to 13deg R.).

Fermentation. The wort is pitched with one- third of a pound of top-fermentation yeast per barrel, allowed to come full in krausen, and then transferred from the fermenter directly into the trade packages, which are placed on troughs, into which the yeast is allowed to work out. The barrels are kept full continually by topping up every few hours. After 48 hours in the barrels the fermentation is over and the barrels are bunged ; when very much gas is required they may be closed in 24 hours.

The beers are not as a rule Krausened, nor fined, and consequently have a "muddy" appearance, but a moderately clear
article can be obtained if the saloonkeeper lays in a supply so that it can settle a few days before tapping.

 

[raven19]

As discussed, added to my brew list mate.

Can you please expand on the sugar treatment for us unenlightened? B)

Are you essentially approaching toffee levels with the sugar (in a separate pan) before adding to the kettle?

 

[zebba]

You inspired me to do some reading on this, and I notice most the places I saw talked about souring the mash by leaving it for 24+ hours pre-boil. Did you go this route or not? Certainly intriuging

 

[Fourstar]

Days before, i simply dumped 200g of table sugar into a dry nonstick frypan, bung it on a high heat and constantly agitiated the pan.

As it begins to dissolve (just by shaking the pan, no utensils) make sure you keep it moving so it doesnt darken in hotspots and once its just about all dissolved (less than a tsp of granules left) pour it from the pan and onto a lined cookie sheet or into a loaf pan to dry immediately. the faster it cools the less it darkens and it goes from clear to dark brown pretty quickly.

Once its cooled, break it up and store until you're ready to brew. i added the sugar to the boil at 60 mins.

To get the residual threads/dried sugar off the pan, simply fill with water and pop it onto the heat until it all dissolves.

the flavour/colour i ended up with after creating the caramel was a deep toffee mildly burnt sugar flavour. kinda like a dark crystal burnt character.

 

[Fourstar]

So if you were to keg this, you would brew the batch, let it come to full krausen then dump into a keg ? Then leave it for another 24-48 hours (covered I hope) then seal the keg ? By the sounds of it there should be no need to force carb it ?
Duck

Essentially yes, if you where being a purist. i would also have to continually 'topup' the keg as well as it spewed krausen/beer all over the place. a standard primary fermentation cycle is good enough. Especially since we have the ability to force carb.

 

[Fourstar]

You inspired me to do some reading on this, and I notice most the places I saw talked about souring the mash by leaving it for 24+ hours pre-boil. Did you go this route or not? Certainly intriuging

No, i did not and i have yet to find evidence that this was the standard method of producing a kentucky common.

I think this is a misconception that because it comes from the land of sour mash bourbon whiskies, it would also have undergone a sour mash. IMO and from the alck of evidence ive read, i highly doubt it.

If anything, the sourness in this style would be typical of any beer during this period, worldwide that was served and transported by wooden cask. The cask would be souring the beer, not the brewing process.

 

[outbreak]

I have added this to my "to brew list".

I think its really cool when people put some thought and research into their recipes. Top marks!

 

[zebba]

No, i did not and i have yet to find evidence that this was the standard method of producing a kentucky common.

I think this is a misconception that because it comes from the land of sour mash bourbon whiskies, it would also have undergone a sour mash. IMO and from the alck of evidence ive read, i highly doubt it.

If anything, the sourness in this style would be typical of any beer during this period, worldwide that was served and transported by wooden cask. The cask would be souring the beer, not the brewing process.

A big thing I've noticed in this brewing caper is that one little assumption can spread like wildfire and become accepted fact with little supporting it beyond the fact it sounds plausible. Sounds like you searched a little deeper.

Having said that, I'm still intrigued by this whole "sour mash" biz so might give it a go down the track and make some kind of (deliberatly this time) soured brown And now I wait for warmbeer to pipe in and say "why don't you just brew a normal beer for gods sake?"

 

[kocken42]

I wish I had the title 'saloon-keeper'.

 

[raven19]

Days before, i simply dumped 200g of table sugar into a dry nonstick frypan, bung it on a high heat and constantly agitiated the pan.

As it begins to dissolve (just by shaking the pan, no utensils) make sure you keep it moving so it doesnt darken in hotspots and once its just about all dissolved (less than a tsp of granules left) pour it from the pan and onto a lined cookie sheet or into a loaf pan to dry immediately. the faster it cools the less it darkens and it goes from clear to dark brown pretty quickly.

Once its cooled, break it up and store until you're ready to brew. i added the sugar to the boil at 60 mins.

To get the residual threads/dried sugar off the pan, simply fill with water and pop it onto the heat until it all dissolves.

the flavour/colour i ended up with after creating the caramel was a deep toffee mildly burnt sugar flavour. kinda like a dark crystal burnt character.

Thanks for this explanation mate, I shall make a version of this after my next two brews. Both of which need to be made this weekend!

 

[Fourstar]

Thanks for this explanation mate, I shall make a version of this after my next two brews. Both of which need to be made this weekend!

The flavour i got from the sugar definitely is coming through in the beer after tasting lastnight. slightly sweet burnt toffee. very tasty indeed. It looks like im having a little foam stability problems with this beer as well which is not typical with my brewing usually. if you want abit more body it might be worth a shot at mashing slightly higher than mine (68-70) and/or adding some carapils as its quite thin and dry. But starting to taste delicious nonetheless. :icon_cheers:

 

[raven19]

I shall ramp up the RIMS accordingly then!

Will post further on this thread closer to my brewing of this beast.

 

[brendo]

I take it you will be bringing a sample with you Wednesday night?? :icon_drunk:

 

[Fourstar]

I take it you will be bringing a sample with you Wednesday night?? :icon_drunk:

Does Braden judge specialty beer? :icon_cheers:

 

[brendo]

Does Braden judge specialty beer? :icon_cheers:

woohoo

 

[Fourstar]

If only Schubert got off his arse and got his new car to drive me up to meetings!

 

[brendo]

If only Schubert got off his arse and got his new car to drive me up to meetings!

make him drive yours...

 

[Fourstar]

Well im making this for the Vic XMAS case swap with some modifications.

Ive increased the corn and sugar and dropped the base malt to balance it out. Consequently this will make it a higher fermentable beer so i have opted for something abit more traditional with a cask ale yeast, good old 1469 to ensure it doesnt over attenuate. I am also getting the hopping ratio weights right this time (1/2lb ber barrel or 1.95g per L) and using US goldings (EKG varietal AFAIK).

Im hoping it will be abit more like the original commons going around with these adjustments however the only issue im having is to drop the crystal, sugar or roast malts. They only used one for colour going from my research although using all three shouldnt throw it out of style. Besides, im enjoying the flavour all three together make. :icon_cheers:

Case Swap Kentucky Common
Cream Ale

Type: All Grain
Date: 16/08/2010
Batch Size: 23.00 L
Brewer: Braden
Boil Size: 30.90 L
Boil Time: 60 min Equipment: My Brew Pot (40L) and Frosty Cooler (38L)
Brewhouse Efficiency: 68.00

Ingredients
3.00 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (Thomas Fawcett) (3.0 SRM) Grain 58.25 %
1.50 kg Maize, Flaked (Thomas Fawcett) (2.0 SRM) Grain 29.13 %
0.15 kg Crystal Malt - 60L (Thomas Fawcett) (60.0 SRM) Grain 2.91 %
0.10 kg Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 1.94 %
45.00 gm Goldings, U.S [4.50 %] (60 min) Hops 22.1 IBU
3.00 gm Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
6.00 gm Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
0.40 kg Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (1.0 SRM) Sugar 7.77 %
1 Pkgs West Yorkshire (Wyeast Labs #1469) Yeast-Ale

Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.049 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.015 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.52 %
Bitterness: 22.1 IBU
Est Color: 11.1 SRM

Mash Profile
60 min Mash In Add 13.71 L of water at 72.9 C 67.0 C
10 min Mash Out Add 9.79 L of water at 82.5 C 73.0 C

Notes
Dry liquified suagr in pan until just liquid, transferred immediately to a cake pan in a water bath/cookie sheet to speed up cooling.

Should be a mildly burnt sugar/ruby red flavour.

 

[raven19]

Keen to hear your thoughts on recipe 1 vs 2 mate, will be brewing this over the xmas break.

(PM Sent too)