SergeMarx
Well-Known Member
A while back I posted about my plan to combine the joys of no chilling with the convenience of DME and the science of hop utilization. Here is the final report on attempt #1.
The plan:
To dump ingredients plus boiling water into a cube, seal, cool, ferment and call it beer.
Ingredients (I seem to have lost my recipe on Brewers Friend, so this is from memory)
2.2 kg Light Dried Malt Extract
50 grams 14% AA Citra
15 litres boiling water
1 x pkt of Leuvin 504 Ale Yeast Expired 2014 (spoiler: this wasn't smart)
Method:
combine all ingredients except yeast in a 15 litre water cube. remove air and keep lagged for a few hours.
* temp measurement of exterior of cube at 90 minute mark was still 78C - Cooled overnight
Pitch
1 x packet of 504 Ale, expired and sprinkled. Must be something about the slapdash method that made me look at that ancient pack and think it would be fine. As it turns out, the ferment went OK, but stalled out at 1.018 so in future I'll pitch with my usual care for cell count and freshness. And not 504.
The Result.
After a few weeks in the fermentor, I finally got around to kegging it yesterday, here's my tasting notes:
Appearance: Slightly cloudy, pale golden, creamy white head
Aroma: Clean Citra hop aroma, slight background of fruity esters
Mouthfeel: Full bodied and creamy - could be thinnner on the palate.
Taste: Pleasant Citra flavour, lingering and nicely balanced bitterness. Stonefruit esters. Low level of sweetness, could be drier.
Discussion
I'm totally doing this again. Next time I'll try to include an easy steeping grain method - perhaps cold steeping in a jar the night before, or in the hot water prior to boiling. I'm very impressed by the hop utilization given the lack of a true boil, but obviously having the hops in the cube does create a fair amount of trub port ferment. Clarity was an issue, but this is likely a yeast selection issue, one which a different yeast choice, plus crashing and fining will clear up (pardon the pun). The cost was about $28 for a slab and a 1/3 which is pretty great value, the beer is great and the effort required next to nothing.
One of the coolest things about this method is the repeatability. If anyone else out there is game to have a go, I'd love to get a list of recipes together. Cheers
The plan:
To dump ingredients plus boiling water into a cube, seal, cool, ferment and call it beer.
Ingredients (I seem to have lost my recipe on Brewers Friend, so this is from memory)
2.2 kg Light Dried Malt Extract
50 grams 14% AA Citra
15 litres boiling water
1 x pkt of Leuvin 504 Ale Yeast Expired 2014 (spoiler: this wasn't smart)
Method:
combine all ingredients except yeast in a 15 litre water cube. remove air and keep lagged for a few hours.
* temp measurement of exterior of cube at 90 minute mark was still 78C - Cooled overnight
Pitch
1 x packet of 504 Ale, expired and sprinkled. Must be something about the slapdash method that made me look at that ancient pack and think it would be fine. As it turns out, the ferment went OK, but stalled out at 1.018 so in future I'll pitch with my usual care for cell count and freshness. And not 504.
The Result.
After a few weeks in the fermentor, I finally got around to kegging it yesterday, here's my tasting notes:
Appearance: Slightly cloudy, pale golden, creamy white head
Aroma: Clean Citra hop aroma, slight background of fruity esters
Mouthfeel: Full bodied and creamy - could be thinnner on the palate.
Taste: Pleasant Citra flavour, lingering and nicely balanced bitterness. Stonefruit esters. Low level of sweetness, could be drier.
Discussion
I'm totally doing this again. Next time I'll try to include an easy steeping grain method - perhaps cold steeping in a jar the night before, or in the hot water prior to boiling. I'm very impressed by the hop utilization given the lack of a true boil, but obviously having the hops in the cube does create a fair amount of trub port ferment. Clarity was an issue, but this is likely a yeast selection issue, one which a different yeast choice, plus crashing and fining will clear up (pardon the pun). The cost was about $28 for a slab and a 1/3 which is pretty great value, the beer is great and the effort required next to nothing.
One of the coolest things about this method is the repeatability. If anyone else out there is game to have a go, I'd love to get a list of recipes together. Cheers
