Vic. July 2015 Case Swap Tasting Thread

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MartinOC said:
#14. Grainer's Cal./White IPA.

Mate, are you sure you gave us the right bottles for this swap?? I was expecting a "Hoppy Hoegaarden".

The colour is dark (I was expecting white/opaque). Carbonation is HUGE!.

The nose is neither spicy nor hoppy. No obvious malt or wheaty characteristics. Perhaps I'm picking-up a bit of "burnt"/caramel?

Body is thin & over-attenuated for what I was expecting, so the bitterness is somewhat harsh. Flavour is similarly lacking.

There's obvious alcohol in the finish. Did you use a Belgian Abbey-style yeast?

Sorry, mate, it really doesn't float my boat. Again - are you sure you gave us the right bottles??
I ended up putting it into the Belgian IPA class and it got 3rd place.. So not quite a White IPA...as I said... Orange-White.. Hoppy Hoegarrden.. obviously u never brewed one b4 .. lol

3787 and wlp001 mix
 
MartainOC.. If you know how to brew a white beer .. please educate me.. There is NO information on it... I have done a lot of research... I think they must add some chemical or chelating reagent to reduce the colours. Or if anyone knows.. help me out...
 
Grainer said:
MartainOC.. If you know how to brew a white beer .. please educate me.. There is NO information on it... I have done a lot of research... I think they must add some chemical or chelating reagent to reduce the colours. Or if anyone knows.. help me out...
As far as I am aware, go Pilsner and wheat malts and then flour in the fermenter to get the pale cloudy colour.
 
mofox1 said:
Doesn't starch = bad for stability?
I never said it was a good thing to do ;-) . No doubt there are also other additives to help with the stability.
 
Gents, just a heads up on my IPA. It does pour a little low carb'd. It has been in the bottle about 4 weeks, so it should have been fine. Might be worth pouring with a bit of height...first time using PET bottles, so I will blame them. :chug:
 
Grainer - I've made a few Belgian Wits (even won a prize with one), but never a Specialty White IPA. It just doesn't appeal to me, so I've never bothered to research it. My comments on your swap beer were made based on what I read in the style guidelines: http://www.bjcp.org/docs/2015_Guidelines_Beer.pdf . Page 41. What I was drinking just didn't fit with what I had expected, so I went & looked it up. I got the impression more of a Belgian strong ale (hence my question about the yeast you used) & I was spot-on, since you confirmed the use of the Westmalle strain.

The white/cloudiness it Witbiers comes from using raw (ie. unmalted) wheat & oats & using a brief boil (from memory) & low hopping rates, all meant to prevent protein coagulation. The alternative is to use malted wheat & add/sprinkle flour late into the boil (about the same time as the spices addition). There's quite a detailed description of the traditional brewing process (ie. using wicker baskets called "Stuykmanden" ) in Pierre Rajotte's Classic Series book on Belgian Ales if you want to do a bit of research (& can even find a copy!). Hope that helps!

Mofox1 - Yep! Starch = instability, which is one reason Witbiers were traditionally consumed within a week of fermentation, since they just didn't last.
 
Grainer said:
MartainOC.. If you know how to brew a white beer .. please educate me.. There is NO information on it... I have done a lot of research... I think they must add some chemical or chelating reagent to reduce the colours. Or if anyone knows.. help me out...
Hang on, let me get ready.
index.jpg
*Flame suit from lethal weapon
 
With the recent bottlers do i need to keep the bottles in warmer climate to let them carb up?
namely: nullnvoid, curly79, yob, whiteferret, martinOC & JB. Excuse my ignorance, i normally store at 19c after bottling for 2 weeks before storing.
 
MartinOC said:
Grainer - I've made a few Belgian Wits (even won a prize with one), but never a Specialty White IPA. It just doesn't appeal to me, so I've never bothered to research it. My comments on your swap beer were made based on what I read in the style guidelines: http://www.bjcp.org/docs/2015_Guidelines_Beer.pdf . Page 41. What I was drinking just didn't fit with what I had expected, so I went & looked it up. I got the impression more of a Belgian strong ale (hence my question about the yeast you used) & I was spot-on, since you confirmed the use of the Westmalle strain.

The white/cloudiness it Witbiers comes from using raw (ie. unmalted) wheat & oats & using a brief boil (from memory) & low hopping rates, all meant to prevent protein coagulation. The alternative is to use malted wheat & add/sprinkle flour late into the boil (about the same time as the spices addition). There's quite a detailed description of the traditional brewing process (ie. using wicker baskets called "Stuykmanden" ) in Pierre Rajotte's Classic Series book on Belgian Ales if you want to do a bit of research (& can even find a copy!). Hope that helps!

Mofox1 - Yep! Starch = instability, which is one reason Witbiers were traditionally consumed within a week of fermentation, since they just didn't last.
do you know much about the boiling times etc??.. atm it is amore of a belgian..

The current receive has loads of unsalted wheat malt and oats..
I have the following to optimise recipe.(yeast in the fridge)

belgian Wit yeast
Forbidden Fruit yeast

and changed to the Gladfields light pilsner malt from weyermann pilsner
 
You would all know by now that I'm no beer judge and know bugger all about styles. One thing I do know is what I like which brings me to MoFox's beer, the first I tried.

This is one of the best beers I have tried since starting to brew!

For me the colour was great, very dark with just a hint of ruby red at the bottom of the glass. The pic doesn't really show the red colour. The head was creamy tan colour with tight bubbles that laced the glass and hung around. The taste was awesome. The toasty maltiness was a highlight for me and I was surprised by the sweat finish which I really enjoyed.

The only thing I could think of when I finished this beer was "where can I get another!" and was really pleased when I saw you put the recipe up so a big THANKS for that. I recon I should be able to brew it too.
8414905_orig.jpg
 
Damn said:
With the recent bottlers do i need to keep the bottles in warmer climate to let them carb up?
namely: nullnvoid, curly79, yob, whiteferret, martinOC & JB. Excuse my ignorance, i normally store at 19c after bottling for 2 weeks before storing.
Mine could do with a week or 2 of warm conditioning.
 
navarau said:
I was surprised by the sweat finish which I really enjoyed.
I worked extra hard for that sweat finish. Heh heh.

Glad it's a hit. ;)

navarau said:
The only thing I could think of when I finished this beer was "where can I get another!" and was really pleased when I saw you put the recipe up so a big THANKS for that. I recon I should be able to brew it too.
I forgot to mention when I posted up the recipe that the 0min additions were cube hops added when the wort had cooled down to 85deg.

The Chinook was my own, so I estimated the AA lower at 10%.

Edit: Recipe bit.
 
Grainer said:
do you know much about the boiling times etc??.. atm it is amore of a belgian..

The current receive has loads of unsalted wheat malt and oats..
I have the following to optimise recipe.(yeast in the fridge)

belgian Wit yeast
Forbidden Fruit yeast

and changed to the Gladfields light pilsner malt from weyermann pilsner
Ah... Now you've made me go & re-read the chapter on Wit Biers again.....If you want to read my copy of Rajotte's book, you're welcome, as long as it boomerangs, as it's part of a complete set.

From my re-reading (it confuses the hell out of me every time I've read it), making wits was historically a very complicated process involving four different worts: one hopped, two un-hopped & a 4th that was hopped with the "spent" hops from the first-runnings. The boiling times varied, from 60-90 minutes. I don't think we need to go to such lengths as homebrewers. We're so used to using well-modified grains & long boils these days, the traditional stuff seems to get pushed aside in the quest for clear beer.

'Glad to hear you're using unSalted wheat & oats, 'though..... :p

I'm not 100% on this, but you might find that the Wit yeast & Forbidden Fruit yeast are one & the same. More research required there...

And don't forget the spices - that was something I noticed was absent in your swap beer (maybe because of age?).
 
Damn said:
With the recent bottlers do i need to keep the bottles in warmer climate to let them carb up?
namely: nullnvoid, curly79, yob, whiteferret, martinOC & JB. Excuse my ignorance, i normally store at 19c after bottling for 2 weeks before storing.
I just moved them into the nursery.
 
Damn said:
With the recent bottlers do i need to keep the bottles in warmer climate to let them carb up?
namely: nullnvoid, curly79, yob, whiteferret, martinOC & JB. Excuse my ignorance, i normally store at 19c after bottling for 2 weeks before storing.
I normally store mine at 18ish for a couple of weeks and then at whatever room temperature is under the house for another couple. Normally takes 4-5 weeks before I start drinking.
 
Damn said:
With the recent bottlers do i need to keep the bottles in warmer climate to let them carb up?
namely: nullnvoid, curly79, yob, whiteferret, martinOC & JB. Excuse my ignorance, i normally store at 19c after bottling for 2 weeks before storing.
Yes for mine. I am thinking this will have a bit to do with it. It has been bottled for 4 weeks, but outside.
 
idzy said:
Yes for mine. I am thinking this will have a bit to do with it. It has been bottled for 4 weeks, but outside.
I've already carbed yours up. It was delicious. Very smooth.
 
#1 Idzy's Rye IPA - I poured from a height as suggested & everything went well.

Man, that thing is UNCTUOUS!!! It ticks all the boxes & I liked it, but couldn't drink a lot of it.
 
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