Piety and scholarship under Lupulos.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Bruxelles Sprout in the primary; IPA on deck; Berliner Weisse and Gose in design

Mostly successful brew day with Bruxelles Sprout, my Belgian Pale Ale. This recipe diverged from my previous all-grains as follows:

  1. Not an IPA
  2. Pilsner malt instead of two-row
  3. A non-base malt used (Caravienne)
  4. Homemade Belgian candi sugar
  5. Belgian abbey yeast
I really did not hop this much at all, which pained me while it liberated me. In fact, I used a "Noble-esque" hop which has been "aged" in my fridge for several months. Not by design but could have been.

I had a ripping starter going which was timed perfectly for brew day. Siphoned some of it into a bottle for storage. BS was bubbling like a champ by morning.

Next up, a new IPA with some variations from PfP. Gonna use a new hop I'm curious about and maybe even the remnants of the Belgian candi sugar.

Finally, I've changed my mind and will not siphon a gallon of BS off to pitch with Roselaire and turn into a Flander's Red. I'm still intrigued by the sour flavors but want something a little faster (a Flander's Red requires 12-18 months to reach peak flavor). Instead, I'm going to try a Berliner Weisse or a Gose, two ancient and rare German ale's which feature very sour character on account of early lactobactillus inoculations.