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OK so I had another dream. Considering the last one went a bit wonky (I'm letting it age a bit), I'm not too optimistic about this one, but I'm not completely sour about it either. I feel a bit more positive, so let's see. Also, considering I'm dreaming these up, I'm calling them my Dream Brews. Simple enough.
Anyway, what I had in mind is a combination of mead and beer. There are styles on each side of the spectrum, on the mead side it is called a Braggot and on the beer side it's simply called a honey beer. Now, what I have in mind is a sweet beer, highlighting the flavours of the honey, with a slight hint of citrussy hops in both bitterness and flavour/aroma. Now this is what I have in mind, for a smaller batch to test with first (because honey is 'spensive, yo.):
Fermentables:
1.5kg Pilsner Malt - I want the Pilsner flavour - sweeter, rounder, smoother, with hints of honey.
1kg Caramel/Crystal 40°L - For the added body/sweetness, and the 40°L because I want the slightly darker colour. Could maybe even up the colour here, not too sure.
1.5kg Honey - raw, natural, unpastuerized honey. For flavour and ABV.
Hops:
6gr Admiral @ 60mins - for bitterness - should give around 16 IBUs of bitterness in here. I have Admiral, but I can swap that out with anything else I have as well.
20gr of Cascade @ dry hop
Yeast:
Not 100% sure what I can get at my local HBS yet, but I want an ale yeast strain with a very low attentuation. I want as much sweetness in that beer as possible,
Process:
1. Mash the grains at in 3litres of water per kg of grain, at 70°C for 60 minutes. Lots of water for the grain so I can increase the unfermentables.
2. Boil the wort for 60 minutes with the hops as above.
3. After the boil, add the wort on top of a bed of honey in the fermenter, diluting the honey in the process.
4. Dilute to target volume (16 litres) using chilled RO water, treated with CaCl for added maltiness in the finished product.
5. Chill to room temp, and pitch the yeast.
6. Ferment in the middle of the yeast's temperature range until done. Dry hop for 4 days after fermentation.
7. Clarify with Gelatin.
8. Bottle, using very little sugar for very low carbonation (about 1~1.5 volumes).
My aim is an OG of around 1.058, FG of 1.014, for an ABV of around 6% ABV. More is a bit nicer, I'd guess.
So, ideas, thougts, possible adjustments? I want to avoid using lactose in the brew, but I will if I have to. The flavour I'm looking for is a sweet, honey-malt hit, with caramel, honey and barley sugar in the finish. High, smooth mouthfeel with low carbonation to make it feel more like a smooth, sweet, creamy drink than a fizzy beer.
EDIT: Oh yes, and the colour I'm aiming for should match the sweetness, malt and honey. As such, this is kind what I'm aiming for. I'm trying to figure out if the amount of Crystal 40 would be enough to get me to here. This is called a "copperhead vienna ale", and I like that colour. It can end up a little darker as well:
Anyway, what I had in mind is a combination of mead and beer. There are styles on each side of the spectrum, on the mead side it is called a Braggot and on the beer side it's simply called a honey beer. Now, what I have in mind is a sweet beer, highlighting the flavours of the honey, with a slight hint of citrussy hops in both bitterness and flavour/aroma. Now this is what I have in mind, for a smaller batch to test with first (because honey is 'spensive, yo.):
Fermentables:
1.5kg Pilsner Malt - I want the Pilsner flavour - sweeter, rounder, smoother, with hints of honey.
1kg Caramel/Crystal 40°L - For the added body/sweetness, and the 40°L because I want the slightly darker colour. Could maybe even up the colour here, not too sure.
1.5kg Honey - raw, natural, unpastuerized honey. For flavour and ABV.
Hops:
6gr Admiral @ 60mins - for bitterness - should give around 16 IBUs of bitterness in here. I have Admiral, but I can swap that out with anything else I have as well.
20gr of Cascade @ dry hop
Yeast:
Not 100% sure what I can get at my local HBS yet, but I want an ale yeast strain with a very low attentuation. I want as much sweetness in that beer as possible,
Process:
1. Mash the grains at in 3litres of water per kg of grain, at 70°C for 60 minutes. Lots of water for the grain so I can increase the unfermentables.
2. Boil the wort for 60 minutes with the hops as above.
3. After the boil, add the wort on top of a bed of honey in the fermenter, diluting the honey in the process.
4. Dilute to target volume (16 litres) using chilled RO water, treated with CaCl for added maltiness in the finished product.
5. Chill to room temp, and pitch the yeast.
6. Ferment in the middle of the yeast's temperature range until done. Dry hop for 4 days after fermentation.
7. Clarify with Gelatin.
8. Bottle, using very little sugar for very low carbonation (about 1~1.5 volumes).
My aim is an OG of around 1.058, FG of 1.014, for an ABV of around 6% ABV. More is a bit nicer, I'd guess.
So, ideas, thougts, possible adjustments? I want to avoid using lactose in the brew, but I will if I have to. The flavour I'm looking for is a sweet, honey-malt hit, with caramel, honey and barley sugar in the finish. High, smooth mouthfeel with low carbonation to make it feel more like a smooth, sweet, creamy drink than a fizzy beer.
EDIT: Oh yes, and the colour I'm aiming for should match the sweetness, malt and honey. As such, this is kind what I'm aiming for. I'm trying to figure out if the amount of Crystal 40 would be enough to get me to here. This is called a "copperhead vienna ale", and I like that colour. It can end up a little darker as well:
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