Another day goes by, another LBBP original recipe to try! This beer was crafted to lure my Miller/Bud/Coors friends and family, out of bland fizzy golden water and into the light of deliciousness that is LBBP home brew! It is a Blonde Ale (typically American or Belgian) that found its inspiration by infusing it with German ingredients.
Bavarian Blondie - brewed on 2/5/2011 - 3 lbs 4 oz Weyermann Vienna - 1 lb 6 oz Briess 2-Row - 1 oz Tettnang pellets - 1/2 pack Nottingham yeast
mashed @ 153° for about 60–65 minutes in 1.75 gallons of water "sparged" in roughly 2.6 total gallons of water in my smaller pot. This was accomplished by dunking and stirring the grain in 1, 1, and then .6 gallons respectively.
boiled for 60 minutes total. used 3/4oz Tettnang pellets @ 60, and put the rest in @ 45.
Using my immersion chiller I got the wort down to 69° in a hurry, siphoned into the LBK, and pitched the re‐hydrated Notty. I let it sit for a few moments, whisked like mad, put the lid on, allowed it to cool to 66° on the counter, and into my cooler went the keg.
The wort sample I tested had the gravity at 1.051, which gives me the following information: - 70% efficiency - 20.8 IBU - 5% ABV
The above is pretty much exactly what I was hoping for! I cut back on my sparging technique from last time (which had given me an 83% eff.) because I did not want this brew to be a total malt bomb. I will aim to keep the fermentation temps between 63–65° which should keep the yeast pretty neutral.
~UPDATE: 2/8/11 - the Notty is behaving nicely with some thick bubbles across the wort and hovering between 64–66°. I'll take that any day!
ferment through 2/19 ~UPDATE: I sampled a little bit during bottling, and was delightful! My brother-in-law also was willing to give "flat beer" a try, and he had a similar reaction. He actually said: "it kind of tastes like a lager" --- thank you low temp Notty!
carbonate/condition through 3/10 then send a six pack into the fridge 1st tester on about 3/20
4/3/2011: poured out a hazy gold (that never cleared) with a finger of creamy white head that actually left some lacing and retained at about 2mm for the duration of drinking this pint. First thing that you notice is a slightly hoppy yet sweet smell right after the pour. It didn't last long, but was a nice greeting all the same. The taste is actually a little hop forward with an earthy and spicy scent that reminded me of wild grasses (some may say a little "herbal", but I I envisioned a wild field first). In the passenger seat was the unique toasty malt flavor that the vienna is (apparantly) known for. It was nice, light, and easy to drink, and it most definitely served its purposed by getting several people (that did not like the taste of some of my earlier batches) to actually enjoy my home brew. ~Next Recipe~