So, as far as I can see there are three occasions when drinking in the morning is mandatory. Yes, there are plenty more times when it's acceptable, but I think people must drink at an unfeasibly early hour if they're: a) in an airport; b) doing a long slow meat smoking session; c) brewday and have some on-the-go brews which need analysis.
I was involved in a session of C while I was brewing a Saison recently. Following an experimental Saison using Au35 hops, I decided to give it a go using Nelson Sauvin. The grain bill was 4kg Bohemian Pilsner, 1kg Wheat, 0.5kg Maris Otter and 0.25kg Acid Malt. The yeast was a blend of Yeast Bay Saison Blend (WLP4007) and Belgian Saison II (WLP566). Hops were Nelson Sauvin.
I'd just had a grain delivery so it was a simple case of opening a 4kg bag of Bohemian Pilsner, a 1kg bag of wheat and using a remnant of MO and Acid Malt. It was nice not to think, because I'd sampled a selection of aging Bretts and had a 6am buzz!
The brew went well, and within a few days the fermentor was bubbling away. Then job, as they say, was a good one.
My next brew day, a few weeks later, was to put together a Sacc Trois IPA. With the HLT heating up, I started to put together the grain bill. It was a mix of Bohemian Pilsner, Wheat Malt and Munich Malt. The only problem was I couldn't find the Wheat malt. My stock list showed I had 4kg somewhere, but I was buggered if I could find it. I searched the brewery, then searched the house, but with no luck. I even asked the wife to sanity-check me. We went through the stock list and everything was there apart from the Wheat malt. Then she said, 'What's that, in the container?'
I explained it was Bohemian Pilsner which I'd already weighed out. She asked if I'd taken it off the list and I told her I hadn't; I'd only just weighed it out before I couldn't find the Wheat malt. After a confusing few minutes, the reality dawned on me. The grain delivery had included 9kg of Bohemian Pilsner, bagged as 4kg and 5kg lots, as well as 4kg of Wheat malt. I also had a 1kg bag of Wheat malt from another delivery. However, I still had a sealed bag of 5kg Pilsner, and 1kg left in a 4Kg bag I'd just opened. I pulled the **** out of the bin and sorted through the bags. There, dated as per the recent delivery was a 4Kg bag marked Wheat Malt. Had I really made a Saison with 5Kg Wheat, 0.5 MO and 0.25 Acid malt?
I pulled a sample. It was straw coloured, just like a wheat heavy beer. I sniffed the sample. It was a mix of tropical fruit and Weetabix. I tasted it...
Dry, tart and spicy, it carried the Nelson Sauvin grapefruitishness as an undertone. It was refreshing despite being room temperature and flat. It had a zing which my other Saisons have never come close to. My regrets dissolved as I tried to imagine just how good it might be when finished. My head span as I thought of all the beers I could try with a core wheat element.
Despite all the stupid things I've tried, I wouldn't have considered making a beer with a just under 90 per cent Wheat grain bill. There was no stuck mash, no fermentability issues, and the product was fantastic, albeit unfinished. Now I find myself working back through all my recipes, assessing which can be converted to a Wheat-heavy alternative.
Wheat; it's the future (well, at least for a few more brew days).
I was involved in a session of C while I was brewing a Saison recently. Following an experimental Saison using Au35 hops, I decided to give it a go using Nelson Sauvin. The grain bill was 4kg Bohemian Pilsner, 1kg Wheat, 0.5kg Maris Otter and 0.25kg Acid Malt. The yeast was a blend of Yeast Bay Saison Blend (WLP4007) and Belgian Saison II (WLP566). Hops were Nelson Sauvin.
I'd just had a grain delivery so it was a simple case of opening a 4kg bag of Bohemian Pilsner, a 1kg bag of wheat and using a remnant of MO and Acid Malt. It was nice not to think, because I'd sampled a selection of aging Bretts and had a 6am buzz!
The brew went well, and within a few days the fermentor was bubbling away. Then job, as they say, was a good one.
My next brew day, a few weeks later, was to put together a Sacc Trois IPA. With the HLT heating up, I started to put together the grain bill. It was a mix of Bohemian Pilsner, Wheat Malt and Munich Malt. The only problem was I couldn't find the Wheat malt. My stock list showed I had 4kg somewhere, but I was buggered if I could find it. I searched the brewery, then searched the house, but with no luck. I even asked the wife to sanity-check me. We went through the stock list and everything was there apart from the Wheat malt. Then she said, 'What's that, in the container?'
I explained it was Bohemian Pilsner which I'd already weighed out. She asked if I'd taken it off the list and I told her I hadn't; I'd only just weighed it out before I couldn't find the Wheat malt. After a confusing few minutes, the reality dawned on me. The grain delivery had included 9kg of Bohemian Pilsner, bagged as 4kg and 5kg lots, as well as 4kg of Wheat malt. I also had a 1kg bag of Wheat malt from another delivery. However, I still had a sealed bag of 5kg Pilsner, and 1kg left in a 4Kg bag I'd just opened. I pulled the **** out of the bin and sorted through the bags. There, dated as per the recent delivery was a 4Kg bag marked Wheat Malt. Had I really made a Saison with 5Kg Wheat, 0.5 MO and 0.25 Acid malt?
I pulled a sample. It was straw coloured, just like a wheat heavy beer. I sniffed the sample. It was a mix of tropical fruit and Weetabix. I tasted it...
Dry, tart and spicy, it carried the Nelson Sauvin grapefruitishness as an undertone. It was refreshing despite being room temperature and flat. It had a zing which my other Saisons have never come close to. My regrets dissolved as I tried to imagine just how good it might be when finished. My head span as I thought of all the beers I could try with a core wheat element.
Despite all the stupid things I've tried, I wouldn't have considered making a beer with a just under 90 per cent Wheat grain bill. There was no stuck mash, no fermentability issues, and the product was fantastic, albeit unfinished. Now I find myself working back through all my recipes, assessing which can be converted to a Wheat-heavy alternative.
Wheat; it's the future (well, at least for a few more brew days).
