Titan Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 Have been looking at doing one of these for a while now. Been busy with work and travel over the last 18 months. Now is the time to get this done. I reckon, get it done now and its ready to drink next winter. At the moment have built a recipe in beersmith, all in the range for the style, maybe a little under the abv range but at 6.75 close to where i want it. I will ferment with a bohemian lager yeast starter of sufficient quantity to finish this beer. Any othe tips would be greatly appreciate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy-o Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 Love to see the recipe! Where are you getting your colour from? To keep the low bitterness that's in style (and preferable with the clarity of a lager yeast), give Carafa Special III a try, if you're not already planning to and can get a hold of it. It's dehusked so it keeps the harsher flavours of other dark malts in check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted July 18, 2018 Author Share Posted July 18, 2018 Recipe will come soon in brew day thread. Not 100% convinced on my base malt. Thought about maris otter as i have this on hand, but leaning towards Munich. Thanks for the idea carafa, will give this some thought, though my standard malts for colour & flavour are choc and roast barley. Looking for a malt that gives me the sweetness this style deserves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 Try adding a little Caraaroma to it. Also agreed with using Carafa grains, according to the style guide debittered chocolate or black malt is used, but the beer shouldn't be black. Munich or Vienna base malt. Continental (Saaz) type hops. Lager yeast. Interesting style! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy-o Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 Yeah Vienna could be ideal - it's definitely going to help get you to that dark colour too! Otherwise I'd probably go for a pilsner malt and Munich mix. Pilsner's flavour is just too good in smooth, malty beers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted July 20, 2018 Author Share Posted July 20, 2018 Ok guys. Will do this one tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted August 5, 2018 Author Share Posted August 5, 2018 This one is done. OG 1.076 FG 1.018 which is spot on. Now in cold crash which i will leave for a few days before kegging. Sample tastes awesome. I should have enough in this one to get 3 long necks after kegging. I will age the keg for 8 or 9 months but the bottles will give me preview of this a lot earlier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Good stuff mate. What yeast did you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted August 5, 2018 Author Share Posted August 5, 2018 Used a Bohemian lager starter but was not confident it was enough for the high OG so i also pitched a rehydrated Bohemian. Seems to have done a perfect job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Sweet as, yeah more yeast isn't a bad thing for high OG brews. Pretty hard to overpitch them. Glad it's turned out well mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 Based on my expectation of this one, my intention is to take 3 or 4 longnecks off the top of this one. My thinking is 1.5 carb drops per bottle to ensure this is in the style carb range. Am i overdoing? I really want this one to be a perfect beer. normally i just pop 2 carb drops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 If you're planning on storing it for a long while, just use one carb drop per tallie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted August 13, 2018 Author Share Posted August 13, 2018 I was so excited about this brew I bottled 4 longnecks off the top rather than my normal routine of bottling after filling the keg. Poured 200mls to clear the tap of the normal trub build up then filled the bottles. Three i dropped 1.5 carb drops the last one only 1 carb drop. Im hoping this is a competition brew. Results are in. 5 days in the bottle i was so curious to see where it was at, i grabbed one from the cupboard and cracked it warm. Wow!!! This is a special beer, maybe not everyones cup of tea because of the inherent malty sweetness but this is truly balanced with bitterness and aroma from the hops. Of all the brews i have done, this one comes out as the best i have ever done. Worthy of a comptition entry? You bet it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted August 18, 2018 Author Share Posted August 18, 2018 Well I visited my LHBS today and took a longneck of this for the owner to sample. I really wanted his opinion before i commit to a competition. He loved it, said he could not find a fault with it. So this will go into Vicbrew 2018. My only concern is about carbonation, the sample he tested was a 1.5 carb drop bottle, carbonation was good but i'm pretty sure its slightly over for the style. He did advise I go with this as prior to sampling, the beer is decanted to a jug then poured to glasses for the judges to sample, losing carbonation on the way. Any thoughts about this would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted December 13, 2018 Author Share Posted December 13, 2018 Hey all, looking to step this one up a notch. As its summer here in melbourne ( you wouldn't know it) preping for my winter brew, and was going to do this again. However im looking to smoke this a little. I have some peat smoked malt, only a kilo, will it do what i want or do i need more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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