Sparkling Ale question

[Andris]

Hey guys,

I have Sparkling Ale mixed up by recipe, OG 1.050, SG after 12 days 1.012-14ish, depends on amount of bubbles :D

Brew is gassy, drew it from tap of fermenter - very clear, fermented at 18C.

 

Wondering about taste - is it normal for this beer to have this sweet'ish start in the taste, almost like some sugars are still in the brew?

[Slurtis Staggersalot]

I recently did the same brew and it finished at 1.014. It's been in bottles for a little over a week now and no bombs have gone off so I reckon that 1.014 is where it should finish. My hydrometer sample was a little sweet too[ninja]

[Andris]

Thanks, will bottle it by end of the week! Hope my wifey likes it - sorta told her that its "ladys" drink ^^

[Martyn]

By 'ladys drink' do you mean you're going to put lemonade in it and call it 'shandy'[lol]

[Andris]

nah, its the bitterness... this one tastes sweetish without lemonade.

[Slurtis Staggersalot]

Mine was in the FV for about 20 days due to life getting ridiculous and it was kept at a pretty steady 18 deg C. Bottle away! as for the sweetness I think it might be a little much for me but I will have to wait and see once the SA has aged awhile...

[Muddy Waters]

The SA definitely does get better with bottle age. I used to poo-pooh all the people saying that the kit version comes out too sweet as I thought it was sacrilege to say anything bad about my beloved Sparkling Ale [biggrin]

 

I now tend to agree with them. I think I will make it my mission to make something more closely resembling the flavour of the commercial version (maybe some of the malt will need to be sacrificed [unsure] ).

[PB2]

Another variation of the Sparkling Ale might be:

1.7kg Sparkling Ale beer kit

1kg LDM

500g dextrose

Made to 21 litres

Ferment with Coopers commercial ale yeast if you can get the beer.

[Muddy Waters]

That is exactly the recipe I planned to do next Paul - Now that you have suggested it I reckon it is signed sealed and delivered. Done deal. [biggrin]

 

BTW - I just did a gravity check on my Motueka Slam (with only 40g of Motueka though, so maybe it is more of a Motueka Nudge than a Slam [biggrin] ) and it tastes AMAZING [love]

[Slurtis Staggersalot]

Another variation of the Sparkling Ale might be:

1.7kg Sparkling Ale beer kit

1kg LDM

500g dextrose

Made to 21 litres

Ferment with Coopers commercial ale yeast if you can get the beer.

I made this recipe exactly in July and it was quite good as I recall. The beer book doesn't have any tasting notes, and I wish I would have held onto a few bottles to age out more. I guess the fact that I drank it all says that it definitely wasn't bad.

[Andris]

bottled it yesterday. since I did not had any free buckets for bulk priming and beer transfer, I crash cooled it for 2 days and bottled from fermenter - have to say, until I had to tip fermenter to fill bottles, it was my clearest beer ever get into bottles!

 

 

bits of priming sugar on the bottle :D

 

I think I'm converter - will cool crash for few days now before getting beer bottled.

 

[PB2]

There is no advantage in chilling the brew prior to bottling, this will only slow down the secondary fermentation process.

[Slurtis Staggersalot]

I'm drinking one of my sparkling ales right now (2 weeks old) and it's not half bad! I expect that it will get better with time in the bottle. Right now it is a bit sweet for my liking, but not overpoweringly so. It's at least as good if not better than the commercial beer I was drinking the other day [biggrin]I think I'll leave it alone for another 2 weeks and see how it tastes then.

 

Oh, one more thing. Isn't sparkling ale supposed to be served a little cloudy? I read somewhere that the recommended way of serving it is to roll the bottle gently to suspend a bit of yeast and then pour. If that's true there's no point in trying to bottle it clear and bright.

[Muddy Waters]

Yep cloudy is the way to go with Sparkling Ale [love]

 

As a young fella we used to call this cludy nectar of the gods.....Muddy Waters [biggrin]

 

Hence my user name.

[Slurtis Staggersalot]

Clarification from down under, scratch that, Mudification from down under. I'll have to try rolling my SA the next time I crack one open[cool]

[Muddy Waters]

I'm a tipper myself...rolling just seems a bit crazy[sideways]

[Andris]

There is no adavbtage in chilling the brew prior to bottling this will only slow down the seondary fermentation process.

 

Hmm... I was under impression that you get less sediment in the bottles that way and, yep, downside = longer carbonation.

[Slurtis Staggersalot]

I think the amount of sediment is directly related to how much priming sugar you use. In my own experience I've found that I get a tiny bit less sediment if I let the beer clear for a few days after fermentation is complete before I bottle. If you want your beer to pour nice and clear time in the bottle is the answer, of course that requires patience...