Greater Congo Brewing Experiment - Feasibility Study
This is what I posted to homebrewing just a few moments ago....
Greetings fellow tipplers. onesideddice and I racked the 2006 edition of the Purple Peril and Sex in a Canoe Cream Ale today. At some point, I will write up the recipe for the latter on my journal and link it here. The recipe for the former has remained stable for, jeezus, must be at least 6 years now, and can be found here. In our converstations, fueled by sampling Unibroue 2005 and 15, we developed a particularly mad scheme.
I had been fiddling with the fridge magnets AHA sends out, and, as if from a dipsomaniac muse, I read "Brew a Smooth Dark Belgian Wheat Stout". You can't argue with your muse. The question of whether it would be take the Foreign Extra or the Imperial as the staring point resolved in favor of Imperial, principally so that we could tinker with references to the Belgian Congo in the name and label.
So to the madness, I give you...
The Greater Congo Brewning Experiment
This all starts out in how to brew an imperial stout. The characteristics sought are:
It should be build on a framework incorporating: Franco Belge Pilsner and Pale Ale malts, Malted and Unmalted Wheat, and Belgian Aromatic Malt. Specialty grains to include Medium Crystal, Special B, and Chocolate malts, Raw Oats, and Roasted Unmalted Wheat.
In order to get the high gravity for the stout, we decided to go with a double mash, wherein the Runoff from a first mash is the strike liquor for a second. So as not to waste all those good sugars still left in the mash after the first wort is run off, the mash is capped with more grain and re-mashed, then sparged to produce a Berliner Weisse from the first mash and a Saisson from the second. The wort that will become the stout then has additional grains steeped in it, and is fed sugar and honey every couple days as it ferments.
The reicpe looks like this (So far):
First Mash:
8 lbs Franco Belge Pils Malt
8 lbs Wheat Malt
2 lbs rice hulls.
Mash in at 1 qt/gallon at 122° and hold for 30 minutes.
Add Boiling water to bring the temp to 150° and hold for 90 minutes.
60 minutes into that, stir well and pull 1/4 to 1/3 into the kettle. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes and return to the mash, bringing the temp up to around 170°.
Rest 10 minutes then collect 5 gallons of strong wort. This will be the stout. Set it aside for later.
Add 1 lb of crushed Saur malt to the mash, add additional water to re-float at between 150 and 170 and stir. Hold for 30 minuted then Sparge, collecting 6 gallons of wort. This will become the Schlieffen Plan Berliner Weisse (acidity will come from lactic acid added at bottling.)
Second Mash:
8 lbs Franco Belge Pale Ale Malt
4 lbs Flaked Wheat
3 lbs Aromatic Malt
1 lb Belgian Light Crystal Malt
2 lbs rice hulls.
Bring the Stout Wort to about 160 degrees. Mash in with that as the strike liquor, and adjust with boiling or cold water to 150. Hold for 60 minutes and add boiling water to raise to 158. Immediately pull a decoction as above and get that boiling. After it has boiled, return to the mash and hold at 170 for 20 minutes. Begin to sparge very slowly (just enough to keep it floating) and draw off 6.5 gallons of wort. (Add an ounce of Saaz pellets to the kettle as the wort is flowing, after recirculation). This, then is the stout wort.
Add to that kettle 12 oz Carafa Debittered black malt, 8 oz special B, 1 lb flaked oats, and 2 lbs roasted unmalted wheat. Let that steep at about 160 for half an hour.
Meanwhile, top the second mash with 2 lbs of Vienna Malt, stir, hold for 30 minutes, then Sparge. Collect 6 gallons. This will become "Poodles of the Serengetti Saisson".
The stout will be boiled 90 minutes, and a pound of black treacle added at the end, along with brewers licorice, star anise, and just a smidge of orange peel. Over the course of the next month, a pint of it will be removed every other day, boiled with sugar or honey (2 total lbs Rapidura sugar, 2 12 lbs Orange Blossom Honey), cooled, and returned to the fermenter. Effective original gravity should be in the neighborhood of 1.130. Needless to say, this will get pitched with a half gallon of Belgian super high gravity starter. Come to think of it, It may be worth making a batch of beer with that yeast specifically to have the yeast ready for this one. It also gets yeast nutrient, and gets aerated with an aquarium pump twice in the first week.
The Berlinner Weisse gets a light touch of tettnanger and hallertauer, a 30 minute boil, and then fermented with Wyeast 3333.
The Saisson gets EKG just to balance, some lavendar, Grains of paradise, a hint of coriander, Wyeast Saisson yeast.
So, what do you think? Will it work? or should I be booking a padded room?
Greetings fellow tipplers. onesideddice and I racked the 2006 edition of the Purple Peril and Sex in a Canoe Cream Ale today. At some point, I will write up the recipe for the latter on my journal and link it here. The recipe for the former has remained stable for, jeezus, must be at least 6 years now, and can be found here. In our converstations, fueled by sampling Unibroue 2005 and 15, we developed a particularly mad scheme.
I had been fiddling with the fridge magnets AHA sends out, and, as if from a dipsomaniac muse, I read "Brew a Smooth Dark Belgian Wheat Stout". You can't argue with your muse. The question of whether it would be take the Foreign Extra or the Imperial as the staring point resolved in favor of Imperial, principally so that we could tinker with references to the Belgian Congo in the name and label.
So to the madness, I give you...
The Greater Congo Brewning Experiment
This all starts out in how to brew an imperial stout. The characteristics sought are:
- High initial gravity, over 1.100.
- Full body, but smooth rather than cloying
- Roasted character from home roasted raw white wheat
- Detectable wheat character
- Lots of fruity and funky esters: a Belgian nose
- Slight Sourness and Oakiness
- Slight Vinous character - maybe the last two from port soaked oak chips
- High bitterness to balance, but smooth - no high alpha hops. Also low hop flavor (probably Saaz) no hop nose
It should be build on a framework incorporating: Franco Belge Pilsner and Pale Ale malts, Malted and Unmalted Wheat, and Belgian Aromatic Malt. Specialty grains to include Medium Crystal, Special B, and Chocolate malts, Raw Oats, and Roasted Unmalted Wheat.
In order to get the high gravity for the stout, we decided to go with a double mash, wherein the Runoff from a first mash is the strike liquor for a second. So as not to waste all those good sugars still left in the mash after the first wort is run off, the mash is capped with more grain and re-mashed, then sparged to produce a Berliner Weisse from the first mash and a Saisson from the second. The wort that will become the stout then has additional grains steeped in it, and is fed sugar and honey every couple days as it ferments.
The reicpe looks like this (So far):
First Mash:
8 lbs Franco Belge Pils Malt
8 lbs Wheat Malt
2 lbs rice hulls.
Mash in at 1 qt/gallon at 122° and hold for 30 minutes.
Add Boiling water to bring the temp to 150° and hold for 90 minutes.
60 minutes into that, stir well and pull 1/4 to 1/3 into the kettle. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes and return to the mash, bringing the temp up to around 170°.
Rest 10 minutes then collect 5 gallons of strong wort. This will be the stout. Set it aside for later.
Add 1 lb of crushed Saur malt to the mash, add additional water to re-float at between 150 and 170 and stir. Hold for 30 minuted then Sparge, collecting 6 gallons of wort. This will become the Schlieffen Plan Berliner Weisse (acidity will come from lactic acid added at bottling.)
Second Mash:
8 lbs Franco Belge Pale Ale Malt
4 lbs Flaked Wheat
3 lbs Aromatic Malt
1 lb Belgian Light Crystal Malt
2 lbs rice hulls.
Bring the Stout Wort to about 160 degrees. Mash in with that as the strike liquor, and adjust with boiling or cold water to 150. Hold for 60 minutes and add boiling water to raise to 158. Immediately pull a decoction as above and get that boiling. After it has boiled, return to the mash and hold at 170 for 20 minutes. Begin to sparge very slowly (just enough to keep it floating) and draw off 6.5 gallons of wort. (Add an ounce of Saaz pellets to the kettle as the wort is flowing, after recirculation). This, then is the stout wort.
Add to that kettle 12 oz Carafa Debittered black malt, 8 oz special B, 1 lb flaked oats, and 2 lbs roasted unmalted wheat. Let that steep at about 160 for half an hour.
Meanwhile, top the second mash with 2 lbs of Vienna Malt, stir, hold for 30 minutes, then Sparge. Collect 6 gallons. This will become "Poodles of the Serengetti Saisson".
The stout will be boiled 90 minutes, and a pound of black treacle added at the end, along with brewers licorice, star anise, and just a smidge of orange peel. Over the course of the next month, a pint of it will be removed every other day, boiled with sugar or honey (2 total lbs Rapidura sugar, 2 12 lbs Orange Blossom Honey), cooled, and returned to the fermenter. Effective original gravity should be in the neighborhood of 1.130. Needless to say, this will get pitched with a half gallon of Belgian super high gravity starter. Come to think of it, It may be worth making a batch of beer with that yeast specifically to have the yeast ready for this one. It also gets yeast nutrient, and gets aerated with an aquarium pump twice in the first week.
The Berlinner Weisse gets a light touch of tettnanger and hallertauer, a 30 minute boil, and then fermented with Wyeast 3333.
The Saisson gets EKG just to balance, some lavendar, Grains of paradise, a hint of coriander, Wyeast Saisson yeast.
So, what do you think? Will it work? or should I be booking a padded room?