will it dominate your destiny.” I think this is an apt description for beer brewing as well, specifically once you begin brewing sour beers. Having immersed myself full-scale into the realm of sour, I might as well accept that my destiny is to be dominated by the wild and the unpredictable. A fate worth having, might I add. And I have the carboys to document it. Any-who, this is my most recent sortie into the land of bugs and deliciousness. I’ll be reporting back in about a year.153. Flanders Red
Mash:
6 lbs. MFB Aromatic
5 lbs. MFB Vienna
1 lb. Weyermann Light Munich
1 lb. Breiss White Wheat
½ lb. Dingemans Special B
Mash @ 155° F for 90 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water & 2 g. gypsum; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.088
Batch sparge @ 169° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water & 2 g. gypsum; collected 4 gallons @ 1.032
Collected 6 ½ gallons; topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (90 minutes), & added:
w/90 to go: 1 ½ oz. UK EKG leaf 5.41% AA
Chilled and pitched ECY02 Flemish Ale & ¾ oz. Hungarian oak cubes (house toast)
Primary: 9/10/2013 @ 70° F
Bottled: 1/24/2015; ½ kegged for Brew Ha Ha (1/31/2015) and other half
bottled w/1.75 oz. table sugar
OG: 1.064
FG: 1.008
P.S. I know the numbers aren’t in order. Deal.
Tasting Notes (2/28/2015): Flanders Red pours a crystal clear brown
with plenty of orange and red accents; the thin white head put in an
appearance, and then became a floating skiff across the top of the beer. In the
nose, there is lactic tartness mixed with a slight tannic oak, followed by
cherry and plum fruit aromas and candy and cracker malt aromas. There is just a
hint of acetic acid, but it is very much to the back. Flavors open with
intense, 
fresh fruit—cherry, plum, and currant—and bright lactic acidity. There
is some malt sweetness and residual mouthfeel in the middle: it is thankfully
missing that thinness of body that tends to ruin otherwise delicious examples
of the style. The finish is slightly mineral-like, accompanied by a tannic bite
mixed with fruit sweetness that lingers on the tongue. I am also getting a
slight flush on my cheeks now that I am halfway through the beer, which I
appreciate. The beer is bright and crisp on the palate, even with the medium to
low carbonation—the acidity and fruit flavors brighten and sharpen the beer in
a refreshing and enjoyable manner—although there is a touch of alcohol warmth
as the beer warms. All in all, I am quite pleased with this beer, especially
having been in the bottle only a month. I am also pretty certain I will shortly be upset that I gave half of this beer away. I’d call it sour grapes, but
that might be too bad of a pun for even me.
fresh fruit—cherry, plum, and currant—and bright lactic acidity. There
is some malt sweetness and residual mouthfeel in the middle: it is thankfully
missing that thinness of body that tends to ruin otherwise delicious examples
of the style. The finish is slightly mineral-like, accompanied by a tannic bite
mixed with fruit sweetness that lingers on the tongue. I am also getting a
slight flush on my cheeks now that I am halfway through the beer, which I
appreciate. The beer is bright and crisp on the palate, even with the medium to
low carbonation—the acidity and fruit flavors brighten and sharpen the beer in
a refreshing and enjoyable manner—although there is a touch of alcohol warmth
as the beer warms. All in all, I am quite pleased with this beer, especially
having been in the bottle only a month. I am also pretty certain I will shortly be upset that I gave half of this beer away. I’d call it sour grapes, but
that might be too bad of a pun for even me.
No comments:
Post a Comment