As a quick synopsis, the RFP idea was a way for Tom and I to explore new ingredients that were outside our comfort zones. Each of of us selected three randomly generated ingredients and had to brew a beer with two of the three. For my beer, I was allotted rye malt, cardamom, and extra special malt (see the Beer Concept post for all the details). My ingredients took me down the path of Danish dark rye bread, which was the inspiration for the recipe below.
The final recipe that was brewed is very similar to what was discussed in the beer's concept phase. However, I did make a few modifications that should be noted:
- Rice hulls were added because of all the rye and oats in the recipe.
- Cardamom was kept out of the boil as I decided I'll add it at bottling/kegging. I'll be using a a manner akin to the method Tom described, which will give me the ability to dial in the cardamom flavor and potency.
- The late addition of centenial hops was increased but pushed closer to flame out.
- WLP001 was used as the yeast in lieu of the English or lager strains I initially contemplated. This yeast would be easy and have a clean character that would allow the other ingredients to take center stage.
Other than a slow sparging process and letting the wort get too cold during chilling (~45 F) which slowed the initial yeast activity, the brew day was a success. In about 2-3 weeks, the beer should be ready for cardamom dosing. I should be able to do a side by side with the spiced and non-spiced version to really understand how the spicing is complementing the end result.
Style: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer
Recipe Specifications
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Batch Size: 6.00 gal
Boil Size: 7.0 gal
Measured OG: 1.046
Measured FG: 1.011
Estimated SRM: 17.5
Estimated IBU: 24.8 (Rager)
ABV: 4.6%
Brewhouse Efficiency: 73%
Boil Time: 60 Min
Grain / Extract / Sugar
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5.50 lb GlobalMalt Light Munich Malt (53.66%)
1.56 lb Weyerman Rye Malt (15.22%)
1.50 lb Rahr US 2-Row Malt (14.63%)
0.56 lb Flaked Oats (5.46%)
0.50 lb Crisp Crystal 45 Malt (4.88%)
0.38 lb Chocolate Rye Malt (3.71%)
0.25 lb Rice Hulls (2.44%)
Hops
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0.70 oz Sterling (6.0% alpha) at 60 minutes
0.80 oz Centennial (8.4% alpha) at 20 minutes
Extras
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40 drops of Foam Control in the boil
Yeast
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1 vial of WLP001 (Cal Ale yeast) in a 1000 ml starter
Mash Schedule
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60 min at 151 F
Notes
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Brewed on 2/3/2012 by JW
Whirlfloc was left out of the brew by accident as I found out I had no more tablets when it came time to add it.
Aeration was accomplished via an aquarium pump and diffusion stone, run for 30 minutes.
Yeast was pitched into cold wort (45 F) and allowed to ramp up to the targetted 67 F fermentation temperature. The low initial temperature caused a delay in the first signs of fermentation activity.
Cadamom, one of the required ingredients, will be added after fermentation at the type of packaging.
Feb 19, 2012 - All signs of fermentation activity have completed. Dropped the temperature of the beer to 40 F to cold crash prior to kegging.
March 25, 2012 - After being lazy with this beer and letting it sit in cold temp for 5 weeks, I finally got around to kegging it. When I was pulling the carboy out, the carboy was under negative pressure (from when the beer got cold I guess) as the blow-off tube had sealed itself. In my attempt to relieve the pressure in the better bottle carboy, the blow-off tube unsealed itself and sucked 1-2 cups of star san into the beer :( The beer was kegged and put under Co2 gas to carbonate.
* * *
Slainte!
-JW
"Beer is the Danish national drink, and the Danish nation weakness is another beer"
-Clementine Paddleford
Recipe Formulation Project - Reference Guide
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Tom's Recipe:
| Jeff's Recipe:
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