Started as Steam, Turned IPA, Turned Fruit + Brett. Thoughts?

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by VincentFrey, Dec 13, 2013.

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  1. VincentFrey

    VincentFrey Initiate (0) Jul 30, 2011 Maryland

    Fermentables
    9.9lb Briess Pilsen Light (Late Boil)
    1lb Acidulated Malt (Steeped)
    1lb Victory malt (Steeped)
    1lb Crystal 20 (Steeped)

    Hop Schedule
    60 - 1 oz Amarillo
    15 - 1 oz Amarillo
    05 - 2 oz Amarillo
    00 - 1 oz Amarillo

    Primary Additions
    49oz Peach Puree
    18oz Dried Mangoes

    Secondary Additions
    0.25oz Ghost Pepper
    2oz Amarillo

    Yeasts
    2 vials White Labs San Francisco Lager
    1 vial White Labs Brettanomyces Lambicus (to add in secondary)

    Notes
    I am making a similar mead with the peach puree, mangoes, and ghost pepper, and friends encouraged me to do a steam beer as well. I didn't think my ultra traditional, very piney traditional steam would do well, so I swapped out Northern Brewer for Amarillo for the orangeish aroma (using orange blossom honey in the mead). The malt profile was the same as my first steam, save for an extra 3.3lb of Pilsen light.

    Thoughts / call me an idiot?
     
    #1 VincentFrey, Dec 13, 2013
  2. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    What's your question? If it's 'critique my recipe,' what is it you are trying to make?
     
    #2 VikeMan, Dec 13, 2013
  3. VincentFrey

    VincentFrey Initiate (0) Jul 30, 2011 Maryland

    Well not really trying to fall into a style, but I suppose a dramatically altered steam beer. I'd like to get the SF Lager to ferment out as much as possible, then have the brett (everything is infected in my brew setup anyway) attenuate further. Basically, a steam beer base with a focus on fruit over Northern Brewer hops.

    So if BJCP it'd be a 21A with a California Common base. Otherwise, just thoughts on how it'd turn out and how to properly care for it.
     
    #3 VincentFrey, Dec 13, 2013
  4. kjyost

    kjyost Initiate (0) May 4, 2008 Canada (MB)

    I wouldn't steep Acidulated nor Victory. Mini-mash 'em.

    Sounds like a cluster-cuss to me.
     
    #4 kjyost, Dec 13, 2013
  5. pweis909

    pweis909 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,250) Aug 13, 2005 Wisconsin
    Pooh-Bah

    Steeping those grains will lead to a starchy beer. This will give Brett something extra to work with, but it might take some time before they break down that starch to make fermentable sugars. I never did a Brett fruit beer but I believe that many times with sour fruit beers like krieks or lambics, the funky bugs are given a long time with the beer (1-2 years) before fruit is introduced. However, I generally want beers with this many hops to not be in production for long periods of time in order to retain hop flavor. I feel like you might be proposing ingredients whose optimal time lines could be in conflict. Maybe you want to simplify the hops to mostly bittering and dry hop, and hold off on the dry hops for a year or two while the Brett and fruit flavors meld.

    But I'm just taking a stab in the dark. I never brewed an apricot mango dry hopped ghost pepper Brett beer. To me, it sounds like a bit much. But maybe better than it sounds? If he doesn't chime in, it might be a question for Old Sock who has done a lot of bugs and fruit stuff - you might already be familiar with his popular blog, the mad fermentationist.
     
    #5 pweis909, Dec 14, 2013
  6. VincentFrey

    VincentFrey Initiate (0) Jul 30, 2011 Maryland

    Clusterfuck I agree with, as I was originally not going to brew this beer and leave it as a mead (honey blossom, peach puree, mango, pepper) but everyone liked my original steam and urged me to brew a beer companion. I feel like it is definitely going to be a confusing beer.

    That said, it is not supposed to be sour. Funky bugs are not always introduced immedately, but brett is just another yeast. I'm waiting for after primary fermentation to get the farmhouse notes and to have the majority of the work done by the SFL yeast. After the SFL OG hits a solid FG, then the brett will be introduced for 2-3 months, or until FG stabilizes again.

    But really, it's just an IPA with SFL yeast and single hop amarillo. Then peach and brett. Then mango and ghost pepper. So it's a lot, but the base beer is rather simple (thankfully to me).

    I don't mean this as a negation of any comments, but rather my own thoughts on them. Any additional critiques are welcome, as the base beer is brewed and only the peach puree is added for primary.
     
    #6 VincentFrey, Dec 15, 2013
  7. AlCaponeJunior

    AlCaponeJunior Grand Pooh-Bah (3,452) May 21, 2010 Texas
    Society Pooh-Bah

    In the end, you are already done, so any critique is a post-hoc analysis anyway. You will wind up with one of two things: tasty beer, or drainpour ale. These are the two most basic possible categories of beer there are, and all beer falls into one of these two categories*. Which one you made will be determined in a few weeks. :rolling_eyes:

    Interesting idea tho. Quite interested to hear how it comes out, don't forget to update this thread once it's ready. And remember, the next new sensation of beer never comes about because someone followed someone else's recipe. :sunglasses:

    *if you didn't pour it out, then it's not "drainpour ale," so it must be "tasty beer." Sub-categories are merely the details. :astonished:
     
    #7 AlCaponeJunior, Dec 15, 2013
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