I had Vera Mae last night and was tihnking of doing a clone in the springtime. I'll be making a starter from the bottle dregs and I think I know how to use the dandelion flowers but I'm unsure of the grain bill. The only grain mentioned in the HF description of the beer is Spelt, could it be true that no malt is used in this beer, that the grain bill is 100% Spelt?
According to Weyermann you can use up to 100% spelt malt.... http://www.weyermann.de/downloads/grosshaendler/eng/aufkleber/Weyermann®_Spelt_Crop_2012.pdf
No, and Yes. No, it couldn't be true that no malt is used...you need enzymes from malt to convert starches to sugars. But yes, the grain bill could be 100% spelt, as long as it's malted spelt.
You may be able to gain some clues from these pics. I looks like there is more than one grain for example... http://www.hillfarmstead.com/gallery/vera-mae-brew-day-2013/
Very interesting.. Any chance that spelt could have more than one appearance? Such as malted vs. not malted? If not, that would perhaps suggest that the brewery description isn't 100% forthcoming since it is.... "Vera Mae Saison Vera Mae is crafted from organic Vermont spelt, American hops, wildflower honey, dandelion flowers from our fields, our distinctive farmhouse yeast and water from our well. Unfiltered and naturally carbonated. 6% abv." The darker malt in that photo looks darker than any other malted spelt I can find pictures of, but that doesn't mean much.
Apparently spelt coffee exists, so roasting spelt isn't a first.... https://www.google.com/search?q=spelt coffee&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a
Nope. The gallery linked by cfrobrew shows them dumping bags of Rahr malt into their mill. To the best of my knowledge, spelt isn't a grain found within Rahr Malting Co.'s portfolio.
there are husks in the spent mash pictures, so I would assume that there is some sort of barley malt in the grist, since spelt is huskless
Linking this finding to my Everett clone, it suggests that the Everett label not saying lactose on it doesn't rule out the possibility of lactose being in it. The only difference is that the Everett label has a "crafted from" section and then specifically has an "ingredients" section. Lactose doesn't appear on either one. Now Vera Mae has the "crafted from" section on the commercial description. We also now know that the Vera Mae "crafted from" section doesn't contain 100% of the ingredients that appear to be used in the brew day photos. However, I don't have a bottle of Vera Mae, so I'm not sure if it also has an "ingredients" section. Does anybody have a bottle they can check the label on?
If so, and if its full, you should probably send it to Texas so I can check it. Maybe take it in to NASA and find someone to analyze it. You know, real official stuff
"Pale malt, organic Vermont spelt, american hops, wildflower honey, dandelion flowers, ale yeast, and our well water."
Anyone brewing this? I'm throwing a recipe together to brew in the next couple weeks but it's probably going to be a smaller version - like 4.2% - with a little bit of white wheat, flaked wheat, pale malt, spelt, and some less tropical American hops. I'll be fermenting with 3711 because, well....it's my favorite. I'm going to recruit some friends to gather and clean a whole heap of dandelions which begs the next question: Did they mash their flowers? Judging by the pictures in the link above it looks like that's where they were added. Cheers, Kyle
If the photos are in chronological order then I see spent grains on the trailer before adding the dandelions. Honey is already in the hop back? Looks to me like they boil with the hops, run it through the hop back with the honey added there, into the Lauter Tun for a whirlpool addition of dandelions. Having never been to their brewery to see how they use their system, I am simply speculating.
