I started out attempting to make a saison, but wound up not using a saison yeast. I thought my beer would come out blonde, but it has a distinct red hue. I'll put my recipe next, what beer style did I make? 1lb Pilsner 1lb Vienna 1/3lb Wheat Malt .75oz Czech Saaz Mash 152 F for 60 minutes. Boil 60 minutes .25oz hops at 60, 30, & 10. Safale 04 Yeast. Here is what it looks like immediately after being transferred to secondary fermenter. http://imgur.com/wkOCkqh
Not even close to an IPA with only .75 oz Saaz. With using an English strain of yeast, you might call it an "English Ale" or "British Pilsner" or something in that very basic direction, despite not using English hops. Why didn't you go all in and use a saison yeast and just make a saison?
Doesn't fit any style I know of. Let us know how it tastes. ETA: That color is darker than I would have expected (even after accounting for the depth of the fermenter). Do you know what your mash pH was?
I was going to say blonde, but you extracted a lot of color from that Vienna malt, apparently. Closest to an alt, maybe? Depends on the quality of the fermentation, but S04 can be neutral.
With only 2 1/3 lbs malt, is it correct to assume this is only a 1 gallon batch? If so, there's probably sufficient hops to call it an IPA if you like. Of course, in the end you can call it anything you like, or after it's finished call it whatever it tastes like to you. The commonly referenced "style" definitions are so arbitrary and convoluted anyway that it really hardly matters and most brewers I know (both amateur and pro) don't really take them all that seriously anymore.
What in that recipe suggests "North American type of Kolsch?" Is it the large proportion of Vienna Malt or the English Ale Yeast? <Was your tongue in your cheek when you typed that?>
Exactly. Just one gallon. By the time he figures out what to call it so he can say "My ___ tastes awesome" it will all be gone.
There seems to be a lot of imagination going on where the brewer selects the style. An example is Troegs Nut Brown Ale. Traditionally an English Brown Ale - but they use Pilsner base malts, American Hops and house ale yeast (chico). While they make a lot more beer than I have time to keep track of, I feel they do quite a bit of this sort of "spin" in many offerings. http://troegs.com/beer/rugged-trail-nut-brown-ale/ Frankly, I'd change the style here in BA to American Brown Ale. Perhaps, the Trogner brothers feel the same way *shrugs*. More likely - they're not all that concerned. To the OP: If I were serving something like that, I would describe it as an Amber Ale.
Yes my tongue was in my cheek when I typed that :-) I had a thread about what Kolsch actually was, and by the end, it could be almost anything, especially in North America where strict rules about types of beer don't really seem to carry much weight. Basically, all it really needs is some Pilsner malt and some ale yeast. After that - anything goes. This beer has Pilsner malt and ale yeast - so yes, I guess it could be called a "North American Kolsch".
I agree with this. The ESB guidelines are all over the place so when in doubt, call it an ESB. This recipe fits no style guidelines but might actually be similar to something like Sam Adams Boston Ale, which doesn't fit any style guidelines either (and who cares).
