Brewed: 31st January, 2010
I decided to brew this batch for a couple of reasons; first, it fits in to one of the styles open for competition at the February BABBs mini-competition, and second, it looks like we're going to a party at the end of February where this style of beer could go down pretty well. The hop signature of this, and many other Australian main-stream beers, is that of the Pride of Ringwood cultivar, and although it's far from my favourite from a flavour perspective, it's pretty distinctive, and in my experience, reasonably easy to replicate from a home brewing perspective.
I was shooting for a lower volume with this brew with the intention of getting enough to fill just one keg (without any left overs for bottling). Unfortunately my calculations were a bit out when it came to my first sparge water and I ended up with a lower first-runnings volume. I made up for it with the second sparge, whilst still being close enough with my pre and post boil gravities.
The yeast for this batch is currently being brought back to life from a couple of Coopers Pale Ales I was enjoying the other night. For those reading who aren't aware, Coopers' beers are bottle conditioned with what is reported to be the same strain of yeast that they use in primary fermentation. What this means from a home brewing perspective is that you can take the "dregs" from a Coopers beer and build it back up to a quantity of yeast suitable for pitching into your own brew, giving you a yeast flavour profile and properties that are similar to Coopers' beers. There's an article and discussion about how to do this on AussieHomeBrewer.com.
The recipe (based on this one):
JW Pale Malt: 4030g
Wheat Malt: 225g
Crystal 125 Malt: 75g
Pride of Ringwood pellets (8.3% AA): 17g @-60 mins ~17 IBU
Pride of Ringwood flowers (9.6% AA): 11g @-60 mins ~12 IBU
Mash time: 60 minutes
Target mash temperature: 63C
Start: 63C End: 61C
Runoff: 24.5L
Pre-boil SG: 1043
Boil time: 60 minutes
Target OG: 1051 Actual: 1048
Post-boil volume: 19.5L
Yeast: Recultured Coopers Ale yeast
Ferment temp: 18C
Target fermenter volume: 20L
Updated 4th March: This beer scored 36/50 in the BABBs February 2010 mini-competition. Results posted here.
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2 comments:
Hi there,
I'm all the way up in Canada and have been looking up Coopers Sparkling recipes for a while now as I plan my brew. Yours is the first without the Belgium Candi Sugar addition.
Is there a reason your recipe doesn't have it? Have I just been misled by the others?
Thanks for your comment! I know of a few recipes where cane sugar has been used, but have never heard of using Belgian candi sugar. If you look through the recipe discussion on AHB, there's actually a couple of comments on some changes that would bring the recipe closer in line with the original. I'd recommend reading the whole thread and tweaking the recipe from there. Next time I have a go at it, I'll at least be trying some flaked wheat.
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