light beer #1
Making a sub 3% abv beer has always been a goal of mine. For many reasons I've never got around to it until now. The easier route would be to go with a dark/malty beer but I wanted something light for the warmer weather which finally arrived. I decided on a cream ale with English yeast to try and create a little more flavor.
I have a fondness for cream ales and any indigenous American style. I really like the subtle sweet flavor the corn gives it. I thought about going all malt in fear that the corn might thin it out too much but to counter that I mashed high to create more complex, less easily fermentable sugars. I had some slurry of wlp007 on hand from the best bitter. At the lower temp range it does ferment on the cleaner side for an English ale yeast so I did the majority of fermentation at 65. The 67% apparent attenuation I got was right on the low end for that yeast and left enough malt character to prevent the beer from being too thin. Flaked corn is easier to work with them grits and still contributes a corn flavor unlike corn sugar so that's what I went with.
This beer turned out really well. Its light, crisp and really refreshing. I was expecting soda water but got an actual beer flavored beverage. The wlp007 has an interesting character in this really light grist. It gives the beer a light fruitiness and slight tartness. When I brew this beer again, I would probably go with a clean American yeast just because the beer is so delicate, the esters (although subdued) tend to overpower the beer somewhat, throwing it off balance. Nonetheless still very drinkable and very refreshing.
I have a fondness for cream ales and any indigenous American style. I really like the subtle sweet flavor the corn gives it. I thought about going all malt in fear that the corn might thin it out too much but to counter that I mashed high to create more complex, less easily fermentable sugars. I had some slurry of wlp007 on hand from the best bitter. At the lower temp range it does ferment on the cleaner side for an English ale yeast so I did the majority of fermentation at 65. The 67% apparent attenuation I got was right on the low end for that yeast and left enough malt character to prevent the beer from being too thin. Flaked corn is easier to work with them grits and still contributes a corn flavor unlike corn sugar so that's what I went with.
This beer turned out really well. Its light, crisp and really refreshing. I was expecting soda water but got an actual beer flavored beverage. The wlp007 has an interesting character in this really light grist. It gives the beer a light fruitiness and slight tartness. When I brew this beer again, I would probably go with a clean American yeast just because the beer is so delicate, the esters (although subdued) tend to overpower the beer somewhat, throwing it off balance. Nonetheless still very drinkable and very refreshing.
- og - 1.031
- fg - 1.010
- 2.8% abv
- 10 ibu
- 2.6 srm
- 80% 2-row (great western)
- 20% flaked maize
- wlp007 200ml slurry from the best bitter
- fwh - .18 oz cluster - 5.9 ibu
- 10m - .25 oz cluster - 2.7 ibu
- whirlpool for 10m at 180f - .28 oz cluster - 1.5 ibu
ca 62 ppm | mg 7 ppm | na 15 ppm | s04 113 ppm | cl 47 ppm
Brew Day 4/15/17
- mashed at 154f for 60 min
- boiled for 75 min
- pitched the yeast at 60f
- increased the temp to 65f over 24 hrs then to 68f 36 hours later
Tasting Notes 6/10/17
- appearance: light yellow, good clarity, 1 finger white head which surprisingly sticks around
- aroma: light fruity yeast, minimal bready malts, little bit of corn sweetness, no hops
- taste: grainy and grassy malt, sweet corn, slight tartness and finishes with a little fruitiness, low bitterness
Next Time
Most likely I would go with a cleaner yeast but maybe one that still leaves a bit of malt like wlp028 Edinburgh.
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