A Beer Without A Soul

When I set out to brew the epic partigyle batch described a few posts ago, I knew that the big beer--the barleywine--would require some special treatment. The White Labs WLP099 yeast I was planning to use to ferment this beer can tolerate up to 25% ABV and attenuate >80%. It is also a somewhat finicky yeast, requiring up to 4Xs the amount of yeast as a normal beer to chew through that much sugar. White Labs also recommends using multiple yeast nutrient additions, staggered additions of wort (I'm doing sugar additions), and regular aeration/oxygenation. I could manage yeast nutrient and aeration, but propagating that much yeast would be difficult. So, instead of stepping up a yeast starter multiple times or buying several vials of yeast (at $6.50/vial), I decided to ferment a starter beer (5 gallon batch), harvest and wash the resulting yeast cake, and use that in the barleywine. Such a strategy is often used when a homebrewer wants to pitch plenty of yeast in a high gravity beer.
Since the only purpose of this "starter" beer was to create massive numbers of viable yeast cells, it did not particularly matter what was in it. I decided to use up some bits of malt and old homegrown hops to make an English Pale Ale. As such, the beer did not really have a central theme or unifying principle. It was, essentially, soul-less, and it's flavor experience follows suit. Although my heart was not in this beer, that doesn't mean I missed out on a learning experience. I learned about using old hops, about a hop variety I haven't used before (Pacific Gem), and some of the characteristics of WLP099. The following is the beer's recipe and a tasting.

Recipe: Golem Pale Ale; 5 gallons; OG 1.060; ABV 7.2%

Grist:

10# US 2-Row Pale Malt  80%

1.5# Quick Grits  12%

1# Bairds Carastan Malt  8%

Hops:

1 oz. homegrown Nugget @ 90 min. (first wort hop)

1.75 oz homegrown Nugget @ 5 min.

.5 oz. homegrown Nugget (Dry Hop 7 days)

1 oz. Pacific Gem pellets (Dry Hop 7 days)

Other additions:

1 tsp. Irish Moss @ 15 min. boil

5g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) Mash 60 min. 

Yeast:

White Labs WLP099 Super High Gravity Ale yeast

Instructions:

Single infusion mash @ 152F for 60 min. Mash-out @ 168F for 10 min. Add Carastan malt after mashout and before Vorlauf/sparging. Boil down first gallon from mash tun by half (or more) for more color/flavor from grain. Add to last 5 min. of boil. Add 5 min. hop charge at flameout; simulate whirlpool by stirring hot wort for 20-30 min before further cooling 

Tasting:

A-Pours rather clear for a low flocculating yeast. A dark straw, pale orange, it looks a bit thin in the glass. Minimal head which lingers as a white ring around the edge of the glass. Small bubbles continue to stream endlessly upwards. A picture of lifeless, shallow beauty.

S-Muted berry and subtle oak. Some acetone and fusel alcohol underlies the fruit and oak. Smells reminiscent of berry jam.

M-medium bodied, carbonic sharpness, hint of hot-ness in the throat

T-grassy hops mixed with muted berry, carbonic bite, fruity yeast esters, acetone

Overall-I brewed it, so I will drink it. If I brewed this again, I would use fresh hops and a different yeast. Perhaps, if you decide to brew this or a similar beer, you can help it find a soul, but keep watch lest it ravage yours. Let me know how it goes. Many thanks. 

Cheers!

Until next time, BE FERMENTIVE!