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:
1.75 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!
