Light, crisp, refreshing, summer beer

[coopertrooper]

Hello all,

I have a beer in my head but I'm not sure how to create it. Would love to hear others opinions on creating this.

Keywords for the beer: light, refreshing, almost no malt character, pear / stone fruit / or both, mildly sweet, easy drinking, summer beer.

First off I want to say that I am not interested in following any style, just in achieving the desired beer. Many ways to go about it for sure. I envision it as a beer with a simple grain bill, two different malts tops. I am debating whether to mash at around 150F or 154F. The 150F may end up a little more crisp, but if I am looking for a little sweetness maybe I should aim for 154F. Thoughts? For the hops I am looking for 2-3 different hop additions. I'll take the highest alpha acid hop and use that as bittering. Add everything else at 10 mins, 5 mins, and a final addition at 150F for 15-30 mins. Will also dry hop. Thinking about 4-6oz of hops total.

Alcohol: 4.5-5% abv
BU:GU ratio: 0.4-0.6
IBU: 18-30
Yeast I am considering (aiming for high ester/ fruit): wyeast 1318 (london ale III), escarpment foggy london ale, escarpment fruity witbier, wyest 1028 (london ale)
Hops (some combination of): Hallertau blanc (little more white wine character but could go well with this), el dorado, calypso, eureka, bravo
Grains: something simple, maybe 80% 2-row pale, 20% wheat malt mashed at 154F?
Water: might go for a more balanced sulfate/chloride ratio (either 2:1, or 1:1).

Would love to hear your ideas. Fire away! Feel free to refer me to another recipe if you think it fits the bill. Also, don't be afraid to completely suggest something totally different from what I have started with.

Thanks guys,

 

[hottpeper13]

In my mind light and refreshing don't meld with mildly sweet. I make a Honey Kolsch that would be rite up your alley. 8 lb grain bill, 4-6 oz honey malt, mash at 148*and a 5.2 pH. I end up with a 1.044 OG and 1.011 FG, light crisp and an all day drinker. stats are RO water .5 g/gal CaCl2, .25 g/gal CaSO4, .25 g/gal NaCL, 4 oz of the 8 lb is acidulated malt. My bu:gu ratio is around .35 use the hops you like since it's not to any style. Fermentation is key and mine are lower in the beginning to lower the fruitiness of the Kolsch yeast. Pitch at 57-59 hold for 2-3 days, I watch the krausen and bump it up to 64 when it starts to fall and leave it there for a total of 3 week primary. This one is best lagered for 4-6 weeks and it still gets better while on tap.

 

[coopertrooper]

In my mind light and refreshing don't meld with mildly sweet. I make a Honey Kolsch that would be rite up your alley. 8 lb grain bill, 4-6 oz honey malt, mash at 148*and a 5.2 pH. I end up with a 1.044 OG and 1.011 FG, light crisp and an all day drinker. stats are RO water .5 g/gal CaCl2, .25 g/gal CaSO4, .25 g/gal NaCL, 4 oz of the 8 lb is acidulated malt. My bu:gu ratio is around .35 use the hops you like since it's not to any style. Fermentation is key and mine are lower in the beginning to lower the fruitiness of the Kolsch yeast. Pitch at 57-59 hold for 2-3 days, I watch the krausen and bump it up to 64 when it starts to fall and leave it there for a total of 3 week primary. This one is best lagered for 4-6 weeks and it still gets better while on tap.

Thanks for the reply. Funny enough I was originally thinking a kolsch for the recipe. Your recipe sounds really good!

I've never used the kolsch yeast before. If I wanted the fruity esters of the kolsch yeast would you recommend fermenting at 64F from the start? Unfortunately I don't have temperature control, but I do have a very cool area of the house which is probably in the range of 57-59. Does kolsch yeast always have to be aged like that? What exactly is being changed by the aging process?

Thanks,

 

[hottpeper13]

I think 64* is where most ferment it at. I'm not sure scientifically what happens when beer is lagered but ALL the beers i do get some time in the 33* , CO2 enabled chamber and I think it's one of the reasons my beers got better. Plus when I put them on tap they are ready to go. Judges and people doing sensory in clubs can tell a Kolsch and a Lager that are too young,their just not smooth yet. You can lager in the bottle after 3 weeks or so of carbing up.

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, I use 2565 for my kolch brews and run it at 60°F until it's time for a d-rest. Once kegged they spend at least a couple of weeks chilling and carbonating...

Cheers!

 

[coopertrooper]

I think 64* is where most ferment it at. I'm not sure scientifically what happens when beer is lagered but ALL the beers i do get some time in the 33* , CO2 enabled chamber and I think it's one of the reasons my beers got better. Plus when I put them on tap they are ready to go. Judges and people doing sensory in clubs can tell a Kolsch and a Lager that are too young,their just not smooth yet. You can lager in the bottle after 3 weeks or so of carbing up.

OK thanks, what do you mean by 32* CO2 enabled chamber? I bottle myself. Are you saying that you can ferment as normal (say 2-3 weeks) then bottle and let further conditioning happen at low temps?

 

[coopertrooper]

fwiw, I use 2565 for my kolch brews and run it at 60°F until it's time for a d-rest. Once kegged they spend at least a couple of weeks chilling and carbonating...

Cheers!

Cool, so you are saying ferment at 60F until fermentation is mostly complete, then bump up temp for the diacetyl rest? I guess since I am bottling 2-3 weeks in the bottle in a cold place should help to condition it.

 

[day_trippr]

Exactly so - with a handful of fermentation points to go I start the ramp to 68° over a couple of days.
Wrt to the "CO2 enabled chamber"...

...it's to provide a source of CO2 at light pressure (in my case, ~0.4psi) to the fermenters so when you want to drop the temperature (for a crash or whatever) instead of filling the headspace with air, it's filled with benign CO2...

Cheers!

 

[hottpeper13]

My lagering chamber has 3 CO2 lines for the kegs to carb up while lagering.

 

[day_trippr]

I use the same drops for carbonating kegs
That's easy. Getting a stable uber low pressure to not blow up the fermenter is harder

Cheers!