• Bottled Beet Beer

    From baloonon@baloonon@hotmail.com to rec.crafts.brewing on Thu May 24 01:48:19 2018
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.brewing

    As an experiment, I made a batch of beet beer which I just bottled. The
    base malt is Pilsner, with a bit of Carapils and some toasted and boiled
    oats, farro and barley thrown in. It's hopped with Saaz and the yeast is
    T-58, OG and FG were 052 and 012.

    Oh, and I peeled and sliced and boiled a couple of beets, which yielded
    a quart of juice which I added at flameout.

    Only after I loaded up the fermenter did it occur to me that I might
    stain the plastic, but at bottling I was glad to see that there was no
    color left behind.

    I tried the beer pre-bottling and I didn't notice any beet flavor or
    aroma, which was my goal -- I'd be surprised if a quart of juice made
    much impact on five gallons of beer. But the color is pretty impressive
    -- it's a strong reddish pink, fortunately darker than bubble gum or
    Pepto Bismol.

    I'm curious what impact the color may have on people's perception of
    taste if they don't know about the beet juice -- they may talk
    themselves into tasting cranberries, grapes, berries or even beets. It's
    also always possible once it's carbed that a bit of beet aroma emerges
    -- I guess I'll know when it's ready for trying in a week or two.

    I can't imagine doing this again, but it's an interesting thing to try
    on a summer beer.
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  • From Joerg@news@analogconsultants.com to rec.crafts.brewing on Thu May 24 07:52:10 2018
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.brewing

    On 2018-05-23 18:48, baloonon wrote:
    As an experiment, I made a batch of beet beer which I just bottled. The
    base malt is Pilsner, with a bit of Carapils and some toasted and boiled oats, farro and barley thrown in. It's hopped with Saaz and the yeast is T-58, OG and FG were 052 and 012.

    Oh, and I peeled and sliced and boiled a couple of beets, which yielded
    a quart of juice which I added at flameout.

    Only after I loaded up the fermenter did it occur to me that I might
    stain the plastic, but at bottling I was glad to see that there was no
    color left behind.

    I tried the beer pre-bottling and I didn't notice any beet flavor or
    aroma, which was my goal -- I'd be surprised if a quart of juice made
    much impact on five gallons of beer. ...


    I notice the same with honey additions with several kinds of beer. For
    those I usually add around 1-1/2lbs of clover honey at flame-out. While
    that slightly increases gravity and thus ABV there is no honey-taste.
    Not even sweetness like there is in a Belgian Tripel. It does round out
    some of the more aggressive hop tastes though, a fact that my wife appreciates. She isn't a fan of very hoppy brews.


    ... But the color is pretty impressive
    -- it's a strong reddish pink, fortunately darker than bubble gum or
    Pepto Bismol.


    That would be something, Pepto-Pilsener :-)


    I'm curious what impact the color may have on people's perception of
    taste ...


    I don't remember who it was but someone influential in the UK, maybe
    Winston Churchill. As a sort of prank all food on a buffet table was food-colored in blue. Hardly anyone touched the food from that table.


    ... if they don't know about the beet juice -- they may talk themselves into tasting cranberries, grapes, berries or even beets. It's
    also always possible once it's carbed that a bit of beet aroma emerges
    -- I guess I'll know when it's ready for trying in a week or two.

    I can't imagine doing this again, but it's an interesting thing to try
    on a summer beer.


    Tomorrow is bottling day, a Saison and a Koelsch. A NZ-style IPA and a
    Belgian Quadrupel will need another six weeks in secondary.

    Unfortunately it'll likely rain tomorrow morning so I'll have to bottle inside. Harumph!

    --
    Regards, Joerg

    http://www.analogconsultants.com/
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  • From baloonon@baloonon@hotmail.com to rec.crafts.brewing on Fri May 25 01:39:07 2018
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.brewing

    Joerg <news@analogconsultants.com> wrote:

    On 2018-05-23 18:48, baloonon wrote:

    I'm curious what impact the color may have on people's perception of
    taste ...


    I don't remember who it was but someone influential in the UK, maybe
    Winston Churchill. As a sort of prank all food on a buffet table was food-colored in blue. Hardly anyone touched the food from that table.

    There have been experiments where wine experts have tasted white wine
    tinted red and have picked up flavors they didn't experience when
    tasting the wine in its natural state. I'm pretty sure those have been replicated with light colored beer that has had dark brown food coloring added. Which doesn't necessarily mean that people are making up their perceptions, but they're definitely being shaped.

    Tomorrow is bottling day, a Saison and a Koelsch. A NZ-style IPA and a Belgian Quadrupel will need another six weeks in secondary.

    What kind of NZ hops? I'm interested in trying some new tropical fruit flavored hops. Of the ones I've had, Citra is still the only one I
    really like, but I remain hopeful that there's more I'll like.
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  • From Joerg@news@analogconsultants.com to rec.crafts.brewing on Fri May 25 07:44:47 2018
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.brewing

    On 2018-05-24 18:39, baloonon wrote:
    Joerg <news@analogconsultants.com> wrote:

    On 2018-05-23 18:48, baloonon wrote:

    I'm curious what impact the color may have on people's perception of
    taste ...


    I don't remember who it was but someone influential in the UK, maybe
    Winston Churchill. As a sort of prank all food on a buffet table was
    food-colored in blue. Hardly anyone touched the food from that table.

    There have been experiments where wine experts have tasted white wine
    tinted red and have picked up flavors they didn't experience when
    tasting the wine in its natural state.


    In some parts of France and Italy they'd flog people for doing that :-)


    ... I'm pretty sure those have been replicated with light colored beer that has had dark brown food coloring added. Which doesn't necessarily mean that people are making up their perceptions, but they're definitely being shaped.

    Tomorrow is bottling day, a Saison and a Koelsch. A NZ-style IPA and a
    Belgian Quadrupel will need another six weeks in secondary.

    What kind of NZ hops? I'm interested in trying some new tropical fruit flavored hops. Of the ones I've had, Citra is still the only one I
    really like, but I remain hopeful that there's more I'll like.


    New Zealand Pacific Jade:

    https://ychhops.com/varieties/pacific-jade

    I haven't tried it yet because this IPA needs to remain in secondary for another month. A wee sip at transfer from primary tasted promising. Ok,
    it was more than one sip.

    If it tastes good I'll also try a simpler version with less of the hops
    (my wife doesn't like too hoppy) and only Gold base malt, and less for a
    lower ABV. Then we'd have our usual "his" and "hers" beers.

    It's currently raining on my parade so now I'll have to bottle inside,
    had to cart the fermenters back in early this morning. Grumble.

    --
    Regards, Joerg

    http://www.analogconsultants.com/
    --- Synchronet 3.17a-Linux NewsLink 1.110
  • From baloonon@baloonon@hotmail.com to rec.crafts.brewing on Sun May 27 19:52:25 2018
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.brewing

    Joerg <news@analogconsultants.com> wrote

    New Zealand Pacific Jade:

    https://ychhops.com/varieties/pacific-jade

    I haven't tried it yet because this IPA needs to remain in secondary for another month. A wee sip at transfer from primary tasted promising. Ok,
    it was more than one sip.

    If it tastes good I'll also try a simpler version with less of the hops
    (my wife doesn't like too hoppy) and only Gold base malt, and less for a lower ABV. Then we'd have our usual "his" and "hers" beers.

    Report on how it turns out, I'd be interested in how it compares to other varieties used a lot in IPAs.
    --- Synchronet 3.17a-Linux NewsLink 1.110
  • From Joerg@news@analogconsultants.com to rec.crafts.brewing on Mon May 28 08:03:57 2018
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.brewing

    On 2018-05-27 12:52, baloonon wrote:
    Joerg <news@analogconsultants.com> wrote

    New Zealand Pacific Jade:

    https://ychhops.com/varieties/pacific-jade

    I haven't tried it yet because this IPA needs to remain in secondary for
    another month. A wee sip at transfer from primary tasted promising. Ok,
    it was more than one sip.

    If it tastes good I'll also try a simpler version with less of the hops
    (my wife doesn't like too hoppy) and only Gold base malt, and less for a
    lower ABV. Then we'd have our usual "his" and "hers" beers.

    Report on how it turns out, I'd be interested in how it compares to other varieties used a lot in IPAs.


    I shall do that but it'll be another four weeks in secondary and then
    two in the bottles for carbonation. With some IPAs I also found that
    they tasted a bit harsh even for hop lovers like myself but after
    another months or two in the bottle they mellowed nicely.

    --
    Regards, Joerg

    http://www.analogconsultants.com/
    --- Synchronet 3.17a-Linux NewsLink 1.110
  • From Joerg@news@analogconsultants.com to rec.crafts.brewing on Mon May 28 11:59:41 2018
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.brewing

    On 2018-05-28 08:03, Joerg wrote:
    On 2018-05-27 12:52, baloonon wrote:
    Joerg <news@analogconsultants.com> wrote

    New Zealand Pacific Jade:

    https://ychhops.com/varieties/pacific-jade

    I haven't tried it yet because this IPA needs to remain in secondary for >>> another month. A wee sip at transfer from primary tasted promising. Ok,
    it was more than one sip.

    If it tastes good I'll also try a simpler version with less of the hops
    (my wife doesn't like too hoppy) and only Gold base malt, and less for a >>> lower ABV. Then we'd have our usual "his" and "hers" beers.

    Report on how it turns out, I'd be interested in how it compares to other
    varieties used a lot in IPAs.


    I shall do that but it'll be another four weeks in secondary and then
    two in the bottles for carbonation. With some IPAs I also found that
    they tasted a bit harsh even for hop lovers like myself but after
    another months or two in the bottle they mellowed nicely.


    Just racked off a Pliny clone and a Belgian Quadrupel to secondary. When
    I opened the lid of the Quadrupel fermenter a whiff of Brandy wafted
    into my nose. Tasted a sip, then another, and just to make sure a 3rd.
    That could move Belgian Tripel to 2nd place on my all time favorite list
    and will be the hardest 10 week wait for a beer.

    --
    Regards, Joerg

    http://www.analogconsultants.com/
    --- Synchronet 3.17a-Linux NewsLink 1.110
  • From baloonon@baloonon@hotmail.com to rec.crafts.brewing on Fri Jun 1 23:32:36 2018
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.brewing

    Joerg <news@analogconsultants.com> wrote

    Just racked off a Pliny clone and a Belgian Quadrupel to secondary.
    When I opened the lid of the Quadrupel fermenter a whiff of Brandy
    wafted into my nose. Tasted a sip, then another, and just to make sure
    a 3rd. That could move Belgian Tripel to 2nd place on my all time
    favorite list and will be the hardest 10 week wait for a beer.

    I opened the beet beer, and it's good. It's a nice easy drinking summer
    beer, and my wife who is not a beer fan liked it. The head isn't quite what I'd like, so maybe next time if I make something like it I'd bump up the
    wheat content a bit. No apparent beet flavor, but the color definitely
    plays with expectations even when I know what's in it - it's hard not to
    think pink lemonade.
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  • From Joerg@news@analogconsultants.com to rec.crafts.brewing on Fri Jun 1 17:00:07 2018
    From Newsgroup: rec.crafts.brewing

    On 2018-06-01 16:32, baloonon wrote:
    Joerg <news@analogconsultants.com> wrote

    Just racked off a Pliny clone and a Belgian Quadrupel to secondary.
    When I opened the lid of the Quadrupel fermenter a whiff of Brandy
    wafted into my nose. Tasted a sip, then another, and just to make sure
    a 3rd. That could move Belgian Tripel to 2nd place on my all time
    favorite list and will be the hardest 10 week wait for a beer.

    I opened the beet beer, and it's good. It's a nice easy drinking summer
    beer, and my wife who is not a beer fan liked it. The head isn't quite what I'd like, so maybe next time if I make something like it I'd bump up the wheat content a bit. No apparent beet flavor, but the color definitely
    plays with expectations even when I know what's in it - it's hard not to think pink lemonade.


    Nice. The color would probably be less of an issue for sour beer
    drinkers. One of my favorite pubs (Mraz Brewing in El Dorado Hills, California) specializes in sours and they often have really loud and
    weird colors. Like this:

    https://untappd.com/b/mraz-brewing-company-blueberry-american-sour/1812646

    --
    Regards, Joerg

    http://www.analogconsultants.com/
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