Strawberry Blonde **Revised**

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

Strawberry Blonde - 23 Litres

Ingredients

* 1.7kg can Coopers Canadian Blonde
* 1kg Coopers Brew Enhancer 2 or 1kg of LDME + 500g of dextrose or maltodextrin
* 325g Leabrook Farms Strawberry Clover honey
* 12g Super Alpha hop pellets (boiled for 1 minute, stand for 10) or 12g Cascade Hops or 13g Amarillo Hops

Method

1. Dissolve Coopers Canadian Blonde, Brew Enhancer 2 (or LDME etc) in 3 litres of boiled water.
2. Boil the honey for 5 minutes in 500ml water to denature the enzymes and kill off any wild yeast the bees may have introduced to the hive, then add to fermenter.
3. Fill fermenter with cool water to the 23 litre mark and stir.
4. Rehydrate yeast & pour over the wort surface.
5. Aim for around 19*C fermenting temp, maybe pitch at 24*C and once it starts fermenting, cool to 19*C
6. Bottle when specific gravity has reached 1.010 (or two readings the same over 24 hours).

I wanna perfect this recipe for my next project so any input would be great!

[vitalogy]

I did this with the following:
600g Light Dried Malt
200g Dextrose
250g Honey (Leatherwood)
300g Maltodextrin

It turned out a bit too sweet - Leatherwood has a strong flavour, and it was a bit overbearing. Clover might be different. I would recommend adding some extra hops just to give it a bit more bitterness.

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

I would recommend adding some extra

What hops would you suggest?...Cascade maybe?

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

Ok, I've changed it up a bit so let me know what you think & suggestions are welcome!

Ingredients
* 1.7kg can Coopers Canadian Blonde
* 1kg Coopers Brew Enhancer 2 or 1kg of LDME + 500g of dextrose or maltodextrin
* 325g Leabrook Farms strawberry clover honey
* Cascade Hops for Aroma

[vitalogy]

I would recommend adding some extra

What hops would you suggest?...Cascade maybe?

I dunno, I'm still a clueless newbie But I'd probably go for some bitterness hops, maybe PoR or something better...

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

I'm still a clueless newbie

Yeah same here mate...I was thinking PoR but just wanted to get some insight on what others thought!

[111222333]

if i were you, i think i'd stick with the cascade and add them near the end of the boil for a little bitterness and flavour. you dont neccarily need a bittering hop for bitterness, and i think many here would say even if you want a bittering hop, dont you dare use PoR . although, the only way is to try. but thats what i'd do, otherwise i think the recipe sounds pretty solid.

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

if i were you, i think i'd stick with the cascade and add them near the end of the boil for a little bitterness and flavour. you dont neccarily need a bittering hop for bitterness, and i think many here would say even if you want a bittering hop, dont you dare use PoR . although, the only way is to try. but thats what i'd do, otherwise i think the recipe sounds pretty solid.

Ok thanks numerical man...muchly appreciated...so PoR is out?....why is that?...cr*p hop?...what about Super Alpha? 12g Super Alpha hop pellets (boiled for 1 minute, stand for 10)

[111222333]

i personally don't like the PoR hop, and much prefer the flavours that cascade gives. if you want the bitterness, i dont think a 1min boil and steep will add much, that will be more aroma and flavour. i havent use Super Alpha as yet, so i dont know what the flavour is like, may be some one else can describe it, but i think it'll be best to either boil longer with that hop or use an aromoring hop (like a noble hop). but its a personal choice, i dont want too much bittering but more flavour.

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

I have updated this recipe as a result of much deliberating with some people & hopefully have come up with the right solution...I'll let you know if this works out!

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

5. Aim for around 16*C fermenting temp, maybe pitch at 24*C and once it starts fermenting, cool to 16*C

Ok now im questioning my own recipe...wouldnt 16*C cause the fermenting to stall?...I thought ales were better being fermented around 19-21*C???

[grabman]

depends on the yeast being used
fior example
1010 American Wheat. A dry fermenting, true top cropping yeast which produces a dry, slightly tart, crisp beer. Ideal for beers where a low ester profile is desirable, a good alternative for Alts and Kolsch, along with American Style Hefeweizen. Flocculation - low; apparent attenuation
74-78%. (58-74º F, 14-23° C)

or/

1007 German Ale Yeast.
Probable origin: Dusseldorf, Germany
Beer Style: Alt beer, American style wheat beers
Commercial examples may include: St. Stan Alt, Schlosser Alt, Frankenheim Alt, and Pinkus Alt
Unique properties - True top cropping yeast, low ester formation, broad temperature range affects styles. Will ferment cold; 55° F range, (13° C) producing lager characteristics including sulfur production. Style is noted for dry, crisp characteristics. Fermentation at higher temperatures (70-75° F, 21-24° C) may produce some mild fruitiness. Extremely poor flocculating yeast, generally remains significantly in suspension without treatment or filtration. Pad filtration is often difficult. Brewer's benefit from DE filtration or centrifuging. Maturation: Beers mature fairly rapid, even when cold fermentation is used. Low or no detectable diacetyl, alcohol tolerance approximately 11% ABV. Flocculation - low; apparent attenuation 73-77%. (55-68° F, 13-20° C)

Both will work at 16C, but will generally take longer to brew out at the lower temp.

Grab

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

Would this also relate to Safale yeast too grab in your humble opinion?

[grabman]

Straight for the saf site Jack, 16 is a bit low for their yeasts, as I said I'm no expert I'm just going on makers spec's. So if use saf adjust temp to 18-20 to keep it low end of range.

S-04:

A well-known, commercial English ale yeast, selected for its fast fermentation character and its ability to form a very compact sediment at the end of the fermentation, helping to improve beer clarity. This yeast is recommended for the production of a large range of ale beers and is especially well adapted to cask-conditioned ales and fermentation in cylindro-conical tanks.

Sedimentation: high.
Final gravity: medium.
Recommended temperature range: 18ºC-24ºC. Recommended pitching rate: 50 g/hl to 80 g/hl.


K-97:

A German ale yeast selected for its ability to form a large firm head when fermenting. This top cropping ale yeast is suitable for top fermented beers and can be used for Belgian type wheat beers.

Sedimentation: low.
Final gravity: low.
Recommended temperature range:
18ºC-24ºC.
Recommended pitching rate:
50 g/hl to 80 g/hl.

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

Fantastic info there grab, cheers buddy!
I have the temp range right then...around 19*C is looking real good!

[grabman]

no worries Jack, so which yeast are you going with??

Grab

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

I think for this one, I'll go for the Safale S-04 yeast for this time round anyway...maybe a Whitelabs liquid yeast the next time...and possibly a partial later when I get more experience!

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

Just thought I would post some pics from the Black Pearl Brewing Co.

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7/21 ... 1-06.0.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7/21 ... -01-06.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7/21 ... ng%231.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7/21 ... -01-06.jpg

[JaCk_SpArRoW]

~Brew Update~

Pitched @ 24*C
Fermented @ 19*C for 4 days, racked to secondary for another 4-5 days

1st FG = 1005 (01/02/2006)

[MHD]

That's fairly dry..