004. Acoustic Session Ale

Brew day: Sunday March 30, 2013.

Steeped 0.5 lbs of 30-40L Crystal for 30 mins @160-170F. 1 TBSP of Irish Mosh @ 15 mins of boil.

Boil ended with 9L (2.4G). Topped up with three (and a bit) 1G water jugs.

OG: 1.042. 2 Gravity points lower than target. 2 possible reasons: (i) perhaps because I added a little bit too much water from the 4th water jug. (ii) I also pitched my yeast first and grabbed my gravity sample after. 2nd time in a row I made this mistake. (iii) I might not have added the full amount of LME. Its tough to get absolutely all of the extract out of the jug.

03/31: Signs of fermentation 12 hours after pitching.

Expectations: bare-bones, sessionable English best bitter with traditional characterisitcs from the Nottingham yeast and willamette hops (fruity/floral/peppery) and hopefully a well-balanced malt backbone with the crystal 40L and amber LME. Fermentation temp is a little high, around 23-24C, so it might have dominating fruity characteristics (hopefully not off-flavours).

Dry hopped with 1 oz. of Goldings hops. Probably domestic. Hopefully will add a subtle (maybe not even noticeable) earthy/spicy/floral aroma. Maybe it will complement the spiciness/floral of the willamete aroma hops.

Bottles:
30x355ml = 10.65L
10x800ml = 8L
2x750ml = 1.5L
4x500ml = 2L

TOTAL = 22.15L

Bottling day: 04/14/2014. 3 oz of corn sugar with 2 cups of boiled water to make 0.81 volumes of C02 (with 1.75 volumes of calculated C02). Broke my second hydrometer when reaching for my scale. :(

Tasting day: 05/12/2004. 2 weeks bottle conditioned, 2 weeks in fridge. Fuller's London Pride Premium Bitter for comparison.

Appearance: ASA: dark, ruby red and hazy. little to no head retention. FLP: golden orange and light, medium head the fades within 10 seconds.

Smell: ASA: slight caramel and nutty. Also pretty earthy. FLP: more of a "beer" smell and slightly metallic? Smells crisp. Floral and earthy.

Taste: caramel again. light and refreshing, sessionable. fairly malty with slight fruit notes. very enjoyable. low-medium bitterness. FLP: about same medium bitterness with more of an earthy character. Just as sessionable/enjoyable. I like mine a little better though.

Mouthfeel: little to no carbonation in both. no bubbles present. medium body for both? I dont see much of a difference in mouthfeel. FLP has a lighter mouthfeel/body. It just kind of rolls of the tongue. Mine is slightly more viscous.

Overall: both very drinkable, as they should be. Mine is overall more caramelly/nutty and feels heavier despite the much lower abv. I tend to like mine more as it falls more on the caramelly/fruity side, while FLP is earthy and resiny.