Vic Secret

This is a pretty straight forward, Azacca heavy, hoppy pale that I added foraged spruce tips to post-boil. The hops schedule resembles those of my recent “juice”, or New England, or hazy pales/IPAs, but the grain bill forgoes the flaked grain adjuncts. As with most of my recent quick turn-around beers, this brew underwent dry hopping (and in this case the addition of the spruce tips) in primary. I then cold crashed the beer in a chest freezer before kegging.

Recipe and tasting notes follow:

Recipe Specifics

Batch Size (Gal): 6.0
Total Grain (Lbs): 9.50
Anticipated OG: 1.044
Anticipated SRM: 2.0
Anticipated IBU: 12
Brewhouse Efficiency: 80%
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Grain

89.47% — 8.50 Lbs. 2-Row (US)
10.53% — 1.00 Lbs. White Wheat

Hops

0.30 oz. Azacca (Pellet, 13.6% AA) @ 60 min. (First Wort)
7.00 oz. Azacca (Pellet, 13.6% AA) @ 20 min. (Whirlpool)
2.00 oz. Vic Secret (Pellet, 15.5% AA) @ 9 days (Dry hop)
1.00 oz. Azacca (Pellet, 13.6% AA) @ 9 days (Dry hop)
4.20 oz. Citra (Pellet, 13.7% AA) @ 5 days (Dry hop)

Extras

1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient @ 10 min.

Yeast

Imperial A24 — Dry Hop

Water Profile

Seattle
1.60g Calcium Chloride
3.00g Gypsum

Mash Schedule

Single infusion – 60 min @ 156F
Mash out — 10 min @ 170F

Notes

Brewed on 08.08.18 with Gregory & Jensen

08.12.18 — Added the first round of dry hops to primary during active fermentation

08.16.18 — Added the second round of dry hops & the spruce tips to primary

08.20.18 — Cold crashed the carboy in the AM then kegged the batch in the PM and put into kegerator

08.21.18 — Hooked the keg to pressure and set it at 12PSI

Tasting Notes — 10.01.18 (on draft)

Unfiltered, pale straw color in appearance (looks more orange in photos), but not overly hazy. Moderate white head stand that dissipates. No lacing. Spruce is dominant on the nose with undertones of grapefruit, mango, and Fruitstripes gum. Spicy-Earthy spruce up front on the palate, gives way to juicy guava-like tropical notes. Mandarin orange pith and resinous pine notes meld on the bitter, off-dry, lingering finish.

Calculated OG: 1.045
Calculated FG: 1.008
Approx. ABV: 4.80%

My buddy Hippie John picked me up some Wyeast 5151-PC Brettanomyces Claussenii, and on the heels of my last successful 100% Brett. beer, I decided to make another one (this one a bit more traditional). This beer was initially going to be a grisette with a large portion of Munich triticale malt in the grist, but it evolved into a hoppier beer. I utilized some recent favorites in my hops schedule, and a delicious tropical fruit bomb beer is the result! Recipe and tasting notes follow:

Recipe Specifics

Batch Size (Gal): 6.0
Total Grain (Lbs): 9.00
Anticipated OG: 1.042
Anticipated SRM: 6.0
Anticipated IBU: 11
Brewhouse Efficiency: 80%
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Grain

50% — 4.50 Lbs. Pilsner Malt (US)
33.33% — 3.00 Lbs. MJW Munich Triticale
16.67% — 1.50 Lbs. White Wheat

Hops

0.20 oz. Sorachi Ace (Pellet, 12.1% AA) @ 90 min. (First Wort)
0.10 oz. Sorachi Ace (Pellet, 9.1% AA) @ 90 min. (First Wort)
2.50 oz. Sorachi Ace (Pellet, 12.1% AA) @ 20 min. (Whirlpool)
2.00 oz. Amarillo (Pellet, 8.2% AA) @ 20 min. (Whirlpool)
1.00 oz. Eureka (Pellet, 18.0% AA) @ 20 min. (Whirlpool)
2.00 oz. Vic Secret (Pellet, 21.0% AA) @ 12 days (Dry hop)
1.00 oz. Amarillo (Pellet, 9.0% AA) @ 12 days (Dry hop)
4.20 oz. Citra (Pellet, 13.7% AA) @ 5 days (Dry Hop)

Extras

2.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient @ 10 min.

Yeast

Wyeast 5151-PC — Brettanomyces Claussenii

Water Profile

Seattle
3.00g Calcium Chloride
6.00g Gypsum

Mash Schedule

Single infusion – 60 min @ 155F
Mash out — 10 min @ 170F

Notes

06.07.18 — Made a 600ml starter which I built up to over 2000ml in the week prior to brewday.

Brewed on 06.14.18 with Gregory & Jensen

07.04.18 — Added first dry hop addition to primary as fermentation began to slow

07.11.18 — Added the second dry hop addition (Citra hops) to primary

07.16.18 — Kegged the batch and began cooling to 38F

07.18.18 — Began force carbonating at 12PSI

07.23.18 — Dropped pressure to 10PSI, pulled through the beer and began serving.

Tasting Notes — 08.16.18 (on draft)

Hazy gold-orange in color with a billowy white headstand that laces nicely through drinking. Tropical fruit notes of pineapple and guava with undertones of lemon and mandarin orange on the nose. Flavors of tropical fruit cup follow the nose, but savory earthy-woody notes enter mid-palate and move into pungent red grapefruit pith with a hint of pine on the dry, bitter finish. The Brett. character here is very fruity, but there is a suggestion of funk that hits the sides of the tongue just before the lingering finish.

Calculated OG: 1.045
Calculated FG: 1.006
Approx. ABV: 5.10%