Whew... I cleaned a LOT of bottles today for this. In the end I only actually got 24 330mls and a couple of bombers, a little less than I expected out of the batch, and I'm not sure I have enough bottles left for the other batch I was thinking of packing up this weekend. Still, it was overall pretty successful.
This batch came out differently than I was expecting. The rye seems more prominent, though still pretty subtle, which is good, but the Cascade hops do not do the same job as the Amarillo did in terms of giving that little hint of citrus in the finish that balances it, so I'm worried people will find it more off-putting now. Next time I can't get Amarillo, I'm going to have to really jack up my late hop additions during the boil, maybe double?
It's a little lighter in the alcohol and the body, which was intentional, but it's also a good deal less chocolatey. That's definitely an overreaction on my part to the somewhat acrid results of my last attempt. The Caramunich malt is working really nicely, though, adding a little toasty-ness. I feel like I can't really judge it until it's carbonated, which will change the mouthfeel and give it a little bite from the carbonic acid... I decided to shoot for 2.2 volumes of CO2, which I understand is pretty typical of an oatmeal stout and should work nicely here as well. The colour's a bit lighter than I might have hoped, but again, that's probably the cut-back chocolate.
I think next time, some actual rye ale malt to supplement the pumpernickel, a little more chocolate, and a good deal more late hops (if it's Cascade at least), and I'm within a hair's breadth of absolutely nailing this thing.
And then I have to work on the juniper version.
Tomorrow, if all goes as planned, I brew something a bit different! What I'm going to bottle it in I have no idea...
No comments:
Post a Comment