483 replies to this topic

[johnpreuss]

Ok I need to stop shopping at the LHBS...So I went shopping for supplies for a stout and he was out of flaked barley so I was like.. hmm... I think I remember Ken's recipe. I adjusted a little. Here's what I went with:6 lb. German Pale Malt1 lb. Munich1 lb. 50-60L Crystal1 lb. Red WheatHe didn't have Hoods but I had Sterlings in the freezer so I went w/ 1 oz 6.0 aa Sterlings and .5 oz Saaz for 60 min should get me around 30 IBUs.Then I asked about yeast... well he was out of 1056, US-05, lets just say all he had was Windsor and Notty so I went w/Notty.

[Big Nake]

Sounds delicious. I went to my LHBS today too... they are often out of something that I need, but I got lucky today. Cheers & let us know how it comes out!

[johnpreuss]

Ok I need to stop shopping at the LHBS... So I went shopping for supplies for a stout and he was out of flaked barley so I was like.. hmm... I think I remember Ken's recipe. I adjusted a little. Here's what I went with: 6 lb. German Pale Malt 1 lb. Munich 1 lb. 50-60L Crystal 1 lb. Red Wheat He didn't have Hoods but I had Sterlings in the freezer so I went w/ 1 oz 6.0 aa Sterlings and .5 oz Saaz for 60 min should get me around 30 IBUs. Then I asked about yeast... well he was out of 1056, US-05, lets just say all he had was Windsor and Notty so I went w/Notty.

Ok this entire thing went awry. I should have used a pound or so more of Pale malt - it came in low at 1.042. Then today I finally got a chance to rack it over to the secondary, took a gravity reading and the yeast pulled some crazy ninja moves or something and the gravity went all the way down to 1.007. But I couldn't help myself and I took a swig and it tasted good - well besides being flat - but it will definately be good.

[Big Nake]

Was it US-05? That yeast will attenuate if given the chance. This thread talks about the fine line that you have to draw with this beer and what can happen if just the smallest thing goes wrong. Mashing too high, using maltier grain (like an English-type), using old hops, using a low-attenuating yeast or having softer water can make the beer maltier. The lack of a pound of base malt, plus the lower gravity might make this one a little hoppier and/or drier. Let us know how it comes out... you could always call it an English Bitter because of the lower gravity. I hope it still comes out nicely. Cheers.

[johnpreuss]

Was it US-05? That yeast will attenuate if given the chance. This thread talks about the fine line that you have to draw with this beer and what can happen if just the smallest thing goes wrong. Mashing too high, using maltier grain (like an English-type), using old hops, using a low-attenuating yeast or having softer water can make the beer maltier. The lack of a pound of base malt, plus the lower gravity might make this one a little hoppier and/or drier. Let us know how it comes out... you could always call it an English Bitter because of the lower gravity. I hope it still comes out nicely. Cheers.

I wish it had been US-05, my LHBS only had Windsor or Nottingham. So I went with the nottingham because it is a very neutral yeast, but very attenuative yeast.

[harryfrog]

As we're on the topic of what LHBSs run out of - ours was out of WLP001 and US05 when I last went to brew MLPA. Not to be discouraged, I picked up a vial of WLP008 - east coast ale.I got great attenuation from the beer, but it was a little yeasty, even after a couple weeks of cold storage. To save the beer, I added 1/2tsp gelatine rehydrated in water straight to the keg. The beer cleared up in a few days and is now wonderful.The flavor is a little different from what I remember the MLPA made with WLP001, but still very delicious.Thanks again Ken!

[Big Nake]

As we're on the topic of what LHBSs run out of - ours was out of WLP001 and US05 when I last went to brew MLPA. Not to be discouraged, I picked up a vial of WLP008 - east coast ale. I got great attenuation from the beer, but it was a little yeasty, even after a couple weeks of cold storage. To save the beer, I added 1/2tsp gelatine rehydrated in water straight to the keg. The beer cleared up in a few days and is now wonderful. The flavor is a little different from what I remember the MLPA made with WLP001, but still very delicious. Thanks again Ken!

I'm glad to hear that the beer came out good this way. I have to be honest, I have a problem with that WLP008... it's clearly "my" problem because I know some people who like it. I brewed with it once and got this nasty, tangy profile. I avoided it for years and then tried it again... ack! My LHBS owner gave me a box of White Labs vials that were expired and I picked through them... I used the ones I wanted and the others I gifted to other brewers & one of them was WLP008. They say it's Sam Adam's yeast because it's called East Coast Patriot.

[johnpreuss]

Has anyone brewed MLPA with Wyeast 1007? I know that isn't a big floccer but if clairity isn't a big concern shouldn't it be similar to using 1056?

[Big Nake]

Has anyone brewed MLPA with Wyeast 1007? I know that isn't a big floccer but if clairity isn't a big concern shouldn't it be similar to using 1056?

I think it would be a little different, but yummy. 1007 is a notoriously low-floccer but after some gel solution and/or cold-conditioning, I have gotten it to drop out and create a brilliantly clear beer so you would just need a little time... or not... just leave it cloudy. Sounds good... keep us posted if you make it.

[nbbeerguy]

Well Just brewed a batch of MLPA my Mt Hood pellets were 3.9% so used 1.25 Oz to get close to where Ken Likes it

[Big Nake]

Well Just brewed a batch of MLPA my Mt Hood pellets were 3.9% so used 1.25 Oz to get close to where Ken Likes it

That sounds awesome. What was the yeast?

[SchwanzBrewer]

So the beer I am serving tomorrow at the golf tournament is MLPA... sort of.I messed up the recipe (not like its that hard doh!) and had about half as much crystal malt as needed. Well I tried some tonight and its just ok. I love MLPA and this tastes like MLPA light. I think it either needs more aroma hops to give it some more character, or more malts to make it real MLPA. Hopefully it all get drunk at the tournament so I don't have to worry about it anymore.I am a little disappointed because I wanted to put my best effort and favorite recipe on display, and it seems like a lot has gone wrong. I doubt many people will notice any problems and will just be wowed by the homebrew part of it, but I will know, and that sucks to me.Cheers,Rich

[Big Nake]

So the beer I am serving tomorrow at the golf tournament is MLPA... sort of.

I messed up the recipe (not like its that hard doh!) and had about half as much crystal malt as needed. Well I tried some tonight and its just ok. I love MLPA and this tastes like MLPA light. I think it either needs more aroma hops to give it some more character, or more malts to make it real MLPA. Hopefully it all get drunk at the tournament so I don't have to worry about it anymore.

I am a little disappointed because I wanted to put my best effort and favorite recipe on display, and it seems like a lot has gone wrong. I doubt many people will notice any problems and will just be wowed by the homebrew part of it, but I will know, and that sucks to me.

Cheers,
Rich

I don't think I would lose sleep over it. On the one hand, you know that you're capable of really nailing next time and by that time, this batch will be gone. OTOH, sometimes you make a beer that you think is subpar only to have people come over and not be able to get enough of it. It's weird because you consider it to be a bad effort but then all of a sudden the keg gets drained. You think to yourself, Wow, even when I miss it I hit it! There has been talk in this thread about the fine line for MLPA being a problem (maltiness-wise) and that there are some contributing factors to having the beer come out unbalanced. I have found myself making a couple of ales lately that are similar in design to MLPA, but with slightly different grain bills and more/different hops. I made one that is ready for secondary... it's got some crystal 40°L, 4-5 oz of Special B and about 7 AAU of Magnum along with 1056. It's a sort of reddish-amber ale, very much in the style of MLPA but not quite the same. I just have a weakness for this type of recipe and I keep playing with it. God knows that MLPA has been made about 500 different ways already so it's all good. Cheers & have fun with the tournament.

[nbbeerguy]

That sounds awesome. What was the yeast?

US-05 OG came out at 1.048 so right on target !!! And this is my first indoor boil as my new Apartment wont let me have propane in the building but worked out just fine on my stove top 3.5-4 hour brew day

[SchwanzBrewer]

I don't think I would lose sleep over it. On the one hand, you know that you're capable of really nailing next time and by that time, this batch will be gone. OTOH, sometimes you make a beer that you think is subpar only to have people come over and not be able to get enough of it. It's weird because you consider it to be a bad effort but then all of a sudden the keg gets drained. You think to yourself, Wow, even when I miss it I hit it! There has been talk in this thread about the fine line for MLPA being a problem (maltiness-wise) and that there are some contributing factors to having the beer come out unbalanced. I have found myself making a couple of ales lately that are similar in design to MLPA, but with slightly different grain bills and more/different hops. I made one that is ready for secondary... it's got some crystal 40°L, 4-5 oz of Special B and about 7 AAU of Magnum along with 1056. It's a sort of reddish-amber ale, very much in the style of MLPA but not quite the same. I just have a weakness for this type of recipe and I keep playing with it. God knows that MLPA has been made about 500 different ways already so it's all good. Cheers & have fun with the tournament.

I have about 3 gallons left. They loved the beer, but I refused to call it MLPA, it didn't do it justice, I just called it Lawnmower Beer. It was defnitely lacking in maltiness and mouthfeel for some reason. I couldn't taste any bite from carbonation at all. They moved the keg from the shade to the sun for some reason and I had clear tubing lines on the party spouts on the kegs. I knew it would taste funny, but I never tried it before like that. It tasted like bubble gum. I almost couldn't swallow it. I told them to move it back and pour a little on the ground if a line sat for too long and they wanted to serve some.

The beer needed some more maltiness, this could have come from the lack of crystal, but also I can't remember if I used double the wheat as well. It was a little watery, like a light beer. That and I think I needed some aroma hops so it would have a little more nose appeal. Granted I would only make these changes if I were brewing it again as lawnmower beer, not as MLPA.

Cheers,
Rich

[KSUwildcatFAN]

I've been meaning to ask this for a while. What does this beer smell like to most of you? I brewed this awhile back and haven't brewed another batch, but I'm about to do another. The last one tasted good but smelled kinda funky. To be honest, it smelled kinda like puke! I'm wondering if I got some kind of infection in the beer, but not one that adversely affected the taste. If that sounds likely to you guys, I may give it another shot and see how it turns out.

[earthtone]

just looking at a carboy of this but with a late Mt.Hood addition since I've never given that a shot and the freshhops bags come in 2 oz Should be in the keg next week waiting for one of the lagers to blow!

[Big Nake]

I've been meaning to ask this for a while. What does this beer smell like to most of you? I brewed this awhile back and haven't brewed another batch, but I'm about to do another. The last one tasted good but smelled kinda funky. To be honest, it smelled kinda like puke! I'm wondering if I got some kind of infection in the beer, but not one that adversely affected the taste. If that sounds likely to you guys, I may give it another shot and see how it turns out.

Could that have been carbonic acid? I'm only guessing, but the one time I shook the bejesus out of a keg for quick carbing, I got this nasty off-flavor that was very reminicient of zuke. I happen to be drinking MLPA at this very moment and mine smells like delicious ale. Make it again and if the same thing happens, consider changing the name of the beer.

[earthtone]

here's looking at you ken! this keg is about to kick but it's dammmmmn good. I really like the late mt. hood addition I made on this one. Turns out I've made this one 4 times already according to my brew log.

[Big Nake]

ET: Awesome looking glass of MLPA, my friend. My last keg went oh-so-quickly but I do have a fresh vial of WLP001 so maybe I need to fire up another batch. Thanks for sharing the pic & cheers to you.Ps. Is it warm up there yet? It looks nice in the shot.