Inspired by the discussions on "experimental beer" here and here, I'm going to use up extra and leftover ingredients tomorrow (Sunday) to make something reddish, hoppy and slightly roasty. The BJCP fans will have fun with this one. I've just trolled through the millhouse and hop storage and made a list of what's been sitting back there and needs to be used, now that it's November and we're losing money and need to use up what we have. I now have a list of 6 grainy bits and 5 pellety and aromatic things that are going into the Big Copper. The ratios are fun to work out, but I trust that whatever happens, my alternate aphorism of "what could go wrong?" will grind into gear and something flavorful and fermentable will employ its magic in FV1.
My principle aphorism, by the way, is "if it ain't broke, fix it until it is". I'll be muttering both of these sayings during the rigors of the brew day. Now, if I can just decide whether to use the Mason jar of harvested California Ale Yeast (which I don't like as it's top cropping and doesn't let me observe the ale during fermentation) or the plastic tub of North Yorkshire yeast from the Grateful Deaf brew. I'll let you know. See you at the pub in a couple of weeks when we get to drink it and marvel at the simplicity of professional brewing. I'll be the first guinea pig.
7 comments:
Go for the Yorkshire yeast, and if you have enough of the northwestern hops - call it a red IPA and claim a new style!
Of course it's a new style. I'm also fairly convinced that I'm innovating.
Excuse me, I think you'll find Infra Red is a red IPA....
No it's not. It's a SCHRA - Southwest Cumbrian Hoppy Red Ale. You invented the style. BJCP doesn't know about it yet, though.
You should throw something unexpected in so that the whole thing looks like mad genius. Maple leaves, say. "Autumnal Harvest, an ancient ale, is made only with bigleaf maple leaves, harvested from the air during descent, as was typical when the druids made this circa 47 CE. Cedar bows were used to stir the kettle, imparting a woody tannin believed to heal gout." Or something.
You know a blogger will go nuts over it.
I think you and I need to develop a recipe. Except that we shouldn't "cask-condition" it; we should condition it in urns salvaged from the wreck of a Spanish war fleet, and employ a scientifically optimized blend of argon gas and "cave-blend" fume composites from Pennsylvanian recreational speleological sites. This "ale" (and I use the term loosely) should only be dispensed via motorized, molybdenum, hand-tuned goose-neck dispensers at exactly 48 of Herr Fahrenheit's degrees (sparklers optional).
Problem is, I think Mr. Dogfishhead already came out with this, but unfortunately I couldn't afford a bottle at Market of Choice and instead just came home and had a pint of ordinary bitter at the pub.
I love using quotation marks.
Mmmm, molybdenum....
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