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Vienna Ale

H

Hubitom

Hi everybody,

I know, the headline is supposed to be an oxymoron, but I tried it anyway. I used 75 percent Vienna in my grain bill, with the rest some Carmel, Munich, and mostly 2-row. As hops I used Tettnang, and the yeast I used was Wyeast European.

I fermented at around 67 for 3 weeks, and it was not completely done at this point according to the airlock (about 45 seconds between bubbles), however, the beer was clear. I then kegged it, and put it in my fridge that runs around 43 F. After 2 weeks on the bottle (CO2) I tried it, and the result is rather different. It tastes very sweet, almost honey like.

And here's my question. Did anyone do the same, making a Vienna, and use Ale yeast for that? Is it the Vienna that makes it kinda sweet, or the combination Vienna/European?

Thanks in advance.

Thomas
 
Hi Hubitom
Right off the bat I would say it was not finished fermenting. Only because you said it is sweet.
Couple questions before we can zero in on this for you:
Can you post the recipe?
What was your Mash Profile and did you nail your temps?
What was the Original Gravity?
What was your Final Gravity?
Was the yeast #1338?

You can't go by the airlock. As long as the FG was right, it should be ok. Yeast and beer can still give off CO2 even after the primary fermentation is completed.
Hubitom said:
I fermented at around 67 for 3 weeks,
It sounds like you did not put it into a Secondary. I still use the 123 method (1 week primary, 2 weeks secondary, 3 weeks in bottle/keg). When I keg, I add CO2, and wait for 3 weeks to age the beer before sticking it in the fridge.

Cheers
Preston
 
OK, here's what I used.

15 lbs Vienna
3 lbs Pale Malt
1 lbs Carapils
1 lbs Caramel 20
1.5 Oz Northern Brewer for 90 min
1 Oz Tettnang 15 min
1 Oz Tettnang 2 min
2 Tsp Irish Moss

Mesh in at 165 F, OG 11.4 Brix, 1.046
3 weeks in Primary, no Secondary.

When I kegged, I didn't bother to take the reading since I figured that 3 weks in the Primary would be OK, and the beer was crystal clear. I just put it on tap again, and took a reading. I don't know how CO2 can change the reading on a Refractometer, but I did it twice, and both readings were shocking: 8  Brix!!! I guess I just answered my own question.

My question now is the following: Should I take it out of the fridge, bleed it, warm it up and hope that there are enough boogers in there to finish the job, or just suck it up as a learning experience, and drink it sweet?

And yes, it was Wyeast 1338!

Thomas
 
Hubitom said:
Mesh in at 165 F,
That is WAY to high. Your mash temp range should be 150-158 deg F. At 150 you will get a light bodied beer and at 158 you will get a full bodied beer. At 150 almost all the sugars produced by the grains are fermentable. by mashing at 165 you created ALLOT of un-fermentable sugars (Dextrins), and you may not get this thing to dry out. Check out www.howtobrew.com for some great information about mash temps and other beer related topics.
Hubitom said:
When I kegged, I didn't bother to take the reading since I figured that 3 weeks in the Primary would be OK, and the beer was crystal clear. I just put it on tap again, and took a reading. I don't know how CO2 can change the reading on a Refractometer, but I did it twice, and both readings were shocking: 8  Brix!!! I guess I just answered my own question.
Let the beer sample go flat then take the reading, but I'm sure that there wont be much difference.
Hubitom said:
My question now is the following: Should I take it out of the fridge, bleed it, warm it up and hope that there are enough boogers in there to finish the job, or just suck it up as a learning experience, and drink it sweet?
I don't think will clear up considering your mash temp. I say drink and enjoy your uniquely different craft beer!

Cheers

Preston
 
Preston,

thanks for the help. I know I screwed up when I put my hot water in the mesh. I have a problem with my hot water maker (cooler with 1000 Watt element in the wrong spot), and my temp. controller sometimes doesn't cut off in time to prevent uneven heating due to the lack of circulation inside. At this point I never ran into that problem before, so I didn't check the mesh temp until it was too late. Oh well, guess it will be ten gallons of sweet beer. However, it is perfectly clear! That's why I didn't bother to take a reading. I was committed to brewing my next batch already, so I had to put it into kegs!

Thomas
 
Off Topic:
Can you post pictures of your equipment. I always like to see other brewers rigs. I just picked up two 15g Stainless Kegs at the swap-meet here in Houston for 30 bucks.. Man I was happy! I already cut the lids off with a Plasma cutter and I am searching for bungs to weld into them so I can put a valve, thermometer, and sight tube on them. I will take some pictures and post them soon.

Cheers

Preston
 
Preston,

sure would do, but I haven't figured out a way to upload pictures here (I know, there is that upload icon above, but what do I have to type in? The entire path to the picture? And then do it for every other picture as well?). Please tell me how to do it, otherwise I'd send them out to you via personal E-Mail.

Thomas
 
I'm working on the first keg right now, and the sweetness is not overpowering anymore; it has a nice maltiness, paired with a nice hop aroma. Only ever so slightly bitter. Overall, I'll give that recipe another try at some point later on. But probably with a different yeast, maybe American Ale.

Cheers everyone!
 
Hubitom said:
Preston,
sure would do, but I haven't figured out a way to upload pictures here (I know, there is that upload icon above, but what do I have to type in? The entire path to the picture? And then do it for every other picture as well?). Please tell me how to do it, otherwise I'd send them out to you via personal E-Mail.
Thomas
You can type in the location on the web to display it in the box. example:
image.jpg

Hope this helps
 
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