PtE(1.1) beer

Ok.  I give.  What is a PtE(1.1) beer Tom Hampton.  Google results give me nothing.

Pliny The Elder clone.  My version 1.1 recipe.  Basically, I made some adjustments to the recipe after I brewed it the first time to fix some minor issues. 

Those acronyms get me every time.  Thanks for posting the recipe. Saved.  I recall your first one with pics.  What a beast of a beer.  What is it now, several years running as best beer?  Wish we could order it online.

KernelCrush said:

Those acronyms get me every time.  Thanks for posting the recipe. Saved.  I recall your first one with pics.  What a beast of a beer.  What is it now, several years running as best beer?  Wish we could order it online.

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You can, Blackwellswines.com, subscribe to his newsletter and order from the newsletter email.

You can, Blackwellswines.com, subscribe to his newsletter and order from the newsletter email.

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I would suggest looking into local law before doing that.  When I looked into ordering a wine that I couldn't find for sale at any stores around here, I learned that it is very illegal to import alcohol into this state on your own.  A long list of people, from wholesalers to tax collectors, all want their cut.  I tried convincing a store to put it on their shelf with no luck. I tried going under the radar but the producer wasn't exporting anything to a Maine zip code. Eventually I just forgot about it.

If you live in one of these places you can import it.

Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Alas, I do not.

I just got a chance to really look at PtE 1.1.  Am I seeing your IBU correctly?  I am not drunk enough yet for double vision.  3.6 IBU/GU?  RR website says 'high'.  That's an understatement!  What do you think you really get and have you ever had it measured?

Bucknut,  I went to that site and couldn't find a link to subscribe.  Do you have it?  Mail order beer I found doesn't work out so well.  I got some Mirror Pond a few years back and either its not as great as its legend or it suffered in transit.  Willing to try again for PtE.  As long as Maine doesn't turn me in.  Just kidding Maine.

No.  I haven't had it measured.  From memory the calculated IBUs are around 220?  In reality, its probably around 60-80, especially since I use whole hops exclusively.  There's more to hops than bitterness, though: aroma, flavor, etc.  heck at this level, the hops add color---I swear it has a slight green tint.  Everything about this beer is "hops". 

I've never had the real thing.  But, I know people who live near RR and frequently have the real thing.  This recipe is close enough, that they "say" it tastes "exactly" the same when served at a party.  One guy was going to bring me a real RR sample.  But, he "ahem" drank it before he could bring it too me.  I really wanted to do a triangle test with the real thing.  Whenever I go to NoCal all the local stores are sold out. 

Anyway, this recipe is a copy of the recipe originally posted by Vinny.  Its one of the earlier versions.  I simply modified it for my equipment, process, and local conditions.  I use whole hops, so I think I boosted the quantities a few percent.  I bumped the sulfate to bring out the hops. 

For my next pass, I'm going to try a different yeast (WLP007).  This is the dry english strain.  I've had really nice results on some other beers with this strain.  It ferments out dry (as opposed to WLP002), and it ferments FAST.  Second, it doesn't create as many esters as WLP002, especially if you start cool (65-ish).  Then you drive the fermentation temp up as the SG falls.  This helps keep the yeast active. As long as you wait until after the growth phase is over, there is very little ester production.  Finally, this yeast flocculates like crazy.  I don't have a cold chamber where I can crash, so WLP001 always takes a couple weeks to clear at my storage temp: 47F (this depends on the generation, though...if I reuse WLP001 I can get better flocculation on gen3-5). 

I make a 2 liter starter when I make this beer.  Sometimes, I make a starter beer to grow a mass of slurry for the PtE batch.  Some 1.045 OG balanced beer with the same yeast.  Then I harvest and wash the slurry.  On brewday, I add some starter wort to bring the slurry to life while I brew the batch.  When I do this, I get better flocc from WLP001...and a better fermentation overall. 

I used this yeast (and temp profile) for an all-malt barlywine last year.  OG=1.115, FG=1.020.  I was shocked, I was expecting it to peter out around 1.030 or so.  But, I just kept raising the temps 0.5C per day, and it just kept going.  No hint of fusel alcohols, and a very nice, but very subtle, yeast character. 

I don't like the more malty-sweet IIPA style beers.  I like the nice dry crisp finish.  Hops, Hops, Hops.  Dry and clean beer that stays out of the way of the hops.  I'm hopeful that the WLP007 will be able to have the same character as the WLP001 that I usually use, but with much better flocculation.  We shall see.

KernelCrush said:

Bucknut,  I went to that site and couldn't find a link to subscribe.  Do you have it?  Mail order beer I found doesn't work out so well.  I got some Mirror Pond a few years back and either its not as great as its legend or it suffered in transit.  Willing to try again for PtE.  As long as Maine doesn't turn me in.  Just kidding Maine.

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http://blackwellswines.com/ Link for newsletter is in the bottom right. I've order about 6 times from Gary and never had an issue, he does have some restrictions on Pliny, must buy 1 for 1 and shipping, is well not cheap but I only do it a few times a year. Cheers

Thanks bucknut.  Dont see how I missed that.

Thanks for the additional tips Tom.  I am with you on the dry.  The malty IIPA's are so different.  Way too much going on.  Like a beer that hasnt decided.

Bucknut,  Thanks again I got in touch with Gary.  Funny thing is he has had a tremendous run this week on Pliny.  He says he is out now, lucky I got the last of it.  Scored some Union Jack too.  What a selection.

OzarkBrewer said:

I found this thread interesting and I'm curious about the whole yeast thing. But first, if you had a cold chamber, what temp. would you crash it at and about how much C02 during this time?

As far as yeast and growing a mass of slurry, I'm with you but can you point me to a thread where you or others may have talked more about Harvesting and Washing the Slurry?

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I think these are the questions, correct?

If I had a cold chamber it would be kept at lagering temperatures.  EG: 28-32F.  Exactly where in that range I would target would depend on the results of research that I have not done.  I haven't done the research because I don't make lagers.

Yeast harvesting threads?  Hmm....I'm sure there are several.  I've never gone to search, though.  Honestly, I would recommend that you read "Yeast" by Chris Whyte andJamil Zainnachef before you started any serious yeast ranching. 

O.k. I understand.  Cold crashing is just for lagers.  I'll check out the Yeast guide.  Thanks for the info.

OzarkBrewer said:

O.k. I understand.  Cold crashing is just for lagers.  I'll check out the Yeast guide.  Thanks for the info.

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No.  Cold crashing is NOT just for lagers.  It can be used for any style of beer.  The colder a beer gets the more the yeast will settle, and thus the more crystal clear the resulting beer.  Medium flocculant yeasts like California Ale really need a colder temperature than I can obtain to really clear out well.  So, my first/second generation CalAle beers generally are just a little cloudy.  English yeasts are generally highly flocculant.  So, they clear easily at 48-50F.

Nice!  thanks for the clarification Tom