Aqua Vitae

100% Brettanomyces Beer

This recipe is borrowed from the Mad Fermentatiionist blog, and is essentially a pale ale fermented entirely with Wyeast’s Brettanomyces Lambicus.

Brewing Date: 04-01-2007
Recipe Specifics
Batch size: 3 gallons
Total grain: 5.75 lb
Target OG: 1.049
Target Efficiency: 69%
Wort boil time: 75 minutes

Grain Ingredients
4.75 lbs Belgian Pilsener (36gu/lb)
1.00 lbs Wheat Malt (37gu/lb)

Hops (amt/name/timing)
.50 oz Saaz @ 50min
.25 oz Crystal @ 10min
.25 oz Crystal @ 5min
.25 oz Saaz @ 5min
.25 oz Crystal @ 0min
.25 oz Saaz @ 0min

Extras
.5 wirlfloc @ 10min
yeast nutrient @ 10min

Yeast
Wyeast 5526 Brettanomyces Lambicus

Mash Schedule
60 minutes @ 153
15 minutes @ 168

Yeast Starter
1 pint water, 2 oz DME for 24 hours

Mash Notes
1st sparge: 1.5gallons @ 1.073
2nd sparge: 2.25gallons @ 1.031
3rd sparge: .75 gallons @ 1.019
Result: 4.5gallons @ 1.042

Maximum extract: 208gu
Final extract: 189gu
Efficiency: 91%
(I must have made a mistake somewhere)

Wort Notes
Straightforward boil for 75 minutes
Chilling took about 15-20 minutes - I didn’t process the fact that the wort chiller was scrunched up too much, and so the top level (1 inch or so) of the wort was still super hot (120 or so) when the bottom was ~65-70. So when I pitched the yeast the temp was around 76-78.

Original Gravity: 1.052 (12.86 Plato)
Primary Fermentation Notes
Recipe (and similar ones) indicates1-2 weeks of primary fermentation
Keeping the wort between 66-76 during the day, depending on ambient temps and using the fermwrap when I’m home
After 24 hours a thin layer of foam on top of the beer
After 36 hours a thick layer of foamy/chunky head both above and below the surface of the wort
After 48 hours the thick layer had dropped a bit, and pieces were falling to the bottom
After 72 hours the layer of foam/chunky head is largely only on top of the wort, and there is a serious swirling of matter in the wort, lots of activity in the wort itself.

Secondary Fermentation Notes
04-15-2007
Transferred the wort to the secondary fermenter 14 days after brewing. At this point there was a very thin layer of (for lack of a better word) muck on the surface that had remained there for about 1 week.

The wort is very light-colored and hazy.

Gravity: 1.008 (2.05 Plato)
ABV: 5.9%

Tasting Notes:
Color: straw colored, very light gold hue; rather hazy
Nose: pungent aromas of barnyards, moldy fruits, after acclimatizing to this subtle scents of melon, banana, some pineapple
Taste: mint, lemon, very slight acidity, light-bodied

Bottling
04-23-2007
Bottled after only 9 days in the secondary fermenter, since I felt that the gravity was getting low enough, and no apparent activity had taken place for days.

28 - 12 oz bottles
1 - 22 oz bottles
358 oz. = 2.8 gallons

Tasting Note:
Nose: a little less barnyard and pungency, giving way slightly to pineapple and slight citrus notes
Palate: very nice on the palate, flavors of wheat coupled with lemons

Final Gravity: 1.09
ABV: 5.7%
Apparent Attenuation: 82%