For this beer I went for the easy brew. No ph testing and no gravity readings. It was a joy to brew this way. No chasing numbers and taking samples. It was more like cooking...just hoping the quality of the ingredients shines through. I trust my system enough since my acid addition and salts seem to always fall in place even when I do test. I use The Mash Chemistry and Brewing Water Calculator from Brewer's Friend to calculate all my additions.
I did try a new process for this brew. After whirlpool chilling and letting it sit for a while in the kettle I then transferred it to a sanitized glass carboy and set it to the side. Then, I cleaned the kettle and the chiller and everything that I was done with. By that time the trub in the glass carboy had really started to drop out. After letting it sit for an hour or so I was able to rack the clear wort off the trub into another fermentor, add oxygen and pitch the yeast. The picture below shows just how clean the yeast harvested from this beer really was. My goal wasn't to reduce haze or eliminate storage issues but just to have as pure a yeast harvest as possible. I think it worked good! I used a pitch of this yeast the day I harvested it for an Amarillo pale ale and within 15-20 minutes the blow off tube was starting to slowly bubble.
NELSON PALE ALE
2.5 Gallons
O.G. 1.045
F.G. 1.010
Mash:
2-Row 80% (4 lbs. 3.3 oz.)
White Wheat 20% (1 lb .8 oz.)
Mash at 152 F for 60 min
BOIL:
Warrior @60 min for 30 IBUs
2.00 oz. Nelson Sauvin at 5 min
FERMENTATION:
1.0 pkg. of Wyeast 1318
DRY HOPS:
3 oz. Nelson Sauvin in serving keg
Tasting Notes:
Color: A slight pale yellow/orange color in the right light; pineapple juice looking. It has a white head. Not the most stunning of beers but not bad.
Aroma: I get a nice whiff of dank initially....pineapple, grapefruit, peach, spice like pepper. Very good.
Mouthfeel: This beer is soft. The body of the beer stands up good....maybe medium. I went for 2.3 volumes and the head indicates that but it feels less. This beer is delicate but assertive with a fading dry finish.
Flavor: I've never had gooseberry's but if this hop is what they are like I'm sure I'd enjoy them. It's got this unique drying bitterness...spicey but not strong like a Saison spiciness....just a touch...like finely ground pepper. Earthy....grapefuit....very dry finish that fades quick. Delicate. Juice.
Overall: This beer came out very good. A fresh drinker for sure. I'm gonna put this hop right there next to Galaxy on my favorites list. Just fantastic!