CBG's Old Man's Ale (Apricot/Plum Kettle Sour) (BF)

Fruit was from Marc-Andre's house.

Brewed 5.0 gallons on 2018-08-19

Preboil gravity: 1.032

Original gravity: 1.035

Final gravity: 1.004

ABV: 4.1%

Apparent Attenuation: 88.6%

Inspired by Apricot Kettle Sour (AM)

Process notes

2018-08-10

Apricots + plums were seeded, vacuum sealed, and frozen.

2018-08-20

3.5 pH after 24 hours. Good tartness.

2018-08-21

3.3 pH after 48 hours. Good tartness, not super tart, but decent.

2018-08-21

Boiled for 15 minutes, added the hops.

2018-08-22

Active fermentation. ~68-70°.

2018-09-12

Kegged. Fruity aroma. Not necessarily apricot, but tart stonefruit. Yogurt, decent tartness. Should be OK once carbonated.

Boil for 15 minutes

At 15 minutes

0.5 ounces of 4.4% Alpha Acid Hallertau Mittelfruh pellets

At 15 minutes

1 Whirlfloc Tablet

Mash

[89.66%] 6 pounds 8 ounces of German Vienna (Weyermann)

[6.90%] 8 ounces of Caravienne (DingemansMalting)

[3.45%] 4 ounces of Honey Malt (GambrinusMalting)

Single infusion mash. Mashed with 3.25 gallons (1.79 quarts per pound) of reverse osmosis water for 60 minutes. 7lb 4oz of grain was used in the mash.

Strike water temp: (0.2/1.79) * (152 - 68) + 152 = 161.4

1.30g calcium chloride, 1.00g gypsum, and 0.50g epsom salt added to water

After 0 mins

mash is 154°

After 30 mins

mash is 154°; pH is 5.50

After 60 mins

mash is 153°; pH is 5.40

Sparge

Sparged for 38 minutes with 4.5 gallons of 170° reverse osmosis water.

1.80g calcium chloride, 1.40g gypsum, 0.70g epsom salt, and 0.01mL lactic acid added to water

After 0 mins

pH is 5.23; specific gravity is 1.077

After 20 mins

pH is 5.30; specific gravity is 1.037

After 30 mins

pH is 5.40; specific gravity is 1.014

After 38 mins

pH is 5.40; specific gravity is 1.010; Stopped the sparge ~1.5gallons below normal line. Topped off with ~1.5 gallons of water. Before topping off, SG was 1.046 SG and 1.032 SG after topping off. Then boiled for 15 minutes and cooled to 100°. Then added 9mL of Lactic acid to drop pH to 4.5 before pitching Good Belly.

Yeast

2018-08-19

Pitch 4 packs of GoodBelly Original StraightShot (GoodBelly) at 100°. (2.7 ounce packages.)

2018-08-21

Pitch 1 pack of WLP590 French Saison (WhiteLabs) at 68°.

Dry additions

2018-09-04

6.1 pounds of Apricot. (Heated up, pureed w/ immersion blender. Before fruit there was a great clarity, a bit of yogurt/stonefruit aroma. Some yeast spiciness. Not too tart; definite yogurt character; hopefully fruit masks that.)

2018-09-04

1.5 pounds of Plum. (Plums and apricots were from Marc-Andre's house.)

Tasting notes (6.67/10; 3 ratings)

2018-10-21

[7/10] Cloudy copper color, little to no head retention. Big fruit aroma with some yogurt notes. A sweet earthiness like from the fruit's peel. Slightly tart, dry, earthy fruitiness, some yogurt character but fairly clean flavor and finish. Easy drinking, but not really a special beer.

2018-12-12

[7/10] Hasn't cleared up at all. Big fruit aroma, almost like strawberries. Medium body, oddly enough, it sees the plum comes out more in the flavor. Decent tartness. Pretty enjoyable.

2019-02-15

[6/10] Cloudy, dark brown/yellow color. Slightly pink, decently persistent head. Some lacing. Getting a good amount of plum in the aroma. Thin mouthfeel. Plum, apricot skin flavor. Decent tartness. Easy drinking. Some more body would be nice.

Beer competition results

Scored 29 in 2019 California State Fair.