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1991-08-28
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4KB
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74 lines
YELLOW CAT MEMORIAL DAY CATSKILL SPRINGWATER 'GENTLE' AMERICAN ALE
By Robin Garr
I know everyone would have been disappointed if I hadn't given this
recipe the kind of sesquipedalian name that I usually give my brews. <grin>
In any case, I think this one is quite successful for what it is -- an
effort to make a lightweight, low-gravity, extract-based "lawnmower beer" for
summer sipping that's light on the alcohol and calories but not necessarily
light on flavor. In my opinion, it comes pretty close, although you have to
be a hophead to appreciate it, as I compensated for the relatively small
quantity of malt in the brew by going up a bit on a flavorful combination of
hops, resulting in a beer that's got a nice Cascades/Willamette finish but
that by the strictest standard is probably a bit out of balance.
Several of our forum members tasted this brew at the 1991 AHA convention
in Manchester, N.H., and I didn't notice any of them secretly pouring out
their glass!
A procedural note: Although I always advocate substituting freely for
unavailable ingredients, if you don't use Sam Wammack's "Yellow Dog" extract
in this beer, please do be certain to choose a high-flavor extract; since the
brew is already light on the malt side, if you go with an everyday canned
extract or light DME, you'd probably get a brew with no malt flavor at all.
INGREDIENTS:
1 four-pound can Yellow Dog Amber Malt Extract (from The Home Brewery)
3/4 pound light dry-malt extract (I used Edme)
1 1/4 cup whole crystal malt (not cracked)
1 ounce Northern Brewer hops pellets (bittering)
1/2 teaspoon Irish moss
3/4 ounce Cascades hops pellets (finish)
1/2 ounce Willamette hops pellets (finish)
3/4 cup corn sugar (for priming)
PROCEDURE:
Dissolve DME in five gallons cold water. Bring to the boil, stirring
constantly, steeping the crystal malt in a grain bag until the temperature
reaches 170 degrees, at which point the grains should be removed and
discarded.
When the water boils, add the Yellow Dog extract and Northern Brewers pellets,
and continue at a rolling boil for 60 minutes, stirring occasionally, and
adding fresh water as needed to maintain the five-gallon level. (If you don't
have an 8-gallon brewpot, I STRONGLY recommend one. I've found beer flavor
and hop extraction consistently better since I've started doing full 5-gallon
boils.) Stir in Irish Moss (don't overdo. More is NOT better) for the last 20
minutes of the boil. Add the Cascades and Willamettes at the end of the boil,
after you've turned off the heat.
Chill using a wort chiller (another process that makes a significant
difference in beer quality, in my opinion).
Rack to primary (I found a large quantity of cold break), and pitch WYeast
American Ale yeast (Strain No. 1056). Thanks to our cold spring water, I was
able to get the temperature down to 65 degrees before pitching. Ferment at
ale temperatures (again, our basement, luckily, holds 65 degrees even during
summer months).
Although the two-month-old yeast packet took three days to puff up fully, it
was very active in the primary. I got fermentation within 24 hours _without_
making a starter and had a high, lasting kraeusen within 48 hours.
Interestingly, the foam didn't disappear but left a thick "pancake" atop the
wort that made me wonder whether fermentation was finished. In fact, I was
able to rack to secondary after five days and bottle after a total of 10 days.
Bottle conditioning was very quick, producing an acceptable beer after only
three days and a fully-conditioned brew in a week.
Original gravity: 1.033
Final gravity: 1.008