Testy Blonde Ale 2021
In the May UVBG meeting the club decided to conduct a test of flavor profiles using three commercial yeast strains on a basic ale recipe. The basic recipe was a Blonde ale and the three yeasts were Voss Kveik (dry), Lutra Kveik (liquid), and Imperial Juice A38 ale strain (liquid). At the June meeting, Robert & Kevin volunteered to combine equipment and resources to brew a 12-15 gallon batch of wort (at Robert’s home brewing area) on Saturday July 3rd, 2021. Club members were invited to attend and participate in the day long session. The finished beers will be offered for tasting and evaluation at the 2021 Rendezvous (August 20-22).
| 18.0 | lbs | 2- Row Malted Barley |
| 1.0 | lbs | Crystal Malt (15 Lovibond) |
| 0.5 | lbs | Honey Malt |
22 Liters of strike water added to grain. Mash temp brought to 152°F and held for 60 minutes. (Sparge water brought to 165°F in separate vessel until needed at the end of the mash process.) The mash was then sparged with the 165°F water to achieve about 14 gallons of wort for the boil.
Hop (pellet form) additions for the wort boil:
2 oz of Crystal hops added for 60 minutes
2 oz of El Dorado hops added for last minute
Wort was cold crashed to 80°F after boil, oxygenated, and split into three carboys for the yeast pitch and primary fermentation at controlled temperature. Each carboy held approximately 4 gallons of finished wort. Both the Kveik yeasts were fermented in their respective carboys at 80°F in a controlled temperature box and the Imperial A38 was fermented at 68°F (in a separate temperature controlled box).
The dry Voss Kveik batch finished first, followed by the Lutra Kveik, and then the Imperial. All three completed primary fermentation within 7 days and were transferred to kegs.
| Initial Sp. Gravity | Final Sp. Gravity | Ferm. Temp. °F |
| 1.043 – Voss | 1.008 | 80 |
| 1.043 – Lutra | 1.009 | 80 |
| 1.043 – Imperial | 1.010 | 68 |
The three kegs were moved to a 45°F temperature controlled box and will be kept under normal CO2 pressure until the Rendezvous 2021 when we’ll taste & compare them.
There is a video of this brew event that is undergoing some minor editing and will be made available as shared media through Google in the very near future.