Maisonette 7.0

So I've moved straight beyond Maisonette 6.0 and directly to 7.0, what gives? 6.0 was brewed, I just didn't take great notes. It was "essentially" 75% barley (in this case Maris Otter), 20% malted spelt, and 5% sugar (turbinado). Why didn't I record it? Well, it's a complicated story that includes blending beer, stepped starters from dregs, and a beer that included a large portion of wheat extract. In the end the beer was a little lower in gravity than my typical batch but tasted pretty good and got strong responses at Homebrew Con where I was even interviewed by Basic Brewing Radio.

For 7.0 I took a few ideas (especially of using 6-row barley) from Dave Janssen's presentation on grisettes at Homebrew Con and used 6 row barley, with a blend of 4 adjuncts. Sound similar to my witbier recipe? It was actually a double mash day where the wheat influence came entirely from second runnings of the wit.

While the mash process was drastically changed from past batches the beer also under saw a slight tweak to the hop additions, still 4 oz of Mosaic but with 3.65 of them coming only post boil and in 3 separate hop steep additions of near equal amounts at 180, 140, and 120. The long whirlpool was influenced by my previous experience and Scott Janish's recommendations, while the temperatures of the whirlpool had more to do with personal experience and Jamil Zainashef's comments on Can You Brew It where he mentioned that flameout/whirlpool hops will still be above isomerization temperatures.

Fermentation was split between a starter of a repitch of 3724 for 3 gallons and 3 gallons with Jester King and Off Color dregs that had been previously used in variations of version 6.0.

7/9/16

Brew day

7/23/16

Fermentation still very active on DuPont half at 70F ambient temps. Tasting great so far, hoppy but in a juicy, fruity way, not the overly dank/hop bag character I sometimes get from Mosaic (especially when dry hopped).

Fermentation on JK/Off Colour half is much slower and beer is clearer but will give it more time. Less hops and more spice forward, good but not much Brett/funk.

8/6/16

It's amazing what a couple of weeks has done to these beers. The 'clean' half has had its hop bite fade substantially to the more expected juicy fruit/chamomile/pineapple character that I expect from this beer.

The 'Funk' version has much more pronounced Brett characters now with a mix of pineapple/overripe fruit and a touch of barnyard, pretty similar to most Jester King saisons I've tried. Racked both to 3 gallon kegs and added 10 psi of carbonation.

9/20/16

Tasting of bottled versions of each.

Straight version

Appearance: golden pale (lighter than the photo), fairly clear with a small but consistent head

Smell- Light banana, juicy fruit, light spice and citrus. Close to what I expect from this beer.

Taste/Mouthfeel- less fruit forward than expected, moderate spice, moderate body (a little too high).

Overall- less fruity and less refreshing than this beer usually finishes but still enjoyable.

Funk Version

Appearance- almost identical, less head retention.

Smell- light Brett funk, more classic hop character 

Taste/Mouthfeel- Brett funk, light sourness, some slight grape character, dry

Overall- while I had one person describe this as a "diacetyl bomb" I don't get much if any diacetyl. To me it's more funk/lightly sour/grape juice in a way that reminds me of some Jolly Pumpkin offerings.