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Author Topic: Bottling for my Grand Cru  (Read 3891 times)

Offline bsblsteelerfan

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Bottling for my Grand Cru
« on: June 20, 2013, 08:11:02 am »
This next batch I brew will be my first all grain attempt. I am a little nervous on how it will turn out, but I am more apprehensive on bottling. The ingredients I am using are 7# Belgian Pils, 8 oz. Carapils, 2# clover honey with 5 minutes left in the boil, either a half ounce or 1 ounce fresh orange peel, and 1 oz coriander, and for the hops I am using 2 oz. Hallertau. Instead of using a Belgian yeast, I decided to get a champagne yeast. Now, should I up the amount of priming sugar along with that? or should I keep it the same. And if I up the amount, do I need to consider corking my bottles?

Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: Bottling for my Grand Cru
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2013, 08:45:26 am »
Are you saying you fermented only with champagne yeast?  Supposedly it does not necessarily eat the same sugars that beer yeast will eat.  I also think your flavor profile will be quite different from what you would expect from a grand cru.  I don't find champagne yeast to be neutral.

That said, I don't think you would want to adjust your priming sugar based on the strain of yeast you used.  Stick with whatever amount you need for the desired carbonation level.

I would be diligent about checking your final gravity, though if you are corking the bottles you're using should be heavier and will withstand higher carbonation levels.  Nonetheless, I'd be diligent.
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Offline AmandaK

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Re: Bottling for my Grand Cru
« Reply #2 on: June 20, 2013, 09:13:39 am »
/\/\/\ All of that.

Also, I would not start with 1 oz. of coriander. You can't take the spices out! I start with 1/4 oz of coriander and go from there.
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Offline bsblsteelerfan

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Re: Bottling for my Grand Cru
« Reply #3 on: June 20, 2013, 09:20:25 am »
Ah, for some reason that completely slipped my mind. If I used a sauvingnon blanc or pinot grigio juice, for example instead of the clover honey. Then the yeast should have something to munch on? I am glad I haven't started the brew yet. It was a dream I had one night, then I purchased everything the next day. I didn't even think about it, I believe I have learned from these impulses.

What malt bill would you go with for a typical grand cru? Like I said, it was all impulse, and I am trying to teach myself via reading but also through just trying stuff out to see what I come up with. I am glad I have people like you to keep me on the right path.

Offline morticaixavier

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Re: Bottling for my Grand Cru
« Reply #4 on: June 20, 2013, 09:25:36 am »
Ah, for some reason that completely slipped my mind. If I used a sauvingnon blanc or pinot grigio juice, for example instead of the clover honey. Then the yeast should have something to munch on? I am glad I haven't started the brew yet. It was a dream I had one night, then I purchased everything the next day. I didn't even think about it, I believe I have learned from these impulses.

What malt bill would you go with for a typical grand cru? Like I said, it was all impulse, and I am trying to teach myself via reading but also through just trying stuff out to see what I come up with. I am glad I have people like you to keep me on the right path.

it's not the honey that the Champaign yeast might have a problem with, it's the malt sugars coming from your grain. Wine yeasts in general are adapted to eating very simple sugars like those found in fruit, the honey, and your priming sugar. Beer yeasts tend to be somewhat better adapted to eating the more complex malt sugars. If you have decided to use the Champaign yeast to get a drier finished product I think you are better off using a nice flavourful Belgian yeast and mashing at a lower temp and removing the carapils. Instead of carapils for body and mouthfeel you can add some rolled or malted oats and or some wheat.

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Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: Bottling for my Grand Cru
« Reply #5 on: June 20, 2013, 09:28:38 am »
I think there's a huge variation in what brewers call Grand Cru, so I'm not sure there is a "typical."  I could be wrong of course.

The only one I ever brewed was from a Papazian book.  I think the book was Brewer's Gold.  Regardless, the recipe was pretty much a Belgian wit, which is close to what you have laid out.  It was a very orange colored beer and quite good.  I can try to find the recipe tonight or tomorrow but I can make no promises.
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Offline bsblsteelerfan

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Re: Bottling for my Grand Cru
« Reply #6 on: June 20, 2013, 09:37:11 am »
I may just go with the Belgian yeast and call it a day. I like the malted oats idea! I will see if I can return the Champagne yeast and get the Belgian. I am brewing the beer for a family reunion beach trip in August. Which in Alabama, it is still 100 degrees and I feel this beer should do quite well in the heat to quench our thirsts!

Offline denny

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Re: Bottling for my Grand Cru
« Reply #7 on: June 20, 2013, 09:40:12 am »
Grand Cru is not  style, it's a designation of a brewery or winery's best product.  So you have a lot of latitude in what to do.  That said, I think champagne yeast is a really bad idea.  I'd stick with a Belgian yeast.  Maybe WY 1388.
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Offline reverseapachemaster

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Re: Bottling for my Grand Cru
« Reply #8 on: June 21, 2013, 12:29:50 pm »
I agree with what others have said. You do not want to ferment with a champagne yeast because it either will not ferment out the malt sugars or will do so extremely slow (maybe years). A nice Belgian strain would get you a good flavor profile plus good attenuation. I'd look at the Chimay strain or Westmalle strain myself.
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Offline snowtiger87

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Re: Bottling for my Grand Cru
« Reply #9 on: June 21, 2013, 01:54:24 pm »
I have used Champagne yeast at bottling for some of the bigger Belgian beers (over 1.080 OG) that have bulk aged in the carboy for a while with good success.
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Offline morticaixavier

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Re: Bottling for my Grand Cru
« Reply #10 on: June 21, 2013, 02:26:10 pm »
I have used Champagne yeast at bottling for some of the bigger Belgian beers (over 1.080 OG) that have bulk aged in the carboy for a while with good success.

sure as a bottling strain for very strong beers it can be great. It'll eat through the priming sugar quick and won't eat anything else. But I am pretty sure the OP was intending to use the Champagne yeast as primary.
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Offline reverseapachemaster

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Re: Bottling for my Grand Cru
« Reply #11 on: June 22, 2013, 04:50:20 pm »
I have used Champagne yeast at bottling for some of the bigger Belgian beers (over 1.080 OG) that have bulk aged in the carboy for a while with good success.

Me too. I've also used it to bottle doppelbock, sours, barleywine and imperial stout. Works well but it is not a completely neutral yeast, especially early on. It displays a lot of that biscuit flavor that is prominent in champagne for the first few weeks but in beer it seems to dissipate almost entirely after that. No idea why it hangs around in wine but not in beer. Maybe the beer yeast can absorb whatever the compound is. The Rockpile wine yeast is more neutral and used by a lot of domestic sour brewers for bottling for it's acid tolerance and neutrality.
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