I've been kicking around the idea of brewing something low in alcohol lately (4% or lower) that isn't a sour. I figured it'd be easier to rip through a keg by myself if it tasted good!
Has anyone brewed something recently that fits the bill and turned out well?
Still working on my 4-4.5% American mild recipe. First 3 tries tasted like water.
English Mild comes to mind. I've tried many recipes but this one floats my boat the best out of all of them:
1.036 OG
80% MO
16.5% C-60 (or English medium crystal)
3.5% Chocolate Malt
12 IBU Fuggles @ 45 min
6 IBU Fuggles @ 15 min
- Mash high (156-158 F).
- If you can, use no sparge method or BIAB - I feel like it makes a fuller beer.
- Use an English yeast that's going to give you plenty of esters - ferment in the mid to high range of temps. I like WLP007 these days but WLP002 is a good choice, too.
- Drink it plenty young and don't over-carbonate it (2.0 vol CO2 or even less).
- Get the mash pH around 5.4-5.5.
- This should get you a low alcohol beer that has more flavor and mouthfeel than you'd expect from a 3.5% beer.
I recently made a trans-atlantic mild with english malts (similar to recipe above) and Denny's Favorite 50 (WY1450). Should be ready to drink in the next week. Looking forward to it as from what people say, 1450 accentuates malt character nicely.