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Author Topic: Doctoring an insipid cream ale  (Read 2918 times)

Offline kgs

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Doctoring an insipid cream ale
« on: June 24, 2016, 06:43:41 pm »
I wanted to experiment with an all-extract cream ale... My process is good, so it's clean, but it's insipid. (Pilsner LME + rice solids + Saaz + Safale05)  I recently did a partial-mash cream ale and I can really taste the difference.

It's been in primary for two weeks. I can keg it this weekend or next, or I could doctor it a bit. That could include adding fruit peel or puree. It's stone fruit season in California, and we're into strawberry season as well, so I could puree and pasteurize some tasty fruit pretty easily--I made a strawberry sorbet last week that really popped. I'm open to fruit flavors -- I've enjoyed Grapefruit Sculpin and (less so) Pineapple Sculpin, and I like Magic Hat Number 9. But I also don't want something I end up spitting out, as I did when I had Anchor's Mango Wheat, where the flavor felt forced.

With my next batch I'm going back to all-grain, but I don't think I want to blend.

Thoughts?



K.G. Schneider
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Offline denny

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Re: Doctoring an insipid cream ale
« Reply #1 on: June 25, 2016, 10:07:43 am »
How about dry hopping it?
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Offline kgs

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Re: Doctoring an insipid cream ale
« Reply #2 on: June 25, 2016, 10:13:30 am »
*slaps forehead* That's so obvious and yet, my brain never went there. Thanks Denny.


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K.G. Schneider
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Offline denny

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Re: Doctoring an insipid cream ale
« Reply #3 on: June 25, 2016, 10:34:57 am »
*slaps forehead* That's so obvious and yet, my brain never went there. Thanks Denny.


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You were trying hard to make it more difficult, so I went pragmatic....;)
Life begins at 60.....1.060, that is!

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The best, sharpest, funniest, weirdest and most knowledgable minds in home brewing contribute on the AHA forum. - Alewyfe

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell

Offline erockrph

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Re: Doctoring an insipid cream ale
« Reply #4 on: June 25, 2016, 08:25:49 pm »
If it's insipid, a touch of lactic acid to drop the final pH may be all it needs. To me, insipid just means "needs acid".


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Offline brewinhard

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Re: Doctoring an insipid cream ale
« Reply #5 on: June 26, 2016, 10:23:50 am »
If it's insipid, a touch of lactic acid to drop the final pH may be all it needs. To me, insipid just means "needs acid".


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I was thinking along the lines of this as well. Say goodbye to flab with a bit of acid!

Offline kgs

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Re: Doctoring an insipid cream ale
« Reply #6 on: June 26, 2016, 11:19:17 am »
If it's insipid, a touch of lactic acid to drop the final pH may be all it needs. To me, insipid just means "needs acid".


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I was thinking along the lines of this as well. Say goodbye to flab with a bit of acid!

Thanks, I'll keep this in mind!
K.G. Schneider
AHA Member