Kit O' Beer #7 - Attack of the Clones - LCBA #1

[Glass]

Attack of the Clones - Little Creatures Bright Ale (LCBA) #1

KoB #7 is underway. I was not sure if I should start a new naming convention because we are not really doing a kit and kilo this time around. We've jumped into the shallow end of the big kids pool with this one. This is based on unhopped malt with some hop additions.

We are trying to clone one of my favorite beers right now, the Little Creatures Bright Ale. This is a nice light ale with some mild hopiness to it. Very pricey beer. Costs about $50 for 16 x 12oz bottles. I think that comes in at about $10/liter/quart. If buying at the pub expect to pay twice that.

The recipe:
2 x 1.5kg Coopers Light Malt liquid extract (unhopped)
0.3 kg Dextrose. I am using Coopers dextrose
1 pkt Brew essentials yeast 15gms
40 gms /1.3 Oz Cascade hops in 3 additions
40 gms /1.3 Oz B-SAAZ hops in 3 additions (also known as Motueka)

1 x brand new big arsed pot - 19L. Got it for a good price of $19. SS but thin.

O.G 1.044

The method:
Open a cold beer. Then bring 14L of water + 1.5kg of Coopers Light Malt liquid extract to the boil. I started with 13L. Then I pre-boiled 2 lites and used 1 of them to rinse the can into the pot. I used the 2nd liter at the end of the boil. We are going for a 45 minute boil.

Hop additions:
12gms B-SAAZ at 45 minutes
12gms Cascade at 45 minutes
10gms B-SAAZ at 15 minutes
10gms Cascade at 15 minutes
18gms B-SAAZ at 0 minutes
18gms Cascade at 0 minutes

I used to 2 hop socks for the additions. I added the next addition to the same sock. At least I think I did. I may have got them crossed up at some point. So it's possible we had a mix of hops in each sock.

On flame out add 2nd can of extract and the 300gms/10oz of dextrose and stir well.

Chill as quickly as you can. Anyone say Wort Chiller? I'll be looking for one of these soon. If we do more like this.

We went to the trough with frozen bottles in water. This took out probably 60% of the heat. I was tempted to buy a bag of ice for this step. Made do with out it. I was dealing with much more heated liquor than previous. We are usually only dealing with 4 -5 litres of hot liquid. This time we ended up with about 17litres.

I added a 2litre block of ice to the fermenter and then I strained the wort into the fermenter. Topped up with about 5L or so of cold water. This got us down to about 28C. I then used the swamp cooler method to get us down to 20C for pitching. This step took about 5 hours. I fell asleep again. Pitched pretty late. About 1am.

Things to watch for next time:
I might start the brewing a bit earlier in the day. I tinker about for a couple hours assembling things. So starting to get the boil going at 3pm you're looking at sometime after 6pm before you have the fermenter full. I did this in summer because it's going into the cooler time of the day. Now it's not so important.

I didn't quite get all of the 2nd extract can mixed in properly. Was worried about the hop socks floating around in there. There was some extract visible on the bottom when we drained the pot. Not much. Just a detail.

14 litres plus is pushing the weight the stove top can handle IMO. By the time were were done there was 20kgs+ on the stove. It's a bench top unit and I think it was at the limit. I'd hate to have all of this come crashing down. May need to go the gas burner route. The pot took a long time to get going with a boil on the stove. More than 30 minutes.

Hop socks are good. Amazing how much the hop pellets expand when wet. Stuff still gets out and it needed filtering. I had to cut up a 3rd hop sock to fit over a sieve. Was a pricey option as the sock was $10 and a bit small. I nearly bought a cheesecloth type one at the LHBS but didn't. Would have been perfect. Managed to filter a ton more stuff out. Definitely don't want that in the beer.

So thats the first brew with hop additions. It was nice to actually smell some hops. I recognize both of these from beers I've drunk. As I bought 100gm pkts of hops I have enough to do another brew. I've got a few days off so I will do another one this week. Been wondering about doing this one again or doing a canadian blonde kit the same way.

[Libertytree]

Good to see you making the leap. I think you'll like it a lot and will find that it gives you a creative freedom to make exactly the beer you want and like. Yeah, it's experimental as hell at first but I think it would be a bit more rewarding overall.

LOL...I know how ya feel, trying to get the wort chilled and it keeps on getting later and later. I also came to the same conclusion about getting started earlier or setting up the night before. Using a gas burner outside is a much better option IMO, it's quicker and if you have a boil over it's not inside and on/in the stove.

About the hops and hop sacks....You'll find that the hop particles that escape will have little to no effect on your brew as they settle to the bottom and stay there. I've never filtered it and have never had issues with it. The cheese cloth sacks work excellently, I don't know about the ones you used though.

I really like the Saaz hops and intend to try the Cascade hops in the future.

ETA....You're right, this ain't a kit beer at all. The name LCBA #1 is better than KOB#7 and correct.

[Glass]

Day 6. We put this one together on the 11th. Its made fairly decent progress.

1st reading was 1.0135 (@18C Day 6).

The ambient temps have been 22C/23C. Unlike ground hog day, winter never seems to get started. We have had a few good rain days but plenty of should have been wet days didn't happen.

I had this one sitting in the trough in water from when I cooled the wort. I never bothered to drain the tub. It was running at 17C until yesterday when I drained the trough and let things warm a small amount. I am probably going to lift it out and bench it when I pull the krausen collar, tonight or tomorrow.

Despite the cold it's done fairly well.

Taste and aroma. The aroma is prominent but not unpleasant. I get lots of passionfruit aroma and some taste as well as a kind of pithy citrus taste. So not zesty but bitter. I find the bitterness fairly intense. I am wondering if this will mellow at all because it is fairly strong. The taste overall is pleasant. It is fairly close to the Little Creatures Bright Ale. The colour is spot on and there is some cloudiness which is also good form. I would say the bitterness makes it more like their Pale Ale than their Bright Ale.

I hopped this one at 45min, 15 min and flame out.

I am going to do KoB #8 tomorrow and was going to do similar hopping but with a Canadian Blonde base. I don't think I would like two batches of this bitterness level though.

If I wanted to try and reduce the bitterness would I go for a 30 minute boil with additions at 30, 15 and flame out? OR would I use less hops at 45?

[Libertytree]

If it were me, I'd run the Cascade(2oz) at 45mins and the Saaz(1oz) for the last 15mins and would do neither at flameout. This is a typical hop set up. By doing this once you'll be able to get a true feel for the nature of those hops. I should also add that the Cascade hops are not an overly bitter hop, usually around 6%, so medium. The Saaz hops are around 3% and are generally used for aroma, at the end of the boil. Don't skimp on the Cascade hop quantity, a little extra is better than too less because what you don't want to happen is for it to be under hopped as this will render your brew too sweet.

Keep in mind there is no set formula for this but rather general guidelines....welcome to my world, lol. It's fun though and this is where you really start learning the inside outs of beer making and how to tweak it to your liking.

I thought you might like to peruse this. There are other sites too but this is a basic one.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/101/hops/

[Glass]

Day 10. I think it's day 10.

1st reading was 1.0135 (@18C Day 6).
2nd reading was 1.0115 (@20C Day 10).

Weather has been fairly steady for temps although the humidity is up and down. Was pretty uncomfortable for a few days there even though the temps only got to ~23C

I had a bit of a F*** No moment when I noticed the lid to the fermenter was not fully seated. I removed the krausen collar on maybe day 8 and replaced the lid. These things are not the screw on type. They merely sit down inside the rim of the fermenter. There is a lip extending out over the top of the fermenter and there is a rim that slides down maybe 2/3 an inch into the fermenter.

I paid special attention to getting it seated properly because the last time I did it I had trouble getting the thing to go back on. Both hands full kind of fiddling about BUT the thing is it wasn't sitting flat all around and was lifted maybe 4mm which I think is about 1/8th inch.

I think it is because the fermenter can flex a bit. I have it sitting in a lanudry trough and either the base of the trough which is slightly curved, concave is causing a distortion or the side of it was resting up against the faucet also causing some distortion OR the thing is just a bit warped now.

I pushed the lid down to seat it again ok, checked around the other side to make sure it wasn't just popping up on they other side. I checked it again after maybe 30 minutes and the back side was not seated properly. So I did it again and it lifts on the front side. So I have moved the fermenter about a bit to see if it is twisting from the base and causing the fermenter to get out of shape.

Anyway I'm figuring it was like that a couple days before I noticed. Even when I was working around it for a couple hours on Monday. It wasn't until I shined a light on it in thee dark I noticed the lid.

I decided another reading was needed and a swig to make sure it's not off. I think there is enough overlap of these lids and their lips etc that it isn't a wide open gap that oxygen can get in.

There is a lot of stuff at the bottom of this fermenter. When I took a sample I got a ton of floaties. So much so that I decided to fill the trough with some water again and see if I can bring the temps down another couple degrees for a few days before bottling. I thought there was a lot more floating in it than there probably really is. After the sample had sat for a while it seemed to settle out fairly well. So anyway we will do a mild crash for a few days and bottle on Friday/Saturday.

The aroma is nice. It has mellowed a bit. The bitterness is still very strong and I have to say I'm not a fan. I think it's too bitter. I was going to do KoB #8 and hop it like I did this one. I am hesitating until I am more confident on how to reduce this bitterness level. I am going to base it on a Canadian Blonde so I might actually only dry hop it. I'm leaning that way.

[Libertytree]

When I 1st started brewing in the trash can instead of the airtight ferment bucket I was freaked about it not being airtight but it's never been an issue and neither has it been a problem for my buddy that brews in the same fashion.

Like I said earlier, it seems to me you you used a lot of hops for that size batch but the good news is, is that it will mellow. How much is hard to tell.

[Glass]

ok well we bottled this one today. 52 stubbies (12 oz) glass + 6 king browns (25oz) PET.

FG was 1.012 which means maybe my reading was off last time but I find the guage hard to read so who knows. Ball park. It's a half point.

I bulk primed this one as well. Although there is another bucket to clean I like this method. I can take care with the primary fermenter to tilt it slowly and get the most beer out of it into the bucket. Leave behind the yeast cake and not have to worry when doing the bottling. I think the priming is also better, however # 6 is the only other one I've done so far. It's a ways off but the plastic bottles have firmed up nicely already. No bombs so far.

Getting better at the bottling process. I'm going to look for a large tray with low sides 1/2" - 1" high to contain any spills. I clean as I go but it's one more hassle I can eliminate.

LT you are right. Taste and aroma. It's mellowing already. I found the bitterness to have subsided a lot. I really like this one. It's going to be a cracker. I still don't think it is as light flavoured as the beer it's based on but it may mellow some more. It looks just a little bit darker. Slight. The aroma is also pleasant. Again a bit stronger at the moment but nothing wrong with it. My nose gets a wiff and the brain says more of that please.

I've been trying to find the original in the stores to remind myself. I have no more worries about this beer. Looking forward to it.

As for airtightness, yes it seems you can relax a bit about it. The 2nd fermenter, I used as a priming bucket today, I've discovered that it's not even close to airtight even though it has a screw down lid with a rubber seal. Not to mention it suffers from evil grommet syndrome.

[Libertytree]

As far as your bottling tray.... I found a pet potty training rig in the trash and the two trays are what I use when I'm bottling, it eliminated the entire mess. Those things are expensive though, well worth it but still expensive($40). If you can find trays, try and find one that's a little larger and one smaller that will fit into it upside down. Drill a bunch of holes in the smaller top one and sand it, making it anti-slide. Mine is 25in X 15in and perfectly fits 2 cases. The two tray, raised, drained system keeps the bottles from sitting in the spilt beer, which is also a PITA.

6374

6375

Yep, bulk priming is THE way to go! If you want to make it even cheaper and simpler, here's the trick I learned. For every 5 gals use 1/2 cup of regular table sugar. I'm assuming that the dextrose you're using is more expensive than sugar. I don't even cover the bottling/priming bucket, as I have the spigot from the fermenter sitting just above and inside the bottling bucket.

I'm happy to hear your fears about it going south have reversed themselves.

[Glass]

I will have a look around for something for spills. wont be too difficult.

I think I will try your suggestion for priming this next brew. I've been looking for something other than dextrose. I think it puts me to sleep or something. At the right time of day that would not be a bad thing. I also realise that it's basically corn sugar and that could mean GMO, probably does.

I've got about 40 kgs of sugar packed away and I might use 2kg a year tops. So I have plenty.

[Libertytree]

Have you figured out what your alc% was in your last batches? Maybe that's why you're getting sleepy? :)

[Glass]

Have you figured out what your alc% was in your last batches? Maybe that's why you're getting sleepy? :)

I think the ABV is between 3.5 - 4.5%. That's a bit of a range but I don't think any I've brewed could be over that amount by much if at all. I think KoB #8 could be the highest so far. We will have to see. Anyway, the upside is I sleep soundly, the down side is that I'm not drinking beer while I'm sleeping. The upside is that there is always tomorrow to do it over again.

how does it go? I only drink beer on 2 days of the year. Today and tomorrow.

Reading up on some hop profiles for the next exbeeriment. I am dry hopping KoB #8. I might do a single hop pale ale and try out something like Centennial. I will have a look and see if it is available at the LHBS. I don't recall seeing it but I was looking for something else the last time (B-SAAZ) I don't really remember what others they had in stock. It will probably be brew #10. #9 will likely be a redux of something already brewed.

I still have about 8 cases of bottles to fill. That would be about 3 batches. Plus some others that keep turning up empty so need refilling.

[Glass]

2 weeks. I quick chilled a couple of stubbies. 12oz's. I thought I might let them go for a day in the fridge but decided I couldn't wait.

Great level of carb already. Not crazy but good for 2 weeks. I suspect I over primed #6 and #7. I bulked those. Doing some research a lot of people do 3 - 4 oz sugar/dex for 5 gals. I think I used about 170-175. 5 1/3 oz for 5.75gal. But then others say 1/2 to 1 cup. I think I'm at the high end but hope nothing to worry about. #6 is going to be on the shelf another couple months but I might crack one tomorrow and see. They could bomb before I get them drunk. They are in thicker glass that #7.

Back to this one. It has a nice floral passion fruit aroma in the bottle. Good carb, 1 finger head in the glass. This one is clear. The passion fruit flavour is there backed by a slight citrus flavour. Bordering on pithy taste. The bitterness is still pronounced but it is less, about the same as when I bottled it. It does not make the beer unpleasant and I think most people will think it is ok. I'd like it to be a bit less but not much. The overall hop influence is not really strong. I think it's a good level. You could ramp it a little bit on flavour and aroma but then it would be like a Fat Yak and not the LCBA.

The head on this beer is rich and creamy smooth. Mouthfeel is slightly oily or resiny. Reminds me of a London ale in that aspect. It has a nice feel to it.

Another beer that does not last long in the glass. I'll declare this one a winner. I'm going to do again with a shorter 1st addition. I'll knock 5 minutes off it and see how I like it.

How close is it to the original? I have to say I don't know. I will have to buy a bottle and do a side by side comparo. Maybe tomorrow I can do that. Regardless, it stands on it's own as a good brew.
You could call this a light hopped cream ale. It's a bit clear but that is close.

[Glass]

I had the second one of these last night. Tasty.

Today I picked up a couple craft beers. #1 was a LCBA Little Creatures Bright Ale. #2 was a Siera Leone Pale Ale. I figured the SL Pale Ale would be something to use as a bench mark because it's a USA beer and you guys could probably find it somewhere.

The big question is, did my LCBA clone turn out like the original. Yes. It did, but its just a bit stronger. Could put that down to freshness maybe. In another couple months mine might have mellowed a bit. Everything is just a small amount more pronounced. The bitterness also but not big amount. I'm pretty happy.

Compared to Sierra Leona Pale Ale. The SL PA has stronger hop flavours and less bitterness. So take 50% hop strength away and add some bitterness and you have an LCBA. Colour of SLPA is tending to red and a bit cloudy. LCBA is a nice honey amber and crystal clear.

[Libertytree]

I'm happy to hear this turned out to be a raging success! Do ya think you like the build your own brews over the kits?

[Glass]

Yes I think I would like to have a crack at all grains..

I was at the LHBS yesterday picking up KoB #9. A couple of young fellas in front of me were getting all their grain for an All Grain. They obviously pre-order it for pickup. I was thinking to myself now that I have some beer in stock I feel a bit less pressure to crank out brews. Basically I've got some time that I can put together a mash tun.

A burner and a big enough LT will take some time. To be honest I've got a lot of demands on money and not enough to go around. So picking up the kit I need could take a little while.

My real interest is BIAB but I think that is a halfway step to going fully all grain. So from here, BIAB next because the kit for that will carry over to full brewing. I'm thinking while I type. The only thing BIAB doesn't have is a mash tun so it might not be a half way step. I've got a cooler to use as a mash tun. I don't have a big enough brew pot or a burner to set it on. So if I went and bought that I'd have all the kit for both styles anyway.

dribbling again. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for bargain brew gear. Kits will keep me in beer. This brew is a step up in terms of results. I'm doing this one again in 2 brews time. I've got a couple other kits I want to try out as well so I've still got a few brews lined up.

[Libertytree]

My next move would to be to all grain and rice, brewing. Growing hops is also on the table, along with cultivating yeasts...we'll see how that works out?

Sorry for the stupid question but what is BIAB?

[Glass]

Sounds good. BIAB is brew in a bag.

[Glass]

I've got enough beer in stock now that I've been drinking mine exclusively. Except I have bought a couple of different pale ales to see. What you can buy in store is a very mixed bag. Some beers have come a long way and freshness can be a problem. So for some you are left guessing what it could be like if it were your local beer. Fresh from the tap.

Serving temperature plays a big role in beer. As does the glass for some styles. But I have found with this one and KoB #5 that serving or drinking temp gives the beer a whole new dimension. I've served both of these beers at about 5C/41F in chilled glasses. The aroma is a chemical smell like raw alcohol. Taste is subdued flavours and bitter. As the beer warms it mellows and those smells and off flavours are gone. Serving it a bit warmer is better for smoother flavours and better mouth feel.

Still it can be improved on. Less bitterness.

[Glass]

had a friend try this as well as KoB #6 lemon lager. Preferred this one because there were a few different aromas and tastes going on. Thought both were good, just this was better. I thought it was bit too bitter on finish. They did not think so. I tried another one since it has been a while. I find the bitterness has mostly faded. I think the hop flavours have faded generally. Aroma still strong. It's a bit more mellow. We'll follow it and see how much it fades.

Anyway it got a thumbs up.