05: Pink Diesel (lactose)

A half batch experimental brew from the Craft Beer book (p.132) using raspberry's. Was my first attempt at using lactose and fruit.

Sounds horrible, did not work as planned but strangely drinkable and will have another go to improve!

Ingredients:

1.33 kg pilsner malt.

440g wheat.

220g oats.

350g lactose (post cool to raise SG by 12.

220g granulated sugar (to boil 45m).

Vanilla pod (post primary).

550g raspberry's (and some vodka post primary - V2 will need at least 660g).

5g irish moss.

Hop Profile: (V2 to be all Mosaic)

Golding 26g 10m.

Golding 62 0m and 10m stand.

Mosaic 100g dryhop.

Golding 10g, dryhop, 28/08/17 (perhaps use a bag for the hops and juice next time).

Yeast: English Ale S04.

Notes:

1. Kit: stainless boiler, coolbox mash tun and plastic fermenter.
2. Mash: 1.75 gall @75^oC (stir) then leave for 75 min and drain to bucket.
3. Sparge: 85^oC and a jug slowly pour over grain (with perforated tin foil) to gather 3.0 gall of wort. Note: Half brews seem less efficient at wort creation, hopefully new sparge technique of maintaining a head of water over the grain bed with a controlled slow feed/trickle output will help
4. Boil: 1hr to hop profile above, Irish moss (15 min to end) to produce 2.5 gall of wort. Cooling coil added at 0 min to end of boil and cooled to 20C.
5. Adjuncts:
   • After cool add lactose to raise OG
   • Add raspberry and vanilla pod post primary, i steeped in post boiled water then sieved for 1.25 pints of 'juice'.
6. OG: 1054 - adjusted (up) to 1066 with lactose. After 6 days in the fermenter the SG was 1014, raised to 1016 with addition of 'juice'.FG: 1010 (~6.5% ABV).
7. Finings: N/A.26/08/17.
8. Bottled: Was little and messy. So racked or a day prior to bottling to hopefully settle. Was little so sieved the stuff to allow more bottles to be made, resulted in messy/bitty beer, make more next time and try to dump/skim bits. 01/09/17, tasted like pink diesel.
9. Condition: 1 week warm, then two weeks cool prior to drinking.
10. Priming: A teaspoon per bottle.
11. Taste: Bit disappointing prior to bottling. Very little carbonation, next batch try without lactose and a simpler recipe!