Lawn Darts...an in experiment sugars. how very scientific.
It's true... I always have some honey type brew in the works. Like the amber honey I will brew as soon as Fed Ex shows with the hops Midwest forgot to send me. Or the spruce/juniper light honey ale (which I hope get better with age cuz it tastes like butt right now) I have bottle conditioning. Or my "First Custom Concoction" which will have hone in it as well. So far I have only used clover honey in my beers. But I have used many different honeys in my meads. But with all the extra flavors in beer I don't think you'd get near the difference in flavors from honey to honey since most of the flavor nuances are very subtle. That's why I want to try buckwheat honey or maybe avacado honey. Because they have very strong and distinct flavors.
K, I just popped the cork on another Holly Molly Molasses and I got bananas. So now what????
...and you all thought i was bananas for talking about the bananas!
i think it is the insidious yeast we used. perhaps it is a better fall-fermenting yeast than summer. if the temperature is the key. but as we both fermented at the same temperature, it is all i can think of. perhaps we are supposed to condition at 45 degrees F. who knows.
i feel a lot less insane now.
brewskinewbski, you are much appreciated tonight...as i drink some of my Banana Lawn Fiasco.
okay...i have to make a confession:
i have had two liters in the fridge for about a week now. i meant to drink them a while ago, but got very busy at work and decided to drink a gallon of whisky when i got home instead, as it was less colume and more ABV. hey, i am human.
but now that i try the lawn ale, after sitting in the fridge for a week,it tastes less of bananas. it has a banana taste, do not get me worng. but it is not as overwhelming.
i do now start to wonder about conditioning. perhaps we should look into asking others on the forum about a recipe they have brewed multiple times and the affect that bottle storing temperature has on it.
what dost all y'all think about such a thing?
1. Avacado Honey!! I didn't know there was such a thing. I need to find some of that and try it just as honey. let alone a brewing adjunct.
2. BANANAS! Well I didn't get any bananas when i tasted my sample but we'll see what its like after the bottles are ready. Its strange because I use this yeast alot, and I have never had banana issues.
I've seen it ferment at 68 and up to 75, and never gotten bananas. Maybe its the sugar as rocket fuel.
Another experiment someday would probably be just the corn sugar brew and see where a different yeast takes us.
If you want to pop it out as a new thread asking about bananas, go for it.
But I'd hate to think some lurker to this thread is keeping his/her mouth shut.
"HA HA those three guys are clueless! That yeast is all bananas all the time."
if someone is lurking on our banana fiasco and not saying anything, i will be stalking shadows very very soon...
Well, Kraus... you had yours from the get go and I have a feeling it's because your corn sugar didn't really add flavor to help mask it. Unlike the molasses I used, which has quite a potent flavor. I am leaning towards the conditioning situations. If I try this again I think I may go for a couple weeks (or longer) in a secondary at around 65 degrees. A yeast experiment isn't a bad idea either.
Brewchez..... There are as many different honeys as there are flowers. The deciding factor in classifying a honey is the dominant flower in the area. So if the hives are near a clover field then it's clover honey, and so on. Avacado honey is scrumptious. A very dark and rich honey and oddly enough is has a faint avacado like tastes. My favorite is Fireweed honey as it almost tastes like butter. As in you put it on a warm biscuit all by its self and you'd swear you buttered it as well.
So Brew.... How did your's turn out?????
brewskinewbski wrote:
So Brew.... How did your's turn out?????
I finally got around to tasting this Brown Sugar Brew after a busy week/weekend...
I definately get a hint of banana and some other esters. There is a touch of green apple in there, or it could be some sort of residual sugar taste from the brown sugar. I like the color its like I put in a couple ounces of chocolate malt, but no roast taste. Overall its sort of thin and crisp like lawnmower style, but the brown sugar definately leaves a noticable sweetness... which makes it hard for me to distinguish if the banana I taste is real, or just a subconscience suggestion from you two guys. I think to get a good lawnmower beer, just using cane sugar, or honey at a low enogh concentration to avoid the taste would be good. I think a low gravity (1035-40) wheat with some honey and lemon peel is the best way to go.
I am not terribbly impressed. I am surprised at the banana notes, I have never had that with this yeast when using it for full fledgeed english ale recipes. I will continue to use this as my back up dry yeast of choice. But I'll have to do some research into the banana thing. Maybe I can write an email to fermentis and see what they say.
My yeast cake looked weird too, there was alot of dark specs in there that I didn't note before. I just remembered that. Maybe that was insoluble matter from the brown sugar.
So what do you think of all the results thus far?
My results are 100% consumed....................
I'd use stronger hops next time to give the molasses's zig a little counter acting zag. I wouldn't mind trying corn sugar with wheat malt extract and possibly a dash of honey (who coulda guessed). Perhaps secondary one medium lemon zest and juice.