Funky Rye Mild - Tasting

The accidentally funky Dark Mild
Aroma - Cherries in a musty cellar. It is starting to get a bit of that barnyard funk. There is also some toasty malt in the background. An interesting aroma, sort of like a minor league version of my Old Ale.

Appearance - Dark brown with an light-tan head. When held up to the light there are some nice ruby highlights.

Flavor - A smooth coffee flavor predominates, with a bit of funky cherry in the mid-palate. The toastiness from the aroma comes through as well, but it is a bit richer.

Mouthfeel - A bit thin, despite the "infection" there is surprisingly only a mild "cask level" carbonation.

Drinkability/Notes - Much easier drinking than it was in the months directly following when the infection showed up. I am starting to see that Brett goes through a "rough" stage before it smooths out. This style isn't without president, Pizza Port/Lost Abbey uses their mild as the basis for their kriek.


Rye Mild

Recipe Specifics
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Batch Size (Gal): 3.80
Total Grain (Lbs): 7.63
Anticipated OG: 1.045
Anticipated SRM: 23.9
Anticipated IBU: 22.9
Brewhouse Efficiency: 61 %
Wort Boil Time: 105 Minutes

Grain
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6.00 lbs. Golden Promise
0.75 lbs. Rye Malt
0.50 lbs. Crystal 120L
0.19 lbs. Pale Chocolate Malt
0.19 lbs. Chocolate Rye Malt

Hops
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0.50 oz. East Kent Goldings @ 50 min.
0.25 oz. East Kent Goldings @ 15 min.

Extras
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.50 Unit(s) Whirlfloc @ 15 min
.50 Tsp Yeast Nutrient @ 15 min

Yeast
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WYeast 1275 Thames Valley Ale

Mash Schedule
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Sacc Rest 60 min @ 154
Mash Out 15 min @ 168

Notes
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Brewed 2/10/07 with James

Fox Point spring water used. Yeast pitched from swelled pack (nov 17 date makes me a bit worried).

Solid fermentation within 24 hours, so all seems to be well

2/17/07 Krausen has fallen and fermentations seems to be complete. 1.009, taste is nice and smooth, just a little yeasty. Nice bready character with just a hint of rye spice and hop bitterness.

2/25/07 Bottled 3.5 gallons with 47 g priming sugar. Aiming for low carbonation around 1.75 volumes.

2/28/07 Got impatient and opened a bottle. Already some mild carbonation although not much head. The beer is shaping up well with lots of dark caramel and toasted malt. Very smooth and drinkable.

Around the start of April a mild Brett infection appeared in every bottle I've tried (systemic, probably due to poor cleaning of the primary fermenter after an all Brett C beer), strangely the FG stuck around the same level. Not a bad beer even with the infection, but it certainly didn't end up being the session beer I intended.