Kraken Brewing

2022 was a good year for brewing - I definitely got back into the swing of things and was able to brew a lot more beer than in 2021. While there was some dud beers (mostly due to oxidation..), the beers in general definitely improved in quality. I recognised that I branched out in styles as well, experimenting with different spices and yeasts. Of these, the Beglian White Ale (Witbier), Aussie Sparkling Ale and Mango Lassi sour were 3 notable beers that involved new ways of brewing with spices and different hop varietals. While I tend to stick to the same styles, I’m keen to branch out and try new things, mainly to keep things fresh and exciting. I’m also keen to try new methods, improve the efficiencies of my current process, and work on the limitations I’m currently facing.

In 2023, I have a few notable brewing improvements and styles I’m excited to try. In no given order, these are:

Going ahead with another fruited sour using the Philly Sour yeast. This time I think I’ll do a mix of darker fruits (Blackberry, Cherry & Raspberry) and see how that goes. Like my last sour, I’ve added some lactose to counteract the sourness. I also added some dextrose to the boil to give the yeast some glucose for lactic acid production. I’ll probably add the fruit around day 5-6, purge with some c02 and leave for 3-4 days until fermentation finishes.

Decided to have another crack at a hoppy hazy with this recipe from some dude on Facebook. For this brew, I’m trying out suspending the hops in a bag using magnets.. as a final effort to avoid oxidation. Closed transfers don’t seem to be working well enough, and I figured it may be due to opening the fermenter for dry hop additions, so we’ll see how this goes. I kinda screwed it up though because the hop bag is too big for the fermenter headspace.. so now the hops are slightly touching the wort. I’ll try limit the fermentation time of this batch to not drag out the hop exposure. I also forgot to use a Whirfloc tablet, but it might help contribute some slight haze. Ultimate goal of this batch is to just avoid oxidation. I’m also trying liquid yeast for the first time (Bluestone Yeast Co. New England ale strain). Hopefully it goes well, it wasn’t cheap.

The inspiration for this beer came from a night several years ago when I was working as a bartender. Myself and a few others headed to an American-style bar across the road on our break, for some food and beers. I ended up getting a Blue Moon on tap, not knowing what it is and expecting it to be a thin, watered down American lager. I was surprised to receive the opposite, a full-bodied, rich, citrusy and spicy Belgian-style ale with a slice of orange in it. It was fantastic, and that is the style and moment I’m trying to recreate with this beer.

The inspiration for this beer comes from the traditional Indian Lassi drink, a sweet or spiced yogurt-based drink, commonly flavoured with fruit such as Mango. Like my other sours, this beer will have wheat and oat additions to add body and fullness. I’ll also be adding some lactose to counteract the sourness add to the body of the beer. For the fruit addition, I’ll be adding about 4kg of pureed mango as well as 1L of mango pulp (or mango nectar if I cant find the pulp).

I decided to make a basic Australian Ale after having some bad luck with hazy, hoppy beers oxidising. Hoppy Days Brewing Supplies had this recipe for a Sparkling Ale, reminiscent of Coopers Sparkling Ale. This beer makes use of Australian malts (Voyager Pale Compass) and Australian hops (Pride of Ringwood) for a boil addition. Yeast used was SafAle k-97, a traditional german ale yeast.

Sparkling Ale

HOPPY DAYS BREWING SUPPLIES

This is a recipe I took from Hoppy Days Brewing Supplies (Brisbane), which is a session NEIPA. This beer features low bitterness, heavily fruity/critrus hops and a full body with plenty of high-protein malts. This brew makes use of Verdant IPA yeast, which will aid in creating this hazy, hoppy fruit bomb. Although i’ve brewed this beer before, the first time was a dump due to heavy oxidation. This time around, I’m utilising the Fermzilla 27L to do a pressurised, closed transfer ferment, to avoid any oxidation. Hops will be loaded into the collection container and purged with CO2, to remove any possibility of oxygen getting in.

This Passionfruit and Vanilla sour was the next sour ale I had lined up in my list of fruited sours. This time around I’m using Lallemand’s Philly Sour yeast - A lactic acid producing yeast. This will be my first sour without using traditional kettle souring techniques with Lactobacillus Plantarum, so I’m interested to see how it turns out. Some people have said that this strain produces less lactic acid and thus less sourness than kettle souring, but this generally comes down to yeast health and fermentation conditions. I’m fermenting at 23c, as a higher temperature supposedly encourages greater lactic acid production. As for the additions, I’m adding 2kg of frozen Passionfruit Pulp from Hoppy Days Brewing Supplies in Brisbane. I’m also adding about 10ml of Vanilla Extract and 250g of Lactose to the boil (to counteract the sourness of the passionfruit and lactic acid). I’m aiming for a pH of around 3.3 and a FG of about 1.015, to give an ABV of approximately 5.4%.

For my next clone, I’m going to attempt to replicate Ballistic Brewing’s “Hawaiian Haze” DDH Pale Ale. The tasting notes for this beer have been descriped as juicy, pineapple, hoppy and citric. It’s light in colour with a solid haze. The hops used were Citra, Rakau, Pacifica and Mosaic. The malts are pale malt, rolled/flaked oats and rolled/flaked wheat. It has medium bitterness with 30 IBUs and an ABV of 4.6%. Using this information, I plan to make a recipe that replicates the beer as closely as possible.

Grain Bill
-Use of high protein grains such as flaked oats and wheat.
-Marris Otter base, with some wheat malt, flaked oats and flaked wheat

Hops
-Citra, Rakau, Pacifica and Mosaic, targetting 30 IBU in the boil with late additions and a substantial dry hop. The whirlpool should make up majority of the hop boil additions, aiming for 80-85c additions.

Chemistry
-a 2:1 Chloride to Sulfate ratio will accentuate the smooth malt body and not the hops, as they speak for themselves.

Time for another sour! This time it’s going to be Mango, utilising 3kg of mango puree. The process will be the same kettle sour as my previous ones:

- Flaked Oats will be added to give the beer body, mouthfeel and slight sweetness.

- Fruit addition will be added during primary/secondary to get a fresher flavour and avoid cooked-flavours.

- A mesh bag will be used to catch the fruit particles and make kegging easier.