RCE Winter 2015: dwaynebutcher & lindseywinstead

[lindseywinstead]

dwaynebutcher and I have wasted no time in diving headfirst into our collaboration. We have chosen to experiment a bit with Mr. Beer's Noche de Luna recipe [ http://www.mrbeer.com/noche-de-luna-recipe ]. It is a modification of their Aztec Mexican Cerveza HME. From the way it is described, I am thinking it is an amber cerveza style (BJCP 3A Vienna Lager)? We have decided to approach this recipe two ways. Brewer 01 will brew the Mr. Beer version exactly as written, using Mr. Beer products. Brewer 02 will brew much the same recipe, but using ingredients other than those from Mr. Beer, with the exception of the star of the show, the AMC HME. Once conditioning is complete, we shall exchange beers so that we can do a side-by-side comparison. Our goal is to explore the subtle (and perhaps not so subtle) nuances between ingredients.

Our variations:
Brewer 01
Mr. Beer Aztec Mexican Cerveza HME
MB Dry Wheat Brewing Yeast
MB BrewMax LME SoftPack - Smooth
MB Tettnanger Pellet Hops

Brewer 02
Mr. Beer Aztec Mexican Cerveza HME
Safbrew WB-06 Dry Wheat Yeast
Briess CBW® Sparkling Amber DME
German Tettnang Pellet Hops

[mashani]

Hmm... Non-wheat grains, with a little crystal, german hops, and wheat yeast.

Style wise, both of those are actually more like a Dampfbier, especially if you brew them at warmer temps (upper 60s/low 70s). At lower temps your going to get a more clove/spice oriented Dampfbier, at warm temps you might get some banana... not a lot with those yeasts, but some.

http://www.germanbeerinstitute.com/Dampfbier.html

To be more authentically Amber Cerveza/Vienna Lager like you'd need to ferment with a lager yeast, or Kolsch yeast/German ale in the 50s.

That doesn't mean they will be bad, they will likely be very tasty - I've made Dampfbier a handful of times and liked it a lot. Just giving you some style tips of what it may end up "more like".

[lindseywinstead]

That doesn't mean they will be bad, they will likely be very tasty - I've made Dampfbier a handful of times and liked it a lot. Just giving you some style tips of what it may end up "more like".

Thank you for the info! The amber cerveza/Vienna lager was just my guess at Mr. Beer's intentions. They did not officially specify what they were going for. I think that we all know that Mr. Beer uses the term "lager" to mean several different things, and can play pretty fast and loose with style guidelines. Regardless, I am hopeful that this will result in a tasty brew.

EDIT: After a bit of snooping around the Mr. Beer website, I discovered that they have categorised the Noche de Luna recipe as a "Wheat Recipe" and a "European Amber Lager Recipe". I am not saying that is accurate, but that is what they are billing this recipe as.

[mashani]

Dampfbier was poor Bavarian country peoples Vienna lager / wheat beer substitute. So they sort of tell the truth.

[dwaynebutcher]

It is going to be fun to brew this recipe and taste what Lindsey is able to create. I just hope that I know which brewer I am and brew the right recipe!! Kidding. I hope.

Me being a poor starving artist, this old-school Bavarian type ale may just be about perfect.

Thanks for the link, it was fun to read.

[lindseywinstead]

Wheat yeast is not required for this recipe. I'm pretty sure that's a typo and I appreciate you bringing it to our attention. It will be fixed promptly... This recipe has been updated with the yeast fix. Thanks again for bringing this to our attention.

In a classic example of "everyone makes mistakes", I stumbled upon a thread on the Mr. Beer Forum discussing the Noche de Luna recipe which reveals that using wheat yeast in this brew is merely a typo. dwaynebutcher and I will move forward with our original recipes. I am, however, a bit disappointed that this was not caught by Mr. Beer earlier in the process. In the same forum thread over at MB, the Customer Service Representative also stated that the hops are U.S. Tettnang, "But we have stopped carrying them." Perhaps I have just had bad luck, but my personal experience with Mr. Beer has gone from "bad" to "worse" over the years. Ah well, there is no cure for frustration like a homebrew.

Here’s to alcohol: the cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems.

[dwaynebutcher]

Well, at least we will get beer out of it!! Of all the things to try, we picked this. What luck. HA. But you are correct, I agree with your MB assessment.

[jimjohson]

Nothing stopping you from getting your own wheat yeast...I think it'd be a right interesting cerveza.

[lindseywinstead]

Nothing stopping you from getting your own wheat yeast...I think it'd be a right interesting cerveza.

We decided to stick with our original intentions. The more I think about it, the more excited I get about using a wheat yeast with this recipe. I have a feeling that it will be a “right interesting cerveza”.

Worst case scenario, as dwaynebutcher philosophizes, we shall have beer.

[jimjohson]

Did one of y'all start that thread?

[lindseywinstead]

Did one of y'all start that thread?

If you are referring to the thread on the Mr. Beer Forum, it was not me.

[lindseywinstead]

I finally brewed my version yesterday afternoon. It had been a while since last I indulged in a Mr. Beer-based recipe. It was fast and went quite smoothly. I hit my anticipated O.G. (1.054), cooled quickly, and pitched a pack of Safbrew WB-06, which is happily munching away this morning.

[jimjohson]

Did one of y'all start that thread?

If you are referring to the thread on the Mr. Beer Forum, it was not me.

well that was a heck of a coincidence. huh?

[dwaynebutcher]

I thought it crazy also. As I did not make that post either. Maybe it is the CIA checking our emails!