Stone Levitation clone question

[Kealia]

It looks like we have multiple threads here about Levitation, but this one seems to have the most information so I'll use this one.

Here is the bastardized recipe I brewed on the 4th. I wanted to use up the hops I had on-hand while still keeping the grain bill true, so this is what I came up with.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.38 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.25 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.25 gal
Estimated OG: 1.052 SG
Estimated Color: 16.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 54.7 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 78.5 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
9 lbs 5.9 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 84.6 %
1 lbs 1.6 oz Crystal 75 (75.0 SRM) Grain 2 9.9 %
8.8 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 3 5.0 %
1.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 4 0.5 %
0.47 oz Magnum [12.30 %] - Boil 90.0 min Hop 5 21.0 IBUs
0.40 oz Citra [12.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 6 12.5 IBUs
0.25 oz Amarillo Gold [8.40 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 7 5.5 IBUs
0.85 oz Crystal [4.10 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 8 7.2 IBUs
0.35 oz Simcoe [11.90 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 9 8.6 IBUs
0.50 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 5.0 mins) Fining 10 -
1.0 pkg Flagship (Imperial #A07) Yeast 11 -
0.50 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Primary 10.0 mins) Other 12 -
1.00 oz Mosaic [12.70 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 13 0.0 IBUs
0.50 oz Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Da Hop 14 0.0 IBUs

Mashed at 154, pitched yeast and holding at 69 degrees.
Yeah, lots of little bits of left-over hops went into this but I kept the IBUs the same as the tried and true recipe.

I also got a higher efficiency than planned for, so this came in at 1.055 after diluting it as much as I could without risking a blowout on the fermentor. I didn't want a stronger beer, I wanted the same balance as before. As always, time will tell.....

[Beer-lord]

Never heard of that yeast before. Had to look it up.
Look at you making 5 gallon batches again!

[Kealia]

LOL, with the "new" mash tun I bought a while ago I don't see myself going back to 2.5G anytime soon. This way I find I'm able to fill a few growlers for friends from each batch while keeping plenty for myself instead of counting pours/bottles. Plus, if I'm going to spend $$ on a new kettle.........I'm going to use it!

[Inkleg]

Interesting, so you're going with a 90 minute boil. Details girlfriend (had to go there to keep up the silliness of this whole thread).
I'll be be back in few. Going to pour a pint of my 30 minute Levitation.

[BlackDuck]

90 minute boil for the 90 minute hop addition!!

[Kealia]

The 90-minutes is a bit of monkey-see, monkey-do honestly. That's the way the recipe was laid out way back when on CYBI, so I did it. I don't know if it helps caramelize things a bit because there is more of a Maillard reaction (talking out of my ass here...) or not but it has always produced great results for this recipe so I'm sticking with it.

Awww, I'm somebody's girlfriend.

[Beer-lord]

I've not seen a Stone recipe that didn't suggest a 90 minute boil. It also helps with hop isomerization from what I've read over the years.
I rarely do this except for a few recipes. Hey girls, if it works, do it!

[mashani]

It also helps with hop isomerization from what I've read over the years.

Hey, do 90 minute boil for character if you like why not.

But, regarding the above - FWIW, I know that I have read this lots of times too, as if it's some kind of brew science, typically it's mentioned as far as "why you *need* a 60 minute boil" kind of thing, but it seems to be mostly just one of those things everyone knows because someone said in my experience (like HSA, DMS, etc.) and perhaps YMMV.

What I mean by that is I do sometimes 10 or 5 minute boils with a 20-30 minute lid on hop stand (admittedly starting at flameout temps, not cooler temps which is why the lid is on). But that means I have maybe 15 or 20 minutes of what they would say are isomerization temps total. I've even done a beer with a 1 minute boil with a bunch of really high AA hops (like 17.5%), with a 30 minute hop stand. So that maybe had 11-12 minutes at those temps.

And those beers did not lose bitterness over time, I've had some 8-12 months old and they remained stable. Which supposedly should not happen according to the hop isomerization theory.

I do know that beta acids over time oxidize and provide a bittering component that makes up for AA that fades as beers age and the AA mellows. So maybe that helps. A lot of the hops I use have lots of beta acids. I don't know maybe I should do 2 side by side batches, one with a low beta hop and one with a high beta hop with similar AAs and see how those age comparatively.

But anyways, considering that much commercial beer is sold with an intended shelf life much less then the 8-12 months I'm talking about, I don't even understand why they care about the whole hop isomerization theory thing. If it doesn't fade for me it should not fade for them.

[Kealia]

Bumping so I remember to update with a picture and tasting notes soon.

[Kealia]

And the update.....I had one of these last night and continue to love this beer. The hops this time around are completely different than the original recipe but the grain bill provides a great base for just about any combination IMO. I've been looking for a beer to brew with Mandarina Bavaria and I may use this base and do it some combination of MB and Nelson Sauvin in the future just because I know what to get from this base.

Cheers.

[mashani]

So... I am in the process of making a batch of this, except not really because I don't have exactly the ingredients. But close if your are a hand grenade LOL. As in I took my inspiration from it at least... So I'll call it "Levitation by Holy Hand Grenade".

So I used 1# of British Medium Crystal instead of the C-75, and 8oz of C-120, and 1oz of Chocolate Rye because that's what I had on hand. 6# of MoreBeer Extra Light extract to get me to the right OG (targeting around 1.05, if a tad under or over that's ok). As far as hops, I'm using 4oz of my #10 batch of Farmhouse hop blend, which I like very much all on its own in the Belgian IPA I made, so I'm just throwing it in here at all the hop intervals in similar proportions to Kealia's recipe above except with a bit of rounding and any extra will just get added to the dry hop later (IE .47oz = .5oz). That blend is juicy and slightly piney. Which sounds about right based on the hops I've seen used in the clones. I've got 12oz of it left, so I need to use some of it in stuff. So this is such stuff.

EDIT: It came out 1.048, so that sounds just dandy.

I pitched Mangrove Jack M-07 British Ale in this. Seemed like a good choice.

[Kealia]

Sounds good. The Farmhouse blend that I tasted from Beer-lord's Red Placenta was really good so I think that's a grat choice for this grain bill.

I predict.......a winner!

[mashani]

So I bottled the "close as a hand grenade" version of this.

It finished at 1.009

It tasted somewhat juicy with dank and piney undertones.

I didn't get as much "dank" in the Belgian IPA out of this blend. So the blend might vary a bit from package to package. That or this grain bill/and or the yeast choice just let that come out more.

I'm sure I will like it.

[mashani]

Sounds good. The Farmhouse blend that I tasted from Beer-lord's Red Placenta was really good so I think that's a grat choice for this grain bill.

I predict.......a winner!

I popped one of these, and yeah winner. I like it a lot.

[mashani]

Sounds good. The Farmhouse blend that I tasted from Beer-lord's Red Placenta was really good so I think that's a grat choice for this grain bill.

I predict.......a winner!

I popped one of these, and yeah winner. I like it a lot.

After further review, I have discovered a major flaw in this beer.

It disappears much too quickly.