Gluten-Free Mosaic Pale Ale October 19 2020, 0 Comments

It's the summer, so I have to keep on my hop-themed journey with this batch. I've made three different IPAs, so it's time to try something else. How about a pale ale? How about a Mosaic Pale Ale?

I'm really enjoyed the process with and the character from Cryo hops, so most of the hops I'll be using in this batch will be Cryo hops. I'm also going to see what adding a pound of rice syrup solids does for the fermentation.

The Recipe

  • 8.5lb White Pale Millet Malt from Colorado Malting Co
  • .5lb Munich Millet Malt
  • .5lb Crystal 60L Millet Malt
  • .5lb Abbey Millet Malt
  • 1.5lb Rice Hulls
  • 1lb Maltodextrin (10 min)
  • 1lb Rice Syrup Solids (10 min)
  • 1oz Mosaic pellet hops (.1oz FWH, .9oz 10 min)
  • 1oz Mosaic Cryo Hops (whirlpool)
  • 2oz Mosaic Cryo Hops (dry hop)
  • Lallemand Kveik dry yeast
  • 1 Cup Corn Sugar (bottling)
  • 1/2 tsp Wyeast Beer Nutrient (10 min)
  • 1 tsp Irish Moss (10 min)
  • 1 tsp Gypsum (60 min)
  • 3 Gallons Reverse Osmosis Water
  • 1/2 Campden Tablet (pre-mash)
  • 25g Ondea Pro brewing enzymes (mash)
  • 19g Ceremix Flex brewing enzymes (mash)

The Mash

The mash went almost perfectly. Was shooting for 163F, hit 165F, so left that alone, see how it goes. After 90 minutes, starch was definitely converted, so moved onto the vorlauf / lauter stage.  

Due to the find grind, the pump did clog with grain at the beginning of the second runnings. I'm considering using a nylon straining bag inside the mash tun if this happens again.

Measured mash efficiency was above 75%, so again, pretty excited about that.

The Boil

This batch was my first foray (at least in gluten-free brewing) into First Wort Hopping. FWH is when you add hops to your kettle just as you are filling up the boil kettle from the mash tun. It adds bitterness and a distinct flavor. Of course .1oz is not a whole lot, but hopefully this adds another layer of hoppiness to this brew.

I went into the boil kettle with the perfect volume (7.5 gallons). I did a less vigorous boil than with previous batches, hoping to not boil off so much volume. And it worked like a charm! I went into the fermenter with a volume of 5.5 gallons, which is what I was hoping for.

Even though I hit the exact volume I was looking for, my gravity was 10 points higher than I was anticipating, 1.054 vs. 1.044. 

Now we just have to make sure it tastes good :)

Post Boil

Just like the previous batch, the Kveik yeast rocked out like a champ, completing fermentation within 4 days. 

In an effort to enhance clarity and hop character, I tried 2-stage fermentation with this batch. After a week, I transferred the beer to a 5 gallon glass carboy (purging the oxygen with CO2) and dry-hopped with 2oz of Mosaic Cryo hops.

Final Verdict

I think this is my favorite batch as of yet. It cleared up pretty well for a hoppy beer, had a little bit of a head on it which lingered a bit, and still had some body to it, even though it finished around 1.010.

But the most important aspect, I think we all would agree, is the taste. This batch had a real pleasant balance between malty and bitter. Next time I may up the bitterness level a tad in a pale ale, but this is pretty dialed in.

The hop flavor definitely comes through better than in previous batches, even though I used fewer of them, which tells me the extra steps of purging the fermenter with CO2 and transferring into a secondary fermenter really had an effect. Lots of berry and stone fruitiness, some pine and dank, everything you'd want and expect from a Mosaic Pale Ale!

Lessons Learned

  • Adjust overall efficiency up in BeerSmith
  • Shorter mash 90 min vs 120 min did not affect overall efficiency
  • Keep purging fermenter with CO2 when transferring / dry hopping
  • Include malto-dextrin in the recipe, adds a bit of body without affecting too much else.

Up next is a cream ale inspired by Working Draft Beer Co's Rice Cream Treat Ale!