Recipe Question using Jovaru Lithuanian Yeast by Omega

I’ve got a camping trip coming up in November and I’m tasked with bringing some home-brew with me to the outing. I’ve got a case of my Copper Ale along with 6-12 ambers and lights brewed over the past few months, but I’m going to brew up an extract brew to go along with it. I’m hitting the wall on my timing if I expect to get it ready for the mid-November trip.

Here’s my recipe:

1 lb of Amber Dry Extract
6.6 lbs of Amber Liquid Extract
1 lb of Crystal/Caramel Malt Grain for steeping pre-boil
3 oz of Cascade Hops (60 mins/15 mins/5 mins)

I planned on using the Jovaru Lithuanian Yeast by Omega. It will impart some citrusy along with lemon pith and pepper flavors.

Has anyone any experience with this farmhouse yeast? And any comments on the recipe?

Just FYI, I added the DME to boost the OG and raise the ABV a little bit. This seemed more economical versus more LME. I plan on fermenting in the 75-80F range using just the primary fermenter.

Thanks in advance!

I would look to Saison recipes that work with super attenuating yeasts. I would take out Crystals and Caramels and switch them to Wheat because it all going to be eaten so make it predictable. I would also suggest you go to a local brewery and taste some lactose balance brews because you might want to balance the pepper with a bit of sweet. For hops I would recommend some Saaz to balance the Cascade.

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Well, I decided to go with a standard ale yeast. I want to keep this simple for the camping trip. So… I picked up some SafAle US05. I’m still running the AC and my room is kept at 75-78F. It will be a little on the high side temperature wise, but I should be able to manage it through fermentation.

I’m going to take your recommendations when I use the Jovaru yeasts and look into a more traditional farmhouse recipe. I’ve tried a few of the local saisons and enjoy them. Omega has a farmhouse recipe that I’ll look into (maybe).

I agree cut down on the crystal. I didn’t do the math but your over 10%. With all that Amber malt and all that crystal sounds kinda gross. Where did you get the recipe? the us05 at those temps will be done in a week or less. Plenty of time to condition.

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Ok guys correct me if I’m wrong. As noted in my recipe, I am steeping the crystal/caramel grain. Steeping will add some body and flavor, but mostly add to the overall color. I’ve used a similar recipe with very good results. This was based upon an NB amber ale recipe via BeerSmith. I’m familiar with the SafAle US05 having used it before.
I’ll let you know how this turns out. If it bombs it will make a good laugh around the campfire! Might have to break out the tequila if that happens :slight_smile:

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The Amber Extract is very sweet and caramel to begin with. Your steeping grains are not going to add anything to the flavor profile. As @brew_cat is implying you are making a very sweet and malty beer since you are using it as 100% of your recipe. While Briess doesn’t say what is in their Amber they put a bit of carapils in most things so its most likely already there. Briess markets their amber as a multifunctional, nondiastatic, natural sweetener for a variety of industries.

Thanks for the info on the Briess amber extract. The amber DME that I’m using is the Muntons plain amber spray malt DME. I’ve reviewed the specs on the Muntons plain amber DME and again added it to boost the OG and ABV into an acceptable range without having to add more LME (which as you’re aware most come in 3.3 lbs cans). As for the crystal/caramel steeping grains, these are at 11% of the bill which is on the edge of the recommended 10%. Yeah it won’t add much color, but enough per BeerSmith to put it into the range I’m shooting for. Yes, I’m looking for a mildly sweet, malty amber beer for this batch. This recipe is very similar to a previous recipe I used and it turned out to be a very drinkable beer.
Thanks again and I’ll be sure to report back on how it goes.

You are right that LME is just DME with water. You are paying extra for the water. I go with DME in most instances because one can use just a bit of the bag instead of the whole thing and I feel it lasts better once opened.

I haven’t used Muntons Amber and they don’t say what grains are in it either sounds more promising

Well she’s in the fermenter and has a nice krausen and air lock activity.

I’ll admit it turned out a little darker than planned. The Muntons amber extract has an SRM of 12-15 and this was more on the 15 side, but it looks great color-wise. I tried a quick sample after checking the OG 1.052 and it was nicely flavored and the cascade hops came through in the aroma and tasting. I’ll be pushing the clock, but hope to have this finished and bottled on/about the 20th of the month (if the yeast cooperates). That will give me a couple of weeks of conditioning before the camping trip. It might be a little green, but I’ve got a case (24) and 12-15 stragglers in the frig that will be there to fill the bill if this isn’t ready.

I tried something different working with the DME. I filled a 2 quart mason jar with cold water, dumped in the DME, and started shaking it like crazy. It mixed up very nicely and was much easier than working with the DME over the steam of the kettle and hot water. I’ll use this again in the future.

That’s the way I work with DME also. It’s a sticky mess trying to add it any other way. Just need to account for the extra liquid

Is that a homemade macrame big mouth bubbler carrier?

@squeegeethree I purchased the macrame carrier via Amazon. I don’t think it’s meant for the BMB, but it beat paying big bucks for the carriers I’ve seen. https://www.amazon.com/Carboy-Carrier-Gallon-Carboys-Circumference/dp/B073CQDD1X/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=carboy+carrier&qid=1570499509&sr=8-4

Ready to bottle. I used the SafAle US05 yeast. I pitched at 85F and I didn’t worry a lot about temp control with the exception of keeping it in a constant ambient temp of 77F (my closet). As you’ll see the terminal gravity was hit at day 5. I’ve continued to let it clean up and allow the yeast to settle out.

Again the color was a little darker due to the inconsistencies of the LME, but the taste and aroma was very nice. The hops really shine in this one. I’ll be curious to see how it tastes after 3 weeks in the bottle. So this weekend is bottling day.

77 degrees is pretty high for US05. Expect quite a bit of fusel alcohol and esters. If you’re struggling with temp control consider going back to a kviek yeast.

Yes 77F is on the high side for the US05. I was actually surprised to see that Fermintis had changed the spec on the US05 and raised the high-end temp to 82F (previously 77F). My samples I tasted didn’t have any off-flavors, but it may rear it’s self after bottling. I understand that conditioning/carbonation may make these off-flavors more prevalent. Just have to wait and see at this point.

I have run two other batches with US05 at those temps and maybe it was luck, but neither had any fruity, funky off-flavors. I would have loved to have used one of the kveik strains, but couldn’t find any locally that met my schedule.

Harvesting and saving or reusing yeast… Your next great brewing adventure… You’ll have alot of fun discovering how easy this is to do. Sneezles61

Not yet. I’m reading the book, Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation. It has a whole section on how to harvest and storage of yeast cultures.

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Just pour the yeast into a sanitized container straight from the fermenter trub after slightly agitating to get it unglued. It’s not any harder than pouring a beer from a full pitcher. People put too much work into it IMO and the added work only adds work and stresses out the yeast. Denny expresses similar sentiment in
https://www.experimentalbrew.com/podcast/brew-files-episode-73-pinch-pennies-wisely

Just an update on my beer for my camping trip. All in all the beer turned out pretty good. Again it’s darker than I had planned, but has a very nice taste with the hops coming through. It turned out to be a favorite with the baby back ribs I cooked up on the campfire. Ribs and beer. What could go wrong?

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