Golden Weka Ale

SMaSH beer with Golden Promise grain, Motueka hops, and Pomona Yeast.

Day 1: Sunday evening 8pm – Midway through fermentation, gravity 1.038 / abv 3.1%, bubbling away happily at approx. 4psi.

Day 2: Monday morning 9am 1.017 – very fast fermentation. I added dry hop at 10am due to the gravity reading being under 1.020 – it was a little earlier than anticipated but I’m sticking to the numbers on this one – very fast ferment. Attenuation reading at 72.2% with a total likely being around 80% to 85% so Dry Hop now allows for any additional sugars released by the hop enzymes to be processed before the yeast goes dormant (approx. 10% attenuation and 7-8pts gravity to go).

day 5 raised temp to 21C and increased pressure approx 10psi

day 8 temp raised 21 to 22C and spunding valve closed.

end day 11 pressure approx 24psi.

Started gradually reducing temp in small increments to 12C over the next couple days

day 14 reduced temp from 12C to 4C. Let rest for 24hours

day 15 trasnsferred 19L to keg

Recipe notes

Whirlpool - turn heat off, cooling on, allow temp to drop a few degrees and add WP hop - keep cooling and turn cold tap off around 85°C allowing temp to settle at 80°C - hold 20min @ 80°C

Fermentation notes

Start ferment at 18.5, raise temperature incrementally first to 21 then to 22.