Com'mon Eileen

Stupid name, eh? I just came up with it. I brewed this beer for a local homebrewing competition and it did very well. This is a good alternative to more commonly found amber ales and pale ales. I had a low mash efficiency for some reason with this beer, but I think it ended up working to my advantage because the beer had a sharper hop finish than I expected. It really gave it some needed balance. If you get better efficiency as I usually do (around 70%) adjust the recipe without changing the ratio of malts.

Brewer:	Jim Anciaux		Email:	janciaux@lancaster.ne.gov
Beer:	Com'mon Eileen		Style:	California Common
Type:	All grain		Size:	5.25 gallons
Color:	24 HCU (~13 SRM)		Bitterness:	31 IBU
OG:	1.049		FG:	1.014
Alcohol:	4.6% v/v (3.6% w/w)
Water:	Used tap water here in Lincoln, NE.
Grain:	7.5 lb. Belgian Pilsner 2 lb. American Vienna 1.5 lb. British Munich 1 lb. American crystal 20L 1 lb. British crystal 70-80L
Mash:	55% efficiency
	Single infusion mash. Used 4 gallons of strike water at 166F. Held at 153F for 60 minutes. Sparged with 13 qts at 170F.
Boil:	60 minutes	SG 1.052	5 gallons
	Irish moss at 15 minutes.
Hops:	1 oz. Saaz (4.4% AA, 60 min.) 1 oz. Saaz (4.4% AA, 20 min.) 1 oz. Tettnanger (4% AA, 10 min.) .5 oz. Saaz (4.4% AA, 2 min.) .5 oz. Saaz (aroma)
Yeast:	White Labs San Francisco Lager yeast--no starter used. Pitched when wort was cooled to 70F.
Log:	Fermented at 62F. Held in primary for 1 week. Racked and held in secondary for 1 week with 1/2 oz Saaz for dry hopping.
Carbonation:	Used 3/4 cup priming sugar boiled in 1 pt of water prior to bottling.
Tasting:	Excellent beer. Great balance with a nice hoppy finish for us hopheads! Full taste, but not so heavy that you couldn't drink more than one.

Recipe posted 01/31/07.