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Gypsy Magic Bière de Garde

Brewed: 07/04/2023   Kegged: 07/18/2023

In 2023, I resurrected my BJCP Goal with the 2021 Style Guidelines. 

To help start figure out what style to brew, I came up with SheppyBrew Roll-a-Style. Basically, I assigned a number 1 to 20 to styles I needed to brew, and roll a online 20 sided die when I want a new beer style to brew.

The first time I did the Roll-a-Style, I rolled "13", which corresponded to 24C. Bière de Garde.


What is a Bière de Garde?

"A family of smooth, fairly strong, malty, lagered artisanal French beer with a range of malt flavors appropriate for the blond, amber, or brown color. All are malty yet dry, with clean flavors. Darker versions have more malt character, while paler versions can have more hops while still remaining malt-focused beers."
I used the Bière de Garde recipe "No Culottes, No Problèm" from Brewing Classic Styles, but decided to go darker in color, lower in alcohol, and just a touch more balanced in bitterness.



Not sure what the name "Gypsy Magic" has to do with Bière de Garde, but at some point I added "Gypsy Magic" to my list of potential names, and for whatever reason, it seemed to be the most appropriate to me for this beer.

For more information on "Roll-a-Style", see Sheppy's Blog: Roll-a-Style.


For more information on this beer, see Sheppy's Blog: Gypsy Magic.



Gypsy Magic Bière de Garde --- Batch 1 (339)

Style Bière de Garde Batch Size 5.50 gal
Type All Grain Boil Size   6.48 gal
Brewhouse Efficiency   65.00   Boil Time   40 minutes

Recipe Characteristics

Recipe Gravity 1.066 SG Estimated FG 1.014 SG
Recipe Bitterness 22.1 IBUs (Rager) Alcohol by Volume 6.9 %
BU : GU   0.336        
Recipe Color 14.2 SRM
Color
   
Measured OG:   1.066    Measured FG:   1.012 
ADF:   81   Measured ABV:   7.2

Ingredients

Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU Volume
7.97 gal Denver, Colorado Water 1 - -
5.00 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash) Water Agent 2 - -
4.00 g Calcium Chloride (Mash) Water Agent 3 - -
2.00 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Mash) Water Agent 4 - -
1.00 tsp Lactic Acid (Mash) Water Agent 5 - -
10 lbs 8.0 oz Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 6 72.7 % 0.82 gal
2 lbs Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 7 13.9 % 0.16 gal
12.0 oz Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM) Grain 8 5.2 % 0.06 gal
3.0 oz Midnight Wheat Malt (550.0 SRM) Grain 9 1.3 % 0.01 gal
1 lbs Cane (Beet) Sugar [Boil] (0.0 SRM) Sugar 10 6.9 % 0.08 gal
0.500 oz Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus (CTZ) [14.90 %] - Boil 40.0 min Hop 11 22.1 IBUs -
1.0 pkg Dusseldorf Alt Yeast (White Labs #WLP036) [35.49 ml] Yeast 12 - -
0.50 tsp Gelatin (Bottling 1.0 days) Fining 13 - -

Mash Profile

Mash Steps
Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Saccharification Add 31.87 qt of water at 157.3 F 150.0 F 240 min


If steeping, remove grains, and prepare to boil wort

Recipe Notes
Make small yeast starter a day or two before brew day.
Water salts bring Denver water profile (as defined by BeerSmith) to
Ca=106,Mg=15,Na=21,SO4=169,Cl=87,HCO3=104
Acid to bring water pH to around 5.4
Mash as directed. (Overnight mash)
Boil as directed.
Cool wort to as close to 60F as possible.
Ferment in low 60's for a day or two then let the fermentation rise to ambient temp.
Keg after one to two weeks in fermentor. Force carbonate to taste.
Add gelatin once the beer has chilled.
Enjoy!

Brewing Record

Brew Date:   Strike Temp:  
Mash Temps:  
Pre-boil OG   (1.061 SG)   Pre-boil Vol   (6.48 gal)
Actual Mash Efficiency   Pitch Temp    
Fermentation            
Day 1: 
Day ... 
Day ... 

 
Brewing Notes:
07/02/2023 esheppy
When I bought ingredients, Tom's didn't have the European Ale yeast and they substituted Dusseldorf Alt Yeast. I'm sure that will be fine.
07/04/2023 esheppy
Brew day today. Overnight mash, but I didn't make a starter yesterday. Instead I took some wort from the Foundry, diluted it to 1.035, cooled it, and added the yeast. It was going by the end of the boil. Pitched at about 56 degrees. Cooling to 55 to begin with, but I'll increase soon. OG 1.066. Fermenter filled to around 6 gallons. Less than 3 hour brew day.
07/05/2023 esheppy
Fermenter was bubbling hard this morning. Tilt said 1.059 at 59 degrees. Set the controller to 60 and replaced frozen water bottles.
07/06/2023 esheppy
Tilts says 1.045 at 60. Bumping up temp a couple of degrees. Still bubbling strong.
07/07/2023 esheppy
Still going, but slowing down. Tilt says 1.029 at 62. Bumping temp up to 65.
07/08/2023 esheppy
Tilt says 1.022 at 65. Disconnected pump.
07/11/2023 esheppy
Tilt says 1.017 at 66.
07/13/2023 esheppy
Tilt says 1.016 at 67.
07/17/2023 esheppy
Tilt says 1.015 now. Think I'll keg any day now.
07/18/2023 esheppy
Kegged. Tilt read 1.011 at 65, and the hydrometer agreed. The beer wasn't very clear out all, which surprised and disappointed me. Chilling in the kegerator now. Will likely add gelatin in a few days to try to speed up clarification.
07/23/2023 esheppy
Not clearing up at all. I have not added gelatin, but just chilling and storing should be doing something. The beer tastes pretty good considering it's muddy appearance, but it certainly looks ugly. Not sure what's going on here. Wondering if gelatin will actually help.
07/25/2023 esheppy
Added some gelatin. We'll see how clarity looks this weekend.
07/28/2023 esheppy
Looks like we are finally past the thick crud. Not sure why there was so much and it took so long to get through.
07/31/2023 esheppy
I'm liking this beer now. I suspect it won't last real long. Nice malt profile. Clean. Balanced a little on the sweet side. Dangerously drinkable. Nice beer.
08/17/2023 esheppy
This is a really nice beer. My only problem with it is the high ABV sneaks up on me on BBQ days. I'm kegging Steamacularly Common this weekend and am really looking forward to comparing these two beers.
08/26/2023 esheppy
Clarity is great now. I can't imagine a whole lot of this is left. Nice and malty. Clean. Great balance but a bit on the malty sweet side.
08/31/2023 esheppy
Finally killed this keg. Been thinking it was almost gone for quite awhile now. Putting Steamacularly Common on tap in its place.
Comments:
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