St Louis Style H20
Beer flavored water, take two. Once again it’s American two row and flaked rice weighing in at just over 7# and 1.75# respectively. It was a ninety minute mash followed by a ninety minute boil with 0.75 oz of hallertau hops at sixty minutes. This recipe is practically identical to the lite American lager with a bit more gravity and a bit more hops. Yeast was also the same: WLP 840 American lager. OG was exactly on target at 1.046 and after primary fermentation plus lagering it finishing at 1.010.
This pale golden beer looks perfect. I can see straight through it with great clarity. It tastes like very nearly nothing. Up front is a light touch of sweetness, the finish dries away, and that really is everything. The style guide actually say strong flavors are a fault. The situation almost merits a Douglas Adams style anti-simile. The beer tastes exactly like an IPA doesn’t. I guess the brew process was well executed, but now that we’ve been through several subtly flavored styles I’m less impressed by the result. Basic clean flavors are a baseline expectation now rather than an appreciated sign of solid technique.