{"id":1730,"date":"2014-04-24T06:25:27","date_gmt":"2014-04-24T10:25:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localkitchener.ca\/?p=1730"},"modified":"2014-04-24T06:25:27","modified_gmt":"2014-04-24T10:25:27","slug":"sappy-k-wee-heavy-all-sap-beer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/localkitchener.ca\/2014\/04\/sappy-k-wee-heavy-all-sap-beer\/","title":{"rendered":"Sappy K-Wee Heavy – An All Sap Beer – Giveaway"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amber and Malty…<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cAmber and malty,\u201d I thought to myself as visions, aromas, and flavors of a Wee Heavy clouded my mind.<\/p>\n

Lately this has been the style of beer that most appeals to me.\u00a0 It\u2019s funny because for a long time\u2014isn\u2019t this true for most craft beer lovers\u2014all I would buy was IPAs, the stronger, hoppier, more bitter, the better.<\/p>\n

That changed when\u00a0 we were in Michigan a couple years ago and bought a 6-pack of Founder\u2019s Dirty Bastard<\/a>, a \u201cWee Heavy\u201d Scotch Ale.\u00a0 It\u2019s rare for Madame and I to both love the same beer, but this is one of them.<\/p>\n

What Makes a Wee Heavy?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wee Heavy Scotch Ales are characterized by copper to brown colors, with hints of amber or ruby, malty sweetness, and complex flavors of caramel, toffee, vanilla, cherry, and oak, with minimal bitterness, and typically no flavor or aroma from the hops.\u00a0 They are wonderful in the winter for the warmth given by the high alcohol content (7-11%), but really any time of year is a good time to enjoy this ale.<\/p>\n

Jamil Zainasheff, who writes for Brew Your Own Magazine says this<\/a> of Wee Heavy Ales:<\/p>\n

A good wee heavy is sweet, but not cloying, has a complex malt character, and has a warming, yet not harsh, alcohol presence.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What\u2019s not to like when you read that description?\u00a0 He goes on to talk about how most homebrewers seem to end up chasing the ultimate, extremely bitter and hoppy IPA or the wee heavy, which is \u201ckind of like the IPA of the malty world.\u201d\u00a0 I guess I fall into that malty camp these days.\u00a0 Not that I don\u2019t enjoy IPAs, but I find them to be so much more costly because of the absurd amounts of hops that must be employed, and more difficult to execute perfectly without a kegging setup in which to dry hop.<\/p>\n

Making a delicious wee heavy on the other hand is not much more costly than a more standard ale, because while it uses quite a bit more malt, is quite light on the hop side of things. \u00a0When I look at the breakdown of my ingredient costs for a 5 gallon batch of the standard Spee Keasy K-Wee Heavy it\u2019s around $22-25, assuming most malts are purchased in bulk.\u00a0Another pro is that they bottle-condition quite nicely, with a great shelf life.<\/p>\n

The Spee Keasy has brewed two Scotch Ales so far, but none like this one.\u00a0 And sadly this one won\u2019t be replicable for another year; our brewing liquor<\/a> was not water, but sugar maple sap<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Working Towards Terroir…<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was the procurement of about 7 gallons of sap that had gotten me thinking of a delicious, malty, amber Scotch Ale.\u00a0 I had done a bit of research to find recipes for maple sap beer, and was rather disappointed with them until finding this article<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"sugar<\/a><\/p>\n

Although I was still unimpressed with the lack of a decent recipe, the article itself was a very enjoyable and informative read.\u00a0 \u00a0The best piece of information I got from it was the mineral breakdown of maple sap.<\/p>\n

\"maple<\/a><\/p>\n

This was essential in helping me choose the appropriate style of beer to brew with the sap.\u00a0 It seems that softer waters are better for maltier beers.\u00a0 The sap is quite soft, in spite of the sugar in it, it has very low mineral content.\u00a0 Thus I arrived at the \u201camber and malty\u201d description on Brewer\u2019s Friend<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For some reason most maple syrup beers tend to be brown ales and porters.\u00a0 Ah, but this isn\u2019t a maple syrup beer, it\u2019s a sap beer.\u00a0 Tasting like maple syrup is not actually the goal of this beer.\u00a0 The goal is terroir<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/i>I want a beer that is rooted\u2014pun intended\u2014in Ontario.\u00a0 So we shall see just what that tastes like!<\/p>\n

\"sappy<\/a><\/p>\n

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Sappy K-Wee Heavy – An All Sap Beer<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Author: The Local Kitchener<\/span><\/div>\n
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
OG \u2013 1.082 (but actually more thanks to the sap), IBU \u2013 34, ABV \u2013 8%, Batch Size \u2013 5.5 gallons<\/div>\n
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Ingredients<\/div>\n