CS9 - Spellbinder

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Matt Smith on June 5, 2013 at 8:45pm

First one out of the bag for me. Have you tried this next to a Bookbinder? I just had one last week, and if somebody put this in front of me and told me it was Bookbinder I wouldn't have known any better. Good work!

Very well fermented, nice and clean. I really like the malt profile, nice and toasty with a little caramel and dried fruit character. The hops I find quite vinous. Great balance, not too thin for such a small beer. Could have done with just a touch more carbonation I think, although too much would do more damage than good I think.

Great start to the swap, loved it!

Permalink Reply by Stu H on June 5, 2013 at 8:47pm

Glad you liked it! Yep it's probably one of my favourite beers I've ever brewed, super stoked on it. Good call on carbonation, I'll bump it up next time.

Permalink Reply by Matt Smith on June 21, 2013 at 1:59pm

Awesome recipe man, I brewed this last Friday because I needed a huge pitch of yeast for an Imperial stout that me and tilt are making, and I thought this was a perfect candidate for a "giant starter". My version is slightly different based on what I had on hand, I used a mix of gladfield pale and gladfield munich for the base, dark cara in place of cara and chocolate insead of black. I used Fuggles instead of Goldings and WLP007.

If you want to turn around a beer super fast, this recipe with 007 is the one! it ripped through this, by day 5 when I checked, it was down to 1.010, completely clear and tasted clean, no diacetyl etc, so I left it one more day then crash chilled it, kegged and force carbed, and I'm drinking it now, clear and carbonated just shy of 7 days since brew day, super stoked! The 007 works really well with this recipe, it's still pretty clean, perhaps just a touch more ester, but it also leaves a slightly fuller mouthfeel I think than S05 for this small of a beer. I highly recommed it. Thanks for the recipe!

Permalink Reply by Stu H on June 21, 2013 at 2:25pm

Ah awesome! Yeah I know what you're saying yeast-wise. I've tried it with English strains before and been impressed. First gen US-05 is pretty good too since it doesn't really attenuate that well first time.

You might as well make delicious starters huh? Also since efficiency is usually a bit higher on these recipes you can get away with making a bit more wort and saving it for other starters in the freezer.

Permalink Reply by Max Giles on June 7, 2013 at 8:55pm

So I had this one last night.

It was very well received. Bookbinder is one of my favorites and you did a great job of replicating it.

Problem is that I proceeded to have some more beers after it and then woke up with a headache and had lost my tasting notes. Sorry about that.

I remember it was delicious.
On the downside it does seem to encourage midweek drinking and cause headaches when followed by many more beers.

Permalink Reply by Stu H on June 7, 2013 at 9:09pm

Max you're a bad man.

Permalink Reply by mattd2 on June 7, 2013 at 11:17pm

Thanks Stu for the beer, from what I remember of the Bookbinder bitterness this is gooood.

Appearance: Beautiful clear amber/brown, no head (lowish carbonation)

Aroma: Nice amount of tropical fruit aroma

Flavour: A pleasant mellow bitterness upfront, with a slight harshness at the back (similar to what I’ve have got with the few bookbinders I have had in the past). Very nicely balanced.

Mouthfeel: Thin(ish) = very sessionable.

Overall: This would be a perfect beer (read multiple beers) to sit back and relax with on a summer’s afternoon with mates. I can see why Max was enticed by it to continue on last night! Yours is up next Max but I might wait till tomorrow night :-)

Cheers!

Permalink Reply by Stu H on June 8, 2013 at 12:40pm

Great you enjoyed. Yeah the carbonation thing is a weird one. When looking at the "style guidelines" for ordinary bitter, the recommended carbonation is really low, which in retrospect doesn't really makes sense unless it's being served on handpump... Next time I'll just carb it up to around 2 volumes like usual.

Permalink Reply by paul m on June 8, 2013 at 7:13pm

Hi Stu, I'd agree with the other comments re carbonation. I sat in the matakana pub a couple of weeks ago drinking bookbinder on tap. I think i logged up close to 4 hours over the weekend... bliss. Bookbinder was all that i drank. I was trying to decide if corporate take overs had changed the taste since i originally tasted. I decided it hasn't yet. Your Spellbinder does feel thinner, i quess that might be due to the carb. I don't know. I think the Bookbinder is slightly more citrus. I actually prefer your more resiny hop finish. I think I could drink yours all night!!

In summary... Bloody Good!

Permalink Reply by Tom C on June 10, 2013 at 11:53am

Appearance No head, Clear amber/brown

 

Aroma Herbal/fruity hop, Rich toffee malt, Chocolate notes

 

Flavour Caramel, sweet finish

 

Mouthfeel Flat, Sticky sweet, Light bodied

 

Overall Very under-carbonated (Soft bottle), Fairly sweet – could do with better attenuation or increased bittering.  Still pleasant flavoured and good session drinking beer.

Permalink Reply by DP on June 11, 2013 at 7:11pm

Appearance
Deep amber in colour. No head. Lightly cloudy.

Aroma
Good showcasing of Riwaka hops. Slightly sweaty (but that's always Riwaka for me)

Palate
A bit watery/flat. 

Flavour
Good maltiness. Lacking the expected hop flavour of Bookbinder and slightly tannic.

Overall
You've come really close to Bookbinder. A bit more carbonation would help with the mouthfeel. Sessionable!

Permalink Reply by Adam Barnes on June 19, 2013 at 11:40pm

Appearance – Very small white head, nice amber colour.

Aroma – A nice citrus hit, smells just like bookbinder.

Flavour – Again, tastes like a bookbinder, good malt backbone but bitterness drops off a bit too quick at the end.

Mouthfeel – Unfortunately very under carbonated. I really wanted this beer to be carbonated more as it was tasting and smelling delicious.

Overall – Good beer, but a shame about the carbonation. Nice work though, might try this as one of my next brews. 

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