I “hit my numbers!” Not my fault PP It’s your BIABacus program that’s so smart (thanks), not me.

OG 1.042 (spot on) and EOBV-A 11 gal (supposed to be 11.1 gal). We’ll see what the FG is in 10 days time.

I left the lid off the free range mash (non-insulated mash) this time and the temperature dropped 12F. With free range mashing and fermenting in kettle: EIK=EIF=88.3% (that’s me being smart! . Either that or I made a mistake somewhere )

Kegged it after 1 week. Oops Fg was 1.014 (supposed to be 1.009). Maybe it will go a bit further in the keg at cellar temp. Maybe it won’t. I used the US-04 yeast too, which I am not used to. I’m also not used to a beer that doesn’t taste good right out of the fermenter like my IPAs do. With imagination, I think this might taste like it should after ageing for a couple of weeks. My wife says it “tastes good but needs a bit of ageing.” I should report back in two weeks, if only to say we drank it all

fingers crossed then GR.
I have managed to get a few bottles of Tribute, so will do a side by side when I get around to brewing it!

Tried a bottle of shop bought Tribute yesterday, I wouldn't say it was the best beer in the world, but was ok.
It reminded me very much of a seasonal beer that Wychwood brewery do called "Evil Pumpking" (they make Hobgoblin).
Quite sweet and toffee flavoured, but I haven't come across any mention of Pumpkins in tribute?

Let me know how yours tastes. I may have to source some pumpkin otherwise!

Mally, My wife is drinking it after only 3 days in the keg, but we ran out of my FWH only IPA which we are addicted too. She says she likes it and it's "malty, earthy (Marris Otter), soft, kind of like a cream ale, not overly hoppy." I’m reluctant to drink it, although it is improving. It just doesn’t compare to the IPA.

Edit: I'm drinking it now. It's not too bad. Sure it will get better in another week or so.

Ps. another quote from my wife “the Tribute is missing a flavour and I think the flavour might be alcohol” ...also the hops" (my usual brews are 7-8% with a pound of hops per 10 Gal). This is kids stuff

No pumpkin detected.

Quick update Mally, We had some people around this evening, proper beer people, and I poured them some of the Tribute by mistake (I have several lines with picnic taps on in that freezer/beer fridge thing and I haven’t been labelling them with masking tape/painters tape tags lately). Any way they thought the Tribute was “really delicious.” I tried it and it is improving, so there is hope. I might make it again some time to give people a malty choice, but I think I would up the alcohol (maybe increase the MO by 50%) and make it a Tribute extra. They said they still liked my IPA better. At least I got rid of another couple of glasses of it

Have you tasted yours yet BrewBagMan?

That's encouraging then GR.
Brewed mine on Sunday, it is fermenting away now (S-05).

I think the pumpkin difference may be between the bottled & draught versions.
I have read that the draught is very nice & the bottled not so. Well I have only tasted the bottled version (which was just like evil pumpking).

So maybe the recipe is to replicate the draught? (if there is a difference between them that is).
Or maybe its the same but it just doesn't travel well?

If you still like beers more hoppy, just french press some cascade & add it it your tribute (#instantAPA)!

After two weeks in primary I split the batch between a bag and bottles at the weekend. Tasted good out of the fermenter, seems very much like an English session beer at 4.6% ABV which I'm v happy with. Will run a pint from the bag at the weekend and let you know the verdict

Well the tribute challenge final entrant day has passed.
I presume nobody entered?

Judging at the end of the month

Here is a side by side pic of Tribute;

Any guesses which one is which?

Mally, the glass on the right tasted a bit smoother, but, the one on the left has better hop flavor!!!

JMHO

Wow Joshua, you can taste it from over the Atlantic!

The results for the competition are in; unfortunately I didn't win

However here are the judges comments if anybody can decipher them.

Although your beer was very well received unfortunately there were other entries that were deemed closer to the original than yours. The feedback from the tasting team including Roger Ryman (brewing director at St Austell) was the following.

Good Colour
Slightly oxidised
Slightly cooked apple character
Good effort.

Overal the beer was liked by the judges on its own merit but just not quite a clone of St Austell Tribute.

Thank you for making the effort to enter the competition and making it such a success.

Yours is left Mally

Good effort on the comp mate. Interesting comments by the judges..

Oxidised and slightly cooked apple could this be from the hops ? did you ever post your recipe ?

Now is the time to share

Yeasty

Yep, mine is on the left
My taste notes comparing them is that I preferred the aroma of mine, but the taste was crisper on the original, and more toffee flavour.

I do wonder what "slightly oxidised" would taste like cooked aple sounds good to me though

I did post the BIABacus report back in post#7 if anybody was interested in trying it.
I guess when the winner is announced I can compare the recipes to see what differed, as they are offering the winning recipe as a kit.

edit*****

forgot to say cheers Yeasty,
I can always post up the BIABacus file (I transferred it to PR1.3G) if the mods allow?

Good guess hey ?? They are so similar that I went off bubble size !!!

I reckon you could post the recipe Here in the name of research. I noticed you have a boil time of 60min, did you find out if this is the same as the original ? Would a longer boil time give you that toffee note your missing ?



Yeasty

Yeasty, I reckon Joshua gave you a hint!

I did think of posting in the integrity forum, but I didn't have any questions about the recipe/integrity so thought otherwise.

It's spooky that you mention the boil times, as I have always boiled for 60 mins, but since I brewed "Nev's Tettnang Pilsner" I have decided I prefer 90 mins, so the Tribute recipe (BIABacus) is set to 90 mins. Maybe that will make a difference as you say, who knows?

Aside from all that, it's actually a nice beer (as long as your not hop mad), Just a pleasant ESB I guess.