VB recipe?

Grains, malts, hops, yeast, water and other ingredients used to brew. Recipe reviews and suggestions.

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bredmakr
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VB recipe?

Post by bredmakr »

Does anyone have a clone recipe for Victoria Bitter? If not any ideas on where to find a link to Aussie beers?
dartedplus
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This was all I could find

Post by dartedplus »

This is an excerpt from Homebrewers Digest #2498, 9/3/97.

From: Andy Walsh <awalsh@crl.com.au>
Subject: for that hard, cold thirst, the beer is VIC!

Brian Travis asks about Victoria Bitter.
First, a little history.
Fosters Brewing make 3 standard lagers; Fosters Lager, Victoria Bitter
and Crown Lager (4 if you include Melbourne Bitter). For many years,
Fosters was the most popular of the 3, VB was barely advertised, and
Crown the expensive "premium" brand. To confuse matters, Australian
"Bitter" is not particularly bitter, and is not an ale either. It is
just a low-hopped lager, and the term "Bitter" was seized by marketers
to differentiate their product from all the other similar products (you
can only have so many bottle/can colours. Fosters is blue, VB green,
Melbourne Bitter red and Crown comes in a fancy gold-labelled bottle).

Then something happened. VB for some unknown reason steadily grew in
sales (despite an incredibly low advertising budget - the ads on TV now
are at least 20 years old and use the voice of an actor dead for some 15
years or so!) until now it commands some 40% of the entire Australian
beer market. Who says increasing advertising pays dividends?

Since I've surprised a few of the North American HBDers recently by
stating US Tettnang = Fuggle (thanks for some great detective work,
Jim!), I'll go out on a limb and surprise the Aussies by stating that
for all intents and purposes the 3 beers mentioned are the same too.
Fosters brew one stream from which all 3 derive, without boiling hops
(or minimal, solely to aid break formation), and use high gravity
techniques. Hops are added to the bright beer (post filtration) in the
form of a product called HPL6, an isomerised hop extract formed
originally from hops extracted with liquid CO2. No hop aroma exists in
any of them, and IBUs vary marginally from the 22 mark. All have the
same alcohol concentration of 4.9% (by volume). The aroma is best
described as "sewer" (ethyl mercaptan?), from the combination of high
temperature lager fermentation and yeast strain used.

Recipe for any of them:
-OG = 1.042 (or 1.060 if you want to high gravity brew for authenticity)
-FG = 1.006
-soft water
-30% sucrose
-2 row well-modified lager malt
-encourage fermentability via 63-65C rests with pH ~ 5.2 @ mash temp.
(no protein rest!)
-Step infusion mash.
-Fermentation - pitch at 14C, allow to rise up to 18C
-Choice of yeast critical. Fosters use their own strain. Some yeasts
won't ferment well with this much sucrose and will either stick and/or
produce truckloads of acetaldehyde. Try Wyeast Danish lager.
Addition of a yeast nutrient (nitrogen) is wise with so much sucrose
-22 IBU with pride of ringwood hops (any high alpha will do)
-no hop flavour or aroma
-No diacetyl.
-Serve so cold you can't taste how vile it really is, and don't forget
to hold your nose...

One world...one hop...one yeast...one malt...one beer...

Andy (Cantillon-is-just-Coopers-made-in-a-dirty-fermenter) Walsh.

PS. Beer trivia - the Fosters brothers were American, and returned to
New York after just 1 year. (gee, thanks for the legacy!)
PPS. I would really try and discourage homebrewers from attempting to
make this kind of beer.
Freon12
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Cooper's

Post by Freon12 »

Hey, aren't you supposed to be making Cooper's extra stout this time of year? You know, red wine=beef, white wine=fish, dark beer = winter etc.
3/4 # of dark crytal
1/2# roasted barley
1/2# chocolate
6.5# Cooper's malt syrup
3/4 m&f dme
1.5# of brown sugar
1.5.oz pride of ringwood for bittering
.5 .oz Styrian for flavor
Wyeast 1084
bredmakr
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Brewing for summer....

Post by bredmakr »

Thanks guys for the info. I'm trying to put together a VB recipe for my wife. We spent a month there walking the earth two years ago and she fell in love with VB. In August she will be giving birth to our second child so I figured I'd make her a special batch to celebrate. Nine months is a long time for her to go without my beer. Since I have to lager I figured I'd better get a jump on it now.
Thanks again
Freon12
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Congates

Post by Freon12 »

I though there was something going on.
Cheers
dartedplus
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Congrats...

Post by dartedplus »

Hey,
Congatulations, I've got my 1st coming in 2 months, and my wife wanted a cream ale, so it will be bottled later this week so it will be totally ready for her. Beer is one thing that she has missed for the last 7 months. I hope it is a good batch, gotta keep her happy you know!!!
Ed
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For a well earnt thirst....

Post by Fraoch »

Always said it was rubbish. Not surprised either that it is all the same beer, cant tell one from the other and have never found a trace of hop in any. Now we all know why it is served ice cold... to remove any flavour whatsoever. I have a saying, "if it tastes like crap warm then it is crap!"
andytv
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More Congrats

Post by andytv »

Wow!!! There is beermaking after fatherhood. My first child is due in June, and I was afraid I'd have to cut back on brewing (hope not). My wife doesn't drink beer (everyone has their faults), but she told me that I should brew twice as often now that she is pregnant (or something like that, I have trouble remembering things she says sometimes). Good luck with the VB, I'm going to brew a Helles for the birth, as we may have friends from Bavaria coming to visit.

Ein Prosit!!
l48shark
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Congrats, All

Post by l48shark »

I cannot speak from experience (although we practice a lot ;)), but I imagine your wife is correct and your beer consupmtion will double at minimum. Oh, and that not remembering thing is gonna get worse. Seriously, congrats to all of you new dads.
Cheers,
Ford
dartedplus
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Thank You All

Post by dartedplus »

thanks all, I certainly hope that my brewing will not subside once the little rascal comes, since I have many grandiose plans for making my brewing system larger(not that a pot and the appropriate fermentation equip is much) but I have GRAND plans. Plus I have to teach him how to make a good beer so he can eventuallly make it for me.
bredmakr
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No VB?!...How about a Belgian Wit?

Post by bredmakr »

OK, first, thanks for the many congrats. Second, after thinking about it I have to agree that VB must be consumed well chilled otherwise it is crap. If you are ever in Australia still check it out, also the Melbourne Bitter, and if in New Zealand the Kiwi Bitter is pretty good. Some many beers to try over there and so little time. Going to go back some day and continue the taste testing. Anyway back to the real subject...I have decided to go ahead to create a Belgian Witbier for the event instead of VB. Its already fermenting so if you oppose THIS beer its too late. Haven't made a Witbier before so I'm interested in anyones opinion on the beer's character and history. My recipe is Belgian Wit No. 1 if you want to check it out. Thanks again for everyones input and congrats to all the other dads. Quick tip to expecting fathers. Brew time may be deminished. However, this is the best reason I found for increasing the capacity of my brewery. Brew more less often is the current motto. Cheers!
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