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Recipe: Gorilla Kimchi Sour
Gorilla Brewing in Busan, South Korea, shares this recipe for a tart and spicy celebration of a cherished local staple.
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“We wanted to embody our proud kimchi in a beer,” says brewer Youngjae Jo. “It is fermented with kimchi Lactobacillus, and all kimchi ingredients—such as cabbage, radish, garlic, ginger, and chili powder—are added to create a clean, intense kimchi taste.”
For more on brewing with this flavorful fermented foodtsuff, see Special Ingredient: Kimchi.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.056
FG: 1.019
IBUs: 2
ABV: 4.4%
“We wanted to embody our proud kimchi in a beer,” says brewer Youngjae Jo. “It is fermented with kimchi Lactobacillus, and all kimchi ingredients—such as cabbage, radish, garlic, ginger, and chili powder—are added to create a clean, intense kimchi taste.”
For more on brewing with this flavorful fermented foodtsuff, see Special Ingredient: Kimchi.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.056
FG: 1.019
IBUs: 2
ABV: 4.4%
[PAYWALL]
MALT/GRAIN BILL
5.3 lb (2.4 kg) pilsner
4.5 lb (2 kg) wheat malt
9 oz (255 g) Carapils
HOPS & ADDITIONS SCHEDULE
0.05 oz (1 g) Columbus at 60 minutes [2 IBUs]
0.25 oz (7 g) sea salt at 60 minutes
20 ml lactic acid, pre-acidification
0.7 oz (20 g) Napa cabbage at secondary
0.7 oz (20 g) gochugaru (Korean chili powder) at secondary
0.7 oz (20 g) fresh garlic at secondary
0.7 oz (20 g) fresh ginger at secondary
0.7 oz (20 g) Korean white radish at secondary
YEAST
Lactobacillus from kimchi and Fermentis SafAle US-05
DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains and mash at 154°F (68°C) for 60 minutes. Recirculate until the runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle. Sparge and top up as necessary to get about 6 gallons (23 liters) of wort, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 15 minutes, then cool to 104°F (40°C) for kettle acidification. Targeting a pH of 4.3–4.5, pre-acidify the wort with lactic acid, then add the kimchi Lactobacillus. Tightly cover the kettle, purging the headspace with CO2 if possible, and rest until the pH has dropped to about 3.2 (about 3 days). Boil 60 minutes, adding hops and salt according to the schedule. After the boil, chill to about 66°F (19°C), aerate the wort, and pitch the ale yeast. Ferment at 67°F (19.5°C) until complete, then add the cabbage, chili, garlic, ginger, and radish together in a loose mesh bag and steep 2 days or to taste. Remove the bag, crash, package, and carbonate to about 2.3 volumes of CO2.
BREWER’S NOTES
Kimchi: Naturally fermented kimchi develops its own unique mix of lactic acid–producing bacteria based on the natural ingredients that go into it, including the cabbage, garlic, and ginger. To produce this mixed Lactobacillus culture, you can make your own kimchi at home using a good recipe, then use the “juice” to acidify some wort to make a starter. You can also buy kimchi and use it, but make sure it’s probiotic, so that it contains live cultures.
Other ingredients: Traditionally, kimchi also includes fish sauce made from shrimp and anchovies. Sadly, South Korean regulations forbid us from adding those to a beer. However, that may have been for the best—we think it led to a cleaner flavor in the beer, even if the umami was less than in typical kimchi.
