What are you brewing?

[emnpaul]

to limit the flavour contribution

Yeah, makes sense. Just had to ask.

Thanks.

[drsmurto]

Carafa or carafa special?

Carafa special is de-husked. It is the husk of dark roasted grains that supposedly add the harshness.

Happy you are testing it out but from experience, it's one of many brewing urban myths.

[Bum]

Yeah, special - chosen for that very reason.

As I say, I don't think it would make any difference for this beer either way. I'll try the method for a few beers and see if I find any difference or not for myself.

[Bum]

Brewed a slightly weird cupboard clean-out IPA yesterday (details withheld to protect the guilty) and a Schlenkerla urbock-ish clone-ish today. Received wisdom (rumor/urban legend) has it that this beer is 99% smoked malt and 1% something for colour. Thought I'd take the opportunity to try out Bestmaltz Smoked in favour of Weyermann Smoked (which I find slightly timid - though still a fine malt). Went with carafa spec II for the 1% and it is nowhere near dark enough. Still, I've never really cared too much about improving the visual aspects of my brews so I can live with that. Way too early to tell but I don't have high hopes for this one based on the flavour of the wort. I'm not really getting the cured meat thing that I'm chasing - it comes across more like smoked almonds. Hopefully primary will change this around a bit.

[warra48]

After the last disaster of the loss of 25 litres of AAA, I chucked the fermenter into the recycle bin. Couldn't be bothered cleaning and nuking it.

Anyway, we're back in the brewery today, with a Pommy Ale of some sort:

2600.0 g Pale Malt, Maris Otter (Thomas Fawcett) (5.9 EBC) Grain 1 53.9 %
2000.0 g Munich, Light (Joe White) (21.0 EBC) Grain 2 41.5 %
100.0 g Crystal Malt - Light (120.0 EBC) Grain 3 2.1 %
50.0 g Crystal Medium (150.0 EBC) Grain 4 1.0 %
50.0 g Crystal, Dark (Joe White) (216.7 EBC) Grain 5 1.0 %
25.0 g Chocolate Wheat (Weyermann) (817.5 EBC) Grain 6 0.5 %
25.0 g Target [9.40 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 7 24.1 IBUs
20.0 g Styrian Goldings [2.30 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 8 2.9 IBUs
20.0 g Goldings, East Kent [4.80 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 9 4.9 IBUs
20.0 g Styrian Goldings [2.30 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 10 1.7 IBUs
20.0 g Goldings, East Kent [4.80 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 11 2.0 IBUs
25.0 g Goldings, East Kent [4.80 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days
1.0 pkg Whitbread Ale (Wyeast Labs #1099) [124.21 ml] Yeast 12 -

Mashed for 90 minutes at 65ºC.
Collected 35 litres @ 1.041 SG preboil.
Just come to the boil now, will boil for 90 minutes.
Should end up at about 1.050 OG, and about 35 IBU.

[big dave]

Have this week racked my first Lager-of-sorts into a cube. Currently lagering in the old shed fridge.

JW Pilsener Malt 4kg
JW Wheat Malt 500g
Briess Flaked Maize 500g

BIAB - 90 min mash at 63 deg

Amarillo 9.3%AA 20g at 60 min
Saaz 3.7%AA 20g at 20 min
Saaz 3.7%AA 20g at flame-out
About 23 IBU

WY 2112 Californian lager yeast, fermented at 12 - 14 deg

OG 1.046
FG 1.008

It seems like a bit of a process, this making lagers. Will be interesting to see how it goes.

[big dave]

And this week I also knocked up a Doppelbock of sorts. Was going to call it a Procrastinator, but given the Australian Malt and American yeast, maybe Desecrator....

JW Light Munich Malt 3500g
JW Pilsener Malt 2500g
JW Dark Crystal Malt 300g

Mashed 90 min at 68 deg BIAB

120 min boil
Perle 20g 8.3%AA at 90min
Perle 20g 8.3%AA at 30min
22.5-ish IBU

OG 1.070 (was aiming for 1.080, but boil was a bit slow, and thus volume retained)
Aiming somewhere around 1.018 for FG

Pitched onto the WY2112 yeast-cake from my lager.

[emnpaul]

Was going to call it a Procrastinator, but given the Australian Malt and American yeast, maybe Desecrator....

[Guru]

Go for the desecrator big dave.

[Tipsy]

Was going to call it a Procrastinator, but given the Australian Malt and American yeast, maybe Desecrator....

That deserves another

[Tipsy]

Just brewed an Irish Red with the help of my brother


Name Type # %/IBU
9.800 kg Pale Malt, Golden Promise (Thomas Fawcett) (5.9 EBC) Grain 1 94.2 %
0.400 kg Crystal Malt - 60L (Thomas Fawcett) (118.2 EBC) Grain 2 3.8 %
0.200 kg Roasted Barley (Thomas Fawcett) (1199.7 EBC) Grain 3 1.9 %
120.0 g Styrian Goldings [3.40 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 4 22.7 IBUs
0.50 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins) Fining 5 -
2.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) [50.3 ml] Yeast 6 -


While brewing it I drank a 6 pack of SNPA, was't as good as other times i've had it

[rotten]

I had a few SNPA last week and thought the same.

[Screamin TE]

OK, Ive got a Cascade "Golden Harvest" Lager, a Coopers 1.5kg Light Malt Extract and a Saflager S-23 yeast.

Ive got no idea how to calculate this and whether or not i should boil it?

The guy at the HBS pretty much shrugged his shoulders and said should be alright when i asked.

[Guru]

Don't reckon you need to be boiling any of that. Just dissolve can and malt in warm water and top up the fermenter with cold water and pitch the yeast.

[warra48]

I agree with Guru. No need to boil, and just do as he suggest.

With those ingredients, you'll make a very malty beer, more like an Ale than a Lager. You won't have the usual crisp lager character.
I wouldn't use 1.5 kg Light Malt Extract. If you want to use that quantity of ingredients, I'd halve the malt, and replace it with the same weight of Coopers Dextrose.

What temperature do you plan to ferment at? I venture to say that with one pack of S23, a Lager Yeast, you will be underpitching, and you won't get the clean character a Lager should have. I'd pitch 2 packs of yeast, and try to keep your fementation temperature down to no more than about 12ºC. If that's not possible, maybe look at a neutral Ale Yeast such as US05, which will give you a pseudo lager.

To help you do your calculations, I suggest you download BrewMate. It's a free program, and works very well.

[rotten]

I'm attending a brew day with fellow brewers this weekend and will be making my first SMaSH to keep things simple. Can't wait

Cats Galaxy SMaSH (American Pale Ale)

Original Gravity (OG): 1.046 (°P): 11.4
Final Gravity (FG): 1.012 (°P): 3.1
Alcohol (ABV): 4.52 %
Colour (SRM): 4.4 (EBC): 8.7
Bitterness (IBU): 41.5 (Average - No Chill Adjusted)

100% Pale Ale Malt

1.9 g/L Galaxy (13.4% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil)
0.6 g/L Galaxy (13.4% Alpha) @ 0 Days (Dry Hop)

Single step Infusion at 66°C for 60 Minutes. Boil for 60 Minutes
Fermented at 18°C with Wyeast 2112 - California Lager
Recipe Generated with BrewMate

[Screamin TE]

OK, Ive got a Cascade "Golden Harvest" Lager, a Coopers 1.5kg Light Malt Extract and a Saflager S-23 yeast.

Ive got no idea how to calculate this and whether or not i should boil it?

The guy at the HBS pretty much shrugged his shoulders and said should be alright when i asked.

So i ended up knocking this up the other day. Packaging on the yeast said the temps i would be brewing at would be ok so i gave it a bash.

Pitched the yeast @ 23 deg and checked the SG, was 1042. The krausen settled down a lot yesterday and i checked the SG again today and its 1012. Seem ok?

[emnpaul]

Spot on so far TE.

[earle]

Hoppy Hefe

Coopers wheat kit
1.5kg liquid wheat extract
1 kg pale wheat
250 caramalt
Citra and saaz B to bring bitterness up to about 33IBU, with a good whack of each at flame out and also dry hop.
K97

Reallt looking forward to drinking this one.

[Screamin TE]

Spot on so far TE.

So do you reckon at the steady temp of 18 deg it would be done by Wednesday this week? I tried a bit and it was slightly fizzy. Had a decent head on it, was fairly bitter though.