General homebrew discussion, tips and help on kit and malt extract brewing, and talk about equipment. Queries on sourcing supplies and equipment should go in The Store.
I have read the post on making a better brew, and in it someone mentions using crystal.
My question is, how much would i use?
Does it vary depending on the type of beer you brew?
And do i just chuck it in the boiling mix?
a) How much you use depends on what you are making, but 80-100g is a good rough amount.
b)Don't boil the grain. You need to crack the grains first (i use a mortar and pestle), and then steep them. Steeping involves heating water up to 70-80*C, then adding the cracked grain - preferably inside a small grain bag - and leaving it at said temperature for about 15-20 minutes. Then you simply remove the grain, and add the result to your brew. Boiling grains can produce harsh flavours, releases tannins from the shells if i recall correctly.
Thanks NTR..
so just to clarify, it's the left over water mix that you put into the fermenter? do you just discard the left over grain or can you use it again?
Is there a guide for how much to use with what beers?
What I do is get a coffee plunger, put 100 to 150gm of grain in the bottom, add my hot water, put in the plunger and after 8 to 10 minutes plunge the plunger and add the liquid to the brew.
fixa wrote:Thanks NTR..
so just to clarify, it's the left over water mix that you put into the fermenter? do you just discard the left over grain or can you use it again?
Is there a guide for how much to use with what beers?
Cheers
What Wassa said also works.
Its the water mix you put into the fermenter, and the leftover grain can either be discarded or baked into dog biscuits for your favourite four legged mate, if you have one. The recipe is on the internet somewhere.
It adds a residual sweetness and extra body to any beer, but it also makes the brew darker - probably not the best thing to add to a Lager, but good for Pales, Ambers and Bitters.
Hi.
I make a 3 kg extract brew, and use the extract from 300gm Cara Aroma and 300gm Cara Wheat. I also occasionally add 50-100gm Choc Malt. The crystal wheat gives the beer a nice fine head. 'Specially grouse when poured from a keg.
I first put my crystal grain into a pot, and throw in a handful or two of hop flowers if I've got them. Cover with water. The temp isn't critical like in mashing, since the sugar has already been produced in crystal, and only needs to be extracted by soaking or steeping. I put the pot in the oven set to around 70C and leave it for an hour. Check that all the water hasn't been absorbed, and add water if necessary.
When steeped, pour through a large enough strainer or collander into the brew pot. Rinse with warm to boiling water. Pour through at least 2-3 litres. Now I add one of my 3kg's of liquid malt extract to the wort.
When it boils I add the first bag of hops. After half an hour I throw in another bag. At about 3/4hr, stop boiling, add the remaining 2kg extract and bring to boil for another 15 mins. It will probably foam up a bit at this point, and will need to be watched for the remainder. Top up to 23lt.
There are some light coloured crystal malts, which would be more more suited to lagers.
If you don't use extract, try steeping 250-500 crystal malt, rinsing then adding your kit. If you care about sanitation, you might want to boil for 10 mins, before or after you add the kit.
1.25 c. Whole Wheat Blend Flour (50% whole wheat/50% unbleached all-purpose)
0.5 c. Rye Flour
0.25 c. Corn Meal
0.5 c. Dried Spent Grain
6 T. Vegetable Oil
2/3 c. Water (I bet beef broth would work great)
0.5 t. Garlic Salt
This makes a moist cookie type dough that can easily be molded by hand into
shapes resembling dog biscuits. Or you could role the dough out flat and
cut it with a cookie cutter, but it didn't seem worth the effort. Place
the dog cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet and cook in a preheated 350F
oven for about 40-50 minutes. This recipe makes about a dozen medium
cookies. Next time I would probably double or triple the recipe.