Beerlust Posted June 12, 2020 Author Share Posted June 12, 2020 Hi Wayne. 3 hours ago, Waynealford said: Going to try making the Luchador Spiced Chocolate stout tonight - grains currently soaking in the fridge. Thinking that 1tsp of Chilli powder shouldn't be too strong, but curious about increasing the cocoa from 1tbsp to maybe 2 or 3? Any feedback on whether this would make it more chocolateyer? Merely an opinion, I would brew the DIY recipe as is first without alteration. The DIY team have created certain balances in the beer with the ingredient volumes they have put together in the recipe. When you alter these volumes, you change the intended flavours of the beer. By tripling the cocoa amount, no doubt you'll increase the chocolate flavour of the beer, but it may for instance dull the chilli influence. With the DIY recipes I brew them as is first, then assess them once I have tasted them from the glass before altering anything potentially for another brewing of it. Just my 20 cents & best of luck with the brew, Lusty. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus O'Sean Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 (edited) Hi @Waynealford What I do is look for a way to split a recipe into two fermenters. One has the recipe to standard and the other has the tricked up version. You could do it with this recipe. After the hop boil, split this addition and add half the cocoa powder and half the chilli flakes to one split addition. To the other half add the rest of the chilli flakes and your proportioned up cocoa addition. While they are steeping, get the Ruby Porter, Amber Malt Extract and the other half of the BE3 mixed in one fermenter with water up to around 10-12 litres. Then decant half of whatever volume into the second fermenter. Into one batch add the standard grain/hop/cocoa/chilli combo and add the tricked up combo to the other fermenter. Top them up to half the volume of the full sized batch. Either split the yeast or get a second pack and pitch away. Once fermented and bottled you can test the difference side-by-side. Edited June 12, 2020 by Shamus O'Sean 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSands Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Today's brew is based on a Best Bitter profile... but with very non-English hops! I'm just using up what's lying around in the freezer. And, annoyingly for the second time in a row I see the LHBS has made an error with grain bill. I don't know what they got wrong in the previous brew but the colour was the giveaway - the beer is a LOT lighter than it should have been. This time, instead of 200g Redback Wheat Malt they've given me 200g Redback Barley Malt. Oh, well...probably won't make much difference and in the end...it'll still be beer! 2.5kg GF Ale Malt 200g GF Redback Malt 200g GF Med. Crystal 100g GF Biscuit Malt 50g Roasted Barley 600g LME 20g Nelson @35 mins 15g Nelson @10 mins 25g Taiheke @5 mins 25g Taiheke Steep 5g Gypsum Nottingham Yeast 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicolasW Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 (edited) 21 hours ago, Norris! said: @NicolasW If you really wanted to go a little extreme, you could do a 30 min boil and add all the hops at flameout, to equal your target bitterness, and then chill or cube after 15 or 20 minutes or whatever your whirlpool addition is and call it a day cutting 30 min from the boil and 20 or 30 min from the hop stand while maximising flavour and aroma. Just a thought. Norris Thanks for the feedback @Norris! you always have some good suggestions! The recipe is pretty old so that's why the hop schedule was all over the place - I had tried to simplify it a bit (Not sure if I did in the end). There's definitely been a lot of changes with hopping in the last 5 years - a lot thrown in at the end. I ended up leaving a 25g charge at 30 to get some bittering, and leaving the rest for a hopstand. I also threw in some carapils for good measure . Cheers Nick. Edited June 13, 2020 by NicolasW 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicolasW Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 3 hours ago, BlackSands said: And, annoyingly for the second time in a row I see the LHBS has made an error with grain bill. I was thinking about this when I got my grain yesterday at my LHBS. Essentially you give them a list and they come back with a prepacked bag. Its all pale looking malt, so they could have put they cheapest stuff in a bag, and I would be none the wiser. Recipe looks tasty. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris! Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 1 hour ago, NicolasW said: Thanks for the feedback @Norris! you always have some good suggestions! The recipe is pretty old so that's why the hop schedule was all over the place - I had tried to simplify it a bit (Not sure if I did in the end). There's definitely been a lot of changes with hopping in the last 5 years - a lot thrown in at the end. I ended up leaving a 25g charge at 30 to get some bittering, and leaving the rest for a hopstand. I also threw in some carapils for good measure . Cheers Nick. Thanks Mate. Recipe looks nice by the way. Real nice if you like Nelson sauvin, Hahha. Good brewing Norris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris! Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 I made a lager today. It might be a little dark but I never tried melanoidin malt before and wanted to see what it brought to the table. I did a no sparge brew. I will pitch this tomorrow and let it sit for a while. I mashed at 64c, came in at 1.054 but that shouldn't affect the overall beer too much, BU/GU that is, we will see. Good brewing Norris 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenyinthewestofsydney Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Looks nice @Norris!. The melanoiden will add maltiness and mouthfeel. I use it in my pilseners but only 100gm which suits my taste buds. Should be a nice brew. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris! Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 17 minutes ago, Greeny1525229549 said: Looks nice @Norris!. The melanoiden will add maltiness and mouthfeel. I use it in my pilseners but only 100gm which suits my taste buds. Should be a nice brew. Thanks Greeny. I was hoping for that but yeah, probably should of went with the 100g, the wort was dark, darker than I expected at least Hahah. Tasted good though. I am hoping to let this lager until October but I will try one here and there, for research purposes, of course. I have two taps, three kegs, so it should work alright (famous last words). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenyinthewestofsydney Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 49 minutes ago, Norris! said: Thanks Greeny. I was hoping for that but yeah, probably should of went with the 100g, the wort was dark, darker than I expected at least Hahah. Tasted good though. I am hoping to let this lager until October but I will try one here and there, for research purposes, of course. I have two taps, three kegs, so it should work alright (famous last words). I struggle to lager kegs and i have four kegs with two taps. I really need two extra kegs to enable me to effectively lager. I have a KB Lager clone lagering at the moment which is earmarked for my dads 75th in August. Thats enough incentive not to touch it but for others i tend to run out then chuck it on the tap too early. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozlizard Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 ROTM Chris Woods Fruit of the Forest. Nice easy recipe and the temps were spot on. I love brewing in winter Really looking forward to this one! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris! Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 19 minutes ago, Greeny1525229549 said: I struggle to lager kegs and i have four kegs with two taps. I really need two extra kegs to enable me to effectively lager. I have a KB Lager clone lagering at the moment which is earmarked for my dads 75th in August. Thats enough incentive not to touch it but for others i tend to run out then chuck it on the tap too early. Man I feel you. My house pale just blew....It is going to be hard to keep my hands off this one. I will be lucky if I get to August, I need some incentive like you have. How does it taste, the KB clone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenyinthewestofsydney Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 31 minutes ago, Norris! said: Man I feel you. My house pale just blew....It is going to be hard to keep my hands off this one. I will be lucky if I get to August, I need some incentive like you have. How does it taste, the KB clone? Its very nice actually. I kegged 19L and bottled 3 long necks. Had one bottle the last 3 weeks and if that was the megaswill from the 60s and 70s then take me back because its a way better beer than the new or VB's of today. I think the keg will be better again with the almost 3 month lager. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzza Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 2 hours ago, Norris! said: I made a lager today. 300g Wheat Norris - I reckon it is a good addition mate - good luck with that brew and lagering it! What yeasty are you using? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus O'Sean Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 2 hours ago, Norris! said: I made a lager today. I am planning a Vienna Lager for my next brew. I do not have Melanoidin, but I will try Victory Aromatic Malt instead. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris! Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 45 minutes ago, Bearded Burbler said: 300g Wheat Norris - I reckon it is a good addition mate - good luck with that brew and lagering it! What yeasty are you using? I am going with W34/70, 2 packets to start. Yeah, I would of used carapils if I had them but I like what wheat brings, should have a nice head, hopefully. Thanks Mate, hope it goes as planned...fast forward to 3 weeks from now and see what I am drinking the other thread! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicolasW Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 3 hours ago, Norris! said: Thanks Mate. Recipe looks nice by the way. Real nice if you like Nelson sauvin, Hahha. Yeah its definitely divisive hop. I like it but its not for everyone. I was going to use some galaxy (got my first bag of 2020 galaxy) to blend it down but I think I will redo the recipe with all galaxy next. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris! Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 38 minutes ago, Shamus O'Sean said: I am planning a Vienna Lager for my next brew. I do not have Melanoidin, but I will try Victory Aromatic Malt instead. I have read that they are very similar. Either way, Victory is a great addition. What brew is this on the docket? You have a fair few dark brews coming up, right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris! Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Just now, NicolasW said: Yeah its definitely divisive hop. I like it but its not for everyone. I was going to use some galaxy (got my first bag of 2020 galaxy) to blend it down but I think I will redo the recipe with all galaxy next. I like it blended but tastes change, so I should revisit it. Nice pick up with the 2020 galaxy. I noticed less pungency from some hops I have been getting, some have been 2018 batches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus O'Sean Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 59 minutes ago, Norris! said: I have read that they are very similar. Either way, Victory is a great addition. What brew is this on the docket? You have a fair few dark brews coming up, right. I have probably got more ingredients than I can reasonably get through in a quick time. My beer-eyes are bigger than my beer-belly (well, that is not really true). I have my Mexican Stout and the Island Toasted Coconut Porter on tap at the moment along with a hoppy pale ale. The Vienna Lager will be the next one, as a palate cleanser to the dark brews. Mind you it will not be ready by the time they are finished. I also have the Belgian Chocolate Stout ROTM kit awaiting my attention. Plus a Dark Ale can that will probably go into the Nut Brown Ale recipe, or something similar. Also have Chris Woods' Fruit of the Woods IPA kit. Real Ale can and several cans of liquid malt. Not to mention over 20kg of grains for first principles brewing. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_G Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Haven't posted my brews for a while but just finishing the boil on this: Looking to get a drinkable session ale. Fermented with W34/70 at 22c with 15psi of pressure. Yep I know, lager yeast right. Looking for a good balance between the specialty malts and the bitterness. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzza Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Brew Day Watcha Got? Big bucket of freshly milled Schooner Malt, Munich, some Wheat and bit of Medium Crystal... recirc Mash... then boil w Fuggles and later EKG: 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzza Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 4 hours ago, MartyG1525230263 said: Looking to get a drinkable session ale Might end up with an early Aussie Lager? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicolasW Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 (edited) I knocked out the Nelson Summer Ale today. I managed to hit all my SG marks with minimal fus which is a good start. Minimal screw ups from my end other choking my mill with a fine gap (regretted not getting the brew shop to do the milling). Fighting with the drill is always fun. I forgot how awesome Freshly milled grain smells - so well worth it in the end. It's sitting in the fermenter looking a hazy - I was a little greedy and pulled over some of the break material. No doubt it will settle out. The head on it from aerating looks impressive. Edited June 14, 2020 by NicolasW 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicolasW Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 On 6/13/2020 at 8:23 PM, Norris! said: I like it blended but tastes change, so I should revisit it. Nice pick up with the 2020 galaxy. I noticed less pungency from some hops I have been getting, some have been 2018 batches. Yeah its a bit all over the place. My local homebrew shop doesn't put the year on their hops so who knows what year they are from. They manage to put the AA so you would think they could add the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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