jeremy-o Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 I'd go at least a 60 minute boil for an AG batch. There is a compound known as SMM that is a pre-cursor to DMS which needs to be boiled away as much as possible or else you can end up with cooked corn/cabbage flavours in your beer. I know there's been backyard experiments done with shorter boils and it hasn't shown up but given it's your first go at it' date=' it's probably better to stick to the tried and tested methods first. At least it removes that variable. 400g crystal is a lot for an 11 litre batch, it'd be akin to using about 850-900g in a 'normal' sized brew. I'd back it off to about 150g - if you need it darker throw in a pinch of black malt or something. That's a very low mash efficiency even for a first attempt. Based on your figures it sounds like you're actually talking about the total efficiency, in which case 65% is a good starting point. Do not cover the boil. It won't allow the SMM/DMS to be boiled away. You could keep it covered while it's coming up to the boil but be sure to uncover it once it's boiling. Whirlfloc is handy for flocculating the trub post boil; in a batch that size you'd probably only need a quarter of a tablet though. Don't worry about water chemistry yet, just get the basic processes etc. down pat. Water chemistry is probably the last piece of the puzzle once you get the hang of the rest of the process. Cheers Kelsey [/quote'] Awesome info. Cheers! It looks like my LHBS (which is now the Hop and Grain in Marrickville, sorry Dave - like it or not I'm now an inner westie) will do a custom grain bill - I was thinking I'd have to buy kilo units of malt so I plugged in quite a bit of crystal to make up ABV. If I tone it back to 200g of dark crystal I should get close to the beer's stated SRM colour value (there's a calculator for everything in homebrewing, it's friggin' awesome) without straying far from the limited info on the beer I've got. I think I read somewhere that 20% was the target area for specialty grains but I'll compromise on the basis of your sage advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Yeah, most of them will do your grain bill per recipe if needed, and mill it for you as well. I buy my grains in bulk and uncracked because I have my own grain mill. Crystal malt won't really increase the ABV that much because it contains hardly any fermentable sugars. However, the enzymes in the base malt may convert some of the crystal during the mash as well, so it tends not to have quite the same effect in an AG mash beer as it does when it is steeped on its own doing extract beers. That said, using it as 20% of the grain bill would probably result in a bloody thick and sickly sweet beer unless it was well balanced with bitterness - 18 IBU ain't gonna achieve that. So yeah, probably better to reduce it. Most of my beers only contain about 5%-8% specialty grains, except things like porters or stouts which do contain more, although they're mostly dark roasted grains rather than crystal malts. I forgot about the sparging question in my last reply. It's not necessary in BIAB, but it doesn't hurt either. Completely up to you if you decide to do one or not. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 I'm doing a brew day this Saturday, but I figured I'd just post the recipe now anyway. Brewing a stout, loosely in the Foreign Extra style. Have dropped my brewhouse efficiency down to 63% for this one, to account for the larger than usual grain bill. Mash efficiency drops to 69%. First stout brew since late 2013 I believe. The large Willamette addition is basically just to use it up since I don't think I'll be using it in anything else. Batch size = 21 litres. Grains 6.000 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (Thomas Fawcett) (5.6 EBC) Grain 1 85.1 % 0.500 kg Roasted Barley (Thomas Fawcett) (1350.0 EBC) Grain 2 7.1 % 0.200 kg Chocolate Malt (Thomas Fawcett) (1100.0 EBC) Grain 3 2.8 % 0.200 kg Crystal Malt - Medium (Thomas Fawcett) (150.0 EBC) Grain 4 2.8 % 0.150 kg Black Malt (Thomas Fawcett) (1300.2 EBC) Grain 5 2.1 % Hops 100.00 g Willamette [4.20 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 45.2 IBUs 10.00 g Magnum [12.20 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 7 13.1 IBUs Yeast Wyeast 1469 West Yorkshire Ale (starter) 90 minute mash at ~64C, followed by 10 minute mash-out at 78C. 75 minute boil, no-chilled with no hop adjustments. Est Original Gravity: 1.066 SG Est Final Gravity: 1.016 SG Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.6 % Bitterness: 58.4 IBUs Est Color: 116.0 EBC Fermenting around 19-20C. Have dropped the volume to 21 litres but kept the grains the same. Not too worried if I miss the OG by a few points, it will still be a nice big hearty beer for the winter months! Cheers Kelsey *Edited to change recipe volume, stats etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylon Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Looks a bloody cracker way to send the Willamette off! Hopefully it holds its head up and does well nice looking brew... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 It's very similar to my last stout brew, which I still have 3 bottles of somewhere, coming up to 2.5 years old now. That one also used a heap of Willamette for bittering for the same intention, and I thought it had all been used up but I found more of it recently. A point of difference in the previous batch is that it was fermented with US-05, but I thought I'd try the 1469 this time around. Hopefully it goes alright! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylon Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 2.5 years is good going... I just finished a 10 month extract stout that's my oldest... I thought I had it going on! It was actually not as carbed as I would have expected... still vary nice drop ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Yeah I kept a 6 pack of stubbies aside when it was originally bottled, in order to try one every 6 months. My missus at the time drank most of the rest of the batch pretty quickly. Unfortunately these bottles have lost carbonation over time somehow, but the flavour is really really rich. I'll be kegging this one but it will have about 10 weeks in the keg before it is tapped, which should see it mature a fair bit since the kegs are faster than bottles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylon Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Ive got one stout left that's 13 months in a plastic bottle and I know it will be flat! going by the previous one... so not using plastic for aging again... Twist top long necks on my 10 month stout... not as flat perhaps co2 sneaks out the twist tops over time... Perhaps crown seals is a must for aging stout? example a coopers longneck bottles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Yeah the plastic bottles aren't good for ageing beers. I have these aged ones in pry-off style bottles and they still went flat so I dunno.. still taste bloody good though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Time for Benny's Big Red.. Recipe: Benny's Big Red VII Brewer: Grumpy Style: American IPA Recipe Specifications -------------------------- Batch Size (fermenter): 23.00 l Estimated OG: 1.066 SG Estimated Color: 28.8 EBC Estimated IBU: 66.8 IBUs Ingredients: ------------ 3.50 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent 1 - 1.50 g Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 2 - 4.50 kg Pale Malt (Barrett Burston) (3.9 EBC) Grain 3 66.4 % 1.00 kg Munich Malt (17.7 EBC) Grain 4 14.7 % 1.00 kg Rye Malt (Weyermann) (5.9 EBC) Grain 5 14.7 % 0.25 kg Caraaroma (Weyermann) (350.7 EBC) Grain 6 3.7 % 0.03 kg Gladfield Roast Barley (1450.0 EBC) Grain 7 0.4 % 50.00 g Sticklebract [13.50 %] - First Wort 60.0 Hop 8 66.8 IBUs 1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 9 - Mash Schedule: BIAB, No Chill Total Grain Weight: 6.78 kg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy-o Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 No Perle in stock at the LHBS Otherwise I've got everything ready to roll for a brew tomorrow arvo. Suggested alternative was Northern Brewer, which I know Perle is an offshoot of, so rather than give myself more jobs (and because hops were already paid for) I decided to just go with it. Looks like alpha acids are close enough that I shouldn't need to adjust the recipe. And it means my perfect abita clone will still be on the horizon... I was so gunning to kick off late last night and full of pent-up homebrewing energy that I used a 9v battery and a salt + vinegar solution to score metric volume markers on my $16 stock pot - at 8, 10 and 12 litres. The effect is... rustic. But I'm sure it'll be useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 I've been thinking about doing that etching on my urn as well, even though it has a sight gauge on the outside, but as yet haven't got around to it. Maybe one day. I went to Petbarn earlier to get some more bird food, but while I was there I had a look at the dog bowls as well. I just got a cheap stainless one, the idea being that I'll cut the bottom out of it, and put it upside down in the urn near the end of the boil. At flameout I might adjust its position, then do a whirlpool with the idea that all the trub ends up forming a cone inside the bowl, allowing more clear wort to flow through the tap before the trub gunk tries to get in there. Will test it out on Saturday's brew day methinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 adjust its position' date=' then do a whirlpool .[/quote'] Be careful as the bowl will move. The few times I whirlpooled the strainer could be heard clunking around at the bottom of the urn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Yeah I might need to get a bigger bowl actually, something that will pretty much cover the entire area of the bottom except for obviously where the ball valve thread pokes through. That should keep it from moving too much. The other option might be to simply get some sheeting and make a cylinder out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylon Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Getting realy cold here in the hills outside of Melbourne, Im on the stout at the moment. As Im typing im drinking an English stout from Yorkshire; Samuel Smith Oatmeal stout 5%...its a nice drop, a tad sweeter than ide expected but bloody nice... has a nice smooth creamy mouthfeel... For $9 its a special treat... quite pricey Must say my own coopers extract brews hold there heads high in comparison my extract stouts are are a bit roastier and less sweet... Last years extract batches using both coopers dark ale and stout cans with basically all the same recipies all are tasty going down a treat! hope they last me out winter I did quite a few batches as follows; Coopers dark or stout can coopers 1.5 liquid dark malt some added 500g sugar 250 dark crystal 125 choc malt 80 roast barley 25g Fuggles 5 min hop boil (did one with centennial huge difference in flavour) Nottingham yeast and some brews used x2 kit yeasts Hits the spot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 There's a good mix of suitable ingredients there Waylon, so I'm not the least bit surprised you're turning out some lovely tasting dark beers. The new Coopers Porter kit looks to be a ripper, & all things going well, I plan to do a lot of recipes in the future around it. I think it's a great move in the kit market that Coopers have recognized the interest in this style of beer, & the massive spectrum of flavours that can be created around its base. It's a shame they don't look at their commercial (particularly seasonal) offerings in the same way. Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Chop Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 My spare FV was looking at me today and my home grown Cascade hops were calling me from the freezer, that along with my one week old Bootmaker in the brew fridge saying I need some company in here. APA kit 1.5 Kg light LME 500 gm light DME 250 gm Pale crystal grain 30 min steep Home grown Cascade hop flowers boiled in 5 litres 1.040 wort 15 gm @ 20 min 10 gm @ 8 min US-05 rehydrated 23 litres OG 1.051 I'm trying to get a feel for the home grown hops with this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy-o Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 Crikey moses. Epic journey incoming. Let's just say that today was brew day, and it's been a rollercoaster of high emotion. I reckon I'm gonna get beer. To be continued. With pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy-o Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 Here's the gallery: Baby's First All-Grain Anyway, long story short I overshot on efficiency by 15%, which meant I had way too much sugar for my humble craft vessel. In roughly knocking it back down I ended up a bit low. But she'll be right. If you've never done an all-grain batch before, check it out. I came in with nothing but knowledge and faith in the processes and advice of many, and it ended up pretty damn smooth. Anyway. I'm spent. Even for a small batch, it's a big day. Time to switch off for a while, and let the boys in the fridge do their work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 Whatever it is, it will be beer by the end of it! Good work though mate, you're right though, it is a long day brewing from scratch, that's why I don't piss around with 10 litre volumes. If I'm gonna be spending that much time on a brew I want at least a standard sized batch out of it. I don't know how John does it. The good news of course is that give or take a little time for heating strike water/bringing wort to boil, it pretty much takes the same amount of time regardless of the batch size. Love the overshoot on the OG by 30 points though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 Anyway. I'm spent. Even for a small batch' date=' it's a big day. Time to switch off for a while, and let the boys in the fridge do their work. [/quote'] First one a lager? Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peekaboo_jones Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 Hey all, this is a belated brew day post... Busy week, 3 brews bubbling away. Goodbye southern summer Coopers original series lager 750g Coopers liquid wheat malt 500g light dry malt 150g caramalt 25g Azacca @ 10 mins 25g Azacca @ flameout 25g Galaxy and 25g Azacca dry hop 23L batch Danstar bry 97 Oh Fuggle it's Autumn Coopers pale ale 750g Coopers liquid wheat malt 500g light dry malt 150g caramalt 25g Fuggle @ 10 mins 25g Fuggle @ flameout 23L batch Danstar bry 97 Tradie's batch Coopers Mexican cerveza 1kg BE2 25g Sorachi Ace dry hop 23L Kit yeast Cheers & Happy Friday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy-o Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 Anyway. I'm spent. Even for a small batch' date=' it's a big day. Time to switch off for a while, and let the boys in the fridge do their work. [/quote'] First one a lager? Congrats! Yep. What can I say - lager is me drop. I'll probably play around with a pommie bitter and an IPA / bright ale down the line, but for now I want to perfect the styles I like the most. And to be honest this quick-lagering method which leverages ramp-ups, gelatin fining and cold-crashing has made it all pretty bloody user friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 That quick method is exactly why I'm brewing more lagers than I ever used to. It's much better only having a turnaround a week longer than my ales, than having to wait 8-10 weeks, for basically the same quality end product. I don't like gelatine much though, makes the sediment too fluffy and easily disturbed. Isinglass is my choice for dropping yeast, and Polyclar for chill haze. Those plus a little time chilled result in commercial quality clarity, or at least very close to, which I am rather happy with for such little effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shibby Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 Im going to do my first AG Smash on the Grainfather, any thoughts or does this look good - 23L Brew 4.5kg Marris Otter 25g @60 Min Challenger 10g @10 Min Challenger 20g @5 Min Challenger 20g @0 Min Challenger (20mins before cooling) 25g @Dry Hop Challenger IBU Around 38 Nottingham Yeast or any other English Recommendations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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