recipe advice appreciated

paddyporter · 01-31-2012, 03:21 PM

ok so im on my third extract brew and really happy with both previous brews but im looking to spice it up a little with some specialty malts so heres the recipe and id really appreciate any tips you guys have for me

can of coopers dark ale
1lb of maltodexterin
1lb of light dry spraymalt
1lb of dextrose
4lbs of caramel malt
4lbs of chocolate malt
nottingham yeast

cold steep the grains for 24 hrs and add to the fermenter with extract and top with cold water

any advice greatly appreciated

HerbieHowells · 01-31-2012, 04:15 PM

I am no recipe formulation expert, but I suspect that you have way too much caramel and chocolate malt in this recipe. For a five gallon batch of beer, you generally talk ounces rather than pounds of specialty malts. This would be rather like adding cups of salt rather than teaspoons of salt to a soup. If you want to play around with specialty malts, I suggest you look around for an extract with steeping grains recipe, which will give you an idea of how they are typically used.

paddyporter · 01-31-2012, 04:33 PM

thanks herbie, the reason im using so much is because im cold steeping the grain but maybe it would be no harm to half the amounts and see how it goes. at least that way there is less chance of ruining the batch

HerbieHowells · 01-31-2012, 04:45 PM

I happened to look at your past posts, and I think you were much closer with the recipe you were posting a week ago. The specialty malts were about 10% of your total grain bill, which is more typical. If you are choosing between these two recipes, I would do the one from a week ago with a regular steep.

That said, if you want to start making more interesting beers, I would suggest stepping away from the pre-hopped kits, and trying an extract with specialty grains and hop additions recipe. It isn't that difficult, and you can start branching out into new territory faster.

**unionrdr** · 01-31-2012, 06:12 PM

Actually,the cooper's dark ale can makes a good base. I made a recipe with it once that tasted like a dark cream ale.
Anyway,I'd cut the dextrose,& sub in another pound of plain DME. If you wanna keep it dark,use the plain amber DME. Works quite well with the dark ale can. Cut the maltodextrin to 250-300g,& cut the caramel & chocolate malts to 4-5 ounces each.
Steep the grains at 155F for 30 minutes,pull grain bags,& start the boil. Get past the hot break with a spray bottle of water & your long spoon. Add the 2lbs of DME,stirring till dissolved. Do hop additions. Remove from heat & add the cooper's can,stirring till no more LME can be scrapped off the bottom of the BK. Cover & steep a few minutes before ice bath. Since pasteurization takes place at 162F,the remaining heat will be plenty to do the job.

paddyporter · 01-31-2012, 06:46 PM

thanks for the replies guys, uniondr at the moment i have no thermometer or hops hence the cold steep. i just recieved my package today and all i have is choco malt and caramel the coopers can and 4 lbs dextrose 1lb of spraymalt and 1lb of maltodexterin but as the man says theres no point doing something if you aint gonna do it right, so if theres no recipe i can make with this i might just do the can on its own and order a thermometer and some hops to use with my other ingredients.any recipe suggestions for what i have listed there.

why i didnt order a thermometer with the rest ill never know

ive been looking up cold steeping and theres not much on how other guys went about it and how they got on but there is this tutorial http://www.brew-dudes.com/cold-steeping-specialty-grains/684

at the end of the day i reckon i would be taking a chance and would feel much more comfortable doing it the way you outlined above but if i thought it would work and improve my beer id be willing to give it a go

maybe it would be worth writing about it and outlining exactly what i did, how it went and recommendations and such. it could be of help to other people thinking of giving it a go