The Great Blending Experiment: Have I Lost My Mind?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Evan!

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2006
Messages
11,835
Reaction score
115
Location
Charlottesville, VA
So I've got two batches aging in carboy right now that I'm not really excited about. They aren't bad, but just not what I'm looking for. One is an imperial oatmeal stout that is really...harsh. Maybe that harshness will subside over time, but I'm beginning to doubt it, as it's been like this for awhile now.

The other is a Wee Heavy that I followed per the style - high malt, low hops - but while it's perfectly good beer, it's nothing spectacular, and slightly bland. I've had an ounce of oak cubes in it for a couple weeks now.

So, what do you guys think would happen if I combined them? Alas, I don't have any 10 gallon carboys, but I could rack half of each batch into one 5 gallon, then rack the rest of one of the originals into the other original...then let them mix and mellow and age for another few weeks. One batch, too harsh; the other, too bland. Mix them, and...voila! Am I crazy?

Here are the recipes for each batch:

Oatmeal Stout v2.0

A ProMash Recipe Report

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 15.25
Anticipated OG: 1.081 Plato: 19.58
Anticipated SRM: 65.6
Anticipated IBU: 46.9
Brewhouse Efficiency: 78 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
23.0 3.50 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2
19.7 3.00 lbs. Vienna Malt America 1.035 4
13.1 2.00 lbs. Flaked Oats America 1.033 2
11.5 1.75 lbs. Pilsener Malt(2-Row) Continental Eu 1.035 1
6.6 1.00 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt 1.033 2
6.6 1.00 lbs. Crystal 40L America 1.034 40
6.6 1.00 lbs. Roasted Barley Belgium 1.030 575
4.9 0.75 lbs. Chocolate Malt Great Britain 1.034 475
4.9 0.75 lbs. Melanoidin Malt 1.033 35
1.6 0.25 lbs. Coffee Malt America 1.030 350
1.6 0.25 lbs. Debittered Black Patent Malt America 1.028 525

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.50 oz. Northern Brewer Whole 6.50 30.1 60 min.
1.00 oz. Goldings - E.K. Whole 6.00 14.3 30 min.
0.50 oz. Liberty Pellet 4.00 2.5 10 min.


Yeast
-----

White Labs WLP005 British Ale



'Old Slug' Wee Heavy

A ProMash Recipe Report

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 14.22
Anticipated OG: 1.081 Plato: 19.63
Anticipated SRM: 22.8
Anticipated IBU: 39.3
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes



Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
31.6 4.50 lbs. Generic LME - Extra Light Generic 1.035 7
28.1 4.00 lbs. Pilsener Germany 1.038 2
14.1 2.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2
10.5 1.50 lbs. Special B Malt Belgian 1.030 120
4.4 0.63 lbs. Aromatic Malt Belgium 1.036 25
3.5 0.50 lbs. Crystal 40L America 1.034 40
3.5 0.50 lbs. Honey Malt Canada 1.030 18
2.6 0.38 lbs. Maris Otter Pale Malt Great Britain 1.038 3
1.5 0.22 lbs. Scottish Peated Malt 1.038 5

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.

Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 oz. Northern Brewer Whole 6.50 20.1 60 min.
1.00 oz. Goldings - E.K. Whole 6.00 14.2 30 min.
0.75 oz. Goldings - E.K. Whole 6.00 5.0 10 min.


Yeast
-----

SS Brewery Scottish Heavy
 
Pull off a pint or so of both and bottle the test mix. If you underfill your bottles slightly and primie w/ corn sugar, they'll carb very quickly. You could have a well-carbed couple of test bottles in a week or less.
 
When I do this, I use 19 oz Bass bottles (which look to be very sturdy) and fill them w/ about 16 ozs. Don't let them go more than a week, because they definitely tend to overcarb with that headspace in them. You'll have to figure out the right amount of priming sugar.

No matter how many times I've tasted uncarbed beer, I still have a hard time imagining how it will taste different when carbonated.
 
I have various-sized flip-top bottles...probably use one of them.

I might be able to tell without bottling, though. Who knows. But it can't hurt anyway. Should I dissolve the corn sugar in water first? Or will it be okay just tossing it into the beer?
 
Back
Top