Specialty Grains
- Thread starter msmith92
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With mostly unfermentable sugars that give color & flavor,yes.
msmith92
Well-Known Member
Interesting. So, I have some extra grains laying around and I had purchased everything else for the following recipe. Any thoughts on what kind of beer this would be?
Type: Extract w/grain Size: 5.00 gallons
Color:
45 HCU (~20 SRM)
Bitterness: 14 IBU
OG: 1.052 FG: 1.012
Alcohol: 5.2% v/v (4.1% w/w)
Grain:
2 lb. Belgian biscuit
2 lb. American crystal 20L
2 lb. British crystal 50-60L
Boil: 60minutes SG 1.105 2.5 gallons
3 lb. Light malt extract
1.5 lb. Light dry malt extract
Hops: 1 oz. Kent Goldings (5% AA, 60 min.)
1 oz. Kent Goldings (5% AA, 15 min.)
Type: Extract w/grain Size: 5.00 gallons
Color:
45 HCU (~20 SRM)
Bitterness: 14 IBU
OG: 1.052 FG: 1.012
Alcohol: 5.2% v/v (4.1% w/w)
Grain:
2 lb. Belgian biscuit
2 lb. American crystal 20L
2 lb. British crystal 50-60L
Boil: 60minutes SG 1.105 2.5 gallons
3 lb. Light malt extract
1.5 lb. Light dry malt extract
Hops: 1 oz. Kent Goldings (5% AA, 60 min.)
1 oz. Kent Goldings (5% AA, 15 min.)
It looks undrinkable to me- way too sweet (4 pounds of crystal!), with way too much biscuit malt, sorry to say.
As an example of how much to add, I'm doing a recipe that calls for 4 ounces of bisquit malt for 5 gallons and it will be enough to give the batch the proper flavor.
msmith92
Well-Known Member
No feelings hurt here.
So, I'm just trying to get a grasp of what they do.
I'm confused because 6lbs of extract syrup tends to be alright in a recipe with 1lb of grains. but if I cut it down to 3lbs of syrup and 3lbs of grains it gets to sweet or syrupy?
No feelings hurt here.
So, I'm just trying to get a grasp of what they do.
I'm confused because 6lbs of extract syrup tends to be alright in a recipe with 1lb of grains. but if I cut it down to 3lbs of syrup and 3lbs of grains it gets to sweet or syrupy?
Well, this is more complicated than that. Because, I make beer with 10 pounds of grains and no syrup- but it depends on the kind of grains.
I'll use a cooking analogy here. Specialty grains are like spices in spaghetti sauce. They bring color, flavor, aroma, and great things to the beer just as onions and garlic and oregano help make the spaghetti sauce great.
But you wouldn't make a spaghetti sauce with 4 pounds of onions and 1 jar of tomato sauce. You'd want the tomato sauce to be the major component.
The same is true with beer. You want base malt (LME, DME or base grains) for the "base" of the beer. You will add some biscuit malt (garlic in my analogy), and some crystal malt (onions), with some hops (oregano).
The key is balance.
Some grains ARE base grains, but "specialty" grains are the grains that don't require mashing and instead can be thought of as the "spices" in your wort.
I hope that makes sense!
In your recipe, you can cut the biscuit malt to .5 pound, and the total crystal to 1 pound, and have a nice beer. If you need the OG to be higher, increase the base malt extract, NOT the specialty grains.
msmith92
Well-Known Member
msmith92
Well-Known Member
How about this?
Beer: PARTIAL MASH BITTER Style: English Ordinary Bitter
Type: Partial mash Size: 5.00 gallons
Color:
7 HCU (~6 SRM)
Bitterness: 26 IBU
OG: 1.045 FG: 1.012
Alcohol: 4.3% v/v (3.4% w/w)
Grain: 3.5 lb. American 2-row
.25 lb. Belgian biscuit
.5 lb. American crystal 10L
Mash: 70% efficiency
Boil: minutes SG 1.090 2.5 gallons
3.15 lb. Light malt extract
Hops: 1 oz. Kent Goldings (5% AA, 60 min.)
.5 oz. Kent Goldings (5% AA, 30 min.)
.5 oz. Kent Goldings (5% AA, 15 min.)
1 oz. Willamette (5% AA, 15 min.)
Beer: PARTIAL MASH BITTER Style: English Ordinary Bitter
Type: Partial mash Size: 5.00 gallons
Color:
7 HCU (~6 SRM)
Bitterness: 26 IBU
OG: 1.045 FG: 1.012
Alcohol: 4.3% v/v (3.4% w/w)
Grain: 3.5 lb. American 2-row
.25 lb. Belgian biscuit
.5 lb. American crystal 10L
Mash: 70% efficiency
Boil: minutes SG 1.090 2.5 gallons
3.15 lb. Light malt extract
Hops: 1 oz. Kent Goldings (5% AA, 60 min.)
.5 oz. Kent Goldings (5% AA, 30 min.)
.5 oz. Kent Goldings (5% AA, 15 min.)
1 oz. Willamette (5% AA, 15 min.)
WyomingBrewer
Well-Known Member
Just me maybe, but .5 lbs of Crystal 10L doesnt seem to do a whole lot. I suggest using .5 lbs of the 50-60L Crystal you have. That will add more color and a slight sweetness. I would also add the 1 oz Willamette at flame out. with the 3.5 lbs. 2 - row, are you doing a partial mash? If that's the intent you need to do a mash. If you're not trying a partial mash I would drop the 2 - Row and double up on the Light LME adding the second half at flame out. That will change your gravity readings and alcohol content. 3 lbs of grains does not equal 3 lbs. of extract. Maybe I missed something?
Edit: It is a partial mash. I still am of the oppinion that .5 lb 10L doesnt do much. But that's my oppinion. Im sure you will get varying oppinions on it. If 10L is what you want to use I would increase the amount.
I've used crystal 10 in a bitter, but it would be more of a "summer bitter", light.
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