Help me with a Grocery Brew

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HiGravShawn

HiGravShawn

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Okay, I have some various milled grains I need to get rid of. I have plenty of hops so that's not an issue, but only about 4 lbs of grain. I have some honey and oatmeal too, but the recipe is still lacking. I don't want to use any sugar since it's already going to be kind of light bodied, but I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on things I might find at a local supermarket on the cheap I could use to brew before payday. I know this will be an unconventional brew, but I'm willing to waste these tidbits to see what happens. Right now it's sitting at like OG=1.031 and I would like it to get around at least 1.039 so if anyone could recommend types of grain I may find at a supermarket that may be usable without fancy modifications, I would appreciate it.

Current Recipe:

ClearTheCabinets Honey Mild (5 gallons)
2.5# Crystal 80
1.5# G. Honey malt
0.5# Crystal 20
1.0# Quick Oats
0.5# Clover Honey

0.8 oz Goldings @ 60
Irish Moss
SafAle 04
Yeast Nutrient

Going to mash at 154 for 60 min
Carb it to like 2.6 vols

THANKS in advance!
 
HiGravShawn said:
Okay, I have some various milled grains I need to get rid of. I have plenty of hops so that's not an issue, but only about 4 lbs of grain. I have some honey and oatmeal too, but the recipe is still lacking. I don't want to use any sugar since it's already going to be kind of light bodied, but I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on things I might find at a local supermarket on the cheap I could use to brew before payday. I know this will be an unconventional brew, but I'm willing to waste these tidbits to see what happens. Right now it's sitting at like OG=1.031 and I would like it to get around at least 1.039 so if anyone could recommend types of grain I may find at a supermarket that may be usable without fancy modifications, I would appreciate it.

Current Recipe:

ClearTheCabinets Honey Mild (5 gallons)
2.5# Crystal 80
1.5# G. Honey malt
0.5# Crystal 20
1.0# Quick Oats
0.5# Clover Honey

0.8 oz Goldings @ 60
Irish Moss
SafAle 04
Yeast Nutrient

Going to mash at 154 for 60 min
Carb it to like 2.6 vols

THANKS in advance!
Click to expand...

Check out https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/gap-grocery-produce-beer-experiment-69313/. It has lots of ideas. Good luck!
 
You can find quick barley, rice, oatmeal at the store. Or just only brew 3 gal or so.
 
I've been reading through that thread Bopper and there's some useful info, but they are trying to really push the boundaries. I guess the question I should be asking is what sort of terminology or packaging should I look for to recognize useful grains vs ones that would require malting or other time consuming processes.

BenS: So "Quick" (just like my Quick Oats) may be available in other grains. I'll definitely keep an eye out. I may switch to 3 gallons depending on my luck, but I love a challenge (if it's a quick, cheap, easy challenge :) )
 
Bopper: Oooohhh I did just notice something I missed in that thread before... Sweet Potato. There's a local brewery making a sweet potato stout so don't know why that didn't jump out at me. Bet that would be delicious with all the honey.
 
HiGravShawn said:
Okay, I have some various milled grains I need to get rid of. I have plenty of hops so that's not an issue, but only about 4 lbs of grain. I have some honey and oatmeal too, but the recipe is still lacking. I don't want to use any sugar since it's already going to be kind of light bodied, but I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on things I might find at a local supermarket on the cheap I could use to brew before payday. I know this will be an unconventional brew, but I'm willing to waste these tidbits to see what happens. Right now it's sitting at like OG=1.031 and I would like it to get around at least 1.039 so if anyone could recommend types of grain I may find at a supermarket that may be usable without fancy modifications, I would appreciate it.

Current Recipe:

ClearTheCabinets Honey Mild (5 gallons)
2.5# Crystal 80
1.5# G. Honey malt
0.5# Crystal 20
1.0# Quick Oats
0.5# Clover Honey

0.8 oz Goldings @ 60
Irish Moss
SafAle 04
Yeast Nutrient

Going to mash at 154 for 60 min
Carb it to like 2.6 vols

THANKS in advance!
Click to expand...

You don't have enough malt in there that will convert starch to sugar. The honey malt can do a little work but not enough to convert unmalted grain or other starch sources. The other problem I see is that you have 3 pounds of caramel malt in there and it will be unbearably sweet.
 
I was about to post something similar to what BobbyM did. Just 1.5# Honey malt in a 1.040 beer (even with zero crystal malt) would be pretty sweet.

IMO, don't try to clear out the grain bin in just one brew, it often leads to a subpar brew that ends up essentially being a waste of malt. You can always use the Crystal/Honey malts later. Just stock up on more base malts next time. As long as you have base malt you can make good beer, maybe not the exact style you're craving, but good beer nonetheless.
 

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