Brew experiment

So I have been trying different ingredients. My last batch I put potatoes in it and the batch befor I did oatmeal.

I want to do a set of batches exactly the same except for the main fermentable. I'm thinking this will give me the chance to determine the different fermentables taist post fermentation and carbonation.

I'm wondering if anyone has any advice to achieve this goal? How should my process go? What yeast and hops combo will be light and bring out the fermentables flavors? Any advice is welcom.

-T

Being a newbie to home brewing I can offer no advice however I will be very interested in your results. How are you converting the starches to sugar? I was reading somewhere about using lentils which I thought might be interesting but just at the moment I'm doing everything quite conservatively so I can have a benchmark to work from.

+1 for lentils...and please report back with results, we are all curious.

I will might be a while though.

I was planning on using alfa enzymes to convert the starches. I have successfully used the mastication method mentioned in another post of mine I'll have to dig it up. Basically you chew up and spit out a starch.

I'll have to add lentils to the list. I have had a beer made with chest nuts and it was the closest thing I've had to a "real" beer since I was diagnosed celiac.

-T

FWIW, the enzymes you use will change the properties of the finished beer quite a bit. So that's a variable to take into account. If you use a combo of alpha and beta amylase you'll get a different FG than just using alpha amylase.

My favorite way to do experiments is with Nottingham yeast and a noble hop like Spalt or Hallertauer. The Nottingham is a strong fermenter so you'll get a reliable ferment, and it's fairly clean so it won't cover up the subtleties of the base ingredient you're testing. But it still adds a touch of 'ale' aromas so you can start to get a sense for how the ingredient will fare with a more flavorful yeast.

15-20 IBU's with a noble hop, again, gives a nice hop flavor so you can see how the test ingredient melds with that. But they tend to be pretty mild so no pungent, resinous, or fruity notes overpower the flavors you're trying to test for.