Cali Common / Steam variant

Hello all. I'm hoping to brew a California Common ("Steam") style beer over this coming weekend and was hoping for some input.

My tentative recipe:

Steam Burns
5.5 gal batch
Est OG: 1.053
Est FG: 1.013
Brewhouse Eff: 70%
SRM: 11
IBU: 39

7.0 lbs Pale 2-row
2.0 lbs Munich
2.0 lbs Vienna
0.5 lbs CaraPils
0.125 lbs Roasted Barley

6.9 AAU Northern Brewer ~ 60 mins (31.5 IBU)
2.8 AAU Willamette ~ 20 mins (4.5 IBU)
2.8 AAU Willamette ~ 10 mins (2.7 IBU)

Wyeast California Lager (#2112) yeast

Single infusion mash at 152º for 90 mins. Batch sparge, boil, etc.


I've intentially avoided the caramel crystal malts, and added the Roasted Barley for color and (hopefully) a toasty couterbalance to the rest of the grain bill. Honestly, the whole recipe is open season, so shoot away

if you really want to taste that roasted barley flavor, you might want to up that amount a bit. 1/8 lb will definatly impart some amber color, but maybe not much flavor.

But, what the hell.. I say go for it as-is. It'll probably be really good and you can tweak it the next time around if the roasted barley doesn't stick out enough for your goal.

-walker

I'm trying a recipe as soon as my ingredients arrive which, while not for a CC, have a melanoidin malt which supposedly simulates the malty flavors resulting from decoction mashes. Apparently it is a good substitute for Munich and might result in, if not a "toasty counterbalance", a "malty counterbalance".

However, I've never used melanoidin malt...this will be my first try.

*nods*

On one hand, I want it to be detectable, but on the other hand I don't want it to scream "I should be a stout" as soon as you take a swig. I kind of wish there was tool that estimated flavor contribution. From the looks of things, I should be able to up it to perhaps 1/4 of a pound without making a huge impact on the overall flavor.

yeah.. i see what you mean about not wanting to over-do it. Just go for the 1/8#. Trust your instincts. Tweak it next time.

-walker

BeeGee said:

melanoidin malt

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sounds like a carcinogen or something you have removed from your buttocks.

-walker

Could eventually be removed from your buttocks, I suppose, depending...

Apparently, the melanoidin reaction (also known as the Maillard browning reaction) is related to caramelization of sugars. While this happens to some extent in the main boil, it is more prevalent and effective in a decoction boil during mashing. Many beers with malty characteristics are apparently traditionally brewed using a decoction mash.

Don't ask me...I just wanted to read a bit about melanoidin malt since I've never used it and didn't know what it was, yet I have some in the mail.

Interesting stuff, BeeGee. Looked around real quick, and from what I can gather, Melanoidin Malt is often made from Munich Malts. This lands it somewhere in between caramel crystal malts and munich, as it's toasted, but retains a good amount of fermentability. I don't think my LHBS carries it offhand, but I'll keep an eye out for it the next time I go.

My LHBS doesn't carry it, but I needed a few odds and ends such that with free shipping from Austin Homebrew it worked out better for me to order it than drive 44 miles / 1 hour roundtrip. I might ask them to stock some if it works out well, since I do generally prefer to patronize them despite the expense of the trip in the current petroleum situation. Or...I could try an actual decoction and arrive at the flavors honestly...

BeeGee said:

it worked out better for me to order it than drive 44 miles / 1 hour roundtrip.

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Holy cow. where the heck to you live in Raleigh? I'm, fortunately, only about 4 miles from AMerican Brewmaster.

-walker

Walker said:

Holy cow. where the heck to you live in Raleigh? I'm, fortunately, only about 4 miles from AMerican Brewmaster.

-walker

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I actually live in Fuquay which is about 15 miles south of Raleigh. We moved from Raleigh proper a little over a year ago. Combine that with AB's hours and the only time I can really get there is either on the way home from work Friday, or on the weekend (which eats up a good chunk of time). Therefore, internet is attractive, but I really like the shop and the guys as well as the advice, so I generally try to make the trip.

yeah.. good guys there. They already greet me like Norm at Cheers when I walk in, and I've only been here for 2.5 months. Of course, I've been in there maybe 7 times in that 2.5 months, but....

-walker

A quick update:

I finally moved the beast to secondary after spending 3 weeks in primary. Used the above grain bill with about 3 oz of the roasted barley. I upped the hops a bit to compensate for using leaf hops and to hopefully give it more ballance.

I ended up hitting an OG of 1.054 and a FG of 1.012. Tasted my gravity sample, flavor profile is pretty rough at the moment. Very malty kick in the face followed by some great hop flavors and all kinds of stuff in between. I'm thinking it'll be pretty tastey once it all comes together in a month or so.

LupusUmbrus said:

A quick update:

I finally moved the beast to secondary after spending 3 weeks in primary.

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Why so long in primary?

BeeGee said:

Why so long in primary?

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All my carboys have been full as I was waiting to get my kegging system put together. Took a little longer to get setup then I origanally planned. So I finally kegged two batches on Monday, which freed up the room needed to get this one moved

LupusUmbrus,
So how did this turn out? I want to try a CA common this weekend and got some "learning" to do. I have minimal months out here to do a lower ferment and figure I could get to about 56-60 degrees with my ferm chiller.

But, question I have for all is if the fermentation duration and process the same as ales of approx 1 week in primary and 2 in the secondary? I know you had it in the primary for 3 weeks but I think that was only because your secondaries were full right? Once it's racked and say the FG has been hit is it still important to keep it at the lower temp in the secondary?

desert, I honestly havn't tasted it since transferring it to secondary. It kept bubbling for 8 days or so, and just stuck in there for the reason you mentioned. At the time of transferring it was still very "green" tasting.

I think that once it hits FG, temps aren't much of a factor since fermentation is over, although I imagine a cold lagering period would affect the flavor profile.

Thanks for the update. I guess I'll still brew it this weekend. My Belgium Wit is a slow bugger and is in the secondary now (last time 5 weeks total) and this Common may be a longer run as well. At least I got two on tap currently and a porter ready when one of those runs dry. Might just have to purchase another 5g carboy if these two slow me down.

I may bottle this common though. I personally prefer to bottle the stuff I haven't done before instead of taking up keg space if it turns out not as good as hoped.