Please eviserate my recipe :)

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lwcm

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Howdy,

I only have a 4 gallon pot at the moment but I wanted to do something more complex with a partial mash recipe for a belgian imperial stout.

Here's the recipe:

Fermentables:

To mash:
7 lbs Warminster Floor Malted Maris Otter
0.5 lbs English Black Roast
0.5 lbs Belgian Special B
0.5 lbs Chocolate Malt
0.5 lbs Carafa III

Also
6 lbs Light DME
1 lb Corn sugar

Hops:
1 3/4 oz Summit (60 min)
2 oz Cascade (0 min)

Yeast:
Trappist High Gravity Wyeast 3787

What does the hive mind think?
 
If you can get some extra dark belgian aromatic sugar to substitute for the corn sugar I think that would add more complexity. Brewer's Garden by Brewcraft sells it. Otherwise, rock on.
 
Looks like too much carafa and too much black malt for me. Are you trying to make an imperial stout with belgian yeast or an imperial stout that's all belgian? Your recipe is very American/British imperial stout-inspired, aside from the special b. The only thing really making it belgian is the yeast. If you want more of that belgian flavor, look at subbing in some dark candy syrup, darker crystal grains, etc.
 
We rarely agree on anything here. On very rare occasions, if we have a specific and simple question, we can reach a consensus with a few dissenters. Hardly a hive mind....
 
Have you tried to mash 9lbs of grains in a 4 gallon pot before? That would basically be a full mash for a lot of styles. I suspect you are going to need to cut that down and make up for it with some more DME.
 
billl said:
Have you tried to mash 9lbs of grains in a 4 gallon pot before? That would basically be a full mash for a lot of styles. I suspect you are going to need to cut that down and make up for it with some more DME.

+1 - Good point by Billl. The max that pot will mash is 9.6 lbs and your efficiency is going to suck at that. Better to drop 3 lbs of MO for 2 lbs of DME.

I would also look at each of your specialty grains and list why they should be there. It seems like Belgian Debittered Black Malt could easily replace the English Black Roast and the Carafa III.
 
Thanks for all the feedback! My goal is to smash a belgian dark strong ale and a RIS together and make a baby. One of my very favorite commercial beers is Weyerbacher's Tiny so I'm trying to semi-clone it.

I've never done PM or AG so it's good to know that I'm a wee bit optimistic in my mash plans. I may sub the light DME for Northern Brewer's MO LME since I wanted MO as the base malt anyhow. I could just make it all extract but I wanted to try PM for the first time.

Honestly the only grain I really want in there is the Special B as I find that in most dark belgian recipe's in one amount or another. I definitely want the raisin flavor mixing with the more traditional RIS ingredients. I still want the bite of a stout so perhaps some roast barley. Still VERY new to going out on my own recipe-wise so the feedback is appreciated.

How about:

0.5 Lb Special B
0.5 lb Roast barley
1 lb dark belgian candi sugar (does this actually do anything that regular sugar won't?)
0.25 lb Carapils

What I'm looking for is a rich and layered taste from the different malts. Am I on the right track?
 
I suggest mashing with 3-4 lbs. grain. This is what I do when I brew via Partial Mash/BIAB indoors with my 4.2 gal kettle (though I have another smaller kettle that I mash in). The beers come out just right. The rest should be approx 3-4 lbs. DME and sugar which will bring you up to 1.065-1.075 OG on average.
 
Why is that Bob? At 1.25 quart/lb I'd be using less than a gallon of water according to Can I mash It? the water plus grain would take up 1.2 gallons of space. I have a LOT left over so why not mash more? Grain is cheaper than LME or DME. If I mashed 8 lbs of grain that would use about 75% of the available space in my pot. Not trying to be argumentative just curious why you wouldn't mash the max-ish that your pot can handle?
 
I'd also like to add that I'm shooting for an OG of around 1.100 or so :)
 
0.5 Lb Special B
0.5 lb Roast barley
1 lb dark belgian candi sugar (does this actually do anything that regular sugar won't?)
0.25 lb Carapils

looks good, but i'd ditch the carapils. it's not necessary, plus its already contained in your extract. depending on how much roast you want, i'd consider bringing back the chocolate or carafa. IMO, i'd go 6-8lbs grains and cover the rest with extract/sugar.

yes, dark candi syrup adds more flavor than sucrose which adds none. it'll help with the raisin character you're shooting for. don't use the rocks, use the syrup or make your own.
 
How would you go about making your own? If I can avoid paying north of $6/lb that'd be a plus.
 
I don't know if this was covered yet so I will say it anyways. Only mash the Maris Otter and then steep the specialty grains per your usual methods to save room in the mash tun.
 
just curious why you wouldn't mash the max-ish that your pot can handle?

As a "veteran" of all of three partial mashes, I can tell you, you'll probably use more water than you planned to hit your temperatures the first couple times, especially if you're doing a mash-out as well as the main mash. Better to start small and have room for a couple extra quarts if you need 'em than the alternative...
 
why you wouldn't mash the max-ish that your pot can handle?

Another point is that my 5 gallon pot is right up to the rim with 5 gallons of water in it. There is absolutely no way to stir without it sloshing all over the place. I'd much rather have at least of couple inches of leeway.
 
Tiny is a great brew but not all that roasty.....use all your roasted malt at vourlauf....it sounds interesting...can't wait wait to hear how it turns out.
 
I think I need to pick up another bottle of 6 of Tiny for...you know...research :).

Been away from HBT but glad to read all the responses. EXCELLENT point on saving some room in the pot for adjustments on temp. I got a MAJOR upgrade on my brew gear for my birthday and now have a 12.5 gal pot and a Blichmann floor burner so I'm pondering going the AG route with this. Not certain yet.

@steelersbrun: How do you use the roasted grains at vorlauf? I've heard it mentioned before but never researched further.
 
@steelersbrun: How do you use the roasted grains at vorlauf? I've heard it mentioned before but never researched further.[/QUOTE]

Simple....just don't add the roasted grain until after your sac rest. Just stir them in just before vorlauf and that's it.
 
My setup is very similar to the OP's. 10 lbs BIAB is about the max I can do in a 4 gallon pot. Leaving 1" of head space it only fits about one quart of water per pound of grain. My efficiency suffers because of it at around 60% even with a dunk sparge. It probably doesn't help that I like a high wheat percentage on my beers either. Steeping the specialty grains is a good idea as well. It will reduce your ferment-ability a little, so if you want a little more sweetness this will work in your favor.
 
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