Input needed on Recipe???

I am considering brewing this recipie this weekend (My first creation muhaa ha ha). Any input would be greatly appreciated. Has anyone used the Honey Malt and if so what were your results? There might be too much going on with this brew, but I wanted something on the sweet side with a citrusy, hoppy flavor. What type of beer would it be considered... Belgian??? It doesn't really matter as long as it tastes good.:cross:

Steeped at 170 for 30 mins:
1/2 lb Carapils
1/2 lb Flaked Oats
1/2 lb Cara 20º
1/2 lb Honey Malt

5lbs Extra Light DME
2lbs Wheat DME

1lb Minnesota Clover Honey (20 mins)
1lb Light Belgian Candi Sugar (5 mins not decided on this yet... might be too much)
1 oz Sweet Orange Peel (5 mins)
1/4 - 1/2 oz Coriander Seed (5mins)

1oz Hallertau Pellet (1 hr)
1/2 oz Styrian Goldings Pellet (5 mins)

1/2 oz Styrian Goldings Pellet (at flameout)

White Labs Abbey Ale WL530

Obviously extract with grain. I will do a partial boil because I am brewing on stovetop. I am also considering doing a late addition of the DME's maybe only 30 mins for them.
Thanks in advance for the comments.

Looks decent to me, but I'd go with either the honey or the candi sugar (and I'd go with the candi sugar as everything else leans towards a Belgian ale).

I agree; a pound each of honey and candi sugar might be a bit much. I love using honey in recipes. But, as the Baron said, your ingredients do lean towards a Belgian and candi sugar would fit right in there. It's your beer, but I'd save that honey for a pale ale.

Actually, I was a bit hasty in my response. The flaked oats in your grain bill must be mashed with a diastatic malt, otherwise they will just dissolve starch into your wort which won't be good. Even the carapils, while technically it can be steeped according to my understanding, will yield much better results if mashed. The honey malt has a low diastatic power and will convert itself, but not anything else. The cara 20 is perfect for steeping.

So basically, if you want to keep the flaked oats (I don't think they add a whole lot in this particular recipe) you really need to add some 2-row and do a partial mash. I'd go with probably 1.5# or so and get the most from the oats and the carapils. Or just drop the flaked oats.

Thanks for the advice Baron and Rhoobarb... I think that I may omit the honey and save it for an upcoming ale... also good point about the flaked oats and mashing so those will be put on hold too... I was thinking that flaked oats would help aid in head retention...

Other than that it looks good then???

Brew_Meister said:

Other than that it looks good then???

Click to expand...

Yep!567890

Another question about this brew.... I have toyed around the idea of using Belgian Candi Sugar to prime with when I get ready to bottle it.... What are your thoughts or experiences with this... and how much should I set aside to use for priming???

I would be tempted to keep your oats etc and throw in some 6-row for a partial mash.

Ok so I brewed it today... I decided to use the oats after all and use 1.5 lbs of 6-row too. I guess this would be my first partial or mini mash then. Also decided to use the honey and only half the candi sugar. I am planning on using the rest when priming. If anyone has suggestions as to how much belgian candi sugar to use for priming I am open to suggestions. Right now I think I am gonna go with 1/2 cup candi sugar and 3/4 cup DME. Here is my final recipe... it sure smells nice and has a nice light copper color. I hope it turns out good:

Mashed at 155 for 30 mins in 2 gallons water then sparged with 1 gallon water at 170:
1.5# 6-row
1/2# Carapils
1/2# Flaked Oats
1/2# Cara 20º
1/2# lb Honey Malt

5# Extra Light DME (3# added before boil, 2# added at 20 mins since I cannot do full boil... around 3 gallon boil)
2# Wheat DME (20 mins)

1# Minnesota Clover Honey (15 mins)
1/2# Light Belgian Candi Sugar (15 mins)
1 oz Sweet Orange Peel (5 mins)
2 tsp oz Crushed Coriander Seed (5mins)

2 oz Styrian Goldings Pellet (45 mins)
1 oz Hallertau Pellet (20 mins)
1 oz Hallertau Pellet (5 mins)
1 oz Tettnanger (at flameout)

White Labs Abbey Ale WL530
EST SG: 1.072
OG: 1.066 IBU: 26

Now it just needs a name... I am open to suggestions for this also....

The flaked oats in your grain bill must be mashed with a diastatic malt, otherwise they will just dissolve starch into your wort which won't be good.

Click to expand...

unless they are pre-gelatinized

budbo said:

unless they are pre-gelatinized

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The gelatinization only applies to the starches...they are what are pregelatinized so a separate 'cereal mash' is not required. But they still must be mashed with diastatic grains to convert the starches.

Same with the honey malt. It's distatic power is so low it can't even convert itself.

I use honey malt quite often. It imparts a very sweet (munich like) flavor and in larger amounts a very slight sour taste. I've been to the gambrinus factory in Armstrong BC and have talked with Matthias why this is so. Basically the grain is malted in such a way as it is comparable to an borderline over ripe fruit and then kilned at a very high temp to get the sweetness. You should use for less than 30% of your grain bill with under 20% advised due tot he need for a high diastatic malt like 2 row to convert it.

I use honey malt in an IPA and Hoppy amber. You can barely notice the 55 IBU's, but then I used it for 20% of my grain bill.

You can replace several Kilo's of Munich for a half kilo of Honey Malt.

Hope that helps. If you have any questions you can call Gambrinus at:250-546-8911 or email [email protected]

Brew_Meister said:

Ok so I brewed it today... I decided to use the oats after all and use 1.5 lbs of 6-row too. I guess this would be my first partial or mini mash then. Also decided to use the honey and only half the candi sugar. I am planning on using the rest when priming. If anyone has suggestions as to how much belgian candi sugar to use for priming I am open to suggestions. Right now I think I am gonna go with 1/2 cup candi sugar and 3/4 cup DME.

Click to expand...

That recipe sounds good with the oats. I think you're going to end up with a nice smooth belgian blonde similar to Leffe Blonde.

This is just opinion, but I'd prime with corn sugar alone. Candi sugar is sucrose, so 3.4oz of sucrose will give you 2.2 volumes of CO2 assuming it's a 5 US gallon batch. 3.6oz of corn sugar will give you the same. The amount of DME depends on the brand. Mixing the DME & candi sugar is just confusing things and you might find it difficult to get a predictable results.

How much carbonation are you after?

Thanks for the input and advice. I am after a carbonation level that is somewhere between medium and high. The only reason that I thought I might use the Candi sugar is because I only used 1/2# in the recipie. I decided to go with the honey, hopefully giving it a slightly sweet taste and use only half the candi sugar because I didn't want it to have too strong of an alcohol flavor. Maybe I should just save the Candi Sugar for another recipie and stick with DME or corn sugar.

I racked my Belgian to the secondary today... I usually go with 7 days, but I am busy this weekend so I had to cut it short. I brewed on 30 July so 5 days in primary. One thing that I noticed was that it is very very cloudy... much more cloudy than my other brews at this point. Also this was my first partial mash. I am wondering if maybe I didnt do the mash correctly and leave too many starches in my brew? Would that cause this? Also, now that I am writing this I remembered that this is also the first recipe that I didnt use Irish Moss maybe that is the culprit? Any input on this would be great.

Bump! Any thoughts on the cloudy brew???

I like to drink cloudy beers...but that doesn't help you