So I've decided that my true love really is rich, malty beer. I can easily enjoy a hop bomb and everything in between, but I find my self longing for that rich malty mouth orgasm after a while. So I have decided I will pursue the ultimate malt bomb!
My only hang up is that I have a 5 gal MLT to work with, so I obviously can't cram too much grain in there and be done with it, but I think I can actually take advantage of that!
My current theory (and I just thought of doing this, so bear with me) is to figure out the grain bill I want and split it into two manageable batches that I can fit into my 5 gal MLT. I'll mash the first batch low, 152F-154F, collect the first runnings and immediately start the boil on them. I may consider doing a decoction to get the mash up to 168F to get as much sugar as possible. The idea for the lower mash here is to get as much fermentable sugar as possible converted and then let the maillard reactions and caramelisation go to town while mashing the second batch.
Once I have the first runnings of batch #1 heating up for boil, clear out the MLT and in goes batch #2. I would mash this higher, up around 158F, and I am considering carefully taking some of the boiling wort form batch #1 to bring batch #2 up to mash out temp, then drain, combine, and boil again for another hour. A variant on this method would be to partion off ~1 to 1.5gal of the first runnings and boil that separately to really get some caramelisation going and then use that to add back into batch #2 to reach the mash out temp.
I'd shoot for a single hop additon at 60 min to add no more than 25 IBU, and an OG of about 1.100. I'm going to have a think about the potential grain bill to build for this now... I'm thinking of trying to keep as much of the grain bill as base grain as possible (I'd use MO), and count on wort caramelisation and Maillard reactions to yield colour. Any suggestions would be welcome!
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Grain bill (total):
Batch #1 - mash 152F for 60 mins (1.4 qt/lbs), decoct to mash out temp (168F), start boil while batch #2 is mashing. Expected OG: ~1.095 with 60% eff.
Batch #2 - mash 158F (1.25 qt/lbs), 60 mins, bring to mash out temp (168F) with boiling wort from batch #1. Expected OG: ~1.095 with 60% eff.
Yeast - WLP037 Yorkshire Square
Hops - Fuggles, max 25 IBU
My only hang up is that I have a 5 gal MLT to work with, so I obviously can't cram too much grain in there and be done with it, but I think I can actually take advantage of that!
My current theory (and I just thought of doing this, so bear with me) is to figure out the grain bill I want and split it into two manageable batches that I can fit into my 5 gal MLT. I'll mash the first batch low, 152F-154F, collect the first runnings and immediately start the boil on them. I may consider doing a decoction to get the mash up to 168F to get as much sugar as possible. The idea for the lower mash here is to get as much fermentable sugar as possible converted and then let the maillard reactions and caramelisation go to town while mashing the second batch.
Once I have the first runnings of batch #1 heating up for boil, clear out the MLT and in goes batch #2. I would mash this higher, up around 158F, and I am considering carefully taking some of the boiling wort form batch #1 to bring batch #2 up to mash out temp, then drain, combine, and boil again for another hour. A variant on this method would be to partion off ~1 to 1.5gal of the first runnings and boil that separately to really get some caramelisation going and then use that to add back into batch #2 to reach the mash out temp.
I'd shoot for a single hop additon at 60 min to add no more than 25 IBU, and an OG of about 1.100. I'm going to have a think about the potential grain bill to build for this now... I'm thinking of trying to keep as much of the grain bill as base grain as possible (I'd use MO), and count on wort caramelisation and Maillard reactions to yield colour. Any suggestions would be welcome!
***********************************************************
Grain bill (total):
- 17# Maris Otter (77.4%)
- 3# Dark Munich (13.6%)
- 1# Amber Malt (4.5%)
- 1# Flaked Barley (4.5%)
Batch #1 - mash 152F for 60 mins (1.4 qt/lbs), decoct to mash out temp (168F), start boil while batch #2 is mashing. Expected OG: ~1.095 with 60% eff.
- 8# Maris Otter
- 3# Dark Munich
Batch #2 - mash 158F (1.25 qt/lbs), 60 mins, bring to mash out temp (168F) with boiling wort from batch #1. Expected OG: ~1.095 with 60% eff.
- 9# Maris Otter
- 1# Amber Mal
- 1# Flaked Barley
Yeast - WLP037 Yorkshire Square
Hops - Fuggles, max 25 IBU
