Apple Beer Recipe: Thoughts and Suggestions

[oboelestoe]

I'm making an apple beer, and I've been fiddling around with another recipe that I found on here. Any thoughts or suggestions would be very helpful, and I appreciate constructive criticism. Thanks!

Here's what I have so far:

Steep-to-Convert:

1 lbs Caramel Briess 80L
.25 lbs flaked oats (looking for the mouthfeel that the oats give)

Fermentables:

3 lbs Munton's Amber LME
3 lbs Munton's Plain Light DME
2 lbs wildflower honey

Hops:

1 oz Cascade
1 oz Hallertau

Yeast:

2 packets of Danstar Nottingham ale yeast

Spices and Fruit:

1 whole nutmeg roughly crushed (20 minutes)
3 cinnamon sticks (20 minutes)
2 whole cloves (10 minutes)
1 teaspoon ginger (10 minutes)
1 lbs apples (in muslin bag in boil)
5 lbs blanched fresh apples (in secondary)

So here are my issues so far:

I'm not sure how long I should be putting the hops in for. I'm thinking 60 minutes for the Cascade and 30 minutes for the Hallertau, but I don't know why. Help with that would be great.

I'm also wondering about my spices and how long I should toss them in the boil. Also, will the apples in the muslin bag during the boil be problematic/will they even make any difference? I'm trying to draw out that appley-flavor, so I'm looking for ideas on the best way to do this. The apples in the secondary is interesting to me, but I'm not sure about the best way to do it. Thanks for any and all help!

PS. I already looked at EdWort's Apfelwein. And I made it! I'm looking to do an apple flavored beer now.

 

[Yooper]

You can't "steep to convert" oats. They must be mashed with a base malt. I'd either add more oats (.25 pounds won't do much at all) and add an equal amount of two-row, or leave them out.

I wouldn't use a pound of 80L and amber extract in the same recipe- it'll double up on the crystal malt (as it's in amber extract already) and the 80L can be sort of "dark" tasting. If you want some sweetness, use the crystal, or a lower lovibond crystal (20L-40L) and light extract.

You don't need two packages of dry yeast- one is enough. If you're using nottingham, ferment at 65 or so or lower.

I have no idea about the spices, as I haven't added that kind of stuff to any of my beers but I'm sure other recipes and brewers can help with that.

I wouldn't use cascade for a spice beer. I'd use hallertauer for bittering, at 60 minutes, in the amount you need to give you about 20 IBUs or so. An online brewing calculator can help with that. I'd not use any other hops, as they can conflict with the flavor of the spices if you're not careful.

 

[oboelestoe]

So maybe bring the oats to 1 lb. and bring in 1 lb. two-row pale malt for the steep-to-convert? Would that be enough to get the mouthfeel I'm looking for?

And you're saying keep the 1 lb. 80L and substitute the Amber LME for a light LME?

Based on your advice I checked the IBU calculator and it looks like 1.5 oz of the Hallertau will bring it to 20 IBU.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[DidYouSayBeer]

So how'd it turn out? Did you take an original and final gravity reading? I'm wondering how well one or two packs of the yeast worked