Cream Ale Recipe

[fuznutz04]

Hi guys,

I'll be brewing my first all grain batch this weekend. I'll be using the new BIAB method. I'll be using Northern Brewer's recipe for the cream ale:

MASH INGREDIENTS
-- 7 lbs. Rahr 2-Row Pale
-- 0.75 lbs. Gambrinus Honey Malt
-- 0.25 lbs. Belgian Biscuit malt

HOPS
-- 1 oz Cluster (60 min)

YEAST
Wyeast 1056 American Ale.

Since I will lose some efficiency from the BIAB method, I've been reading that I should bump up the grain bill. The question is, how much should I bump up this grain bill, and by how much for each ingredient? For example, if I bump up the 2-row base malt only, will that effect the overall profile of the beer if I don't adjust the specialty grains as well?

 

[Yooper]

Hi guys,

I'll be brewing my first all grain batch this weekend. I'll be using the new BIAB method. I'll be using Northern Brewer's recipe for the cream ale:

MASH INGREDIENTS
-- 7 lbs. Rahr 2-Row Pale
-- 0.75 lbs. Gambrinus Honey Malt
-- 0.25 lbs. Belgian Biscuit malt

HOPS
-- 1 oz Cluster (60 min)

YEAST
Wyeast 1056 American Ale.

Since I will lose some efficiency from the BIAB method, I've been reading that I should bump up the grain bill. The question is, how much should I bump up this grain bill, and by how much for each ingredient? For example, if I bump up the 2-row base malt only, will that effect the overall profile of the beer if I don't adjust the specialty grains as well?

Hmm, you know what I think I'd do? First, keep the specialty malts the same. You don't want more honey or biscuit malt in there. But, I'd keep some corn sugar or honey on hand and add that to boost the SG if you miss your desired OG by much. A cream ale is a light crisp thin beer, like an American light lager, and honey or corn sugar would work great in that recipe, up to a pound or so.

 

[bmunos]

This is just me but I do all grain when it's nice out and mini brew in a bag sessions when it's not (or there is good football on tv) but I actually improve efficiency for brew in a bag. Have the grains double milled and you should be fine the way it is

 

[Doed]

Why do you think you will lose some efficiency doing BIAB? My efficiency using BIAB is 75-80%. I do crush my own grain. That would be my suggestion to you. Make sure that your grain is crushed very well. BIAB doesn't have to worry about a stuck sparge so a much finer grain crush will usually increase your efficiency.

 

[pvtschultz]

Using full-volume, double crushed grains, I get 70%-75% efficiency depending on grain bill. Based on 8 lbs of grain, you should get around 1.042 OG for 5 gallons which is right at the bottom of style. I would add another pound of base malt to get to 1.048 or add DME/Fructose after the mash to get to your preboil gravity.

 

[fuznutz04]

I have just been reading about losing efficiency with BIAB. I really have no idea or experience with it since this will be my first run this weekend. I cant mill my own grains. So, I guess I would just ask the HBS to mill it, and then run it through the mill again?

 

[pvtschultz]

Yeah, just have them run it through twice. My local NB has their mill set to 0.040" and running it through twice has done trick for me.

 

[bmunos]

Same here

 

[fuznutz04]

So I picked up everything on the weekend. my LHBS refused to crush the grains twice. I have no idea why...

However, I brewed with the bag and so far, so good. I must have mashed correctly, because the fermentation was so strong, that I had my first blow out. It didnt help that I started the fermentation in a 5 gal carboy. Should have used a 6. Lesson learned.

If this beer turns out good, I am sold on BIAB! I have to tweak the amount of water I use though. I had about probably 1/2 gallon left over in the boil pot that would not fit into the fermenter. Again, if I would have used a 6 gal carboy, this probably wouldnt be a problem.

Thanks for the tips.

 

[daksin]

BIAB is great. You can even improve your efficiency to incredible levels by double crushing and adding a single batch sparge. That's what I do, and adding that sparge really increases the amount of grain you can mash. I did a 23lb all grain barleywine in my 8 gallon pot and sparged in my 7.5 gallon boil kettle.

 

[zachattack]

Did you take hydrometer readings? How was your efficiency?

 

[fuznutz04]

Did you take hydrometer readings? How was your efficiency?

I took a hydrometer reading, and it was only 1.026. SO i guess that is pretty low. I'm not sure of the efficiency is, or how to calculate it quickly, but i knew that was lower than expected. So I had a 1/2 lb of DME laying around that I added to the boil. After the boil, i took another reading of 1.042.

I'm sure a double crush would have helped alot. Too bad they wouldn't do it for me. I still have no idea why.

 

[bigdaddybrew]

Add a pound of flaked corn. Traditionally cream ales used flaked corn to lighten the body. Adds a nice familiar american beer flavor.

 

[Vendrixfly]

The great thing about a full-volume BIAB is that the water/grain ratio is so thin that even if you don't sparge there is enough water in the kettle to shake those sugars off efficiently during the mash-out, which should be stirred up to temp at all times. You can even see and feel the solution getting thinner as it approaches mash-out temps...which means it's working.