Help me with my recipes

[MrFancyPlants]

I am not new to brewing, but I haven’t really been into it for a while. I have a 15.5G torpedo keg that I have been spunding with a few oak staves in there inoculated with several yeasts. The pressure and volume of dregs has been tamping down the yeast character.

I ordered a 50 lb sack of pilsen DME, and a few pounds of hops 2#glacier, 2#northern brewer and 1#citra.

Give me some ideas on what to try next? A couple smashes first? Maybe a pseudo lager with the citra. Wee heavy ESB with the N. brewer and glacier.

We don’t seem to have any LHBS near Myrtle Beach where we just moved.

Current batch is a 7G hodgepodge double batch that should be around 6-7%: honey brown kit, chunks from the end of a sack of golden DME, 3/4 box of Honey Nut Cheerios, some amalyse enzyme, a couple scoops of Cocoa powder. All pitched onto half a keg of former batches of hops and dregs.
We’ll see if it is drinkable and is worth sharing over the holidays.
Honey nut chocolate stoutish anyone?

 

[MrFancyPlants]

I am not new to brewing, but I haven’t really been into it for a while. I have a 15.5G torpedo keg that I have been spunding with a few oak staves in there inoculated with several yeasts. The pressure and volume of dregs has been tamping down the yeast character.

I ordered a 50 lb sack of pilsen DME, and a few pounds of hops 2#glacier, 2#northern brewer and 1#citra.

Give me some ideas on what to try next? A couple smashes first? Maybe a pseudo lager with the citra. Wee heavy ESB with the N. brewer and glacier.

We don’t seem to have any LHBS near Myrtle Beach where we just moved.

Current batch is a 7G hodgepodge double batch that should be around 6-7%: honey brown kit, chunks from the end of a sack of golden DME, 3/4 box of Honey Nut Cheerios, some amalyse enzyme, a couple scoops of Cocoa powder. All pitched onto half a keg of former batches of hops and dregs.
We’ll see if it is drinkable and is worth sharing over the holidays.
Honey nut chocolate stoutish anyone?

If I were going to do a DME Pilsner SMASH 3way split batch with the citra, northern brewer, and glacier, what abv/hopping schedule should I shoot for?

 

[MrFancyPlants]

If I were going to do a DME Pilsner SMASH 3way split batch with the citra, northern brewer, and glacier, what abv/hopping schedule should I shoot for?

I read up on some NEIPA recipes and 1# hops is about right for a 6 gallon batch. So I am thinking to go for a hybrid ESB/NEIPA.
ESB style malt and hop profile, and NEIPA hopping schedule.

Fermentables

Amount	Fermentable	Cost	PPG	°L	Bill %
16 lb	Dry Malt Extract - Pilsen		42	2	82.2%
2 lb	Belgian - Aromatic		33	38	9.4%
1 lb	United Kingdom - Crystal 60L		34	60	4.7%
0.50 lb	Belgian - Special B		34	115	2.3%
0.10 lb	Belgian - De-Bittered Black		34	566	0.5%
0.20 lb	American - Chocolate		29	350	0.9%

 

[MrFancyPlants]

I read up on some NEIPA recipes and 1# hops is about right for a 6 gallon batch. So I am thinking to go for a hybrid ESB/NEIPA.
ESB style malt and hop profile, and NEIPA hopping schedule.

Fermentables

Amount	Fermentable	Cost	PPG	°L	Bill %
16 lb	Dry Malt Extract - Pilsen		42	2	82.2%
2 lb	Belgian - Aromatic		33	38	9.4%
1 lb	United Kingdom - Crystal 60L		34	60	4.7%
0.50 lb	Belgian - Special B		34	115	2.3%
0.10 lb	Belgian - De-Bittered Black		34	566	0.5%
0.20 lb	American - Chocolate		29	350	0.9%

Minimal bittering hops for the boil: .3 oz Columbus

6oz glacier + 6oz Norther brewer “pour over” hop stand. I’ll pour the wart over the hop sock into pre-chilled water.

6oz glacier + 6oz Northern brewer: dry hop. I am going to try a hop sock/ magnet setup, with a goal of dry hopping when the spunding wraps up.

Yeast: dried oak staves with hopefully only kveik yeast surviving. If it doesn’t take off within 48 hours, I’ll add s05.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

Minimal bittering hops for the boil: .3 oz Columbus

6oz glacier + 6oz Norther brewer “pour over” hop stand. I’ll pour the wart over the hop sock into pre-chilled water.

6oz glacier + 6oz Northern brewer: dry hop. I am going to try a hop sock/ magnet setup, with a goal of dry hopping when the spunding wraps up.

Yeast: dried oak staves with hopefully only kveik yeast surviving. If it doesn’t take off within 48 hours, I’ll add s05.

13 gallon batch^

 

[HM-2]

That malt bill feels much more like a Belgian dark strong than anything even ESB adjacent.

I'd drop everything but the Crystal 60 and a handful of chocolate for colour and maybe a touch of Special B (inauthentic but it does work well in an ESB) if you want something ESB-ish in terms of malt bill.

My personal inclination would be some kind of "wild IPA" using pilsner and a bit of the Crystal 60 to shoot for like...12 EBC with the Citra. Or go for a Belgian dark strong style malt bill and use the Glacier exclusively in the hope that the plum and berry is nice and forward.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

That malt bill feels much more like a Belgian dark strong than anything even ESB adjacent.

I'd drop everything but the Crystal 60 and a handful of chocolate for colour and maybe a touch of Special B (inauthentic but it does work well in an ESB) if you want something ESB-ish in terms of malt bill.

My personal inclination would be some kind of "wild IPA" using pilsner and a bit of the Crystal 60 to shoot for like...12 EBC with the Citra. Or go for a Belgian dark strong style malt bill and use the Glacier exclusively in the hope that the plum and berry is nice and forward.

I’m the past, herbal/minty is what I got out of the glacier/NB.
For the citra, I think I am going to smash on the yeast cake under high pressure for a pseudo lager. Hopefully I get my yeast issues ironed out.

The “hodgepodge” batch is cold crashing and I tasted some out of the keg.. It’s not bad, but I think I made a mistake adding the Saison yeast a few batches back. I never got any saison character, but I think the diastatic nature is thinning out the FG to 1.006.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

That malt bill feels much more like a Belgian dark strong than anything even ESB adjacent.

I'd drop everything but the Crystal 60 and a handful of chocolate for colour and maybe a touch of Special B (inauthentic but it does work well in an ESB) if you want something ESB-ish in terms of malt bill.

My personal inclination would be some kind of "wild IPA" using pilsner and a bit of the Crystal 60 to shoot for like...12 EBC with the Citra. Or go for a Belgian dark strong style malt bill and use the Glacier exclusively in the hope that the plum and berry is nice and forward.

I appreciate the input. I looked up a fullers recipe, and maybe a simpler malt bill would be better since I have so many variables run in the around already. And because I don’t have a LHBS near me, simpler malt bill will be easier to order.

Fullers 5G batch:

• 9.0 lb. (4.1 kg) English pale malt
• 1.0 lb. (454 kg) crystal 70° L
• 0.5 lb. (225 g) crystal 26° L

But I am working with pilsen as a base malt and 13G batch so maybe :

• 16 lb pilsen DME
• 2.0 lb. (454 kg) crystal 70° L
• 1.0 lb. (225 g) crystal 26° L

Should I bump up the c26 since I don’t have pale malt? The previous recipe I blended decreasing amounts of higher L malts.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

I have a pound of Fuggle to work with too. I forgot I ordered that.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

I brewed the thing. I was trying to go a little warm and fruity but my temp got way out of hand on the M15 Empire yeast. Up to 84f before I crashed it out.

And my tilt is on the fritz. I tried some magnet mountings and lost a couple and I think that might be sinking the tilt, so time for good old fashioned hydrometer.

I ended up going heavy on the British cara malts at 4lb and 20lbs Pilsner DME.

The excessive c malt and non maltriose digesting yeast may have covered up some off flavors based on the gravity sample taste test. It is still sweet and definitely malty. And not getting any of the lb of hops I put in yet, but it is early in the game. Or they are old hops. It was hard to find glacier, so maybe they are 10 years old.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

And it weighs in at 1.026, I thought it had stalled but I think that is what I get out of this yeast.
It may end up being decent mixed with some 1.004 leftover diastatic trash brew I made with old caked DME, a box of honey nut cheiros and some amalyse. I do wish it had more hops though I was trying for a NIPA style ESB, but a pound of glancingly applied hops didn’t work out so well. I do have more about another pound left, but I may need some hop tea to brighten it up and I’ve never done that.
I usually make my stuff way to bitter by eyeballing it on the boil. This time I used only mash hops and a hop spider bag, if that makes sense. I poured the hot concentrated wart into a muslin bag full of hops and let it drain into chilled water in the fermenter.
I thought it was a great idea in concept, but maybe the hops show up in a week or two. I guess I only added the ample dry hop yesterda

1.062 OG at ~14G, but I topped off to ~15G with some chilled water, dry hopped and set it outside to chill yesterday afternoon when it was reading 84f on the open ferment.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

I broke out some serving keg charges and dry hopper the rest. I figure I put this much effort (and hops) to give it NEPAness, I may as well lay the smack down on double dry hops.

I also dosed with some powdered MJ kveik. I want this beer to stand alone.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Make a list of factory beers you like, and ask yourself what needs to be improved. Then make your own versions.

 

[Kickass]

Kind of busy beers, in my opinion. If you like what you’re getting, that’s all that matters.

If you find it lackluster or you’re exhausted from all work, often is the case that simpler is better. “Better”, being highly subjective.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

Kind of busy beers, in my opinion. If you like what you’re getting, that’s all that matters.

If you find it lackluster or you’re exhausted from all work, often is the case that simpler is better. “Better”, being highly subjective.

Yes, I hear you.. I have a knack for over complicating things sometimes, but I also like getting a unique product.
Even cooking dinner I can’t follow a recipe to save my life. And sometimes the results are really spectacular, but I pay the price in lack of consistency.

I am going to attempt to reign in the complexity and do some clean batches coming up. And, I am going to keep a funky keg on hand that I’ll top off occasionally with other batches.

I still have hope for this ESB/NIPA after a few scares.. I’ll keep you updated.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

The ESB is down to 1.020. Pleasantly malty and the sweetness is fading. But zero hop presence. I was trying to make low bitterness, but high aroma, and I am getting nothing. Maybe I’ll mix in a hazy little thing or two when I transfer to a serving keg. Disappointed in the hop profile, but it is still very green.

I think they were old hops. They smelled ok in the bag, but not as in you face as they should be with pure hops.