Lawnmower beer recipe help

[rtstrider]

I'm in the process of creating a plain Jane, malt forward, lawnmower beer recipe and need some insight on bittering hops and carapils. I've been reading up on Munich Helles and the typical hop addition times and been working around that. It seems the typical hop addition is at 60 min and that's it unless someones wanting to get fancy lol So the question I have is would it matter if I used a noble hop at 60 min or say Magnum (I have a good bit left in the deep freezer) since it's a bittering addition only? The yeast I'm using is the local breweries house yeast which is pretty clean so it would work very well. Anywho here's the recipe I'm working with

Brew Method: BIAB
Boil Time: 90 min
Batch Size: 5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 6 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.040
Efficiency: 70% (brew house)

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.048
Final Gravity: 1.011
ABV (standard): 4.78%
IBU (tinseth): 17.19
SRM (morey): 3.09
Mash pH: 0

FERMENTABLES:
8.8 lb - Pilsner (97.8%)
0.2 lb - Carapils (Dextrine Malt) (2.2%)

HOPS:
1.1 oz - Hallertau Mittelfruh, Type: Pellet, AA: 3.75, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 17.19

Now that leads me to a few more questions. I want head retention more than body (no caramel malts) and would typically use white wheat around 5%. Would it be safe to use the 2% addition of carapils instead since it wouldn't contribute any flavor, or should I just stick with the 5% white wheat addition? The mash temp would be 152f for 60 min.

 

[kh54s10]

One thing that caught my eye is that you are going to boil for 90 minutes and only go from 1.040 to 1.048. Only a gain of 8 points? I get about 11 points with my rig in 60 minutes.

.2 lbs of Carapils seems like not enough to do anything. Some now say it really doesn't do much anyway.

 

[rtstrider]

One thing that caught my eye is that you are going to boil for 90 minutes and only go from 1.040 to 1.048. Only a gain of 8 points? I get about 11 points with my rig in 60 minutes.

.2 lbs of Carapils seems like not enough to do anything. Some now say it really doesn't do much anyway.

I'm really only boiling for 90 minutes because pilsner malt and fear of DMS. It's been nice and clean for me so far. Mind you the head brewers at the local brewery said I'd be fine with 60 min boils though. So would you recommend just using .5 lbs White Wheat in that case? Clarity is not much concern for this brew since the yeast is a horrible floccer.

 

[sicktght311]

I think the bigger question is boil off rate and how it will affect the final gravity. Whats your typical 60 minute boil off rate? Mathematically 1.040 to 1.048 makes sense if you boil off 1 gallon of liquid but retain the same amount of sugars, but in a 90 minute boil i'd be surprised if you only boiled off 1 gallon.

 

[rtstrider]

I think the bigger question is boil off rate and how it will affect the final gravity. Whats your typical 60 minute boil off rate? Mathematically 1.040 to 1.048 makes sense if you boil off 1 gallon of liquid but retain the same amount of sugars, but in a 90 minute boil i'd be surprised if you only boiled off 1 gallon.

I do split batch brewing. I brew 2 2.5 gallon BIAB batches, cool them down in an ice bath, combine in the fermenter, and top up with RO water. So it's a weird setup but it works! Have had many o compliments on the brews that have come from the ol stove top rig

 

[kh54s10]

I do split batch brewing. I brew 2 2.5 gallon BIAB batches, cool them down in an ice bath, combine in the fermenter, and top up with RO water. So it's a weird setup but it works! Have had many o compliments on the brews that have come from the ol stove top rig

The question still remains. Do you think you will only gain 8 points from preboil to OG with a 90 minute boil? If you are topping up is that lowering your OG to the 8 point gain?

I don't know the answer to the wheat. I would probably use more. Though I haven't used wheat for head retention alone.

 

[rtstrider]

My pre boil gravity and post boil gravity numbers are always spot on after top up in the fermenter so that's really what I work with. Took a few easy brews but I always hit 70% efficiency after top up since I'm essentially watering down a more concentrated post boil wort, which is usually around 3 gallons so I top up with around 2 gallons or so to get to 5 gallons, to get my numbers. Sounds more difficult than it is. Think of partial mash (except it's all grain in 2 pots and no malt extract). Only difference is I do not use malt extract and the brews are blended together (aka dumped in the fermenter) when they're cooled down to pitching temps. I've been meaning to document how this is done for other brewers aspiring to get in to all grain on the cheap. If there's enough interest I would be glad to do so! I've had award winning head brewers (and an active as well as former bjcp judge) taste my brews and they have actually heard of this method. There's an actual name for it but I can't remember what it's called off hand. They aren't the kind to sugar coat things which has been VERY helpful. Yeah I usually use white wheat for head retention in my brews in the 5% to 10% range. Mainly 5% for the lighter brews and 10% for the heavier brews such as Pale Ales and IPA's

 

[ebbelwoi]

Are you talking about Briess Carapils or Weyermann Carapils/Carafoam?

 

[Genuine]

I’ll be making a nice light lager on Friday for the upcoming warmer months. 6.5lbs of Pilsner or 2 row, 1.5lbs instant rice, 4oz of dextrose and 4oz of acid malt for ph. Mash around 149 and it should be around 4.1%

 

[rtstrider]

Are you talking about Briess Carapils or Weyermann Carapils/Carafoam?

The lhbs would have briess carapils

 

[Iseneye]

I always get flavour from just a single bittering addition so choose the right hop for the beer.

 

[rtstrider]

I always get flavour from just a single bittering addition so choose the right hop for the beer.

In that case noble hop it is!

 

[ebbelwoi]

The lhbs would have briess carapils

In that case I can't comment. I've only used Weyermann, sorry. I've read that they're quite different.

 

[didinho]

I recently brewed a lager with Columbus at 20'minutes. It has the shape of an helles, but instead of bittering hop at the beginning of boil, I calculated the same amount of IBU for a 20 minutes adjunct. It gives the right bitter, but also some hop flavor (columbus gives a smooth resiny-fruity flavor)

 

[kh54s10]

In that case I can't comment. I've only used Weyermann, sorry. I've read that they're quite different.

In the amounts being discussed here I think you would be very hard pressed to tell the difference. They both impart very little in the way of flavor. And it is disputed whether they actually help with head retention.

 

[Morrey]

I brewed a 4.5% German Pils this weekend, and wanted it to be a bit hoppy in the 35-38 IBU range. Hop contributions are easily controlled, but I'd be a bit concerned that you are going to lose at least some of the noble character with a full and single hop charge in which some (or most) of the subtle notes of the noble may be boiled off.

So...back to your original thoughts in your post: I did a 90 min boil, then added a bittering addition (Magnum is ideal) to get MOST of my IBU's with that addition. Then I added Hallertau Mittelfruh at 10 min and then again at flameout to bring spicy and floral noble notes to the party. I'd be afraid your beer may be one dimensional if only a single bittering addition was used.

 

[redllama]

When it comes to Carapils vs White Wheat I would just use whatever you have on hand. Personally I am eliminating Carapils from my beers as I feel like it doesn't really do anything compared to just using more base malt.

 

[rtstrider]

Talked with a head brewer. I'll probably use 5% white wheat instead of Carapils and use a 60 minute addition of magnum bittering to around 12-13 ibus