Limited Ingredients - Recipe Help

[Hydreliox]

Good afternoon all,

I am currently out here in the sunny tropics - specifically the Philippines. I am already aware of temperature concerns, but can possibly run an AC unit to combat this weather (35degC average ATM).

After quite a bit of difficult I have managed to get my hands of some grain and yeast (see below) but even with Brew Target at my disposal my knowledge doesn't yet stretch far enough to create an appropriate recipe.

I am ideally looking for a strong and crispy lager (for the hot days) and a good rich chocolatey and peanut butter style porter. Maybe a strong red ale too. If this isn't possible with the ingredients I have then so be it - let me know what is possible. Not included are some of the extras that I may be able to find (oats, honey, rice, cocoa nibs, etc). Extra ingredients I have are for when I can progress onto new things - just ordered a load because shipping was massively pricey here.

If I have missed anything else then please just ask me. I am most certainly and definitely VERY new to this! I am planning BIAB method as I have limited time, space and equipment and I think this should be a suitable set up for the brewing I am a doin'.

Thanks for any help and input. Help get me away from 5 years of San Miguel and onto something new

Cheers.
Jim

Weyermann® Carabohemian® - 2lbs
Weyermann® Carahell® Malt - 2lbs
Weyermann® Carapils® - 2lbs
Weyermann® Caramunich® Type 3 - 2lbs
Weyermann® CaraRed® - 2lbs
Weyermann® Premium Pilsner Malt Extra Pale - 12lbs
Weyermann® Roasted Barley- 12lbs (over ordered by a long shot I reckon )

Fermentis® Safbrew Abbaye
Fermentis® Safale US-05
Fermentis® Safale S-04
Fermentis® Saflager W-34/70

Golding (UK East Kent) Hop Pellets
German Tradition Hop Pellets

Conditioning tablets

Again - thanks for any input (preferable not ripping me to pieces)

Happy brewing

 

[meatcleaver]

I see a Trappist ale there...or something similar.
what size batch are you looking to do?

 

[Hydreliox]

Hey meatcleaver;

Looking to start small first to get the process right and so I don't waste too many ingredients - maybe 2.5g (10l) roughly. If the recipe works out alright I will happily run another batch through. Plus a variety (I have been missing out) will be pleasant to have!

Cheers

 

[RM-MN]

Any interest in a saison? Saison yeasts do well with higher tempertures. You could get a packet of Belle Saison shipped pretty cheaply since it only weighs a few grams and doesn't require any special handling.

 

[meatcleaver]

german/american blonde?

95% pilsner
5% carapils

tradition to 20 IBU

ferment with s-05 @ 68°F

you should probably forget about lagers until you have a dedicated temperature controlled fermentation chamber.
in the mean time read up on swamp coolers...

 

[chickypad]

I like meatcleaver and RM-MN's ideas for what you have and your temp issues. I'm not too familiar with the abbaye yeast - though not a saison yeast it is Belgian, you could try it with a saison-like grainbill. Say 10% honey, 3-4% caramunich, and the rest pilsner. Or you could do more of a tripel/golden strong going bigger on the OG and with all pilsner and 10-20% sugar. The main problem is you've only got 12 lbs of base malt - probably two 10L batches - and enough specialty malts to last in the neighborhood of 20-30 batches. I think you're set for roasted barley for a few yrs . Maybe you could get some Weyermann's pale ale malt on the next go which would probably be better for porter/stouts, and things like the red ale.

 

[Hydreliox]

Thanks for the answers everyone.

you should probably forget about lagers until you have a dedicated temperature controlled fermentation chamber.

How small/large does this need to be. I can ferment in a room with an AC unit running to keep temps down. I have seen the swamp coolers before. Maybe other things are possible. I could also get a small fridge to ferment it (shhhhhh - don't tell the wife )

Maybe you could get some Weyermann's pale ale malt on the next go which would probably be better for porter/stouts, and things like the red ale.

I think I can get some of this when the shop restocks. Everything is mail order so I just bought up the batches they had in at the time.

My main problem is really knowing how things are going to harmonise with each other. At the moment I certainly like the idea of a dual grain bill with little additions, maybe such as honey. Gives me a chance to work out the process a little before getting too excited.

If I went the way of a saison is there a way of introducing something to give it a more chocolatey base. Grains a possibility? Or using nibs, coffee, oats, vanilla etc?

german/american blonde

Nothing wrong with a healthy blonde! Nice and simple and I can see a good learning experience in that for future progression.

Also, how do I progress brewtarget from 'cloying' to something else. Doesn't seem to matter what I do - always stays in that area.

I might be miles off here but what about something with an 80% pilsner base and 20% malted barley - or is that just nuts?!

Again thank you all - keep it coming. When everything arrives I will be sniffing and tasting thoroughly too! All new to me

 

[chickypad]

I might be miles off here but what about something with an 80% pilsner base and 20% malted barley - or is that just nuts?!

Not quite sure what you mean here, pilsner is malted barley. If you are asking if you can do an all base malt beer, sure.

Never tried a chocolate saison, but chocolate nibs are one way to add chocolate flavor (lots of threads on that). Some malt combinations can give hints of chocolate but probably not what you have there.

I don't use brewtarget but I assume if it's saying cloying it probably means that it's underbittered, i.e. the BU:GU ratio is very low. Try upping the IBU's (or post your recipe).

 

[Hydreliox]

Just had a play around with hops quantities which pulls me nicely away from cloying to balanced - YAY!

Also, changed some rations - could anyone tell me if this would work - or what to expect.....my first grain bill - am I a mile off?

89% Pilsner Malt
11% Roasted Barley

40g Golding

Vanilla Beans
Cocoa nibs

S-04 Yeast


With that in mind - would you change anything, give it a craic or scrap the idea completely? Best way to compose this? Timing for hops, cocoa nibs and vanilla?

Just putting some ideas out there. ForNever working away from convention

 

[Hydreliox]

Not quite sure what you mean here, pilsner is malted barley.

My mistake - I was referencing to the Weyermann Roasted Barley and misquoted myself

 

[chickypad]

Ah, okay. Looks like a dry stout. Pale/Pale ale malt would be a more common base for that but give it a go. Typically you would just do one hop addition at 60, aiming for IBU around 35-40. You could also sub in 10% flaked barley if you can get it. Most folks would do the nibs and vanilla after primary fermentation, again lots of threads on options for that.

 

[Hydreliox]

Thanks chickypad - as long as it doesn't look too far out I might give it a whirl. Can't get flaked barley so easily but I will have a look around. Oats may be another addition that works - will have to have a look around

When everything lands I will keep a diary to post up on here of the first run - see if I can't produce something undrinkable

If anyone has anymore recipe ideas that might work, again please let me know.

 

[Hydreliox]

Anything wrong with using the specialty grains for a base?! Pros and cons? Or am I mad as a bag of weasels?

For example (and I am just playing here)

80% Caramunich
20% Carared

25g Kent Goldings

S-05

Also , is there any easy way of updating the brewtarget database or do I have to find details for all my grains, yeasts etc and add them manually?

Thanks!

 

[Staylow]

Most specialty malts do not have any diastatic power, meaning they can not convert starches to sugar on their own. Base malts have it in abundance. So working with what you have there, the majority of your grain bill will need to be pilsner.

 

[GQT]

Tired of San Miguel (SM for short ) - switch onto Tanduai!
Not being able to advise on your grains, just a hint - there should be tons of really cheap cashew and fresh coco pulp of great quality which you could use with some creativity in your brews.
I was once thinking about setting up a brewery on Busuanga island but the calculations turned out less than optimistic, so I dropped the idea.

 

[Hydreliox]

Thanks for the feedback Staylow - this is where things like brewtarget are maybe misleading me. Great information to pass on, so thanks again.

GQT - boy oh boy am I bored of SM - Cerveza Negra is a nice change but still, nothing too special!

Cheers

 

[chickypad]

You will get sugars from crystal malt on their own as they have had most of their starches converted in the malting process, the problem is about 40% of those will be non fermentable (referencing nilo's experiments on HBT). So let's say you made a 1.050 beer with your grainbill above of caramunich and carared, it would finish in the neighborhood of 1.030 and likely be sickly sweet and caramel tasting.

 

[meatcleaver]

you're going to want at least 80% of your recipe to be base malt.
choices are pale malts like american 2-row, Maris otter & pilsner or..
lightly kilned malts like Vienna & Munich.
also malted wheat & rye can be used up to 70%.
since you are new to recipe formulation, I suggest a simple recipe like a smash (single malt, single hop), or something like the blonde recipe I suggested earlier. once you have a solid base recipe, you can start adding other ingredients 5-10% at a time & really start to understand what each ingredient contributes to the beer.

 

[meatcleaver]

i'm not familiar with brew target but have used this calculator with great results...
http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/calculator/

 

[Hydreliox]

Thanks meatcleaver. Turns out you can upload files from brewtarget into the link you gave me which is good for cross referancing but does create a little bit of confusion from my novice perspective.

Eagerly awaiting a delivery so I can get the ball rolling - now just figuring out water volumes - all a little confused at the moment. Batch size, pre boil volume, boil size - working in litres not gallons and doing a 2.65g/10l batch - uh head is spinning. At least it is keeping me busy

Cheers