Pushed the limits with Crystal additions

[MileHighHops]

Here's the recipe I brewed:

8lbs 2-row, 47%
4lbs Crystal 40L, 24%
3lbs Munich Malt, 18%
1lb Carapils, 6%
1lb Flaked Rye, 6%

S05 yeast

1 oz Amarillo - 60min
1oz Amarillo - 30min
1oz Amarillo - 5 min

Yes, I severely pushed the envelope by using 30% crystal malts in my beer. I brewed this 6 weeks ago and have it carbed up in the keg. I've drank about 5 pints off of the keg to date. I was expecting the cloying sweetness that it so often related to overuse of crystal. However, the dominant flavor on the back end of this beer is a BBQ/smoky flavor. It's drinkable, though not at all desirable. The smoky flavor is just too much. Maybe it will fade with time?

Has anyone else attributed a smoke flavor to using too much crystal malts??

 

[agrazela]

Smoky? Maybe "acrid"?

 

[robbyice]

everytime I use even slightly too much crystal, I simply cant drink them. wet sweet in beers aint for me

 

[robbyice]

every time I use even slightly too much crystal, I simply cant drink them. wet sweet in beers aint for me

 

[Arrheinous]

Is Carapils a true crystal malt?

Pete's Wicked Brown ale used a very high percentage of C60L. Some of the altbier and southern brown ale recipes can end up with some pretty steep amounts too.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

SMoky? Do you have a dirty electric element?

 

[joshesmusica]

could it be the combo of the too much crystal and the rye?

 

[MileHighHops]

SMoky? Do you have a dirty electric element?

No, Just your basic stainless steel brew kettle on a turkey fryer.

 

[MileHighHops]

could it be the combo of the too much crystal and the rye?

You may be on to something. It's rare I use rye so I'm not very familiar with the tasting notes.

If you're intentionally looking to brew a smoked amber ale, look at recipe above

 

[MileHighHops]

Smoky? Maybe "acrid"?

It's definitely a BBQ type smoke flavor.

 

[JKaranka]

Toasty?

 

[MileHighHops]

I take back what I said about this beer being drinkable. That is a stretch. I think I may have to dump this batch. Chalk it up as another lesson learned experience in homebrewing

 

[normonster]

C'mon dude....don't dump. I just did the same thing with an IPA and still finished 10 gallons in 4 weeks. DRINK IT!!!!

 

[normonster]

I'll add that mine was a lot better after a few weeks too.

 

[j1n]

C'mon dude....don't dump. I just did the same thing with an IPA and still finished 10 gallons in 4 weeks. DRINK IT!!!!

Why? don't you want to drink good tasting beer over not good tasting beer....

i dont get the never dump your beer thing.... pro breweries do it all the time when they make a bad batch.... i do it too when it doesnt come out the way i like. id rather drink something good than something bad. its not hard to make more beer.

 

[JKaranka]

Use it to blend with a light beer. I don't get why homebrewers don't blend beer more often!

 

[normonster]

Why? don't you want to drink good tasting beer over not good tasting beer....



i dont get the never dump your beer thing.... pro breweries do it all the time when they make a bad batch.... i do it too when it doesnt come out the way i like. id rather drink something good than something bad. its not hard to make more beer.

I'm half kidding with you but in this case it was almost $100 to make the batch and it probably wasn't as gnarly as yours. I'm just stubborn too....it'd have to be pretty bad for me to dump. I brewed a blind pig recipe and it was very bad, but again, I just couldn't dump so I put down 10 gallons of it. Trick is to start with a good IPA then transition to the poo....lol

 

[m00ps]

I need to bookmark this thread to refer others to it when asking for feedback on their +20% crystal IPAs

 

[signpost]

Just add some Brett and let it age for 6 months. Then give it a taste. It'll probably be a completely different beer

 

[MileHighHops]

It's official, I dumped the beer down the drain last night. I just couldn't drink it, no matter what I mixed or added to the beer.

 

[normonster]

f##£!!!

 

[Brew_G]

Here's the recipe I brewed:

8lbs 2-row, 47%
4lbs Crystal 40L, 24%
3lbs Munich Malt, 18%
1lb Carapils, 6%
1lb Flaked Rye, 6%

S05 yeast

1 oz Amarillo - 60min
1oz Amarillo - 30min
1oz Amarillo - 5 min

Yes, I severely pushed the envelope by using 30% crystal malts in my beer. I brewed this 6 weeks ago and have it carbed up in the keg. I've drank about 5 pints off of the keg to date. I was expecting the cloying sweetness that it so often related to overuse of crystal. However, the dominant flavor on the back end of this beer is a BBQ/smoky flavor. It's drinkable, though not at all desirable. The smoky flavor is just too much. Maybe it will fade with time?

Has anyone else attributed a smoke flavor to using too much crystal malts??

I take back what I said about this beer being drinkable. That is a stretch. I think I may have to dump this batch. Chalk it up as another lesson learned experience in homebrewing

So...what happened overnight to make this beer undrinkable?

 

[MileHighHops]

I think I was trying to convince myself early on that the beer wasn't as bad as it really was. But the more I drank the more that smoke flavor sat on my tongue, leaving an awful taste in my mouth that I began to associate with the beer. I tried masking it with a lime which seemed to help a bit, but that smoke taste would still emerge and linger on the tongue.

It wasn't worth it to me to continue to drink ****ty beer. Made more sense for me to dump it and move on.

 

[joshesmusica]

I think I was trying to convince myself early on that the beer wasn't as bad as it really was. But the more I drank the more that smoke flavor sat on my tongue, leaving an awful taste in my mouth that I began to associate with the beer. I tried masking it with a lime which seemed to help a bit, but that smoke taste would still emerge and linger on the tongue.

It wasn't worth it to me to continue to drink ****ty beer. Made more sense for me to dump it and move on.

did you try mixing it with a light beer, dare i say even a bmc beer? then you could've at least known if you just brew a super light lager brewed the hard way that you could mix the two.

 

[MileHighHops]

I did not mix with a light beer. Not a bad idea, but personally I'd rather just dump and move on to brewing my next batches.

 

[kh54s10]

I have a sickly sweet high alcohol beer in a keg. I tried drinking it and drank more than I would have liked due to lack of any others ready at the time. I am now using it in baking a No Knead Beer Bread recipe. But it only requires about 12 ounces per loaf.

I think I will mix some with my brown ale and see what happens.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

I have a sickly sweet high alcohol beer in a keg. I tried drinking it and drank more than I would have liked due to lack of any others ready at the time. I am now using it in baking a No Knead Beer Bread recipe. But it only requires about 12 ounces per loaf.

I think I will mix some with my brown ale and see what happens.

Pull some off and add some bugs!!

 

[kh54s10]

Pull some off and add some bugs!!

I've never even tasted a sour. I will have to get a commercial one before making that kind of experiment.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

Shoot an email off to Eric the brewmaster at Dragoon Brewing co in Tucson, Arizona, and see if he will give you any advice. Ask him about Lazarus.

 

[JKaranka]

I don't know why you guys don't mix beers. We have classics like half and half or mother in law that you can ask for in the pub. I really like a half and half of mild and bitter...