50/50 Beer recipe

[daniel4616]

I want to make a beer with 50% 2Row, and 50% of another "malty" flavored grain. ABV is not extremely important, however I want a grain that ferments out pretty well. Getting some color from it would be a plus but is not mandatory. I was thinking Special B but found that it might not ferment all the way very well.

Can anyone give some suggestions? I plan to make this beer twice. Once with a simple bittering hop addition, and maybe a little more. Then the second time with a more agressive pale ale/ipa style of hopping. So the grain should be noticable malt without a lot of hops, but not too overpowering to make the pale/ipa off.

Anyone got any ideas?

 

[TyTanium]

Munich or Maris Otter would be great - both awesome base malts, very malty and delicious.

You could do Amber or Brown malt if you want something darker / more robust.

I wouldn't do 50% Special B or any other crystal malt - way too sweet.

 

[Pappers_]

I agree with Ty - 50% Special B would be way too much. I like Munich as a base malt, for what its worth. I've made beers with Munich as the only base malt and have enjoyed them - definitely emphasizes the malty side of the equation. Malty flavor has a lot to do with the grain bill, certainly, but also with your yeast selection and your malt/hops balance.

 

[daniel4616]

Great, does Munich add color at all? Also, Nottingham would be the yeast for these two batches fermented as low as possible for the yeast strain to get it as clean as possible.

 

[TyTanium]

Yes, Munich adds color. How much depends on what type of Munich - Most have a light or dark Munich. I prefer the German malsters (BestMalz or Weyermann).

I frequently use Weyermann Munich I (the lighter one) as my base and it's a beautiful crimson amber.

Nottingham is fine.

 

[Pappers_]

Great, does Munich add color at all?

Yes, Munich usually is around 10L, compared to 2L for pale malt and will deepen/darken your beer's color.

 

[daniel4616]

Looking into that now. Anyone have any experience with Special Roast? I know its much darker, but would it be super dark with a 50/50.

EDIT or Briess Victory?

 

[Ramitt]

Stick to base malts in that high of a percentage, Special Roast and Victory a little goes a long way. Take some time googling the different Malt profiles to get an idea of how much to add.

 

[zachattack]

Also check out some brewing software, it'll estimate the color for you and help a lot with your recipe building. I love beersmith but there are free alternatives out there

 

[philrose]

Stick to base malts in that high of a percentage, Special Roast and Victory a little goes a long way. Take some time googling the different Malt profiles to get an idea of how much to add.

This is good advice. When a malt hits 20+% of your grist it should be a base malt. Vienna, Munich, Wheat, Rye etc

As an aside, I have a recipe that is 3% Special roast that I had to tone down to 1.5%. It brings a really tangy, weird flavor to the party.

Good luck with your recipe

 

[bobbrews]

Any combination of:

American, British, German, Canadian 2-row or pale malt, etc.
Maris Otter
Golden Promise
Pearl
Optic
Halcyon
Pilsener
Vienna
Light Munich
White or Red Wheat

I wouldn't do 50% Special B or Victory for an APA or IPA.

 

[beerkrump]

What they said^^^^^^.

Go to https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Grain and look at the "Max % in batch".

Those numbers are there for a reason.

 

[Poobah58]

Vienna is an excellent choice. I did an IPA with 40% Viena and no C-malts and it was outstanding...