Caramel cream ale?

[Jewrican]

welcome fellow atlantian. Check out chicken city ale raisers (local homebrew club in the north atlanta area).

now back on topic... dont do anything to it. I dont see how it will be an issue other than you didnt boil the liquid that came from those grains (read sanitize). Leave it be, but it should be just fine.

 

[Gsidej]

Thanks for the advice. And I will check out the club.

How much vanilla extract did you use? I used the 2oz when I put it into primary and I'm trying to decide how much to use for priming.

Also, what HBS do you go to? I've been going to Beer Necessities on old Alabama.

 

[Jewrican]

i honestly cannot remember. Are you bottling or kegging? If kegging add the 2 and you can always add more. my first batch was excellent.. my second.. horrid - too much vanilla.

I was going there and started getting stuff from brewmaster's warehouse (sponsor on here) which is in marietta. They have much better prices in my opinion.

Also the club gets a 7% discount with them. Its $25 to join and just for the parties alone it is well worth it if you enjoy brewing. Feel free to PM me.. dont want to get off topic too much

 

[BleuChien]

Do you still add the priming ingredients if you keg? Sorry prob a dumb question but have never kegged.

 

[Jewrican]

yes you can but at a reduced amount. I BELIEVE (search to be sure) you add half as much priming sugar to a keg as you do to the bottling bucket when bottling.

I say can because you can carb your beer this way but keep in mind that you still need pressure to serve it. most do NOT carb this way and simply put it under high pressure for a few days (to be ready sooner) or those of us that are patient put it under serving pressure (8 - 12 psi or so) for two weeks and it will carb up that way.

 

[Jewrican]

btw, kegging is the best thing you could ever do.. i highly recommend it!!!!

 

[BleuChien]

I see so in this instance would I use half of the recommended:
1cup Lactose
4oz vanilla (Be careful! This may be too much vanilla for some people.)
1.5 cups light DME
then carb at 8-12 for two weeks?

 

[Jewrican]

i should have clarified.. you only would be required to use half (again search and double check this half statement) of the priming sugar or in this case DME (if that is what is used at bottling to carbonate the beer).

Lactose is (virtually) non fermentable so that can be used in its whole amount.. the vanilla is to taste.. take a guess at what you want to use keeping the warning about 4 oz maybe being too much for some.

 

[Rolling_Thunder]

am I correct in reading that the Malto Dextros & or the lactose are what will give this recipe the "creamy" texture?

 

[Captain_Bigelow]

stop making this beer. It's terrible and pretty much a joke.

lol!

 

[Rolling_Thunder]

next question... are you using the vanilla cream soda extract or regular liquid vanilla extract that you'd use in baking?

 

[GottaGetABrew]

Regular liquid vanilla extract from the cooking isle. Stay away from the imitation stuff.

 

[Rolling_Thunder]

Regular liquid vanilla extract from the cooking isle. Stay away from the imitation stuff.

great thanks. BTW, can you also answer my previous question of whether it's either the lactose or Malto Dextrose that give this brew its "creamy" texture? If not, do you know which ingredient does?

I'm trying to iron out a clone of another recipe and I'm certain it's missing this ingredient...

 

[Chriso]

I have one single bottle remaining of this beer, after brewing it in December 07. Either it never "peaked", or I wasn't watching it when it did, because it still tastes... weird... to this day.

 

[GottaGetABrew]

Well, from my reading the dextrose will give it mouth-feel and the lactose will give it a hint of sweetness as its not fermentable. For the "creamy" perhaps you would consider the dextrose due to the added body. Maybe someone else will chime in as I am certainly not an expert. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. One suggestion on this beer, go easy on the vanilla....lol

 

[Rolling_Thunder]

Well, from my reading the dextrose will give it mouth-feel and the lactose will give it a hint of sweetness as its not fermentable. For the "creamy" perhaps you would consider the dextrose due to the added body. Maybe someone else will chime in as I am certainly not an expert. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. One suggestion on this beer, go easy on the vanilla....lol

thanks again. I'll go with the dextrose and cross my fingizz (New England inflection)

 

[PearlJamNoCode]

I just remembered I have about a case of this I brewed back in March/April. Has anyone here let this age for this length of time?

 

[Tska]

Is the Lactose 4 oz by weight, or volume? They end up being pretty close...I brewed this last night, and my 1 lb bag of Lactose held almost exactly 3 cups, so I used 3/4 C as 4 oz. by weight. By volume would obviously be 1/2 C. Which did you intend?

I combined both recipes (#1 and #2), so mine looks like this (brewed last night and sitting here bubbling away!):

Fermentables
3 lb Light DME
3 lb Wheat LME (didn't have DME in stock at LHBS)
1 lb Caramel 60L

Hops
1 oz Cascade @ 60
1 oz Saaz @ 15
1 oz Hallertau @ flameout

Additives
3/4 C (~4 oz by weight) Lactose @ 15
1/4 C Malto-dextrin @ 15
1 tsp Irish Moss @ 10
2 fl oz. Vanilla to primary

Yeast
Wyeast Irish Ale 1084

Priming (The plan as of right now)
1 1/4 C DME
4 fl oz. Vanilla
1/4 C Lactose
--------


I'm going for a sweet, vanilla version like the first recipe, with the added hoppiness of the second recipe to offset. The priming is the only thing I'm iffy on - the original recipe (this one) calls for >1 C Lactose for priming, but I took the 1/4 C Malto-dextrine from the Boom-Boom recipe...how should I adjust the Lactose to compensate for the added Malto-Dextrine in the boil? I've just guessed above - I'm not sure how the two translate.

 

[moeser]

I read through the whole thread and saw several people mention replacing the vanilla extract with vanilla beans. I just happen to have 4 vanilla beans left over from the holiday cooking spree, and would like to use them.

I saw no definitive answer on how many vanilla beans to use, when to use them (boil? secondary?), or whether the recipe even worked out okay with beans instead of extract. Any recommendations? These are Madagascar vanilla beans (not mexican, unfortunately).

I'm currently planning to heat two of them up in the oven for several minutes, then sanitize with a few sprays of starsan and dump them in the secondary fermenter.

 

[Solaris79]

I read through the whole thread and saw several people mention replacing the vanilla extract with vanilla beans. I just happen to have 4 vanilla beans left over from the holiday cooking spree, and would like to use them.

I saw no definitive answer on how many vanilla beans to use, when to use them (boil? secondary?), or whether the recipe even worked out okay with beans instead of extract. Any recommendations? These are Madagascar vanilla beans (not mexican, unfortunately).

I'm currently planning to heat two of them up in the oven for several minutes, then sanitize with a few sprays of starsan and dump them in the secondary fermenter.

I actually just re-brewed this beer recently, and just put the vanilla in tonight. I picked up some Vanilla Extract from a local spice store, and it happens to be Madagascar bean extract. The rep at the store said that it would work really well with the Caramel aspect of this beer. I can let you know how it turns out. Last time, I used some artificial Mexican vanilla, and this new extract I bought is definitely less aggressive, AND you don't have to worry about those little vanilla seeds sticking to everything.

 

[Tska]

I read through the whole thread and saw several people mention replacing the vanilla extract with vanilla beans. I just happen to have 4 vanilla beans left over from the holiday cooking spree, and would like to use them.

I saw no definitive answer on how many vanilla beans to use, when to use them (boil? secondary?), or whether the recipe even worked out okay with beans instead of extract. Any recommendations? These are Madagascar vanilla beans (not mexican, unfortunately).

I'm currently planning to heat two of them up in the oven for several minutes, then sanitize with a few sprays of starsan and dump them in the secondary fermenter.

Why not just soak them in vodka and add the whole thing to the secondary?

 

[osuredhead88]

The recipe calls for Light Wheat DME, but I cant find that for some reason. Is it the same as Light DME or Wheat DME?

 

[moeser]

The recipe calls for Light Wheat DME, but I cant find that for some reason. Is it the same as Light DME or Wheat DME?

Mine was labeled "Bavarian Wheat" packaged by LD Carlson. It's the package they handed me when I asked for "Light Wheat DME". I bought it locally, but I've seen identical packages of it available online. I never did find a product that actually said "Light Wheat DME". I believe Wheat DME hovers around 50%-60% wheat extract, while Light DME generally doesn't have any wheat in it. Since barley and wheat don't taste the same, you'll probably be closer to the recipe if you stick with a DME containing wheat.

I'd like to see more people comment on how their batch turned out, especially if it deviates from the original recipe at all.

 

[Solaris79]

So I opened up the keg today, and all I have to say is "wow." Such a big difference from the first time I brewed this recipe. It's much crisper and the vanilla is a bit more subdued, but in a good way... smoother I guess is the way to describe it. If you do end up using vanilla extract like I did, make sure it's a really high quality vanilla extract (use Madagascar beans, not Mexican - completely different vanillas, and the Madagascar complements this recipe better). I still used 4 ounces of the extract in the 5 gallon keg, and the balance is great! Also, if you can use Leaf hops instead of pelletized hops, do it. I used 1oz of the Cascade as Leaf hops, and the remaining hops were pellets.

 

[billsquared]

I bottled my VCCA tonight, after 8 days in primary and 12 days in secondary. I went conservative on the vanilla in bottling, opted for 2 ounces vs. the original recipe's 4.

So.

Good.

I can't wait for this to condition to drinkability. For any who may be interested, my readings:
OG: 1066 @ 65F
SG: 1014 @ 70F
FG: 1020 @ 70F

The FG gravity was taken off the last of the bottling barrel, so I'm going to assume the gravity reading when I moved to secondary is closer to truth. That would make it about 6.7ABV.

 

[IndyMatt]

Well I will be trying this out with a slight variation, I had .5lbs of honey malt that I will be adding. So we will see how this beast turns out.

Matt

 

[chaserchap]

Wow, just read this whole things and after 5+ years it's still going...

That being said, I'm brewing this as soon as I can bottle my last batch. It'll be my second brew (and something I hope the SWMBO will like). Going with Ver1 in a week and a half!

 

[chaserchap]

So, I ordered the Wyeast German Ale 4.25 oz packet. Is this going to be enough yeast or should I make a starter?

(A pointer toward where to figure out the whole yeast thing would be appreciated so I don't have to ask questions like this anymore. Haha)

 

[CoreyG]

Hey,

I made some mods to this recipe for various reasons ( price & availability mostly ) and was hoping for some input.

Here's what I was thinking

Fermentables
5.5 lbs light lme ( No dme at my LHBS )
1.2 lbs wheat dme (8$ a 1.2 lbs bag so dont want to use too much)
1 lbs wheat malt (for a mini mash and to make up for little wheat dme)
1 lbs crystal malt 80L

Hops - these are the only available and I can only boil 2.5gallons so I doubled everything from original to maintain proper bitterness

2 oz Cascade (5%)
1 oz Saaz (2.9%)
1 oz tettnag (4.7%)

Yeast

not sure --- my lhbs doesnt have many liquids, so many resort to nottingham or safale. I hear with this recipe it doesn't make a huge difference due to so many other flavors

Vanilla and Lactose as in original, except im using vanilla pods/stalks or wtv they called

Any comments? Think it will come out similar
According to beercalculus I get an OG of 1.058, FG =1.015 and IBU of 24.9

 

[Jewrican]

i cant comment much but i think you should concider ordering your stuff from Brewmasters warehouse... if your lhbs doesnt carry dme or liquid yeasts... you really need to rethink that.

Order online and make the original... it is very hard to stomach calling that place a local home brew store when they dont carry the basics.. its not like you are looking for rare malts here...