Carapils base......

[jayrodoh]

So, we decided to do a group brew where we each handle a different aspect of the brew (mash, hops/boil, yeast/fermentation). The catch is that we don't know what the others are doing.

We invited a buddy to join us, he picked up his grains yesterday and left them in my truck. I cheated and peeked (he's a bit of a wild card at times) and he got 15 lbs of Carapils for the base.......hmmmmm.

I don't think there's anyway to save the beer. I don't have anything else avaliable readily. I don't want to waste $60 worth of hops/yeast, will probably have to call him out when he goes to mash.

 

[g-star]

Wow.

 

[phenry]

Yeah just about the whole point of carapils is to add mouthfeel, and it does that with unfermentable sugars. I'd call him out right now, there's no way you're going to make any kind of drinkable beer with that.

Must've been one heck of a priced grainbill though. Carapils runs me more than double than what 2-row does.

 

[BBL_Brewer]

I would just bring it up now so that everyone can make other plans.

 

[HawksBrewer]

Haha wow. Won't hold my breath for that one to age. Buy some 2-row and swap out when he's not looking.

 

[jayrodoh]

Buy some 2-row and swap out when he's not looking.

LOL, thought about it, LHBS was closed though.

My other buddy and I will still be brewing, this was a 2nd brew for the day. I didn't think there was any saving this one. We brew monthly anyway.

I'll just give him a call in the AM. I broke the rules by looking, but it will save some time for all.

 

[ArcaneXor]

You just discovered the secret to making a low-alcohol beer.

 

[StoneFan]

Super Session Beer FTW?!

 

[raptorvan]

Sneak in after everyone leaves and dump a buttload of DME or LME in...without the boiled it might be funny tasting but its better than a 2%abv beer that has a whole lot of sweetness and body.

Maybe make a gallon boil and dump a bunch of lme or dme in and do a boil and si
Ply replace a gallon of the other wort.

 

[tre9er]

Throw 10 lbs of two row in the bag and pretend nothing happened

 

[raptorvan]

But if it were me i would call him out before people dump their time and money out. Or ask if he is messing with you and just wrote carapils and it is really 2 row...or is using an old bag.

 

[BBL_Brewer]

But if it were me i would call him out before people dump their time and money out. Or ask if he is messing with you and just wrote carapils and it is really 2 row...or is using an old bag.

You know, you actually bring up a good point. When I get specialty grains, they sometimes put them in an empty bag of some other grain they carry. It might actuallly be base malt afterall.

 

[tre9er]

Worth mentioning to the guy that specialty malts have no distactic power

 

[postal_penguin]

If you weren't in Ohio I would have sworn you were in Aurora Colorado since I am pretty sure I personally witnessed someone do the same thing yesterday. A group got 12lbs of Carapils which is a huge amount of a specialty grain. I didn't speak up since I figured they were following a recipe(had a print out) and maybe splitting it among several batches.

But I looked up the recipe they had, a La Fin Du Monde clone, and it calls for 12lbs of Pilsner as the base so I can only assume they bought 12lbs of Carapils thinking it was the same as pilsner.

I only hope the guy working the cash register called them out on it when he rang up 12lbs of Carapils and no base malt.

 

[GuldTuborg]

15lbs of carapils, huh? That'll be an interesting one. So you're in charge of the yeast and hops? I'd save money on the hops (10-15 IBUs ought to do it) and pick up a lambic yeast blend. It may not be great, but it'll save you money, and will most likely ferment. That's more than you can say for most other plans.

 

[Fizzycist]

Super Session Beer FTW?!

More like Super Session Beer WTF?!

 

[jayrodoh]

So, he showed up today with 9 lbs of shredded potatoes, 5 lbs of pears, 1 lb of starwberries, 3 lbs of bluberries, and 3/4 cup of green tea stuff.

I'm in no position to argue/talk about his additions so we went with it. Should be interesting.....Talked him down a bit on the carpils though :0

Our Hefe went as scheduled though.

 

[BBL_Brewer]

I think he got a little too liberal with the whole thing if you ask me. I mean, were you making beer or fruit coctail and hash browns?

 

[phenry]

So, he showed up today with 9 lbs of shredded potatoes, 5 lbs of pears, 1 lb of starwberries, 3 lbs of bluberries, and 3/4 cup of green tea stuff.

I'm in no position to argue/talk about his additions so we went with it. Should be interesting.....Talked him down a bit on the carpils though :0

Our Hefe went as scheduled though.

Sounds more like garbage can brewing than kitchen sink brewing. Does he like making beer or fruit smoothies?

 

[GuldTuborg]

Seriously. That sounds like breakfast, not a beer.

 

[raptorvan]

So...it WAS carapils he had? I'm in position to judge but I'm thinking he either has no clue or is sort of a Dick. Especially with the potatoes...starches will kill that beer.

 

[jayrodoh]

Yup, it was carapils. His thought behind it was to offset the strong alcohol taste he has gotten in the past brewing with potatoes.

In the end we just decided F it and just go with it. I haven't a clue how it will turn out, I'll be pleased if it's even somewhat drinkable. If not, I know not to go along with this again. I was more worried about the mash getting stuck during the recirc, but it went fine.

Either way, it was nice to have a day for all of us to get together (6 good friends), sit in the garage and drink good homebrew and craft beer all day. That's what it's all really about anyway, right?

 

[BBL_Brewer]

Either way, it was nice to have a day for all of us to get together (6 good friends), sit in the garage and drink good homebrew and craft beer all day. That's what it's all really about anyway, right?

True, but if the trend continues, there won't be any good homebrew to drink on brew day.

 

[tre9er]

How much fermentable sugar are we thinking will actually make it into this beer???

 

[TimTrone]

Your group brew idea sounds cool, but you might want to give that guy some ground rules. I don't think that beer will be drinkable. I like the thought of people pushing the boundaries of brewing, but there are limits to what can be done.

But, who knows...maybe you guys just brewed up the next big thing.

 

[wonderbread23]

So, he showed up today with 9 lbs of shredded potatoes, 5 lbs of pears, 1 lb of starwberries, 3 lbs of bluberries, and 3/4 cup of green tea stuff.

I'm in no position to argue/talk about his additions so we went with it. Should be interesting.....Talked him down a bit on the carpils though :0

Our Hefe went as scheduled though.

9 lbs of unconverted starch in a beer... yum. Potatoes are fine to brew with, but you need some enzyme in there to work on the starches. The fruit will ferment, but that's about it.

 

[ArcaneXor]

You could add amylase to convert some of the starches, and/or use brettanomyces or a lambic/Flander-type blend of organisms to finish the "beer".

 

[raptorvan]

I'm thinking the strong alcohol burn he was getting was the whole potato moonshine thing.

 

[strambo]

I just tried a potato stout brewed with 60% of the grain beer being Yukon Golds...it was very good! I have no idea what his exact process was...but it worked. He said other potatoes tasted bad, the Yukon Golds were the key.

Who knows, it may come out drinkable.

 

[Polboy]

its wired, its crazy but i still want to know hat come out of it after fermentation