Creamy texture.

[venquessa]

Is it possible to get a creamy texture without nitrogen?

 

[unionrdr]

You could try adding some maltodextrin. It only ferments out about 5% of the volume added. It'll give some mouth feel like that,as it's also used in sweeteners. I read that on wikipedia.

 

[venquessa]

I'm building up to my next brew order and currently it's looking a little ... unimaginative. Light DME + Crystal 40L + Irish Ale Yeast. So I'm thinking of one more ingredient to try.

Hoping to order today to get a chance of brewing it on Sat/Sun.

Target: Irish Red Ale, light red hue (not sure if the crystal will achieve this properly), creamy texture, not too bitter, more caramely/malty ABV 4-5%.

Any suggestions?

 

[BradleyBrew]

I like adding torrified wheat or carapils. I think both have to be mashed though.

 

[Brulosopher]

For a 5g batch, try throwing in .5 lbs Special B. Won't necessarily give you creamy texture, but it'll had a flavor that is often associated with creamy. Also consider swapping the C40 with C10/15, since the Special B is a darker crystal malt.

Cheers!

 

[venquessa]

I've seen torrified wheat in IRA (err... unfortunate acronym!) recipes before. Does it need mashed and can't be BIAB?

This looks interesting...
http://www.hopshopuk.com/products/v...ngs-flavourings-and-head-retention/creamy-top

 

[unionrdr]

They have stuff like that over here,cream-x I think. Never tried the stuff. But a good recipe & process should get that.

 

[venquessa]

Okay, I'm hovering over "Check Out" with:

3Kg (6.6lb) Light DME
500g (1.1lb) Light Crystal Malt (EBC 60?)
Willamette + EKG (heard Fuggles tastes of 'earth/dirt', not cool!)
Irish Ale Yeast.

And...
500g of Caramunch OR Special B.

Price is already more than I like due to the Willamette and WYeast prices here.

 

[unionrdr]

Looks pretty good to me. If the Willamette is pricey,maybe try German tetnager hops. They get the floral flavor/aroma too. But not like Willamette.

 

[BradleyBrew]

Its not traditional but I added 1 lb of belgian candy sugar to a english brown ale. It had a very nice caramel flavor.

http://www.farmhousebrewingsupply.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=250

 

[venquessa]

Order placed:
3Kg (6.6lb) Light DME
500g (1.1lb) Light Crystal Malt (EBC 60?)
500g (1.1lb) Caramunch
100g Willamette
100g EKG
Irish Ale Yeast.

Total: £47 including shipping! $73.

Granted I won't be using all the crystal or caramunch, and only half the hops (or less).

The worrying thing for someone in the early stages of recipe formulation is I'm at least 2 steps behind in what I have tasted as to what I have brewed. Brew 2 is only moving into drinkable, but I already have 3 and 4 in the FVs and now 5 in the post. It could be easy to make the same mistake 2 or 3 times before you get a chance to realise.

 

[unionrdr]

Def use 1oz (28g?) of each hop. That'll be plenty in a pale ale. And maybe half of the other 2 malts. That $73 quote is pretty close. I bought enough supplies for 2 brews for close to that amount.

 

[venquessa]

DME isn't cheap either

Muntons is like £4.50 per 500g! This is "Youngs" which is £6 a kilo.

All grain is much cheaper, maybe next one, although with only a 12lt boil (50%) I'm not sure it will work right.

 

[unionrdr]

I use the Munton's plain DME's myself. I like the buiscotti like flavors from it. And the 12L BK is a little small for AG,but not for partial mash.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

DME isn't cheap either
All grain is much cheaper, maybe next one, although with only a 12lt boil (50%) I'm not sure it will work right.

man, looking at those prices you guys are spending per batch. my last two, 5 gal and 2 gal, cost around $35 together, and that's cuz i had to buy a smack pack for each. no shipping though, bought it local, shipping's killer too.
as far as a creamy flavor goes, maybe a little maltodex, but keep it restrained and only use it if you're going to use some darker caramel (like special B or 120L). i remember a Jamil Show with the brewer at Wychwood (Hobgoblin) saying they use a bit of what he called caramel 150 (special B) and some invert sugar. i know Hobgoblin's far from an Irish ale, but that sweet/smooth character comes from the dark caramel malt and sugar.
i like your hop choices, EKG is one of my faves and willamette in nice too. in my experience, fuggle goes great with EKG. fuggle is definitely earthy, but more floral than a soil-type earthy.

 

[venquessa]

Speaking of cost.... maybe another thread soon on this...

I made a spreadsheet totalling Ingredients, Equipment (allocated to batches) and even Electric/gas for each brew.

I then create a £/l price of my normal beer bought from an off-license (In this country you can sell alcohol for on-license consumption or off-license or off-premise consumption, so we have a special shop for booze). Out of interest, most bars are allowed both off and on license sales, but... at bar prices

As of batch 4 when I include equipment, I was £4 up. Not including equipment and the way it should go in the future I had saved myself £104 in 4 batches. Not bad for about 1 hour a weeks work.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Speaking of cost.... maybe another thread soon on this...

I made a spreadsheet totalling Ingredients, Equipment (allocated to batches) and even Electric/gas for each brew.

I then create a £/l price of my normal beer bought from an off-license (In this country you can sell alcohol for on-license consumption or off-license or off-premise consumption, so we have a special shop for booze). Out of interest, most bars are allowed both off and on license sales, but... at bar prices

As of batch 4 when I include equipment, I was £4 up. Not including equipment and the way it should go in the future I had saved myself £104 in 4 batches. Not bad for about 1 hour a weeks work.

oh for sure. any way you cut it, brewing saves $$ over buying comparable commercial beer. i've noticed the more i get away from extract and the more i reuse yeast, the cheaper it gets. buying in bulk helps too. my last 5 gal batch, a special bitter using ~9 1/2 #'s of grain, cost >$20, would've been ~$13, but i wanted to try a new yeast strain (1318). but the best thing about home brewing, IMO, isn't the savings, it's all the great beer!

 

[unionrdr]

My last IPA from extract cost me 57c per bottle. Pretty good concidering craft IPA's start at $10 or $12 a 6'r around here,& up.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

My last IPA from extract cost me 57c per bottle. Pretty good concidering craft IPA's start at $10 or $12 a 6'r around here,& up.

gotta love that!!! this last batch of ESB i made clocks in at >40 cents a bottle, if i'd reused yeast for the batch it would've been 26 cents a bottle. way better than the $9.99 a 6 or 4 pack for imported english ale... and the beer's a bit better, IMO! :rockin::rockin:

 

[unionrdr]

Oh yeah! always good to see that we're making better beer for less. Fresh is good.