Developing a recipe

[brauscjm]

Newish brewer only done extract so This may be a stupid question, but what is the best way to take a recipe from extract to partial mash? How do you figure out how much grain you need to use, do you nix the lme or dme? I found a chart but wanted to ask the experts so that I didn't screw up

For example I have a kolsch kit from brewers best. (Fiancé loves it and has given me permission to go bulk in exchange for a legging system in the house)

Ingredients are as follows:

12oz carapils (my understanding is that this will remain the same weight in a partial mash, or do I need to make it a percentage of my grain bill)

3.3 lbs Pilsen LME
2.0 lbs wheat DME
hops etc

So I know I'm going to buy American 2 row grain.

I saw a chart that roughly said 3.3 lbs of LME translates to about 4.5lbs of grain.

Is it really that easy to convert it? Or do I need to take the wheat dme or the carapils into account. Thanks for the enlightening

 

[Milan37]

I plugged the above into Beersmith, and using the conversion tool it came up with this:

5# 4.9oz 2-row
1# 4.3 oz Wheat
12.1 oz Carapils

I dunno. Maybe it's right, maybe not.

Ray Daniels in Designing Great Beers outlines a base of 2-row or Pilsener, and for a Kolsch, 10-20% wheat. A very straightforward, simple grain bill (my favorite kind!). You could do without the Carapils if you want.

I modified it and went with:

5.5# 2-row (81.5%)
1.25# wheat (18.5%)

So it's really very easy to design your own--or, alternatively, search around for some AG Kolsch recipes that look interesting. One of the most fun things about AG is the level of experimentation available--find a recipe that looks interesting and start making your own versions.

EDIT: Shoot, sorry brauscjm, I mis-read that you were trying to go from extract to PM, not AG. My apologies! Anyway, when (if) you feel like trying that Kolsch as AG, maybe the above will help.

 

[brauscjm]

That does help a little actually. My thinking was close about using that amount of 2row. I think I should just go ahead and buy beersmith. I think using that would make conversions easier.

 

[Milan37]

I'm not so sure Beersmith will help much. I plugged your original recipe in and converted from extract to PM and got some pretty strange results. Maybe with a lot of trial-and-error, you could get the conversion to work well, but it's much easier to just search the 'net for some PM Kolsch recipes.

I found this one at BYO:

Baby,It’s Kölsch Outside German Ale
(5 gallon, partial mash)

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. pale two-row
• 1 lb. Vienna malt
• 4 lbs. pale malt extract
• 2/3 oz. Perle hop pellets (8% alpha acid, 5 AAUs) for 60 min.
• 2 Tbsp. Irish moss for 15 min.
• Yeast nutrient (amount according to manufacturer’s guidelines)
• Continental ale yeast, liquid culture
• 2/3 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

Bring 3 qt. water to 170° F in your brewpot. Add crushed two-row and Vienna malts. Mix well. Hold at 150° to 155° F for 45 min. to 60 min., or until the mash passes iodine test. Sparge as described in the Drain Bamage recipe.

Add extract and enough water to make 6 gal. and bring to a boil. Total boil is 60 min. At start of boil, add Perle hops. Boil 45 min. and add Irish moss and yeast nutrient. Boil 15 min. more. Chill to 70° F and pitch yeast.

Ferment at 70° F for five to seven days. Transfer to secondary for 14 to 21 days. Prime and bottle.

OG = 1.048 FG = 1.010 Bitterness = 22 IBUs

 

[jCOSbrew]

Brew pal app and brew toad site are also easy ways to create and tweak recipes.

Type in original extract recipe and note OG. Then remove some extract and add 2row to get the same OG. 70% efficiency is a good starting point.