Effects of thicker mash and subsequent dilution

[TomVA]

Having traveled many times to England over the past 35 years I fell in love with the quintessential draught Best Bitter and developed a recipe that nails it - in fact best I’ve ever had. The only problem is my eight gallon SS pot limits me to four gallon batches using my BIAB full strike water method, so I will need to change my method to yield a preferred five gallon batch. I think I know how to do that, but want to check with the experts here first to make sure the changes will not adversely affect my delicious brew.

My current method is to heat 5.25 gallons of water to 158°F (70°C), insert my Wilserbrewer bag, add my 6.6 pound grain bill, and mash for one hour at 154°F (68°C). After removing, draining, and squeezing the bag I bring the wort to a boil, add hops, and boil for one hour. I then cool the wort in an ice water bath to room temperature, pour through a strainer into a 6.5 gallon fermenting bucket, add yeast, and ferment for two weeks at 66°F (19°C). This yields exactly four gallons.

My revised method for a larger five gallon batch is essentially the same as above except that I would add 1.6 pounds more grains to the same volume of strike water thus making a slightly thicker mash, 2.6 vs 3.2 qts/lb. Then once cooled and in the fermenter I would adjust the volume to five gallons using sterile water (pre-boiled and cooled).

Should I expect any material change to my delicious ale from this thicker mash and subsequent dilution?

TomVA

 

[Qhrumphf]

A) make sure dilution happens pre pitching yeast

B) you'll change the hopping slightly. You'll lose some character to higher gravity (mostly insignificant), but you'll get a far more significant loss to the dilution.

I would adjust late hops to the full size- think ounces per gallon and scale from there.

For bittering, understand that by dilution from 4 to 5 gallons, you are decreasing your iso alpha concentration (and IBUs) by 25%. Adjust your hopping based on your actual 4 gal wort such that your IBUs are where you want when diluted.

 

[eric19312]

Why not add the extra water to the kettle during the boil? You have plenty of room in an 8 gallon kettle for a full volume boil...

 

[SanPancho]

Why not add the extra water to the kettle during the boil? You have plenty of room in an 8 gallon kettle for a full volume boil...

Exactly. Or if you have another large pot you could even use the extra gallon to do a dunk sparge with the grains. If not, maybe a large strainer/collander to let the grains sit on the kettle and do a pour-over sparge?

Either way, its easier to just add the water to boil if your kettle size allows.

 

[TomVA]

Why not add the extra water to the kettle during the boil? You have plenty of room in an 8 gallon kettle for a full volume boil...

Exactly. Or if you have another large pot you could even use the extra gallon to do a dunk sparge with the grains. If not, maybe a large strainer/collander to let the grains sit on the kettle and do a pour-over sparge?

Either way, its easier to just add the water to boil if your kettle size allows.

Thanks all for the suggestions.

My plan was to increase the hops by 25%, i.e. adjust both the grain bill and hops to the amount needed for the final five gallon batch. Would I need more than a 25% increase in the hops due to the thicker mash?

I thought of adding an extra gallon of water to the boil, or doing a dunk sparge first and then adding that water to the boil, but thought adding the last gallon to the fermenter would be more convenient, i.e. less full pot for lifting, boiling, and cooling. Would there be a difference in the final brew between these approaches?

TomVA

 

[Qhrumphf]

More convenient with a smaller batch. But the product will benefit from the full boil. Unless your boiloff rate is ludicrous or your boil strength excessive, you can do a full boil for 5 gallons in an 8 gal kettle.

 

[SanPancho]

benefits of adding to boil are hop calculation simiplicity and ability to do a sparge. benefits of adding after boil are that you can use ice cold water to help chill down to pitch temps.

 

[Derp]

Having traveled many times to England over the past 35 years I fell in love with the quintessential draught Best Bitter and developed a recipe that nails it - in fact best I’ve ever had.

Would you mind sharing the recipe? I mostly brew bitters and I'm always looking for something new to try.

 

[tennesseean_87]

I'd say get a chiller! It will chill quicker to dilute afterward, but the time savings form a good chiller are awesome.

 

[TomVA]

Would you mind sharing the recipe? I mostly brew bitters and I'm always looking for something new to try.

Sure. It's at the top end of the Best Bitter style.

For a four gallon batch:

Maris Otter....... 5.90 lbs (90.9%)
Crystal 60........ 0.50 lbs (7.6%)
Chocolate........ 0.10 lbs (1.5%)

Total grain bill = 6.50 lbs (equivalent to 8.1 lbs in a five gallon batch)

East Kent Goldings (4.8% AA)........ 1.25 oz @ 60 min
East Kent Goldings (4.8% AA)........ 0.25 oz @ 15 min

Yeast...... S-04

Mash @ 154°F for one hour
Strike Volume = 5.25 gal
Boil Volume = 5.0 gal
Fermenter Volume = 4.0 gal

OG = 1.048
FG = 1.012
ABV = 4.7%
SRM = 12
IBU = 35

TomVA

 

[Derp]

Sure. It's at the top end of the Best Bitter style.



For a four gallon batch:



Maris Otter....... 5.90 lbs (90.9%)

Crystal 60........ 0.50 lbs (7.6%)

Chocolate........ 0.10 lbs (1.5%)

Thanks, I'll give it a shot one of these days. Nice and simple - the way a bitter should be.

Do you use the chocolate malt only to adjust the color, or does it introduce a noticeable flavor component? I typically darken my bitters (12-gallon batches) with 5-10 ml of a homemade caramel colorant that is tasteless in such small quantities.

 

[TomVA]

Thanks, I'll give it a shot one of these days. Nice and simple - the way a bitter should be.

Do you use the chocolate malt only to adjust the color, or does it introduce a noticeable flavor component? I typically darken my bitters (12-gallon batches) with 5-10 ml of a homemade caramel colorant that is tasteless in such small quantities.

I added the chocolate for some depth and character rather than color. Not sure I achieved it as I didn't do a comparison against an ale without it, but I can say this bitter is rich and to me better than anything I had on tap in England. YMMV

Forgot to mention that I carbonate to only 1.5 volumes when bottling.

TomVA

 

[McKnuckle]

I added 2% pale chocolate to a bitter recently to deepen the color, and really regretted it. It produced a slight background burnt toast flavor that has faded over time, but still is perceptible on the finish. I'll be steering clear of anything remotely chocolate in my bitters from now on!

 

[Derp]

I added 2% pale chocolate to a bitter recently to deepen the color, and really regretted it. It produced a slight background burnt toast flavor that has faded over time, but still is perceptible on the finish. I'll be steering clear of anything remotely chocolate in my bitters from now on!

I made a Mason jar full of homemade caramel coloring that I calculated to be about 5200 SRM. I typically only need to add 5 or 10 ml of it to a 10-gallon batch, so it'll probably last me years. It's perfect for darkening Golden Promise bitters without having to add dark malts. Sometimes I'll add a drop or two to a glass of Coors Light to prove to people that "dark beers" are not necessarily stronger or more flavorful than "light beers."

These are the instructions that I followed to make the colorant. I've included an old archived version since the current website seemed to have been hacked and infected with all sorts of Viagra links and other nasties.

https://web.archive.org/web/2012030...blog/beer-brewing-info/making-brewers-caramel