Electric Strawberry Shortcake

[sprucecampbell]

Hello all. I am very new to brewing. I just finished brewing my third all grain beer today. Now I want to make a beer that has a Strawberry Shortcake feel to it. Like an after dinner dessert beer. As I know my hops much better than I know malts and sugars I would appreciate any advice you can give me.

I found this recipe here for Strawberry Alarm Clock and it looked very tasty.

Grain List

Amount Item
5.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
4.00 lb White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM)
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 15L (15.0 SRM)
0.50 lb Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM)
0.25 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)
1.00 oz Willamette [4.80 %] (60 min)
0.50 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min)
4.00 lb Strawberries (Secondary 3.0 weeks)
1 Pkgs SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04) Yeast-Ale

Now according to the Malt Chart Amber, Belgian Biscuit, and and Victory provide a biscuit like taste that I think I would want. What could I replace/lessen to infuse this taste in the beer?

As far as hops I was thinking Citra, Amarillo, and Magnum. Starting it with .25 Magnum. Adding .5 Citra with 15 mins left. and Amarillo in the last two minutes before it's pulled.

In terms of Sugar. I have some Torani's Shortbread Syrup which has a great smell/taste. Could I add this during the boil? After the hot break? When going into the secondary? I'd like the tartness of the strawberries and citrusy hops to be paired with a wheat/biscuit taste and Shortbread syrup undertones. I like how Southern Tier Imperial Pumking (draft only. last years bombers were kind of meh) managed to give that warm gingerbread taste with a nice hop/alcohol bite. Really well balanced. Sweet, but not overwhelmingly so.

As far as yeast, no idea.
If anyone has any ideas or any experience with any of this I'd love the help. Strawberry picking has already began and I really wanted to do a few batches during the summer while the strawberries are ripe and fresh.

Thanks.

 

[sprucecampbell]

bump. anyone got any thoughts on anything above? what about biscuit tasting malts?

 

[samc]

I would think that your Shortbread Syrup would boil away and leave you with some added sugar but no smell/taste. Maybe in the secondary but I'd check the ingredients first as many of those flavored syrups are filled with junk.

Can't really help with much else as it is so far from anything I have or would brew. I would gladly drink a very bitter IPA with a piece of Strawberry shortcake to munch on.

 

[sprucecampbell]

Thanks for the heads up.

According to it's label: Pure cane sugar, water, natural flavors, salt, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate, and citric acid.

I was going to add it after the hot break. But adding it in the secondary might be good too. I was going to add some Milk Sugar about 30 mins into the boil.

I am an IPA man at heart, and I am brewing a few different versions of those. But I wanted to do some more bizarre flavored beers. So I thought might be good start, and very seasonal.

 

[Scroto]

What makes it electric if there's not any acid?:fro::cross:

 

[lordbeermestrength]

Thanks for the heads up.

According to it's label: Pure cane sugar, water, natural flavors, salt, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate, and citric acid.

I was going to add it after the hot break. But adding it in the secondary might be good too. I was going to add some Milk Sugar about 30 mins into the boil.

I am an IPA man at heart, and I am brewing a few different versions of those. But I wanted to do some more bizarre flavored beers. So I thought might be good start, and very seasonal.

Potassium sorbate will kill your fermentation, depending on the concentration. You don't wanna use that stuff. I think sodium benzoate is also a preservative, meaning you don't wanna use it either.

 

[sprucecampbell]

What makes it electric if there's not any acid?:fro::cross:

There may be some other ingredients not listed

Potassium sorbate will kill your fermentation, depending on the concentration. You don't wanna use that stuff. I think sodium benzoate is also a preservative, meaning you don't wanna use it either.

I did a cupcake ale that is still fermenting and used 1 lb of cupcake syrup after the hot break. I did a gravity reading last night and I am at 8% alcohol and it still seems to be still going strong. I estimated it would finish around 8.5 so I am right on par with what I thought it would be. So if the Potassium Sorbate is a fermentation killer it didn't affect me adversely at all. Though in the future I will look into alternatives that don't involve preservatives. I just had a few of these syrup bottles lying around and figured I would see what I could do with them.

Anyone have any ideas about a grain bill that would yield a nice biscuit taste/aroma? I have never used any of the those style grains so I am not sure what concentration to use. Thanks for the input.