Experimental Batches

[DKershner]

Finally got around to bottling the blonde. I ended up getting 9 bottles, booyah! Finished at 1010. I'm going to let this sit for 3 weeks before I test the first one. DKershner- one of these will make its way to you eventually.

Heh, I will bottle up an 84% one when I get a chance, but I bombed it with Apricot over the weekend. =P It should be along with the coffee stout and Holiday spice beer in a couple weeks when they are ready.

 

[Lcasanova]

I know it's jumping around a bit BUT, I saw a post earlier this morning that got my attention for some reason. A guy is brewing a watermelon beer using flavorings and they seem to work pretty good. They are all gluten free and water soluble so....

Im going to do a 1 gallon pumpkin with this. I'll probably do this twice. One with just the flavoring and another with the flavoring and spices. That said, I think I'll do 100% BRS with these so I don't have to order any sorghum syrup.

Im also going to do another double chocolate oatmeal stout but I'm going to tweak my original recipe and substitute this in place of the wonder cocoa.

Any thoughts?

 

[DKershner]

I know it's jumping around a bit BUT, I saw a post earlier this morning that got my attention for some reason. A guy is brewing a watermelon beer using flavorings and they seem to work pretty good. They are all gluten free and water soluble so....

Im going to do a 1 gallon pumpkin with this. I'll probably do this twice. One with just the flavoring and another with the flavoring and spices. That said, I think I'll do 100% BRS with these so I don't have to order any sorghum syrup.

Im also going to do another double chocolate oatmeal stout but I'm going to tweak my original recipe and substitute this in place of the wonder cocoa.

Any thoughts?

Those scare me for some reason, they look medicinal. I see those for sale at places that sell the fake sugar, like stevia and splenda and the like. I avoid those like the plague, and feel like we have no reason to avoid sugar, or water, or alcohol in our beverages, which seems to be their primary purpose.

Much rather use these or the like, but I am probably just biased because of the sites those ones you posted show up on.

 

[KevinM]

I agree, there's too much artificial in there for my comfort. How about some other natural chocolate extracts, do you think those would work compared to those shown? I don't think they have a pumpkin extract however.

Nothing wrong with stevia, it's just a natural plain leaf. Splenda scares me however.

 

[Lcasanova]

Well, for < $8 they are already on their way at least I know they are gluten free!

 

[celiacsurvivor]

Well, for < $8 they are already on their way at least I know they are gluten free!

Definitley worth a try.

Do you know what these are made in? They have to be solubilised in something, and it could be an oil or lipid base which would mess with your brew.

 

[fermentedhiker]

So here's my tentative SMaSH plan for tonight through the weekend depending on how much time I have. I'm going to try three back to back batches using essentially the same procedure for all.

#1
1 lb BRS in 1.5+ gallon boil for 60min
.1oz Saaz@60
.1oz Saaz@30
.1oz Saaz@flameout
1tsp yeast nutrient to primary
yeast starter made from my currently bubbling GF batch Nottingham

#2
Same as above except using 1lb Molasses

#3
Same as above except using 1lb Maple syrup.

I'd like to do the same with Agave nectar and Blackstrap molasses as well, but I don't have enough Saaz for that, so those will have to wait until my next order.

Stage 2 repeat the most successful of the previous tests, with steeping a "specialty" grain prior to boil. I'm planning on doing unmalted since I'm only steeping them. I haven't decided whether I should do stage 2 as side by side batches of different roast levels of the same grain, or using the same roast level but of different GF grains.

Thoughts?Suggestions? etc................

 

[DKershner]

The molasses ones will probably be rough at best.

The maple syrup one will ferment out almost completely and will probably just taste like alcohol or hooch without flavoring. Make sure to use Grade D to get any flavor at all.

Agave would be interesting.

I would throw tapioca into the mix if you can find some.

 

[Lcasanova]

So here's my tentative SMaSH plan for tonight through the weekend depending on how much time I have. I'm going to try three back to back batches using essentially the same procedure for all.

#1
1 lb BRS in 1.5+ gallon boil for 60min
.1oz Saaz@60
.1oz Saaz@30
.1oz Saaz@flameout
1tsp yeast nutrient to primary
yeast starter made from my currently bubbling GF batch Nottingham

#2
Same as above except using 1lb Molasses

#3
Same as above except using 1lb Maple syrup.

I'd like to do the same with Agave nectar and Blackstrap molasses as well, but I don't have enough Saaz for that, so those will have to wait until my next order.

Stage 2 repeat the most successful of the previous tests, with steeping a "specialty" grain prior to boil. I'm planning on doing unmalted since I'm only steeping them. I haven't decided whether I should do stage 2 as side by side batches of different roast levels of the same grain, or using the same roast level but of different GF grains.

Thoughts?Suggestions? etc................

Just a thought.

Using only 1# of BRS is a 1.5+ boil will give you a gravity probably around 1040 (Im guessing). I boiled 1lb 5 oz in exactly 1.5 gallons to get .85 gallons going into the fermenter. My OG was 1048 and it fermented down to 1010.

Just food for thought.

I agree with Dkershner on the molasses and maple syrup but I am very interested in the molasses one- specifically the blackstrap. If it weren't for the extracts I ordered I just might do that one myself. Then again, if you don't get to it, I will try to.

 

[fermentedhiker]

So maybe I should do a 1.25 gallon boil to end up with .75 gallons in the primary?

I don't expect them to be keepers, just palette education so I can have a better understanding of what each ingredient brings to the table under brewing conditions.

tonight is the BRS batch.

So tapioca is another one, any others you can think of?

 

[DKershner]

So maybe I should do a 1.25 gallon boil to end up with .75 gallons in the primary?

I don't expect them to be keepers, just palette education so I can have a better understanding of what each ingredient brings to the table under brewing conditions.

tonight is the BRS batch.

So tapioca is another one, any others you can think of?

Honey? Dark Brown Sugar? High Maltose Corn Syrup?

 

[fermentedhiker]

BRS batch done. 1.042 and about 6/10 of a gallon. We'll see how it goes.

 

[fermentedhiker]

just an fyi, I found another source for BRS that has a cheaper price if purchased by the gallon(not sure what the shipping cost is) suzannes specialties which sells 1lb jars for 5$ but 1 Gallon for 30$ which drops the price almost in half before shipping.

 

[KevinM]

How about Coconut syrup, or how about Yacon? Palm syrup? That might be the same as coconut syrup. Not sure what nutrients are in them, and I don't recall what other liquid sweeteners I saw at wholefoods.

 

[JerryE]

So here's my tentative SMaSH plan for tonight through the weekend depending on how much time I have. I'm going to try three back to back batches using essentially the same procedure for all.

#1
1 lb BRS in 1.5+ gallon boil for 60min
.1oz Saaz@60
.1oz Saaz@30
.1oz Saaz@flameout
1tsp yeast nutrient to primary
yeast starter made from my currently bubbling GF batch Nottingham

#2
Same as above except using 1lb Molasses
...

Thoughts?Suggestions? etc................

I did a 5 gallon batch pretty similar to #2. It was all molasses, but used Cascade hops. I did not use any yeast nutrient.

It fermented quite vigorously. It finished at 6.5% abv. The taste was too sweet, and not what you are looking for in beer.
That said, I'm drinking it

 

[Lcasanova]

I just did a quick search on google, blackstrap molasses is about 50% unfermentable while light molasses is only 10% unfermentable. If you used blackstrap molasses that would explain why there was so much residual sweetness. The same could be said for light molasses but obviously a lot less sweeter than the blackstrap.

That is good to know

 

[JerryE]

It was Roddenberry brand. Blackstrap I believe.
I wondered if the sweetness was due to unfermentables or because the abv got too high for ale yeast. Your comment answers that. Thanks.

 

[fermentedhiker]

How about Coconut syrup, or how about Yacon? Palm syrup? That might be the same as coconut syrup. Not sure what nutrients are in them, and I don't recall what other liquid sweeteners I saw at wholefoods.

I guess I'm going to have to go back to the store and poke around some more , and I really need to order some more hops.

 

[KevinM]

There's lots of things that seem interesting to try, different sweetners, different flavoring items. I'd consider some of the fruit sugars, like dates, but it may turn into more of a wine than a beer. I'm still working on the basic hop differences at the moment, doing 4 SMaSH's to compare hop flavors and will likely do more before I experiment. I overdid the sorghum to water ratio though and may have to water it down and let it referment.

 

[fermentedhiker]

Maple Syrup batch is started. The heaviest/darkest I could find was grade B dark. OG = 1.050

 

[Lcasanova]

Just saw an article in the November Brew Your Own about sugars. I breifly scanned it and the author recommended using no more than 8 oz of molasses in a brew, specifically a robust porter or stout. I don't buy it, but that's what experimentation is for.

 

[fermentedhiker]

That is strange since the imperial stout kit I just finished included 1lb of corn sugar for the boil. 8oz is barely more than used for priming??

 

[Lcasanova]

Shoot, I need to edit that post! He was referring to molasses.

 

[DKershner]

That is strange since the imperial stout kit I just finished included 1lb of corn sugar for the boil. 8oz is barely more than used for priming??

Priming is only about 2.5oz per 5gal. But yes, Logan's post didn't make sense until he changed it.

I can see why he would say that...but we've done all sorts of things against conventional wisdom. He is mostly trying to keep people who don't know what they are doing from making dumb mistakes. 1 size fits all advice.

 

[celiacsurvivor]

It all comes down to personal taste, he might not like mollasses but someone else might eat it by the jar full.

 

[fermentedhiker]

Priming is only about 2.5oz per 5gal. But yes, Logan's post didn't make sense until he changed it.
.

It's odd then that both specialty grains &extract kits I did this year had 5 oz priming sugar for a 5 gallon batch. Could this be just because they were both high gravity beers(Bavarian Dopplebock & Imperial Stout)?

 

[DKershner]

It's odd then that both specialty grains &extract kits I did this year had 5 oz priming sugar for a 5 gallon batch. Could this be just because they were both high gravity beers(Bavarian Dopplebock & Imperial Stout)?

Ha! I haven't naturally carbed anything in a long time. The difference between our measurements is the difference between carbing at room temp vs 38F.

5oz is still high though, about 2.7 volumes, higher than the standard 2.4. I would carb that Imp Stout at more like 1.6. But hey, its a kit, can't expect everything I suppose.

 

[fermentedhiker]

Ha! I haven't naturally carbed anything in a long time. The difference between our measurements is the difference between carbing at room temp vs 38F.

5oz is still high though, about 2.7 volumes, higher than the standard 2.4. I would carb that Imp Stout at more like 1.6. But hey, its a kit, can't expect everything I suppose.

Good to know. I bottled them in 1 liter EZcap bottles and the caps almost remove themselves when you flip the bale Very loud pop and a cloud of gas rolls out of the neck. Oddly enough(to my inexperienced eye) the head is made of ultra fine bubbles, almost like a nitrogen draft. That wasn't the case with the dopplebock(which took 4months to lager properly)

 

[DKershner]

Good to know. I bottled them in 1 liter EZcap bottles and the caps almost remove themselves when you flip the bale Very loud pop and a cloud of gas rolls out of the neck. Oddly enough(to my inexperienced eye) the head is made of ultra fine bubbles, almost like a nitrogen draft. That wasn't the case with the dopplebock(which took 4months to lager properly)

Highly carbed beers with lots of dark malts can look similar to Nitro pours, but less creamy.

Since they are in fact the opposite, the taste doesn't really match at all though.

I will be putting my first beer (its a GF beer) through the Nitro tap in a couple weeks, which should be interesting indeed.

 

[Lcasanova]

I haven't carbed a beer using the 1 oz of priming sugar/gallon method in a LONGGGG time. I usually look at the standard volumes per style and calculate from there.