First all grain SMaSH attempt

[hotbeer]

You could halve or quarter that recipe. Then you will lessen the cost of a beer you don't know whether you will like it or not. And that'll leave you with ingredients that you can change up the ratios and try again with little additional cost when you see and decide if this recipe needs tweaking.

One gallon batches are easy and practical for experimental brews.

 

[this_is_my_username]

You could halve or quarter that recipe. Then you will lessen the cost of a beer you don't know whether you will like it or not. And that'll leave you with ingredients that you can change up the ratios and try again with little cost additional cost when you see and decide if this recipe needs tweaking.

One gallon batches are easy and practical for experimental brews.

Working in 1 gallon batches I could probably do on a weekday too. You make a good point

 

[mashdar]

Also, no shame in trying a few existing recipes first. You could go through the BJCP categories, pick one that sounds good, and then search for a few recipes. You can mix & match a bit if you want, but starting with an existing recipe is a great idea even for very experienced brewers.

If you find a recipe you like the looks of, and want to sub in the coffee, that's very straightforward (ish).

 

[tracer bullet]

I'm kind of realizing that the original idea, of brewing a historical beer, has kind of gone away. But - it's probably a good thing, for now at least. I really do agree to try a small batch, or two, or ten, whatever is needed to get a good handle on the process. Make a beer or two that work well without major foul ups. Then start truly looking at historical recipes if that turns you on. And of course as has been noted the historical recipes could 1) use different ingredients than today, even by the same name and 2) possibly just not be that great compared to today's recipes (sometimes things evolve for good reason).

 

[this_is_my_username]

Alright, I finally did a brew day.

I ground up the following in a Corona mill:

5 lb briess 2 row
5 lb briess aromatic munich
1.5 lb blackswaen coffee malt
3 lb rolled oats

I heated 6.5 gal water to above my strike temp and added to the mash tun. Stirred until I hit strike temp and added grains. Hit 154° mash temp.

Waited 1 hr and drained. Sparged once, mixing the sparge water and waiting 20 mins before draining.

At this point the wort tasted fantastic. Malty, dark, complex, and obviously sweet.

Added to the boiler and got to temp. Added 49g east Kent goldings at 6 1% acid. Then i thought "let's scrape that scum off the top" and did so. Then I realized I likely pulled out most of the hops i just added so I added another 30g.

So I have somewhere between 41 and 71 g of hops for an ibu of ~30-50 (so much for repeatability).

Used a chiller to drop temp, drained into carboy (sterilized of course) and pitched mangrove jack m42 yeast.

The wort volume is still ~6 gal and the temp corrected OG is 1.066 which puts me around 75% efficiency. Not too bad I suppose.

Now, after the boil the wort tastes f*cking gross. Very bitter but I'm hopeful that will change with fermentation and bottle conditioning.

 

[mashdar]

I've always found fresh wort to be more bitter than the finished beer. I wouldn't say "gross", but perhaps an aquired taste.

No scorching? That or excess grain in the boil could add bitterness.

I think 50 IBU and 1.066 OG shouldn't be a big problem.

ps that looks like a nice recipe.

 

[tracer bullet]

Unless you super botched the hops I think you're fine. Agreed an acquired taste. It will taste like a combo of ingredients so far but not exactly like beer for a while.

 

[this_is_my_username]

I've always found fresh wort to be more bitter than the finished beer. I wouldn't say "gross", but perhaps an aquired taste.

No scorching? That or excess grain in the boil could add bitterness.

I think 50 IBU and 1.066 OG shouldn't be a big problem.

ps that looks like a nice recipe.

No scorching that I saw. Thank you, I'm calling it the smash fail stout since if nothing else it isn't a SMaSH

 

[this_is_my_username]

Unless you super botched the hops I think you're fine. Agreed an acquired taste. It will taste like a combo of ingredients so far but not exactly like beer for a while.

That's great to hear, thank you

 

[this_is_my_username]

Well, it's been almost 2 weeks and the airlock activity has calmed down a lot and there's a nice yeast cake at the bottom.

When a bubble does pop and I can get a good whiff of the air from the fermenter it smells super good. Nice and malty, super different than the unfermented wort smell.

I'll start checking gravity this time next week and prep to bottle after 3 weeks in the fermenter.

 

[redrocker652002]

I usually go two weeks or so, then check it. Once it checks the same two or three times I figure I am good to go. Usually keg, so bottles are not really needed, but I think your plan is a good one. Is there any dry hops? If so, I try and time it so that I can dry hop for about 3 or 4 days and that's it. Good luck and let us know how it ends up.

 

[this_is_my_username]

I usually go two weeks or so, then check it. Once it checks the same two or three times I figure I am good to go. Usually keg, so bottles are not really needed, but I think your plan is a good one. Is there any dry hops? If so, I try and time it so that I can dry hop for about 3 or 4 days and that's it. Good luck and let us know how it ends up.

I would be checking and trying to bottle this weekend but the missus gave me the go ahead for another brew day and I want to take advantage. I don't think an extra week on the yeast will hurt anything too much.

I don't have any plans for dry hopping this one, maybe when I try my hand at an IPA.

I'll be sure to keep updating this thread as the project unfolds.

 

[Rish]

don't think an extra week on the yeast will hurt anything too much.

Most likely will help, especially with a dark beer. I always go 4 - 6 weeks in the fv then bottle. Seems it gives the yeast time to clean up and flavor/character to develop. Also, very little trub in the bottles. Good luck!

 

[redrocker652002]

I looked at your original recipe, and it is much different than I have done in the past. I am mostly and ale guy, so I would heed the advice given and maybe wait another week or two. To me, as long as it is sealed and not at ridk

 

[this_is_my_username]

I looked at your original recipe, and it is much different than I have done in the past. I am mostly and ale guy, so I would heed the advice given and maybe wait another week or two. To me, as long as it is sealed and not at ridk

Do you mean the single coffee malt idea? Because I abandoned that after all the advice. The recipe made was

5lb 2 row
5lb munich
1.5 lb coffee malt
3 lb rolled oats

 

[this_is_my_username]

Bottled last weekend. The FG was 1.016 for a total abv of 6.5% Flavor before priming was very coffee chocolatey roasty notes with what I can only really describe as a lot of "grain" flavor. Similar to a founders porter but more pronounced flavor in all aspects if that makes sense.

Primed to 1.9 volumes co2 with table sugar and got 50 bottles capped and had about 6 oz leftover. Tasted the primed 6oz and was was gross with the added sweetness so I popped that in a mason jar to prime. I've been releasing pressure as needed and it seems to be well carbed now. (it's been upstairs at 68 F instead of in the basement at 61 F) Will crack it open and try it this weekend but let the bottles go at least another week.

 

[Miraculix]

Well, it's been almost 2 weeks and the airlock activity has calmed down a lot and there's a nice yeast cake at the bottom.

When a bubble does pop and I can get a good whiff of the air from the fermenter it smells super good. Nice and malty, super different than the unfermented wort smell.

I'll start checking gravity this time next week and prep to bottle after 3 weeks in the fermenter.

If you're into that type of beer, go check out imperial malt from Simpsons. It is a self converting brown malt with a marvelously nice and malty character. You can use it at 100% of the grist and brew a smash with it.

 

[this_is_my_username]

If you're into that type of beer, go check out imperial malt from Simpsons. It is a self converting brown malt with a marvelously nice and malty character. You can use it at 100% of the grist and brew a smash with it.

Thankyou! That was what I originally planned with the coffee malt. I'll definitely give it a try!

 

[Miraculix]

Thankyou! That was what I originally planned with the coffee malt. I'll definitely give it a try!

It's one of my favourite all time malts. Really beautiful flavour.