First Recipe

[jkswasey]

This is the first recipe I've put together, looking for some feedback.

1.5lb Molasses
5lb Liquid Malt Extract - Dark
.5lb Chocolate Malt
.5lb Crystal 120
.5lb Carapils
.5lb Flaked Oats
.5lb Roasted Barley

1oz Fuggles - 60min
1oz East Kent Goldings - 30min

 

[didinho]

do you have a style in mind? foreign stout maybe?

 

[jkswasey]

I didn't have a specific style in mind, but I think a foreign stout would be a good description of what I was going for. With the grains I was trying to get some chocolate/coffee/nuttyness to go along with the flavor from the molasses.

 

[jinjorge]

This is the first recipe I've put together, looking for some feedback.

1.5lb Molasses
5lb Liquid Malt Extract - Dark
.5lb Chocolate Malt
.5lb Crystal 120
.5lb Carapils
.5lb Flaked Oats
.5lb Roasted Barley

1oz Fuggles - 60min
1oz East Kent Goldings - 30min

which yeast were you planning to use?

 

[jkswasey]

I was thinking the Wyeast liquid 1332 Northwest Ale.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

The only thing I would suggest is perhaps (real) maple syrup rather than molasses. The reason I say this is because I have heard quite a few comments that molasses doesn't translate well in beer.


This is not based on my own personal experience, so take it with a grain of salt. I have used maple syrup in beer to very good effect.

 

[jkswasey]

The only thing I would suggest is perhaps (real) maple syrup rather than molasses. The reason I say this is because I have heard quite a few comments that molasses doesn't translate well in beer.


This is not based on my own personal experience, so take it with a grain of salt. I have used maple syrup in beer to very good effect.

I've heard the same about maple syrup. Probably has to do with it being mostly sugar. How much and what grade syrup did you use for what batch size?

I probably should have also mentioned this is for a 5gal batch if that isn't assumed by the quantities.

 

[Yooper]

fermented molasses tastes, um, unique. I find it horrible, but in a smaller quantity, you might find it ok.

It looks like the recipe is 5 pounds LME and 4 pounds "other"?

I would ditch much of the "other", and especially that quantity of special B. I'd do a re-do, and think about my goals.

Do you want "chewy"? "Slick"? Rich? Toffee? Etc, and then put together a recipe using no more than three "other" and only pale or light LME (because dark LME has about three "others" as well).

If you were going to label the current recipe, it would be a (not very good) oatmeal stout.

If you think about what you want, we can help you get there, but as it stands it's a mish mash of ingredients that won't meld well together I'm afraid.



Complex is good- complicated is not. I'd ditch about 3/4s of the stuff and get complexity and flavor, and have a great beer.

 

[BigEd]

This is the first recipe I've put together, looking for some feedback.

1.5lb Molasses
5lb Liquid Malt Extract - Dark
.5lb Chocolate Malt
.5lb Crystal 120
.5lb Carapils
.5lb Flaked Oats
.5lb Roasted Barley

1oz Fuggles - 60min
1oz East Kent Goldings - 30min

To echo questions and comments already made, what are you trying to make or target? It's much easier to make rational comments and suggestions if we know what it is you are trying to do.

With that said, molasses is a very aggressive ingredient. Unless you have used it before in that ratio and really like it I'd rethink using it, at least in that amount. Bear in mind that dark extract already has a pretty good portion of dark malts. Even for a dark beer I'd recommend using light extract and get your color input from accessory specialty grains. About 10% in dark grains will get you into a basic stout/porter color. I'd also suggest looking into dry extract rather than liquid as it tends to have better fermentation characteristics, leaving less unfermented byproducts and a cleaner final product.

Flaked oats need to be mashed. By steeping you will only get them wet. Either get rid of them or add some base/pale malt to the mix and you'll be doing a mini-mash which will actually get something worthwhile out of flaked grain. If you mini-mash the oats you won't need the CaraPils. With some molasses I'd ditch the very dark crystal and use a little with a lighter color.

For starters:

6 lbs Dry light malt extract

1 cup molasses

1 lb pale malt

1/2 lb flaked oats

1/2 lb crystal 55L

1/2 lb chocolate malt

1/2 lb roasted barley

 

[TasunkaWitko]

I've heard the same about maple syrup. Probably has to do with it being mostly sugar. How much and what grade syrup did you use for what batch size?

I probably should have also mentioned this is for a 5gal batch if that isn't assumed by the quantities.

I normally just use whatever WalMart has to offer. The important thing, to me, is that it's genuine maple syrup.

As for the amount, I generally use about 2 tablespoons for my 1-gallon batches (for BOTTLING), but I do NOT know how this would translate to a 5-gallon batch - My sources say 1 cup for a 5-gallon batch, but I have found that, in general, their recommendation results in slightly-over-carbonated beer, so my suggestion (and that's all that it is) would be to use about 2/3 of a cup. Do your research, and I am sure that there is a good, reliable calculator out there somewhere - or, I am 100% confident that someone on the forum with more experience can assist with this, if you're interested.

As for the amount in the recipe itself, I am afraid I have no clue.

On that same note: Listen to Yooper! She knows her stuff, and is an invaluable source of knowledge and - more importantly - wisdom! If she's giving advice, it is for a good reason, and you can rest assured that you will have good results if you follow it.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes ~

 

[jkswasey]

This is what I ended up going with. It's really just a recipe from my local HBS with some molasses added. I decided it would probably be a good idea to start with something I know I would like when testing molasses for the first time, so I know for sure if it's the molasses I'm getting particular flavors from. I think my goal for this (assuming I find the molasses desirable) is to turn it into an Oatmeal Breakfast stout, possibly replacing some of the wheat with crystal and adding some cold brew coffee.

6.5lb Amber Liquid Malt
.75lb Molasses (Not positive on grade, it was Grandma's Original not Robust, so I'm assuming light/medium)
8oz Chocolate Malt
8oz Pale 6-Row
4oz Dark Wheat
5oz Roasted Barley
8oz Flaked Oats

Steeped for 60min at ~155 - 160F (Not sure what differentiates between a partial mash and steeping, if it's just the presence of enzymes... more research required ).

60min Boil:
1oz Target - 60min
.5oz Styrian Goldings - 30min
.5oz Styrian Goldings - 5min

Added molasses at flameout.

Yeast: Wyeast 1332 Northwest Ale

5 gallons, OG ~1.060 which matches my expectations with 70% efficiency (based on brewersfriend recipe calculator).

Now the waiting game. Thanks all for your replies.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

How did this turn out?

Since coming across this, my son has brewed a spruce tip ale that incorporated molasses. It hasn't finished fermenting yet, but it sure smells good.

I'll be giving it a try, sometime.