Guinness home brew

[Jamie02173]

Im after getting all the ingredients pre mashed for a guinness clone. Has anybody tried this? I was assuming i would cook my mash biab for 90 minutes as usual, then add my hops to a 90 minute boil. Is there better ways like soaking grains? Or will this method work?

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

I'm no expert but the common practise is to boil bittering hops, wich I assume will be your only hop addition, for 60 minutes. This as to not risk the alpha acids starting to break down and decrease the bitterness you get from them. You could probably boil them for 90min, but why take the risk? And what do you mean by pre mash?

 

[bronc72]

I would add the 60 minute hop addition 30 minutes into the 90 minute boil, or you will need to increase the amount of hops you add.

 

[slayer021175666]

I would add that a nitrogen (beer gas) system is a must for the style. You'll get the taste right but, the mouth feel will be totally wrong.

 

[Jamie02173]

I'm no expert but the common practise is to boil bittering hops, wich I assume will be your only hop addition, for 60 minutes. This as to not risk the alpha acids starting to break down and decrease the bitterness you get from them. You could probably boil them for 90min, but why take the risk? And what do you mean by pre mash?

I meant the grains and barley were both mashed already as i dont have the equiptment. I have brewed four beers but never tried guinness/irish ale

 

[Jamie02173]

I would add that a nitrogen (beer gas) system is a must for the style. You'll get the taste right but, the mouth feel will be totally wrong.

I havnt looked into that yet my plan was to start fermenting and then figure it out. Do you need different gas and regulator?

 

[Jamie02173]

I would add that a nitrogen (beer gas) system is a must for the style. You'll get the taste right but, the mouth feel will be totally wrong.

Is dat 50/50 nitro co2?

 

[camonick]

Is dat 50/50 nitro co2?

Usually a 75/25 or 70/30 nitrogen/CO2 mixture... whichever is available in your area. Yes, it requires a different regulator and bottle valve stem and a special faucet. You need a stout faucet or the stout spout adapter if you have Intertap faucets.

Edited to add:
I forgot you were in Ireland, so your bottle valve connections might be different. It’s also called Guinness gas here in the US.

 

[Jamie02173]

Usually a 75/25 or 70/30 nitrogen/CO2 mixture... whichever is available in your area. Yes, it requires a different regulator and bottle valve stem and a special faucet. You need a stout faucet or the stout spout adapter if you have Intertap faucets.

Edited to add:
I forgot you were in Ireland, so your bottle valve connections might be different. It’s also called Guinness gas here in the US.

Cheers for the info a lot of investment for one style. I was thinking of hooking it up to my friends guinness kegerator when it is done but i will need the gas and reg to carbonate so i might have to invest!

 

[slayer021175666]

Camonick, said it all.
And, yep. Its a big investment but, its not just for Guinness clones. You will like many many stouts nitrogenated instead of carbonated.

 

[Jamie02173]

Camonick, said it all.
And, yep. Its a big investment but, its not just for Guinness clones. You will like many many stouts nitrogenated instead of carbonated.

I have spent a small fortune so far so maybe after xmas i will invest in this system. I saw another thread stating i could carbonate the guinness with the usual co2 system for beer and when its finished i can bring it to my friends house who has a guinness system, hooked up and have a party! Best way to get feedback!

 

[camonick]

If you’re serving with a stout faucet and beer gas, you’ll want a low carbonation level or else you’ll have a bad foam problem and won’t get the nice cascading effect you see with a typical Guinness pour.

 

[slayer021175666]

If your buddy has a Nitro system, all is well.

 

[PaleMan]

Good luck with that, they've been brewing for many years. You may make a cracking stout, but you wont clone Guinness. If you do, they'll be out of business.

 

[PaleMan]

A stout tap ( faucet ) wont give you Guinness.

What is it with you Americans using hard words. Tap, faucet. Who says faucet? Its a tap. What is a faucet??

 

[PaleMan]

Buddy?? Its Mate. Youre mate, not a buddy.

And whats with you lot using imperial measurements? Its kilo, not pound.

I could go on. You mob have one thing correct. Guns N Roses. Touring in my little Aussie city. I cant wait.

 

[JoeMamasIPA]

Buddy?? Its Mate. Youre mate, not a buddy.

And whats with you lot using imperial measurements? Its kilo, not pound.

I could go on. You mob have one thing correct. Guns N Roses. Touring in my little Aussie city. I cant wait.

The things we do with our mates in the U.S. differ quite a bit from the things we do with our buddies. Ever heard of a mating ritual? LOL

 

[wstumper]

A stout tap ( faucet ) wont give you Guinness.

What is it with you Americans using hard words. Tap, faucet. Who says faucet? Its a tap. What is a faucet??

Faucets are for washing dirty dishes or watering the lawn...in the U.S.A.

 

[youngdh]

With my Guinness clone I get the nitrogen surge and head using a glue syringe. Air is 79% N2. N2 is not absorbed by the beer in the keg and is only used to push the beer and provide the creamy head. Pull up a little beer into the syringe followed by equal amounts of air. Quickly inject this just under the surface of the beer. You will need to under carb your beer to avoid a gusher. It works perfectly for me. I’ve not invested in a beer gas setup and keep my Guinness clone regularly on tap. If you have the money, space, and source for beer gas set up that would be the ideal solution.

 

[TBA]

@youngdh care to share you recipe?

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

Sorry but I just have to say it, but imo Guinness is kinda like the carlsberg of stouts, there are so many more characterful and not watery stouts out there. Why clone Guinness of all?

 

[youngdh]

Sorry but I just have to say it, but imo Guinness is kinda like the carlsberg of stouts, there are so many more characterful and not watery stouts out there. Why clone Guinness of all?

Because it's a quaffable, low alcohol, semi-low calorie beer with a good balance of roastiness to ABV.

 

[youngdh]

@youngdh care to share you recipe?

I do BIAB, small batch. Here's my recipe:

ABV: 4.5%
OG: 1.05
IBU: 43
B:G ratio: 0.86
Color: 55.5 EBC
Target Volume into packaging: 2.7G

Kettle efficiency: 70%
Efficiency into fermenter: 63.1% (due to over production of wort that won't fit into fermentor)

Mash: 45 mins at 152F (or until I hit my target gravity into kettle)
Target pH: 5.2
Boil: 60 min
Ferment: 7 days at 66F w/ WLP004 Irish Ale yeast
Diacetyl rest: 7 days at 70F

Total water needed for target vol into packaging: 4.9G
VIB: 4.41G @ 1.038 SG
Volume Ambient Wort (post boil): 3.23G @ 1.05 SG
VIF 2.91G @ 1.05
VIP: 2.69G @ 1.015 SG assuming apparent attenuation of 70%

Water treatment (I start with distilled water and build it up to target the Wicklow Mountains water profile in Ireland. That's the water Guinness uses):
Ca:18, Mg:2, Na:13, SO4:22, Cl:20, HCO3:35

Grain Bill:
67% Maris Otter Pale Malt (4.33lbs)
25% Flaked Barley (1.61 lbs)
4.1% Roasted Barley (591 EBC) 0.26 lbs
2.8% Dehusked Carafe III (1493 EBC) 0.18 lbs
1.5% Acidulated Malt 0.1 lbs

Hop Bill:
UK East Kent Goldings Pellets (6.5%AA) 1.123 ounces at 60 min

Water treatment into mash for my grain bill and total water volume:
1 gram Baking Soda
0.6 grams Gypsum
0.85 grams CaCl
10 ml 10% Phosphoric Acid
0.5 grams Epson Salts

Fermentation:
7 days at 66F using WLP004 Irish Ale Yeast
7 day diacetyl rest at 70F
no secondary
no crash chill
Required volumes of CO2 (force carb) 1.9

 

[camonick]

faucet
noun
fau·cet | \ ˈfȯ-sət , ˈfä- \
: a fixture for drawing or regulating the flow of liquid especially from a pipe

 

[Jamie02173]

Good luck with that, they've been brewing for many years. You may make a cracking stout, but you wont clone Guinness. If you do, they'll be out of business.

Cheers for the best wishes lol.. I will be doing very well to replicate it but if i follow as many steps the right way I might still have a tasty pint of black stuff!!

 

[slayer021175666]

A tap, connects the beer line to the keg. A faucet, dispenses the beer.
When I talk to people from other countries, I accept them for how they say things in their own regions of the world.
Also, the presumption that no one could clone Guinness is just wrong.
People come here for help and the last thing they need is to be put down or told they CAN'T do something. I don't think they'll appreciate your negativety. I know, I don't.

 

[McKnuckle]

There's too much distraction in this thread talking about nitrogen dispensing as some sort of magic requirement for this style, when the key is to formulate and brew a reasonably similar recipe and then ferment it cleanly. Start there. It's enough of a challenge, and our OP appears to be a relative newbie to the craft, so let's keep the audience in mind.

This is from a person who has enjoyed the heck out of English ales on cask in their native land. Are they better than here in the U.S.? Sure! Is it still worth brewing them in the U.S. even without those authentic serving techniques? Absolutely!

 

[bwible]

Buddy?? Its Mate. Youre mate, not a buddy.

And whats with you lot using imperial measurements? Its kilo, not pound.

I could go on. You mob have one thing correct. Guns N Roses. Touring in my little Aussie city. I cant wait.

I’m over 60 and they’ve been trying to push that metric system crap on us since I was in school. We are Americans and that crap will never fly here. Our tools are in fractions of an inch, we don’t use millimeters. We measure liquids in pints, quarts, and gallons. We measure solids in pounds, which are units of 16 oz. The average American has no friggin idea what a gram or a kilo is and doesn’t care. Here only drug dealers work in kilos and own gram scales.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

I’m over 60 and they’ve been trying to push that metric system crap on us since I was in school. We are Americans and that crap will never fly here. Our tools are in fractions of an inch, we don’t use millimeters. We measure liquids in pints, quarts, and gallons. We measure solids in pounds, which are units of 16 oz. The average American has no friggin idea what a gram or a kilo is and doesn’t care. Only drug dealers work in kilos and own gram scales.

But the imperial system makes no sense and is an old relic from the redcoat bootlicking days.
Whereas the metric system is logical smooth sailing, born out of revolution and rejection of the old aristocratic ways.
In short, metric is the one and true free mans way of accurate measurment.

 

[McKnuckle]

I would base very little on what the average American does...

I find it's worthwhile to be relatively fluent in both systems. But some aspects are more intuitive than others. I measure weight in kilos and grams, partly because the precision is greater for small things like hops and salts, and also because water weight in kg is equal to its volume in liters. That's rather helpful. And I've gotten pretty good at some key gallon/liter equivalencies. But thank goodness for Alexa, Siri, and Google. They help me with conversions on a daily basis.

 

[brumasterj]

Sometimes I think people over complicate things. I got a recipe out of beer clones brewed the Guinness clone just as the book said carbedthe beer for a few days with 10 lbs CO2 after achieving the Carbonation I wanted I then backed the Keg pressure to 5 lbs and put 28 lbs of nitrogen on. I don’t keep my bottles turned on so when pressure starts getting low I will add 5 lbs CO2 then put 28 lbs Nitrogen back on. I have found if you are using a picnic tap you can barely squeeze the handle and you will get the same effect as a stout tap. I have a YouTube video pouring my clone Pouring A Guinness Clone on Nitrogen.

I have done blind taste test with my Clone vs. Guinness, several different times and every single time people think my Clone is the real Guinness

 

[brumasterj]

You may need to tweak the recipe to match your brew calculator

 

[Nubiwan]

I do BIAB, small batch. Here's my recipe:

ABV: 4.5%
OG: 1.05
IBU: 43
B:G ratio: 0.86
Color: 55.5 EBC
Target Volume into packaging: 2.7G

Kettle efficiency: 70%
Efficiency into fermenter: 63.1% (due to over production of wort that won't fit into fermentor)

Mash: 45 mins at 152F (or until I hit my target gravity into kettle)
Target pH: 5.2
Boil: 60 min
Ferment: 7 days at 66F w/ WLP004 Irish Ale yeast
Diacetyl rest: 7 days at 70F

Total water needed for target vol into packaging: 4.9G
VIB: 4.41G @ 1.038 SG
Volume Ambient Wort (post boil): 3.23G @ 1.05 SG
VIF 2.91G @ 1.05
VIP: 2.69G @ 1.015 SG assuming apparent attenuation of 70%

Water treatment (I start with distilled water and build it up to target the Wicklow Mountains water profile in Ireland. That's the water Guinness uses):
Ca:18, Mg:2, Na:13, SO4:22, Cl:20, HCO3:35

Grain Bill:
67% Maris Otter Pale Malt (4.33lbs)
25% Flaked Barley (1.61 lbs)
4.1% Roasted Barley (591 EBC) 0.26 lbs
2.8% Dehusked Carafe III (1493 EBC) 0.18 lbs
1.5% Acidulated Malt 0.1 lbs

Hop Bill:
UK East Kent Goldings Pellets (6.5%AA) 1.123 ounces at 60 min

Water treatment into mash for my grain bill and total water volume:
1 gram Baking Soda
0.6 grams Gypsum
0.85 grams CaCl
10 ml 10% Phosphoric Acid
0.5 grams Epson Salts

Fermentation:
7 days at 66F using WLP004 Irish Ale Yeast
7 day diacetyl rest at 70F
no secondary
no crash chill
Required volumes of CO2 (force carb) 1.9

How does this work for you? Decent result? I dont drink stouts, but willing to try for the 'say I've done it'

 

[youngdh]

It works great. I’ve done around 10 batches with this recipe.