Help! I didn't label my malt!

[Homercidal]

I am starting to brew, and I got two very similar-looking malts; Carastan and Cara-pils Dextrine. They look very similar, and smell pretty close to my poor sense of smell. How can I tell them apart?

The recipe calls for 1 pound of Carastan, and 1/2 pound of Cara-Pils... I'd hate to mix up the two of them.

One looks slightly more "red" than the other. It's almost time to steep the grains, so if anyone has a suggestion...

 

[DeathBrewer]

hmm...i'd just do a half-pound of each instead.

 

[Brewsmith]

The carastan would be the darker one.

 

[Homercidal]

Too late. I already used 1 pound of each. I hope it turns out ok.

 

[Dude]

The carastan would be the darker one.

Agreed, for future reference.

 

[Homercidal]

Yep, That was what I thought, after tasting each of them. Oh well, it's just beer. A brown ale too, so it is probably going to be drinkable.

Another question: I got three 3ounces of hops; 1 of Kent, 1 of Challenger, and 1 of Cascade. I want to use them up this batch. Whixh should I used for what stage?

 

[Brewsmith]

Well, it shouldn't be lacking in the body or mouthfeel department.

 

[Homercidal]

Well, it shouldn't be lacking in the body or mouthfeel department.

That's not all bad! =8D

 

[Kai]

Challenger at 60, cascade at 15, Goldings at 0.

 

[Homercidal]

Challenger at 60, cascade at 15, Goldings at 0.

That was the conclusion I came too as well. Glad to hear I am not totally stupid about this.

 

[TexLaw]

I hate stating the obvious, but I will. You should have thought this through a bit more before lighting the fire.


TL

 

[Yuri_Rage]

3 oz of almost any variety of hops in a 5 gallon batch of brown ale is likely far too much for the style. I'd use 1 oz of EKG at 60 mins and save the rest. If you're dead set on some finishing hops, use the Cascade at 60 mins and maybe 1/2 oz of EKG at 10 mins.

I think this advice is too little, too late, though. Hope it turns out well!

 

[Homercidal]

Well, I got the itch to brew pretty badly, and have tried for th epast 2 nights, but my friend was unavailable, and he and I both wanted him to be there, so I was sort of last minute (You'd think I'd have 2 days of preparation, but the day before I finished my CF Chiller, and the day before that we worked on his brakes).

Yes, I should have written the names on the package, but I didn't realize there woudl be a problem until I pulled them out to use them, and there were no names. Live and learn.

As far as the hops, I really just want to use them up. They've been int he fridge far longer than I care to mention. In hindsight, I could have saved some for the next batch, but they were old, and I do like hoppy beer. There wasn't near as much aroma from them as I expected. I don't know if this will turn out to be like a brown ale or not. Doesn't really matter, because I like all kinds of beer. Who knows, I may be on to something tasty! (crosses fingers).

At least my yeast starter turned out great. I pitched about 11:00 last night, and at 6:00 this morning, the blowoff tube was gurgling like crazy! Still didnt' get to use the CFC, though. My hose was frozen outside from when I dug the electrical trench in Jan, and I had to pump the water out after a thaw. I'm def going to clean it up and have it ready for the next batch. The sink full of ice water isn't very fast.