I brewed an experimental recipe a few weeks ago...

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Red IIPA (Flash Brewing Irish Red DME) - bottling day

• FG was ~ 17 (finishing hydrometer)
• AA (Nottingham) ~ 80% (but see my 're-verify calibration' note above)
• hydrometer sample hints at a relatively low level of minerals in the DME.
• ... so there may be opportunity to add brewing salts to enhance either malt flavors or hop flavors.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

... an open (just 30 days) package of "Flash Brewing" yeast (FBDY100), a basement at 62F, an open fermenter, a rainy morning ...

Red IPA (20 min boil)

• 2.5 gal (end of boil); OG 64, FG 11 (est); IBU: 54 (est); SRM 17 (est)
• 3# Muntons Extra Light DME; 0.5# sugar
• 4 oz (each) Simpson DRC & light chocolate (200L)
• 1 oz Warrior (14.5) @ 15 & 1 oz Centennial (8.6) @ 5
• 0.25g NaCl, 1.0 g CaCl, 2.0g CaS04
• 1/2 sachet FBDY100

Process

• cold steep grains for 30 min while heating water to 160F
• add flavor salts, sugar, DME, and steeped wort
• 15 min boil
• pitched yeast with wort @ 68F; basement is (recently) 60F - 62F
• no fermentation temperature control

Notes

• Exploring the "lower bounds" for the yeast strain.
• With DME, I find that flavor salt additions are brand specific.
  • IMO, beers with Muntons DME seem to be 'better' with a small Na addition
  • I don't add Na when brewing with Briess DME

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

pitched yeast [Flash Brewing yeast, and Montons DME] with wort @ 68F; basement is (recently) 60F - 62F

Fermentation started overnight - at around 6am (roughly 18 hours after pitching yeast), there was a solid 1" of krausen on top of the wort. Basement temperature has been steady (~ 61F), with the wort at 64F.

I'll try to remember to post a tasting note in 4 to 5 weeks.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Some thoughts on customizing kits

In the comments of the recent "The Apartment Brewer" UT on Flash Brewing (link to video n this topic: Flash Brew MoreBeer), there were ideas on various kit 'hacks' / customizations. Many are similar to the four methods (link) for Coopers kits.

Perhaps it's time to make some invert sugar (inspired by The New West Coast IPA, #496)?

My (very early) attempts at adding minerals (I was using the hydrometer sample + some 'extra' beer) hinted that the DME is not high in mineral content. Continuing to speculate with a small sample size, perhaps adding 10ppm Na and 50 - 100 ppm Cl or S04 would make a difference.

 

[MaxStout]

My (very early) attempts at adding minerals (I was using the hydrometer sample + some 'extra' beer) hinted that the DME is not high in mineral content. Continuing to speculate with a small sample size, perhaps adding 10ppm Na and 50 - 100 ppm Cl or S04 would make a difference.

I've always suspected that maltsters make extract using the lowest common denominator of mash salts, since they have no control over what the end user will brew with it.

Perhaps some kettle additions will bring out more flavor.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

My (very early) attempts at adding minerals (I was using the hydrometer sample + some 'extra' beer) hinted that the DME is not high in mineral content. Continuing to speculate with a small sample size, perhaps adding 10ppm Na and 50 - 100 ppm Cl or S04 would make a difference.

For those following along, I was exBEERimenting (a little early a lot early) with adding flavor salts to hydrometer samples for the Red IIPA recipe (link).

The Red IIPA (OG 84) was a "stress test" for DME mineral content.

For me and my tastes, I currently don't brew with Briess or Muntons DME above OG 66 (IPA range). My guess is that it's either too much or too little Na.

A "carbonation test" /3/ bottle from the Red IIPA (which used "Flash Brewing Red Ale" DME) hints at a product that's neither "too much" nor "too little" at OG 85. I may add a side-by-side exBEERiment (IIPA - Muntons DME vs one of the lighter "Flash Brewing" DMEs) to my brewing backlog.

Perhaps some kettle additions will bring out more flavor.

Agreed.

IMO, the additons vary based on brand. Briess DME seems to require a "soft touch". Muntons DME /1/ seems to need a 'dash' of Na, then cautiously add Cl & S04 to get a Cl / S04 ratio appropriate for the beer style.

With a sample / product size of one for "Flash Brewing Red Ale" DME /2/, it seems like it is "in between" - no need for a 'dash' of Na.

---

/1/ Home Brew Ohio (HomeBrewTalk sponsor) stocks it at a reasonable price.

/2/ It's reasonable to anticipate that the various "Flash Brewing" DMEs have the same mineral profile. "Time will tell"

/3/ the carbonation test was successful. At OG 84, Tthe beer will 'condition' for a number of additional weeks.

 

[Pehlman17]

First sample of the latest batch. Jumping back into extract again lately. This is a DIPA. I’m super happy with the color, and it’s tastes really good so far as well.

Basic Recipe/Process:
3 Lbs Briess Pilsen DME dissolved in 3 gallons of distilled water.
Brought to 152F and steeped (“mashed”) 1 Lb Great Western California 2-row along with 1 tsp Gypsum and 1 tsp BSG powdered alpha-amylase enzyme for 20 minutes.
Discarded grains and brought to boil.
1/2 oz Simcoe at top of 60min boil.
Yeast nutrient and whirlfloc at 10min left.
At flameout added 3 more Lbs Pilsen DME and 11oz Dextrose dissolved in 1/2 gallon distilled water which brought the temp down to about 180F. Set the temp on my kettle (Anvil Foundry 6.5) to 170, and added the following hops:
1oz each Centennial and Amarillo and 1.5oz each of Simcoe and Cascade.
I let those steep for 20 minutes.
Then I added 1.5 gallons of distilled water I had previously frozen in large sanitized silicone ice cube treys. I stirred to melt which brought the temp down to about 72F. Let settle for about 10 minutes and racked to fermenter.
Tossed in a 1qt. SNS starter of WLP007 I had prepared the night before using a can of Propper Starter wort diluted with equal parts distilled water.
Dry hopped at yeast pitch with the following:
1oz each Simcoe Cryo and Amarillo Cryo, 1oz Simcoe T-90, and 1.5oz Cascade T-90.
Fermented at room temp (about 68F currently) under 10psi of pressure that I let build up naturally.
Fermentation was very active for about 48 hours Sunday and Monday, then was slowing significantly by yesterday, and today was all but finished and everything looked to be dropping out of suspension. Transferred off of the hops and yeast today to a purged keg and that’s the pic I attached. Gonna let it sit at room temp the rest of the day then move to the fridge for cold crashing. So far it already tastes great!
Initial refractometer reading was 16.9 Brix (1.069 OG) and a reading today was 6.6 Brix, which using alcohol correction on a few different calculators suggests somewhere around 1.010 FG. If anyone has a reliable calculator they prefer for this stuff please let me know. Anyway, thought I’d share. I really hope this turns out as good as it’s already tasting if not better once it’s cold, clear(er), and carbonated!

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

a couple of updates

Back in #212, fermenting / bottle conditioning with the Flash Brewing Kit yeast in the ~ 60F range. Note that this range may be much lower than MoreBeer intended when they designed this kit. Others have reported good results with room temperatures in the upper 60s and 70s.

... an open (just 30 days) package of "Flash Brewing" yeast (FBDY100), a basement at 62F, an open fermenter, a rainy morning ...

The batch was bottled on Dec 9th. Bottle conditioning is at basement ambient temperature (57 - 58F). A "carbonation check" bottle after two weeks confirmed that there is active yeast (from the Flash Brewing Yeast kit pitch) in the bottle(s). I'm going to give this batch a couple more weeks before the next bottle.

With a basement ambient around 57 - 62, I decided to pick up a couple of sachets of Diamond Lager earlier this year. In the spirit of "try a couple of different things at the same time and sort it out later if it fails", I brewed a Brown Ale (30 min boil, DME blend using Briess Pale Ale, Amber, and Traditional Dark + some cold steeped Simpsons DRC) that I brewed with Diamond Lager. This batch will also be bottle conditioned at basement anbient temperature. Bottled on Dec 10th, I'll check the first bottle in a couple of weeks.

Bottle conditioning these two batches at 57F-62F has reminded me why I typically bottle condition with fresh yeast, a chest cooler, and warm water at 75F for a week. Bottle conditioning with existing (Flash Brewing kit) yeast at 60F works for me, but it's very, very, very, very, very slow.

Up next (over the next six months), I'm thinking about doing some "kit hacks" with the various IPA (7# DME) Flash Brewing Kits. Split the kit in two: with the 1st part, brew the actual kit; the 2nd part frees up the various ingredients for exploration. Note that the 1st part could be as low as 1.25 gal (5 / 4) as I have a couple of Little Big Mouth Bubbler® fermenters.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

... "tying up the last (?) loose ends from 2024" ...

... an open (just 30 days) package of "Flash Brewing" yeast (FBDY100), a basement at 62F, an open fermenter, a rainy morning ...

The batch was bottled on Dec 9th. Bottle conditioning is at basement ambient temperature (57 - 58F). A "carbonation check" bottle after two weeks confirmed that there is active yeast (from the Flash Brewing Yeast kit pitch) in the bottle(s). I'm going to give this batch a couple more weeks before the next bottle.

I tossed a bottle of this batch in the fridge to chill before opening. Opened the bottle today and was rewarded with a nicely carbonated beer.

3 weeks to carbonated beer at 55F to 62F using the existing flash brewing yeast. Not bad.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Beer clarity - when brewing with DME/LME, what additional steps are you taking that result clearer beer?

In the past, I rarely had good results when using Irish Moss when adding it dry at @10 or @15. About a year ago, I started rehydrating it (about 30 minutes before adding it @ 10). The results are in - and for me, it has clearly made a difference for both my DME (and my BIAB) batches.

 

[ncbrewer]

In the past, I rarely had good results when using Irish Moss when adding it dry at @10 or @15.

Something that I just recently realized Palmer suggested in How to Brew, E4"
"… Do not boil longer than 5 minutes.
Fining agents containing carageenens should be added at the end of the boil, because boiling carageenens for more than a couple of minutes will denature the molecular structure and make them less effective at binding haze active proteins (i.e. haze forming proteins) in the wort."

I think this didn't register with me when I read it previously. I haven't had a chance to put this to the test, but I plan to do so. There seems to be a contradiction between "5 minutes" and "end of the boil" - I might try both ways.

 

[bwible]

Something that I just recently realized Palmer suggested in How to Brew, E4"
"… Do not boil longer than 5 minutes.
Fining agents containing carageenens should be added at the end of the boil, because boiling carageenens for more than a couple of minutes will denature the molecular structure and make them less effective at binding haze active proteins (i.e. haze forming proteins) in the wort."

I think this didn't register with me when I read it previously. I haven't had a chance to put this to the test, but I plan to do so. There seems to be a contradiction between "5 minutes" and "end of the boil" - I might try both ways.

Yes - Irish moss or whirlfloc. Don’t boil more than the last couple min.

Water chemistry helps, specifically this is why they say calcium should be 50. I don’t know that applies to extract batches, isn’t the water chem “baked in” at that point?

People tell me its ancient history, don’t do it - but I still use a secondary/settling carboy for any beers I want clear. To allow more stuff to settle out. When alll else fails, I’ve used gelatin for the last few days in a secondary carboy, it works.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Water chemistry helps, specifically this is why they say calcium should be 50. I don’t know that applies to extract batches, isn’t the water chem “baked in” at that point?

It is stated that a 'proper' level of Ca in the boil helps with clarification.

Any experiments would likely need to be brand (or maybe product) specific as source water (for making the product) varies. Also, some products are boiled (Flash Brewing DME, some Williams SKUs) and some are not.

I think this didn't register with me when I read it previously. I haven't had a chance to put this to the test, but I plan to do so. There seems to be a contradiction between "5 minutes" and "end of the boil" - I might try both ways.

If you don't get good results for either approach, maybe a short hydration in warm (100F?) water makes a difference.

 

[Hoochin'Fool]

Been a while since I did anything with malt-extract (not counting using it to boost my all-grain imperials), but inspired by this thread questioning LD-Carlson's blatant rip-off of the CandiSyrup Co's branding, I present this candidate for a super quick brew day -- should only need to boil 3 gallons of water with the hops for about 10 minutes, then turn off the heat, and dump all the DME, syrup, and sugar, and I think shouldn't need much at all to top off with for 3.5 gallons.

The Temu Trappist

3.5 gallons
OG: 1.092, FG: 1.010
6 lbs Briess Light DME
16 oz LD-Carlon fake D-180
8 oz turbinado or brown sugar
bittered to 34 ibu w/ Magnum only
yeast: Lalbrew Abbaye

What do y'all think? Bad idea? Or Terrible idea?

 

[Miraculix]

Been a while since I did anything with malt-extract (not counting using it to boost my all-grain imperials), but inspired by this thread questioning LD-Carlson's blatant rip-off of the CandiSyrup Co's branding, I present this candidate for a super quick brew day -- should only need to boil 3 gallons of water with the hops for about 10 minutes, then turn off the heat, and dump all the DME, syrup, and sugar, and I think shouldn't need much at all to top off with for 3.5 gallons.

The Temu Trappist

3.5 gallons
OG: 1.092, FG: 1.010
6 lbs Briess Light DME
16 oz LD-Carlon fake D-180
8 oz turbinado or brown sugar
bittered to 34 ibu w/ Magnum only
yeast: Lalbrew Abbaye

What do y'all think? Bad idea? Or Terrible idea?

Sounds good to me! I wouldn't boil the dme though. Just throw it into the fermenter with the yeast. Boil the hops in water but account for an increased ibu extraction rate. Brewers friends calculator can do this when you type in all of of 1.0.

The beauty is that you won't oxidize your dme which boosts flavour and foam.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I'd brew it as is - partially to see if the "fake D-180" has any anti-oxidative effects when added at the end of the boil.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

With regard to adding DME in the fermenter, a couple of observations based on many years of experience with Briess DME and recent experiences with two "Flash Brewing" kits.

• Briess DME is a PITA to stir into 70F (or below) water
  • Muntons DME is somewhat easier at these temperatures
• To split a 5 gal "Flash Brewing" kit into two 2.5 gal batches, it appears that one needs to either
  • use a fermenter bigger than 3 gal or
  • stir the DME (which can be a PITA)

There's also the idea of fermenting in a keg; in this case one could "squeeze the bag shake the keg like it owes you money".

 

[mac_1103]

What do y'all think? Bad idea? Or Terrible idea?

Terribly bad idea?

to see if the "fake D-180" has any anti-oxidative effects

Wasn't someone in the other thread speculating that the fake D-180 was oxidizing their beer? (Or perhaps more accurately - it was already oxidized and contributing oxidation off-flavors to their beer).

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Wasn't someone in the other thread speculating that the fake D-180 was oxidizing their beer? (Or perhaps more accurately - it was already oxidized and contributing oxidation off-flavors to their beer).

. I don't brew with D-180 so I'm not reading the recent D-180 topics; but ...

... If you find/post the topic link(s) and if those in the topic that are speculating are posting complete recipe and brewing notes, I might take a look at it. Or not.

 

[mac_1103]

Posts #50 and 51 in the thread linked by Hoochin'Fool (#224 above).

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Simplest thing possible will be to forever blame the product (like many do with LME). Perhaps the interesting question (for those that are interested) is:

Is the product fresh when added to the boil?​

FWIW, I don't brew Belgian styles and I don't brew with any brand of D-180.

eta: and if one suspects that boiling DME is a source of oxidation, a 'counter' example to consider is Canoe-Chuck Lager (as well as the long list of extract-based recipes that win various competitions including NHC).

 

[Hoochin'Fool]

Gonna hold off on The Temu Trappist for now, got some other stuff I want to brew first, but the idea of a "possibly passable" no-boil belgian quad (hop tea only) that a guy could knock out in 15 minutes is intriguing. Heck, it might even be tasty.