Little help doing my 3rd BIAB - A 3 Crop Creamer seems fitting

[Nubiwan]

Just finished a batch of Amber Lager and a West Coast IPA. Going for something a little "mainstream" LOL. Has anyone done a 3 Crop Cream Ale recipe or similar BIAB?

Is there anything I ought to look out for with this type of receipe?

I am following BierMuncher's 3 Crop Cream Ale recipe found here Cream Ale - Cream of Three Crops (Cream Ale)

I wanna make an accessible beer for my wife and her fans in time for July 1st (Canada Day). Yeah its a little tight on time, but I think I can turn it around in 4 weeks. All my other beers have been fine. Not like I am that picky. Not entirely for me anyway.

Anyway, I want to maximize my 10 Gallon kettle, and think I can comfortably aim for 7 liters into my fermentor, with appropriate water controls.

How then, do I calculate my grain bill and hop schedule to match what BierMuncher provided? If his recipe batch size was 11.4 gallons, can I simply divide his grain bill by 11.4 and multiply by my target volume (7)? Is it as simple as that? Will Brewers Friend (BF) get me close for my expected O.G.? That is work the grain amounts to achieve the OG for specific volumes?

I have the following grains:
4KG of 2 row (8.8lbs)
1KG of Flaked Corn (2.2lbs)
1kg of Flaked Rice (2.2lbs)
Mash at 152 degrees - Boil for 90
Willamette and Crystal added at 60 for 15-20 IBU

Plugged in these numbers, BF estimates OG of around 1.048 for an ABV of 4.5%. Are my flaked V grain ratios OK for the recipe? Its not exactly the same as the original recipe, I know, but there does seem to be a little forgiveness in the recipe, according to the thread at least, and I can also play a little with the grain bill and volume.

Anyone made this beer? Care to comment? Need to get her going next 48 hours.

 

[Immocles]

Few days late. I stumbled onto this last night but I was updating my Mac and forgot about my response until just now.

I've found this recipe scales really well by simple division. I brewed a 2.75G batch, 3.25G, and 4G and really just kept the Percentages in the same ballpark. It looks like I try to keep the 2row in the 70-80 range, and play around with the adjuncts. Did the recipe as it was written (scaled down to 2.75, but same ratios), one with even amounts of corn/rice, and one where I went rogue and played around with the recipe more dramatically (higher corn, tossed in some stray ounces of grain stock to clear inventory).

I think you'll be alright with the adjuncts vs grain ratio. You're right in range with what the base recipe is ( I think the original recipe is around 30% adjuncts, you're at about 33%). I regularly use 20-30 in light lagers, as well. I think you'll end up with a very drinkable beer, and if you decide to brew it again at a future date, you'll have a better understanding of how you want to adjust it. Its a really solid, forgiving recipe to work with. My last batch I kept to about 3.5% and its a solid tasting beer even at a low abv. I like that.

How then, do I calculate my grain bill and hop schedule to match what BierMuncher provided? If his recipe batch size was 11.4 gallons, can I simply divide his grain bill by 11.4 and multiply by my target volume (7)? Is it as simple as that? Will Brewers Friend (BF) get me close for my expected O.G.? That is work the grain amounts to achieve the OG for specific volumes?

My math is terrible. I'm dangerous at best with a calculator. I can make them say "boobs" and thats about it. I seem to work better in percents though and brewing calculators are a godsend.

Good luck! Brew on.

 

[Nubiwan]

.......

...I think you'll end up with a very drinkable beer, and if you decide to brew it again at a future date, you'll have a better understanding of how you want to adjust it. Its a really solid, forgiving recipe to work with. My last batch I kept to about 3.5% and its a solid tasting beer even at a low abv. I like that.


My math is terrible. I'm dangerous at best with a calculator. I can make them say "boobs" and thats about it. I seem to work better in percents though and brewing calculators are a godsend.

Good luck! Brew on.

Well, that is a relief to here, because I may only get a 3.5% ABV out of this. Don't mind a low ABV, if the product is decent to taste.

 

[RM-MN]

really just kept the Percentages in the same ballpark

When I started brewing I tried to get the exact recipe amounts. This above is more in the line of what Papazian had in mind. Relax, don't worry, have a home brew. I now brew to my taste, changing recipes to fit what I want. My beers sometimes adhere to the brewing categories but sometimes my pale ales include a bit of C120 because I like the flavor but it isn't correct for the category.

 

[Nubiwan]

When I started brewing I tried to get the exact recipe amounts. This above is more in the line of what Papazian had in mind. Relax, don't worry, have a home brew. I now brew to my taste, changing recipes to fit what I want. My beers sometimes adhere to the brewing categories but sometimes my pale ales include a bit of C120 because I like the flavor but it isn't correct for the category.

I find I have been using the recipes as rough guides, and kind of do what I want, or what I have, with what I have tried, so far.

I'm still coming to terms with my process, if I am being honest, so it's still A learning curve before I can do this with relative confidence. That and learning what different combinations of grains and hops can offer. I'll be aiming to get 7-8 gallon batches moving forward, as that's, more or less, my limit in a 10 gallon kettle, and I want to maximize my 4 hour brew day. So my batch size isn't really typical either.

Saw your past posts on shortened mash times @RM-MN and wondered if you still adhere to that process.

With my cream ale here, I took a sample SG at 30 minutes, out of curiosity. It was a good deal lower than my SG at 1 hour, so not sure how that all fits. Wasn't too scientific, and temps of samples may have been off a bit, but the difference was almost 30%, if not more. Does that surprise you. Anything I can do to shorten my brew day is good, because, despite liking my own beer, SWMBO don't surf.

 

[RM-MN]

With my cream ale here, I took a sample SG at 30 minutes, out of curiosity. It was a good deal lower than my SG at 1 hour, so not sure how that all fits. Wasn't too scientific, and temps of samples may have been off a bit, but the difference was almost 30%, if not more. Does that surprise you. Anything I can do to shorten my brew day is good, because, despite liking my own beer, SWMBO don't surf.

To be able to use a shorter mash period you need to create the conditions for quick conversion. Conversion requires the starches to be gelatinized which is caused by the water entering the grain particles. Bigger particles take more time. Flour will gelatinize the starch nearly instantly. If you got a higher SG at an hour than you did at 30 minutes, the grain particles are larger than what I get. Did you continue the mash? You may have found a higher SG at 90 minutes than at 60.

In answer to your direct question, I have not let a mash proceed past 40 minutes in a few years. Usually 30 is plenty but sometimes I get busy and forget. If you decide to try a shorter mash, get a bottle of iodine and use that to determine if there is still starch in the grain particles. Mash until you get no color change. Then, if your grains show no more starch, continue the mash until you get the flavors extracted too. Too short of a mash will get you an alcoholic beverage without flavor. Although a shorter mash is possible I do not recommend less than 30 minutes.