Looking for grain bill ideas

[Anachronist]

I've read the forums for a long time but have never had a real reason to post before. Now I do!

A buddy and I are going to be brewing together for the first time, as opposed to doing so solo, and are of different skill levels. He's got more hands on experience but I've got more book learnins. We're both at somewhat of a loss as to what we should brew this coming Thursday.

What we have lying around:

.5 oz Columbus pellets
2 oz Amarillo hop pellets
2-3 oz Sorachi Ace pellets

Wyeast 2206 Bavarian Lager Yeast

Our equipment is set up for mini/partial mash (though he's only ever done extract) 5 gallon batches with a maximum 3 gallon boil capacity ( ). I've dabbled very lightly in recipe formation, but never completely from scratch, nor without a specific style in mind.

First thing that came to mind was some sort of Steam beer since we won't be able to achieve lager temps for fermentation. However, I was thinking of a grain bill that will add lost of flavor and character, be something different, but not overwhelm the qualities of the yeast. It should still be as clean as the warm temps will allow.

Since the Sorachi Ace pellets are hard (read: impossible) to come by, I wouldn't mind something that would allow those to be showcased to some extent.

All I can think is to not use too much crystal, but that's just an idea. What do you guys think? There are no bad ideas!!!

 

[hercher]

Before I saw you had a lager yeast, I was thinking a pale ale, with those hops. You could do the same thing with a Steam Beer twist.

If you want to show off the Sorachi Ace pellets, then use primarily those.

Try doing a mini mash of about 1 lb of biscuit malt, 1/2 lb of Munich, and 1/4 lb of crystal 40. Then boil with 6 lbs light malt extract.

Put in an ounce of Sarachi Ace at the start of the boil, another ounce with about 15 minutes left, then put in the Columbus hops at the end of the boil.

 

[wailingguitar]

Hercher's idea sounds pretty good to me

 

[Anachronist]

That does sound pretty good. I'll run that past my buddy. He's a big fan of pales and IPAs so I'm sure he'll dig this!

 

[Anachronist]

hercher,
Brewed up the recipe you suggested though I didn't get to mash as I'd intended so with low conversion it ended up at 4.3%. Not bad for just steeping. Flavor is delicious, it really backs up the hops while still showcasing their unique flavor. 2.5 oz, beersmith puts it at ~50 IBU's, but it's such a light, delicate bitterness that it's great. Really clean fermentation, it's in secondary right now. I can't wait to brew it again, and do an actual mash to see what the additional sugars bring to it! Thanks!

 

[hercher]

Glad it turned out well, Anachronist. Wish I could taste some of it.