Problems with hitting og

[southsidebrewingco]

It did say designed for a full 5 gallon boil but could be treated as an extract by steeping the grains.

 

[J187]

Its starting to make sense to me now and in theory those numbers i got are spot on with what j187 said.......that being said if i brew the exact recipe again how or for how long should i steep or mash the grains to get all i need from them? Now i wonder if this will taste anything like the blue moon its supposed to.

To be exact it was 2 lbs pilsen malt, 1 lb flaked wheat and 1 lb oat flakes steeped for the 20 minutes @ 150-160

Yup, that'll calculate about the same. Still the same answer

To answer your other question, here's what you do:

Decide if you want to brew this beer as a partial mash or an extract. If you got the recipe from someone and it's a partial mash recipe, and you are only comfortable right now brewing as an extract brewer, you can simply make up what the recipe is anticipating for you to extract by mashing, with more extract. IE, add another lb of wheat EXTRACT. This will give you the gravity points that they expect you to get from MASHING the grain. Then, simply steep the grain in the recipe and treat the brew like an extract brew. You'll hit your gravity, and you'll get the mouthfeel and body and slight flavor addition from the steeping.

Alternatively, if the recipe is formulated as a partial mash and you want to go ahead and brew it that way, do some research on how to properly conduct a partial mash. You'll be using pretty precise temperature control and time - like 154 for an hour or so - something like that. This might require more equipment if you aren't already setup to mash. This is similar to how an all grain brewer brews, but with much less grain (making up the difference with the extract you are adding) and more specific volumes and such.

 

[peterj]

Yeah with 2 pounds of pilsner malt you should be able to convert the other 2 pounds of flaked adjuncts as well.

I would do the partial mash in about 5 or 6 quarts of water (1.25 - 1.5 qt/lb ratio) and hold it around 152-154 for an hour.

 

[southsidebrewingco]

Soooooooooooo in theory the flavor of this beer should be ok ie: Taste like blue moon but just a lower abv?? Im not set up for mashing so in the future i can kick in an extra pound of dme and steep hopefully to get the flavors and mouthfeel.

 

[peterj]

Yup, that'll calculate about the same. Still the same answer

To answer your other question, here's what you do:

Decide if you want to brew this beer as a partial mash or an extract. If you got the recipe from someone and it's a partial mash recipe, and you are only comfortable right now brewing as an extract brewer, you can simply make up what the recipe is anticipating for you to extract by mashing, with more extract. IE, add another lb of wheat EXTRACT. This will give you the gravity points that they expect you to get from MASHING the grain. Then, simply steep the grain in the recipe and treat the brew like an extract brew. You'll hit your gravity, and you'll get the mouthfeel and body and slight flavor addition from the steeping.

Alternatively, if the recipe is formulated as a partial mash and you want to go ahead and brew it that way, do some research on how to properly conduct a partial mash. You'll be using pretty precise temperature control and time - like 154 for an hour or so - something like that. This might require more equipment if you aren't already setup to mash. This is similar to how an all grain brewer brews, but with much less grain (making up the difference with the extract you are adding) and more specific volumes and such.

This is true. And for this beer, you don't really NEED to do a partial mash. You won't be able to use the oats, but I don't think you'll miss them that much. I would not steep the grain anyway though. If you're not going to do a mash then you should just completely replace the grain with extract and not use grain at all. Wheat extract is usually about 50/50 or 60/40 wheat/base malt anyway so you can just replace the partial mash with all wheat extract to get to your OG.

Steeping base malts and especially flaked grains will add tons of starch to your beer which will lead to stability problems and will look really gross in the bottle. A little bit of haze is fine in wheat beers, but that would be way more than what you would want.

 

[southsidebrewingco]

Btw thanks greatly for all the help and opinions this is a lot to learn!!

 

[southsidebrewingco]

If steeping grains for blue moon type beer is not required how about a good extract recipe for me to try then. This was to be my first keg beer hope its not ruined.

 

[peterj]

If steeping grains for blue moon type beer is not required how about a good extract recipe for me to try then. This was to be my first keg beer hope its not ruined.

Here's a link to a pretty long thread about it: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/blue-moon-clone-65328/#post671567

Post #6 is from a former brewmaster who worked on the original recipe I think. Basically I would just use enough Wheat LME or DME to get to your desired OG (probably 1.045-1.050?) and then add some coriander and orange peel at the end of the boil. Ferment with US-05/WLP001/WY1056.

 

[J187]

This is true. And for this beer, you don't really NEED to do a partial mash. You won't be able to use the oats, but I don't think you'll miss them that much. I would not steep the grain anyway though. If you're not going to do a mash then you should just completely replace the grain with extract and not use grain at all. Wheat extract is usually about 50/50 or 60/40 wheat/base malt anyway so you can just replace the partial mash with all wheat extract to get to your OG.

Steeping base malts and especially flaked grains will add tons of starch to your beer which will lead to stability problems and will look really gross in the bottle. A little bit of haze is fine in wheat beers, but that would be way more than what you would want.

OH yea... I definitely meant to suggest that he lessen the grain amount if he's to steep. I do see the merit of steeping flaked oats - I haven't done many side-by-side brewing experiments but I did do one early on where we steeped flaked oats in one beer and didn't in the same beer - both extract partial boils. The steeped one had a noticeable difference in mouthfeel. But yea, good advice!!

Also, not sure if that recipe you posted mentioned it or not, but to the OP -if blue moon is what you want, you want to include some orange and coriander in that badboy!

And OP, to your other question... I'd expect a nice drinkable beer out of what you made. In fact, I find wheat beers and Hefes are particularly good as a lower gravity session beer! Nice and refreshing - just in time for late summer. I made a 3.5abv Hefe that was one of the more addicting pours I've made.

 

[southsidebrewingco]

I forgot to mention i did add the sweet orange peel and crushed coriander in the last 10 minutes of the boil. Im hoping for the best in about 2 weeks i will post the taste test results!

 

[J187]

I forgot to mention i did add the sweet orange peel and crushed coriander in the last 10 minutes of the boil. Im hoping for the best in about 2 weeks i will post the taste test results!

OH... then you are going to have a nice drinkable beer is my guess. It will be thin and light, but it will be around 2.8-3% ABV and a nice session beer. I did a Hefe like this last year for an all-day softball party... you are running around in summer and playing a few games of softball over the course of 8 hours, you don't wanna be swilling a 6% beer. Mine had about 45 days of conditioning before the event, after bottling that is, and turned out delicious! These are good BBQ, golf course, game night kinda beers. Probably not what you want to pour yourself when you wanna sit down and watch a movie and slow sip, but a good session is useful!!

 

[southsidebrewingco]

I actually prefer the light drinkable beers so this should be perfect!

 

[J187]

I actually prefer the light drinkable beers so this should be perfect!

Well, if that's your style, then go after a session beer... but brew it that way! You'll have better results. As encouraged as I am that you will like your beer, you will love your beer if you formulate it to be a session beer - with hop utilization in mind and mouthful, head forming proteins, etc.