Dark Mild Reaper's Mild, 1st place 2011 HBT Competition

[azscoob]

Going to brew this again next weekend. I have had no time to brew in many months, cant wait! I am thinking of using Wyeast London ESB this time around and FWH... any thoughts?

Heck yeah I would give that a try..

 

[Vongo]

Last time I followed exactly. Here is what I'm doing this time around.
Adding 1/2lb of MO
Adding 6 ounces of crystal 120 ( for a bit more toffee)
Using pale chocolate .25lb
WLP02
1 ounce of willamette FWH
1 ounce of willamette at 10 min

Thoughts? I know this knocks it out of being the same recipe but I'm just coming off of a 6 month no brewing dry spell so I gotta have a little fun with it :0)

 

[menisale]

I made this recipe back in November. Sitting here at work drinking a bottle of it. It continues to improve. My LHBS raved over it. My only problem was I massed at too low of a temperature so it isn't quite as malty as it should be.

At 3.4% it is a great beer to drink while still assisting others with their financial decisions.

 

[azscoob]

I made this recipe back in November. Sitting here at work drinking a bottle of it. It continues to improve. My LHBS raved over it. My only problem was I massed at too low of a temperature so it isn't quite as malty as it should be.

At 3.4% it is a great beer to drink while still assisting others with their financial decisions.

Amen to that!

With an eight month old boy zipping about the house these days a good mild or ordinary bitter hits the spot without getting me too shmammered to keep up.

 

[bob1852]

Drinking my first batch, made with EKG.

It's wonderful! Thanks, az.

 

[Pdeezy]

Sorry if this was already covered, but I can only partial mash so I was wondering if this looked like a good recipe to you guys. I have EKG on hand so that's another substitue I'll making.

2.1lb Muntons Light DME
1lb 2-row
1lb Victory
1.5lb Crystal 60L (Crisp, UK)
6 oz Chocolate malt (Crisp, UK)

1 oz EKG 5% at 40 minutes
1 oz EKG 5% at 10 minutes

I'll have to check the actual AA of the EKG I have, and then line up the boil times to correctly match the IBUs, but you get the idea.

Thanks in advance. I'm ready for an easy drinker.

 

[bob1852]

Drinking my first batch, made with EKG.

It's wonderful! Thanks, az.

Scored a 43 and won a gold medal. Thanks again for a solid base recipe, az. I used EKG, and US-04.

 

[azscoob]

Scored a 43 and won a gold medal. Thanks again for a solid base recipe, az. I used EKG, and US-04.

Heck yeah!!!! Anotha winnah!!!

 

[Pdeezy]

Sorry if this was already covered, but I can only partial mash so I was wondering if this looked like a good recipe to you guys. I have EKG on hand so that's another substitue I'll making.

2.1lb Muntons Light DME
1lb 2-row
1lb Victory
1.5lb Crystal 60L (Crisp, UK)
6 oz Chocolate malt (Crisp, UK)

1 oz EKG 5% at 40 minutes
1 oz EKG 5% at 10 minutes

I'll have to check the actual AA of the EKG I have, and then line up the boil times to correctly match the IBUs, but you get the idea.

Thanks in advance. I'm ready for an easy drinker.

I'm almost positive that these substitutions will be ok, but I was wondering what you guys thought before I brewed this up this weekend?

--Thanks

 

[Vongo]

Bubbling away with White labs English ale yeast!

 

[scottvin]

I made this on Saturday, got about 72% efficiency:

5.5 lb Marris Otter
1.5 lb Crystal 60
7 oz Chocolate Malt

80 Minute Mash
Mashed in at 164F
After 20 minutes, 160.2F
After 40 minutes, 156.2F
After 60 minutes, 152.2F so I heated water to 156.7F
After 80 minutes, 154.2F

60 Minute Boil
12:43PM Heated water to 170F, 6 gallons to boil

45 minute addition - 1 oz Fuggles
15 minute addition - 1 oz Fuggles, Irish Moss, wort chiller
10 minute addition - yeast nutrient
1:43 PM flame out
2:00 PM chilled to pitch temperature, 5 gallons chilled wort, 1.044 OG

4.75 gallons in fermenter, pitched S-04 yeast

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Cannot wait to try this! How long have people been letting this ferment? Is it really done within 10 days?

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[slantedbolt]

Oddly Enough Scottvin, I also made this weekend with just a 60 minute mash. Fermenting away as we speak!

 

[tagz]

I'm think about giving this a go with some washed Denny's Fav 50. Thoughts?

 

[azscoob]

I'm think about giving this a go with some washed Denny's Fav 50. Thoughts?

I love that yeast! Give it a whirl and post your thoughts on it!

 

[Orthobrewsky]

I made this today, with slight modification. My recipe was:

5 lbs 12.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 69.7 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 2 18.2 %
8.0 oz Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) Grain 3 6.1 %
8.0 oz Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM) Grain 4 6.1 %
0.90 oz Willamette [5.20 %] - First Wort 70.0 min Hop 5 21.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg Nottingham (Danstar #-) [23.66 ml] Yeast 6 -
OG 1.038
IBU 21.0
SRM 24.9

I enjoy doing no-sparge for anything 1.040 or lower, so I had to adjust a little for efficiency. Also, I just felt like a tad more chocolate--had even considered making a low gravity brown porter today--then, when collecting my grains, I saw some flaked barley in the bucket, which I had been thinking I should try to use soon, so I threw a bit in.

Anyway, I've been admiring Reaper's Mild for some time, so I look forward to trying this in a few weeks. Hopefully, my own personal impulses regarding ingredients won't diminish its awesomeness much.

 

[azscoob]

I made this today, with slight modification. My recipe was:

5 lbs 12.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 69.7 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 2 18.2 %
8.0 oz Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) Grain 3 6.1 %
8.0 oz Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM) Grain 4 6.1 %
0.90 oz Willamette [5.20 %] - First Wort 70.0 min Hop 5 21.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg Nottingham (Danstar #-) [23.66 ml] Yeast 6 -
OG 1.038
IBU 21.0
SRM 24.9

I enjoy doing no-sparge for anything 1.040 or lower, so I had to adjust a little for efficiency. Also, I just felt like a tad more chocolate--had even considered making a low gravity brown porter today--then, when collecting my grains, I saw some flaked barley in the bucket, which I had been thinking I should try to use soon, so I threw a bit in.

Anyway, I've been admiring Reaper's Mild for some time, so I look forward to trying this in a few weeks. Hopefully, my own personal impulses regarding ingredients won't diminish its awesomeness much.

Thank you for the props on this one! If your tweaks net you a great beer let me know, I will brew your version. Variety is always nice!

 

[tagz]

Well I brewed this up with the 1450 and it tastes fantastic. Really creamy and great full flavor for such a small beer. I also adjusted the keg for lower pressure, pulled out my mixer insert to increase the flow, and I'm getting a nice thick head, which just adds to the full mouthfeel. I definitely recommend trying this with Denny's Fav 50!

 

[Orthobrewsky]

Thank you for the props on this one! If your tweaks net you a great beer let me know, I will brew your version. Variety is always nice!

I just kegged it with an ounce of priming sugar, so I'll report on it in a couple of weeks or so. I only got down to 1.015 (from 1.038). Is that pretty typical? With such a high proportion of crystal and chocolate and a high mash temp., I wasn't too surprised, I guess.

The sample tasted great. It should be a nice beer for a thirsty guy in late summer.

 

[azscoob]

I just kegged it with an ounce of priming sugar, so I'll report on it in a couple of weeks or so. I only got down to 1.015 (from 1.038). Is that pretty typical? With such a high proportion of crystal and chocolate and a high mash temp., I wasn't too surprised, I guess.

The sample tasted great. It should be a nice beer for a thirsty guy in late summer.

Brew more, really... I tend to drink this one by the gallon in the heat of summer. Fills you up but doesn't knock you out. I also like it in winter while decorating, I can focus on what I need to do!

 

[Orthobrewsky]

Brew more, really... I tend to drink this one by the gallon in the heat of summer. Fills you up but doesn't knock you out. I also like it in winter while decorating, I can focus on what I need to do!

I like it a lot. I don't seem to get much head, but I've got the carbonation very light. That will probably increase; there was no way to induce any head until it was cold for a couple of weeks. Not really important, just a comment and maybe especially worth noting since I added some flaked barley and since you seemed to have a decent head in your pictures. About that addition--it is very clear, despite the half pound of flaked, but I also used Whirfloc.

It's a great, flavorful, easy-drinking beer that still has some substance to it and brings satisfaction. I'd have reported back sooner, but my beers just don't seem to reach their peak until they've been in the cold for a couple weeks or more and I primed with sugar in the keg.

I would like to keep something like this around--maybe alternating this with an ordinary bitter I had on tap right before this.

 

[jbsg02]

Getting close to the end of the boil on mine, I'm going to use 002 instead of Notty though. This may be a 2.5% beer if the 002 doesn't get it below 1.015

Ended up boiling off too much and had an OG around 1.041, oh well, I'll get it right next time

 

[Orthobrewsky]

Here's mine. I know, it's a little dark, but I'm just a dark kind of guy. I put 8 oz. of chocolate malt in mine and it was the darker, English kind. It's a pleasure to drink.

 

[azscoob]

Here's mine. I know, it's a little dark, but I'm just a dark kind of guy. I put 8 oz. of chocolate malt in mine and it was the darker, English kind. It's a pleasure to drink.



View attachment 76066

Yummmm, that looks fantastic! I have been adding a bit of debittered black to this lately, I love the flavor it adds when used in small amounts!

 

[crawfman]

Used US04 with my batch. At two weeks, I just took a reading and it's at 1.016! I was going to move it to the keg today and chill for 24 hours before putting on gas. Anyone else experience high numbers with the US04?

Should I wait another week and take another reading or toss it in the keg and chill? I would prefer to chill it, I'm tasting a sample right now...I'm getting alot of figs and PRUNES and it already seems pretty dry tasting so now sure if I would want it to keep dropping.

 

[azscoob]

Used US04 with my batch. At two weeks, I just took a reading and it's at 1.016! I was going to move it to the keg today and chill for 24 hours before putting on gas. Anyone else experience high numbers with the US04?

Should I wait another week and take another reading or toss it in the keg and chill? I would prefer to chill it, I'm tasting a sample right now...I'm getting alot of figs and PRUNES and it already seems pretty dry tasting so now sure if I would want it to keep dropping.

I have had s04 work a little weak before, if you like the flavor profile as it is, keg, chill, and carbonate!

 

[FlyDoctor]

Going to brew up a batch of this this weekend. Although I do all grain, I need to crank out a quick batch to fill a keg, and will try the new NB Marris Otter syrup, with Wyeast 1968 ESB. Looking forward to it! I am a bit concerned that it will attenuate too much, but we'll see.

 

[sgraham602]

definetly going to make this. how do y'all age this? 10 day primary and a few weeks in the keg under pressure? Lately i've been letting my beers sit for 2 or 3 weeks in the keg before i tap them.

 

[azscoob]

definetly going to make this. how do y'all age this? 10 day primary and a few weeks in the keg under pressure? Lately i've been letting my beers sit for 2 or 3 weeks in the keg before i tap them.

That should be fine, no need to change your typical process any.

 

[nghtmre4u]

I just did this with different hops I used northern brewer and willamette and only had 4 oz chocolate do you think it will be close

 

[azscoob]

I just did this with different hops I used northern brewer and willamette and only had 4 oz chocolate do you think it will be close

It's going to be a little bit light, possibly slightly thin, but it's still going to make a good beer, I changed things up last batch with some debittered black malt, and a bit less chocolate.