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

[bob1852]

Thinking about racking to cocoa nibs and mint next time I make this.

Mint chocolate mild?

 

[azscoob]

Thinking about racking to cocoa nibs and mint next time I make this.

Mint chocolate mild?

Yes please!!

 

[wizang]

So if WLP002 (lower attenuation) is used instead of nottingham (higher attenuation), would you mash at a lower temp to compensate?

 

[azscoob]

You could mash slightly lower, that would be fine

 

[attyindaburgh]

Sorry if this has been asked and answered, but I am using ro water and didn't know if I should target the profile for a British style (4 tsp of calcium chloride and 2 tsp of gypsum for 10 gallons of water) or stout /porter style ( 2 tsp of calcium chloride? Also, I have dry nottingham, windsor and s04 to choose from. Any suggestions?

 

[bob1852]

I've been using US-04 and enjoy the results...

 

[motobrewer]

Sorry if this has been asked and answered, but I am using ro water and didn't know if I should target the profile for a British style (4 tsp of calcium chloride and 2 tsp of gypsum for 10 gallons of water) or stout /porter style ( 2 tsp of calcium chloride? Also, I have dry nottingham, windsor and s04 to choose from. Any suggestions?

Don't go crazy with additions. 0.4 grams per gallon should do you well. I have 10 gallons on tap using this and it's fantastic.

Notty and 04 I know work well with this beer. I've never used Windsor.

 

[attyindaburgh]

I ended up going with the formula given by berths brewing for a "British style" so we shall see. I hit all my numbers during the brew day. I also ended up going with the notty. If I like the beer, I may try going with a double batch and use a different yeast per 5.5 gallons and compare the results.

 

[COEBRA]

Brewing 10 gallons of this today. Everyone seemed to like it so I went all in! I'll post back a pic of a pint and my thoughts in a few weeks.

 

[MasterOfNone]

COEBRA, unrelated: what is that on top of your keggle?

 

[COEBRA]

COEBRA, unrelated: what is that on top of your keggle?

It's a Hop Spider. This isn't the exact post I built mine from, but it's the same thing. It keeps all the hop junk out of the fermenters and is definitely one of my top 5 must haves. Especially when brewing IPA's! Mine is a little warped in the photo because I got caught brewing in a monsoon once and covered the boil to keep the rain water out. The extra heat melted the PVC. I could replace the reducer, but it still works perfectly so I haven't bothered.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=231971

 

[MasterOfNone]

Ah! I haven't seen one of these. Very clever, much nicer than those little things you steep tea in.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Cold crashing this right now. FG spot on, 1.012. OG pre boil was 1.035, post boil was 1.039. So got slightly better efficiency than expected.

My hop scale was also broken, so I used whatever was left of my 4oz package, felt like 2-3 oz of EKG. May have done 1.5 oz and 1.5oz instead of 1 oz and 1 oz.
Will be kegging in a couple days!

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Finally got around to kegging it. Unfortunately it seems my picnic tap or keg post blew a leak and the c02 tank is empty. Going to fill the tank tomorrow and see if I can have this ready to drink soon.

Flat brief tasting notes: Slightly roasty, like a super sessionable stout. Only comment I have is that it's pretty thin bodied although they could be related to the flat nature of it.

 

[azscoob]

The beer will fatten up once kegged, this is one of my favorite beer recipes! easy to make, cheap grainbill, easy drinking, and goes well with food!

Sadly, just moments ago I pulled my last pint after finishing yard work, good thing I have a pipelines from other beers

 

[carlk47]

Going to brew a batch of this and split it in half.. what should I do to it? Ferment with two different yeasts.. Notty and 04? Or maybe lightly dry hop one of them?

 

[jwalk4]

Hmm, I don't know if I'd dry hop a mild. I've made Reaper's before and used it as a base for my own mild, suited to my own tastes. Reaper's is a great recipe though.

I would say use two different yeasts and maybe add a spice tea (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, etc.) to one to make it a holiday ale.

 

[JKaranka]

I wouldn't dry hop a mild. As above, if you scale it to be 20-25% stronger you have a good base for winter warmer (with or without spices).

 

[bunt1828]

This is still on my "to brew list", so I can't speak from experience. but I would bet dry hoping with a little liberty would yield tasty results.

Other options would be to age it on woods typically used for smoking like hickory or mesquite. All of these are on my list. That list is so damn long.. One of these days I'll get around to making a few of these and report back. If you beat me to it please do the same.

 

[kraimecj]

I've had this on tap for a couple of weeks now and it's going to be my house brew. I'm going to be brewing another batch this weekend and adding in another 4-6oz of Chocolate Malt and possibly 2-6oz of Biscuit Malt.. Has anyone tried this or have thoughts?

 

[COEBRA]

This is a nice recipe. I made 10 gallons and it's going quick. Everyone enjoys it. I'm upping the grain bill a little next time though. 3.5% just doesn't cut it for me lol.

View attachment 1440033987401.jpg

 

[azscoob]

Mine always seems to come out to 4.5% or so, it's my weeknight, having dinner beer

 

[attyindaburgh]

It has been awhile since I have read through these posts, but has anyone used windsor yeast for this beer. I used nottingham and it was quite yummy. I have a couple of packs of windsor in the fridge and looking for a use. Thoughts?

 

[azscoob]

It has been awhile since I have read through these posts, but has anyone used windsor yeast for this beer. I used nottingham and it was quite yummy. I have a couple of packs of windsor in the fridge and looking for a use. Thoughts?

I have a packet of Windsor yeast, but never thought of using it in this! Give it a whirl and report back... I've been using 1968 as of late because it's my go-to yeast recently. Turns out fantastic!

 

[attyindaburgh]

So I used a pack of dry windsor yeast on this. OG was 1.045. Fermentation started very quickly and the krausen fell in about 3 days. The FG has been stuck at 1.02. Should I leave it at that? I transferred to a secondary hoping that it would maybe wake up the yeast, and because I needed a primary back. Makes it around 3%.

 

[arbadarchi]

Next brew!

 

[arbadarchi]

I am gonna do the original recipe converted to a 3.5 gal biab batch. I plan on doing a full volume mash. Anything I should keep in mind?

 

[azscoob]

I am gonna do the original recipe converted to a 3.5 gal biab batch. I plan on doing a full volume mash. Anything I should keep in mind?

It's going to go fast, maybe up it to 7 gallons!!!!

 

[arbadarchi]

It's going to go fast, maybe up it to 7 gallons!!!!

If I start kegging and build a bigger fermentation chamber I will!

 

[arbadarchi]

So during the mash I came across the temperature drop issue. I do e-biab so pulled the bag out twice and brought the temp back up. I have no idea what kind of effect doing this will have. Makes me think of dunking a tea bag in hot water over and over...