Recipe Formulation & Ingredients Descriptions

[agenthucky]

depends on efficiency and actual caramelization of the grain, but if everything is correct, from what i've seen (and beersmith, my program of choice for years), 2 lbs of c20 should = 1 lb of c40 in color

But what formula is being used in that program? Morey, mosher, Daniels, viggiano? These may give similar, all though different values, but the actual color varies greatly, no?

 

[lumpher]

i haven't seen huge differences, but yes, you're correct. it's definitely not exact ( and sometimes not even close ). 2x c20 is usually between 1x c30 and 1x c50, tho. and as for the formula, no clue

 

[DeathBrewer]

^^this. I would completely disregard your first linked source. 1 lbs. of 60L Crystal is not the same as 8 oz. of 120L Crystal.

^^ what he said ^^

Quite a different flavor and the color will be different, as well. I've never worried about color so much as long as I fall within the SRM. I'm usually trying to fall near the center anyway...or black as night.

 

[lumpher]

since i don't compete, i really don't worry about it. i have a few criteria: does it taste good? does it look ok? and what's the abv?

 

[Ironwave]

Thanks DeathBrewer, your tutorials are awesome.
Ive learned more from you the past 5 hours, then from my local brew shop,
yea, Im a newby.
Thanks

 

[DeathBrewer]

Glad to help. And a word to all...I haven't forgotten about this thread...I'm just incredibly busy with the wine season at work and setting up the new warehouse. Updates will come, I just can't give an ETA at this point.

 

[Justibone]

Has anyone ever tried dry-hopping an existing beer as a method of tasting different hops?

I.e., can I put some hops in my growler, go to the local brewery to get it filled, let it sit 48-72 hours, and then taste what the hops taste like in that beer style?

Am I talkin' da crayzee talk ag'in?

 

[DeathBrewer]

You will certainly be able to better understand what aroma and perceived flavors come from using various hops for dry hopping. Sounds like quite a bit of drinking!

 

[benharper13]

what the hell is that animal in your pic deathbrewer

 

[agenthucky]

Has anyone ever tried dry-hopping an existing beer as a method of tasting different hops?

I.e., can I put some hops in my growler, go to the local brewery to get it filled, let it sit 48-72 hours, and then taste what the hops taste like in that beer style?

Am I talkin' da crayzee talk ag'in?

I do it all the time, take a tea ball, or tea bag and throw a few pellets in per beer.

I also find that if you brew a mild IPA, or just PA, save them and each time you brew open one and add a couple of pellets of the hops you're using. You get a real good sense of aroma, and if you steep them in a little hot water/wort, you can get some flavor out of them as well.

 

[Ironwave]

Its an female Impala, benharper13
Native to my country; South Africa, or rather, Found within the greater Africa continent.
It looks much like the better known Springbok.
Deathbrewer's hail form hell, it seems. ;-)

http://imagecache6.allposters.com/LRG/38/3825/ZB8YF00Z.jpg
There you can see an similar pic in better resolution.

 

[benharper13]

Yeah many moons ago I went to south africa and shot an impala

 

[Justibone]

I knew a guy that shot an Impala... but it didn't make very good eating.


Turns out it was a Chevy Impala, and the cop riding inside was *tiiiiiiiiiiiicked*.

 

[benharper13]

Actually shot a springbok too. Along with a worthog (might be the name of my next beer) wildebeast and eland

 

[DeathBrewer]

what the hell is that animal in your pic deathbrewer

It's a gerenuk and it has hips that swivel! Swivel hips! SRSLY!

:fro:

 

[benharper13]

come on "wort" hog is a great name for a beer (no one steal that now)

 

[JorgeDHF]

Guys, quick question: is there a site or some sort of calculator/program that will help me formulate a recipe based on the malts I have at hand?

I remember either an iPhone app or some other bartending program that would give you results/recipes for a drink (a lot of times something really disgusting) based on inputing a couple of ingredients.

I have a sack of 2-Row, about 5# of Maris Otter & maybe 1-2# of Crystal 20. What can I do?

 

[agenthucky]

Guys, quick question: is there a site or some sort of calculator/program that will help me formulate a recipe based on the malts I have at hand?

I remember either an iPhone app or some other bartending program that would give you results/recipes for a drink (a lot of times something really disgusting) based on inputing a couple of ingredients.

I have a sack of 2-Row, about 5# of Maris Otter & maybe 1-2# of Crystal 20. What can I do?

My vote is for an english pale ale.

 

[Justibone]

Sounds like a pale ale to me.

 

[MSOE_HomeBrew]

Subscribe

 

[sirhc1210]

Hey, very informative post... I'll def have to check back once I start making my own recipes. But since I’m pretty new to brewing (only done a Dry Malt Extract Kit and a Liquid Malt Extract Kit) I'm going to stick with other peoples recipes until I get my own hold on things After reading the post on partial mashes I've decided I want to give that a try.

I had a few questions though:

Most recipes I've seen are for All Grain. Is there any easy way to convert the AG to a partial mash recipe? Should I simply take half of the grains and throw in 3-4lbs of Dry or Liquid Malt Extract? Keep the same amt of hops etc? Or is there a more complex calculation that I'd need to do depending on which grains were used?

Also, some recipes are for 10 gallon batches. I'm only making 5 gallon batches. Can I simply half everything (including grains, hops, water etc)?

Specifically I was looking at Crabree's Wee Heavy Scotch Ale

Thanks!

 

[Justibone]

Most recipes I've seen are for All Grain. Is there any easy way to convert the AG to a partial mash recipe? Should I simply take half of the grains and throw in 3-4lbs of Dry or Liquid Malt Extract? Keep the same amt of hops etc? Or is there a more complex calculation that I'd need to do depending on which grains were used?

The good beer software out there will do the conversion for you.

The way I do it is I try to figure out the brewer's efficiency (it's helpful if they list it; if not then I use 70%), and then multiply the pounds of grain by that number. The recipe you listed is already extract, so I'll just make up a quick recipe.

5 lb 2-row
1 lb wheat
0.5 lb Crystal 20L
0.5 lb Cara-munich

If you saw this recipe, you could multiply 5 lbs. by .7 (which is 70%) to get 3.5 lbs of 2-row extract (or just light DME). You would get 0.7 lbs of wheat extract - but remember, most wheat extract is some proportion barley. If the wheat extract is 50/50, then you'd add 1.4 lbs of that and take away .7 lbs of the light DME.

Then, I look at the specialty grains - the stuff that isn't basically 2-row, pilsner or wheat. Essentially, if you can't find an extract called that thing, then it's a specialty grain. You should partial mash those to get closer to the real beer, but if you don't do partial mashes, well... you won't get very close to the recipe.

The crystal and the cara don't have malt extracts named for them, so those are your partial mash grains. I feel that it's helpful to add in about a pound of 2-row to make sure the mash has plenty of enzymes and extra flavor, so the converted recipe, as *I* would make it, is as follows:

2.1 lbs light DME
1.4 lbs wheat DME (50/50)
1 lb 2-row
0.5 lb Crystal 20L
0.5 lb Cara-munich

You would mash 2 lbs. of grains, then add the extract in towards the end of the boil.

That's just how I would do it; others would disagree.

Also, some recipes are for 10 gallon batches. I'm only making 5 gallon batches. Can I simply half everything (including grains, hops, water etc)?

Within reason, yes. It won't be exactly exactly the same, but it will be close enough to not make a difference.

EDIT: bad specialty grain examples... neither of those need a mash, they can be steeped only. Still, I would tend to use an extra pound of 2-row, just to make the beer a little better, IMO. Also, if you substitute 2-row grain back in for extract, remember 1 lb of grain only replaces 0.7 lb of extract.

 

[sirhc1210]

Thanks for the help Justibone! I'm hoping to get a new stock pot next month so I can start a partial mash. =) I can't wait!

 

[Medevac_Chief]

Thanks so much!!!! Im just getting started myself, after not taking advantage of my wife working in a micro-brewery and all the homebrew clubs of the Jacksonville FL area, and have been doing some research and havent come accross anything this helpful.

 

[broth223]

Well I'm trying to get together a Black IPA here is my ingredient list

4 Gallon batch

Malts

American Crystal Dark (77L) 3lbs
Amber Malt 3lbs
Chocolate Malt 3lbs
American two row 3lbs
American Crystal 3lbs

Hops

60 Min Chinook 1oz
60 Min Yakima Gold 1oz
30 Min Cascade .5 oz
30 Min Centenial .5 oz
15 Min Citra .5 oz
Dry Hop in secondary with an oz of chinook

Yeast
either England Dry Ale Yeast or California yeast.

Current calculations estimate 7.7ABV 95.2 IBU 63 SRM but a final gravity of 1.029

I'm concerned that my final gravity may be too high.

I'm concerned that my final gravity may be too high I also plan to prime with Dextrose during primary as well as adding some during bottling is that a good idea as well?

 

[Justibone]

I agree that your initial gravity is too high.

I think your chocolate malt is too much. Less is better with chocolate.

I think you have too much crystal.

Start your recipe with the following:

4 gallons * (4 lb grain/.70 efficiency) ~ 5.72 lbs. grain for about 5% ABV.

Do 5 lbs of 2-row.
Do 1 lb of Crystal 60 or darker
Do 6 oz. of chocolate

Or so.

Next, your hops...

You don't need 2 different kinds of bittering hops. Just use the smallest amount of the highest alpha acid percentage (AA%) hops you can use to get your IBUs where you want. I like the cascade/centennial/citra combination, though... that could be good so long as you can get all three types. (My LHBS has a hard time getting citra.) Amarillo and Sorachi Ace are also in the same family and could be good, especially with that sweetness from the crystal.

I've never brewed the black IPA style, but those are just my suggestions.

 

[Justibone]

I also plan to prime with Dextrose during primary as well as adding some during bottling is that a good idea as well?

Dextrose in primary will dry the beer out - that can be good in an IPA, but it should be included in your fermentables list because it will add to the alcohol.

Dextrose is good for bottling, yes.

 

[Garner54]

So i brewed a (shiner Bock) clone and i kept it at room temp. and im almost certain its going to turn into a ale. The reason for brewing at that temp was my wine fridge went out. What do you think, maybe i should leave it in the secoundary longer.

 

[Justibone]

So i brewed a (shiner Bock) clone and i kept it at room temp. and im almost certain its going to turn into a ale. The reason for brewing at that temp was my wine fridge went out. What do you think, maybe i should leave it in the secoundary longer.

If you used a lager yeast but at ale temperatures, I am unsure what your result will be.

I would leave it in the secondary longer, but who knows? When things go off course like that, you just have to roll with the punches.

 

[PCharles]

Greetings friends,

I'm new to brewing so please excuse my lack of beer making knowledge. I was must reviewing a Malts Chart.
Malts Chart - Home Brewing Wiki

I have a few questions.

• There are two columns under potential yield. The left of the two is specific gravity and the right one is percent. If I'm not mistaking, the percent, such as 75%, relates to the expected sugar extraction from the grain. I am more in doubt about the specific gravity. If the Colum says 1.035, does this mean that that would be the achieved SG after extraction? As a wine maker, I'd look at 1.035 as a rather low SG to ferment with.
  
• My second question deals with the SRM Column. On the cart, the SRM Colum is colored from yellow to brown. I figure that gives the user an idea of the beer color. However, I don't know what the numbers mean. So, what is SRM, and what do the numbers in the SRM column mean?
  
• My last question deals with the term Mash. Some malts require the Mash process when others do not? I would have thought all grains would have to be processed in a Mash Tun. Is the mash process adding hot water for about 60 minutes? I may be getting the terms Mash and Sparge mixed up. Thanks for some clarification.

Thanks for help with this basic information.