Experimental Beer Slim's Graham Cracker Ale 2.0

[SD-SLIM]

Brewed this yesterday. OG of 1.074, smelled great. Used dark brown sugar to get a darker beer.

I BIAB and the graham crackers had me stirring during the whole mash to keep my recirc pump from running dry. No real issues though. Got about 6 gallons in the fermentor, pitched onto a yeast cake of S-04 from a previous batch of ESB. Bubbling away like mad this morning!

I've got high hopes!

I think you will like it!

 

[TheSmithsEra]

I brewed this up on Saturday modified for a 4 gallon batch with increased ounces of chocolate malt, but no actual bakers chocolate. I did adjust some values, but I think I kept it true to this recipe. I fell a little short with the OG and added some light DME

OG 1.076
shot for 32 IBUS from EKG
Graham cracker taste was evident, pitched at 70

Can't wait to be drinking this one

 

[nthammer]

subbed

 

[ulsh72]

Just put out in secondary last night. FG:1.019
There was a thick oily film on the top that left a greasy residue on everything, but the sample tasted pretty good, mostly of chocolate so definitely needs more time.

Brewed this yesterday. OG of 1.074, smelled great. Used dark brown sugar to get a darker beer.

I BIAB and the graham crackers had me stirring during the whole mash to keep my recirc pump from running dry. No real issues though. Got about 6 gallons in the fermentor, pitched onto a yeast cake of S-04 from a previous batch of ESB. Bubbling away like mad this morning!

I've got high hopes!

 

[SD-SLIM]

Just put out in secondary last night. FG:1.019
There was a thick oily film on the top that left a greasy residue on everything, but the sample tasted pretty good, mostly of chocolate so definitely needs more time.

The oil on the top is from using graham crackers with by products that the yeast cannot eat....try to skim it off or leave it with the trub when you bottle/keg

 

[dave2851]

I am brewing this on Wednesday. Sounds delicious.
One question - rice hulls. I've never used them. What are they for and when do I use them? I'm guessing it's to prevent a stuck sparge with all the graham cracker mush.
Vanilla beans soaking in vodka now!

 

[SD-SLIM]

I am brewing this on Wednesday. Sounds delicious. One question - rice hulls. I've never used them. What are they for and when do I use them? I'm guessing it's to prevent a stuck sparge with all the graham cracker mush. Vanilla beans soaking in vodka now!

Your correct, you use them to prevent a stuck sparge....I usually add the rice hulls before the grain

 

[dave2851]

Outstanding ! Thanks for the quick response. Can't wait to try this.

 

[dave2851]

Garage smells SO good right now !

 

[Setesh]

Garage smells SO good right now !

I wanted to get a spoon and dig into the mash tun with this one. It is easily the best smelling recipe I've ever made. It's been in the keg for about a month now, I need to give it another try and see if the flavor improved. I'll do that tonight and report back.

 

[dave2851]

Yeast pitched. Now we wait!
OG came in low, so we'll see.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

I'm looking to brew this up this weekend, can't wait!

Has anyone had any trouble getting to 1.097? I'm still pretty new to all-grain (BIAB) and I have yet to get over 1.070.

 

[dave2851]

I came in at 1.05

 

[Setesh]

Has anyone had any trouble getting to 1.097? I'm still pretty new to all-grain (BIAB) and I have yet to get over 1.070.

Yes, there just arent enough fermentables in the recipe to end up with that number. A more realistic number is ~ 1.060. When I brewed it I added 2 lbs of turbinado to the recipe and still only got 1.063 for 5.75 gallons of wort (based on a 5 gallon recipe so I over sparged).

Update on flavor:
I just tried some after a month in the keg. It still needs more time but it tastes much better than before and it sure does remind me of Graham crackers! I'm wishing I hadn't used Madagascar vanilla beans, but it's what I had. Really fun recipe!

 

[TheSmithsEra]

Yes, there just arent enough fermentables in the recipe to end up with that number. A more realistic number is ~ 1.060. When I brewed it I added 2 lbs of turbinado to the recipe and still only got 1.063 for 5.75 gallons of wort (based on a 5 gallon recipe so I over sparged).

Update on flavor:
I just tried some after a month in the keg. It still needs more time but it tastes much better than before and it sure does remind me of Graham crackers! I'm wishing I hadn't used Madagascar vanilla beans, but it's what I had. Really fun recipe!

Ooops! I used Madagascar vanilla beans... what happened?

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Yes, there just arent enough fermentables in the recipe to end up with that number. A more realistic number is ~ 1.060. When I brewed it I added 2 lbs of turbinado to the recipe and still only got 1.063 for 5.75 gallons of wort (based on a 5 gallon recipe so I over sparged).

Update on flavor:
I just tried some after a month in the keg. It still needs more time but it tastes much better than before and it sure does remind me of Graham crackers! I'm wishing I hadn't used Madagascar vanilla beans, but it's what I had. Really fun recipe!

Sounds like there's no issue with getting in that range then? I'm expecting to be 1.06 range

 

[Setesh]

Sounds like there's no issue with getting in that range then? I'm expecting to be 1.06 range

There should't be. Beersmith gives an estimated OG of 1.057 with Graham crackers completely removed from the equation. There are some fermentables in the crackers, but I'm not sure how to compensate for that. So ~ 1.060 should be a good target.

 

[Lgaddy44]

Brewed this yesterday, fell an oz short on the Baker's chocolate. I thought I had more, but only had 4 oz on hand. I did hit 1.071 on the gravity though. This smelled and tasted great! I'm very excited to see how this one turns out.

 

[TheSmithsEra]

Bottled on Saturday 12/14. I didn't use any bakers chocolate, but I did use a little more chocolate malt and its definitely there. I could taste the graham crackers as well. It did however have a taste that reminded me of salt? Perhaps it is too early to tell, can't wait to see what we got when its carbonated

 

[Setesh]

Ooops! I used Madagascar vanilla beans... what happened?

Sorry! I didn't get an alert for your post. Madagascar beans just have a different flavor, that's all. They taste stronger than Tahitian beans which are more mellow. It's honestly just a personal preference. Delicate vs robust.

 

[TheSmithsEra]

Sorry! I didn't get an alert for your post. Madagascar beans just have a different flavor, that's all. They taste stronger than Tahitian beans which are more mellow. It's honestly just a personal preference. Delicate vs robust.

oh ok lol. I thought they had a nasty flavor or something and as I also used them was worried. I used one bean and didn't get too much flavor, but we will see once its conditioned. Only been a few days bottled

 

[pshakerc]

This will be my first all grain brew! I read it and this sounded awesome! Just finishing brewing it and I'm about to put it in the fermenter. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[SD-SLIM]

This will be my first all grain brew! I read it and this sounded awesome! Just finishing brewing it and I'm about to put it in the fermenter. I'll let you know how it turns out.

I hope you enjoy it!

 

[pshakerc]

Hey, kinda concerned about how the fermentation is going with my brew. It looks like a thicker green brown foam on the top. Wondering if the beer is infected. Also, I used Wyeast 1335 British ale II. If anyone can help or am I over reacting!?

 

[Setesh]

Hey, kinda concerned about how the fermentation is going with my brew. It looks like a thicker green brown foam on the top. Wondering if the beer is infected. Also, I used Wyeast 1335 British ale II. If anyone can help or am I over reacting!? View attachment 170120View attachment 170121View attachment 170122

That looks normal to me. The green/brown color is likely caused by hop matter (green) and the normal krausen (brown in a brown beer). I think you are just fine! Do a google image search for krausen and you will see the dramatically different appearance it can have depending on the color of the beer, amount of hops used, and especially which yeast strain is used.

 

[pshakerc]

That looks normal to me. The green/brown color is likely caused by hop matter (green) and the normal krausen (brown in a brown beer). I think you are just fine!

Thanks! I've never seen that before in any of the extracts I did in the past.

 

[SD-SLIM]

Thanks! I've never seen that before in any of the extracts I did in the past.

Yeah your fine, you may want to consider filtering your wort as you put in your fermenter.

 

[Setesh]

Yeah your fine, you may want to consider filtering your wort as you put in your fermenter.

Or just let your wort sit for ~20 minutes with the lid on. Most of the trub will settle on the bottom and you will be able to rack/drain off the top. You have to position your dip tube correctly for this of course, which usually means twisting it to one side or the other so that it doesn't go strait down to the bottom.

 

[SD-SLIM]

Or just let your wort sit for ~20 minutes with the lid on. Most of the trub will settle on the bottom and you will be able to rack/drain off the top. You have to position your dip tube correctly for this of course, which usually means twisting it to one side or the other so that it doesn't go strait down to the bottom.

Setesh is right on point, I filter my wort because I wash my yeast.....so keeping an inch of sediment out of my trub helps out a lot in that process.

 

[pshakerc]

Thanks guys, I appreciate all of the help! I have an extra filter at the house, but I still have some time to see how much it will clear up. I'm not thinking it will that much though.