Experimental Beer Slim's Graham Cracker Ale 2.0

[Hank_Scorpio]

That's exactly what I used.

Awesome, thanks!

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

Thanks for putting together and sharing this recipe, Slim. We had perfect brewing weather yesterday, and I really enjoyed getting a batch of this brewed. The wort smelled and tasted fantastic.

Here's my big ol' bag of grains draining just after I got the burner going again:

My OG ended up at 1.084, which seems to be a bit higher than most in this thread were getting. I use a BIAB set up and have always gotten pretty high efficiency, which I think is due to running my grains through the mill twice and squeezing the hell out of the bag. I ended up transferring exactly 8 gallons to my buckets, so it seems like all of my other calculations and measurements were pretty spot on.

Now to be patient and wait and wait and wait...

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

Quick question for the more experienced here. I have a feeling its going to be a RDWHAHB situation, but it never hurts to get a second opinion

It's been two weeks since brewing and I just went to add my vanilla to the beer. I figured while the lid was off that I'd take a quick gravity reading and taste a sample (can't bottle until week 4, so I delayed adding my vanilla by a week so that it'd still only sit in the beer for two weeks). Both the hydrometer reading and taste of the sample lead me to believe that the yeast never finished the job. I got a reading of 1.030 (OG was 1.084), and the tiny bit I tasted had a lot of green apple (acetaldehyde, yes?) flavor.

I rehydrated my dry yeast in 95 degree water and then let it cool to 60, added oxygen to the wort via oxygen wand, pitched the yeast when the wort was at 62 degrees, and had my temp control set for 63, so I'm not quite sure why my yeast would be struggling.

Is the best approach at this point to leave it alone and bottle as usual in another couple of weeks? Or, should I raise the temp of the ferm chamber up to 70 or so (already raised it to 67 a few days ago) to try to rouse the yeast?

 

[peejaynj]

THIS IM SURE is an absolutely absurd question.... BUT has anyone thought of the idea of throwing some marshmallows into the boil!? What would that do!? Or marshmallow extract somehow. Idk. All I can think of with this beer is s'mores.

 

[castillo556]

THIS IM SURE is an absolutely absurd question.... BUT has anyone thought of the idea of throwing some marshmallows into the boil!? What would that do!? Or marshmallow extract somehow. Idk. All I can think of with this beer is s'mores.

It's all sugar, I would bet it would mostly ferment out and not leave much flavor if any.

 

[peejaynj]

It's all sugar, I would bet it would mostly ferment out and not leave much flavor if any.

That's what I was figuring. Maybe that's what the vanilla does is bring out that sense of marshmallow? I love the idea of this and definitely going to do a small batch biab experiment next week. (No marshmallows don't worry!)

 

[SupervisingChildren]

I soaked the vanilla beans in marshmallow vodka for one of the batches I did. That one came out pretty tasty.

 

[peejaynj]

I soaked the vanilla beans in marshmallow vodka for one of the batches I did. That one came out pretty tasty.

Yes! Genius!

 

[peejaynj]

Going to brew this this week. Just put a delicious witbier into the primary and figured I'd make another while I'm on a roll.

QUESTION ON THE GRAHAMS. I see a lot of people keep talking about putting these into the boil (I see some people are even putting them into the primary...what a mess!)....the RIGHT way to do this is to put them into my mash as if they were one of the grains right!?

 

[Setesh]

Going to brew this this week. Just put a delicious witbier into the primary and figured I'd make another while I'm on a roll.

QUESTION ON THE GRAHAMS. I see a lot of people keep talking about putting these into the boil (I see some people are even putting them into the primary...what a mess!)....the RIGHT way to do this is to put them into my mash as if they were one of the grains right!?

Yes, putting them in the mash works great. I suggest putting them on top of the mash that way you don't have any run off / sparge problems. I also suggest a thinner mash than usual. Just stir them up with the top third of the mash but leave the filter bed alone. A full volume mash or BIAB would also work well since you wouldn't have to sparge at all.

 

[Sock]

Interesting. Did you mix the graham crackers into the mash? I put them on top of the grain bed and recirculated through them for ~50 minutes. Maybe this let the grain bed filter out this film compound?

It could be different ingredients in the graham crackers. I'm in Canada, so they might be made by a different company using the same marketing name.. That's just a guess.

 

[Setesh]

It could be different ingredients in the graham crackers. I'm in Canada, so they might be made by a different company using the same marketing name.. That's just a guess.

Interesting idea. They could be different. Also could be an effect from different grain bed depths depending on kettle geometry. I use a converted keg so my mash is pretty deep. I mixed them into the top 1/3 of the mash and didn't get the oil slick.

 

[mariahman]

I just picked up all the ingredients for this, with brew day this Sunday. I will update with notes and pics.

 

[SD-SLIM]

I place them in the middle, it prevents you from getting stuck, while still extracting as much flavor as possible.

 

[mariahman]

Ok, great brew day yesterday. OG of 1.065. Upped the chocolate malt to 8oz, added ~3oz Cocoa nibs and about 1/3 of a cinnamon stick at flameout. I'll prob add more cocoa in fermenter but I was thinking less likely tannins if I didn't boil the nibs. Also this morning, sliced open 3 vanilla beans and instead of soaking in vodka, used some nice bourbon and even a touch of toasted marshmallow coffee syrup. Probably 1 oz or so of each, not much. Will add that into secondary. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1428340959.749185.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1428340977.365420.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1428340991.014969.jpg

 

[madcore]

So brewed 11/22 still not drinkable at 4 months

 

[ragefather]

So brewed 11/22 still not drinkable at 4 months

Same here. Mine is very alcoholic, no flavor, the vanilla is gone and the graham cracker is gone. Tastes like medicine. Very disappointed but I blame myself. It was my second ever brew and I am sure mistakes were made along the way.

 

[madcore]

Same here. Mine is very alcoholic, no flavor, the vanilla is gone and the graham cracker is gone. Tastes like medicine. Very disappointed but I blame myself. It was my second ever brew and I am sure mistakes were made along the way.

Nah I don't think so. I have brewed plenty and have a lot of beers that are loved by others but this one....

 

[SD-SLIM]

This is not a simple beer to brew, some people have screwed up and bought graham crackers with artificial flavors that ruined the beer, some people have gotten stuck sparges that thrown off the flavor, and some did not have the ability to rapidly cool the wort....the reason why I mention this, is that this is a delicate beer, do everything right and you have a masterpiece that reminds you of a campfire trip that you had as a kid, but screw it up and it reminds you of the first time your mom gave you robitussin cough syrup!

 

[madcore]

Ok it's been sitting for 6 months finally drinkable. Great Graham cracker notes with vanilla to follow up

 

[ArmyATCBrewer]

I'll be brewing this very soon and was wondering what most of you are using for your grist ratio. Also, I'd like to bring the ABV down a tad. Do you all recommend a right grist ratio or a grain bill reduction? Sorry for the noob questions...still learning. Cheers!

 

[Setesh]

I'll be brewing this very soon and was wondering what most of you are using for your grist ratio. Also, I'd like to bring the ABV down a tad. Do you all recommend a right grist ratio or a grain bill reduction? Sorry for the noob questions...still learning. Cheers!

Most people are getting somewhere around 1.060-1,070 for an OG depending on efficiency. That would put you between 6%-7% ABV with 75% attenuation.
Are you wanting to go lower than that?

 

[ArmyATCBrewer]

No, that's actually right about where I'd like to be. The original post noted the ABV around 10%, I think. I ran it through a few recipe calculators and came out MUCH closer to what you've mentioned. I just wasn't sure how the graham crackers would add to the gravity.
What do you recommend for water to grist? This is the one thing I can't seem to get right on a consistent basis. Thanks!

 

[Setesh]

No, that's actually right about where I'd like to be. The original post noted the ABV around 10%, I think. I ran it through a few recipe calculators and came out MUCH closer to what you've mentioned. I just wasn't sure how the graham crackers would add to the gravity.
What do you recommend for water to grist? This is the one thing I can't seem to get right on a consistent basis. Thanks!

1.25qt/lb is an accepted baseline and should work out well.

Here are some good reads on the subject:

http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter14-6.html

http://byo.com/aging/item/1110-managing-mash-thickness

 

[ArmyATCBrewer]

1.25qt/lb is an accepted baseline and should work out well.

Here are some good reads on the subject:

http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter14-6.html

http://byo.com/aging/item/1110-managing-mash-thickness

Awesome! Thank you for the input! Based on previous research, 1.25 is about what I'd planned to go with, but I'd rather ask a dumb question here and look like the FNG that I am than regret it later.

Cheers!

 

[ArmyATCBrewer]

Quick question for the more experienced here. I have a feeling its going to be a RDWHAHB situation, but it never hurts to get a second opinion

It's been two weeks since brewing and I just went to add my vanilla to the beer. I figured while the lid was off that I'd take a quick gravity reading and taste a sample (can't bottle until week 4, so I delayed adding my vanilla by a week so that it'd still only sit in the beer for two weeks). Both the hydrometer reading and taste of the sample lead me to believe that the yeast never finished the job. I got a reading of 1.030 (OG was 1.084), and the tiny bit I tasted had a lot of green apple (acetaldehyde, yes?) flavor.

I rehydrated my dry yeast in 95 degree water and then let it cool to 60, added oxygen to the wort via oxygen wand, pitched the yeast when the wort was at 62 degrees, and had my temp control set for 63, so I'm not quite sure why my yeast would be struggling.

Is the best approach at this point to leave it alone and bottle as usual in another couple of weeks? Or, should I raise the temp of the ferm chamber up to 70 or so (already raised it to 67 a few days ago) to try to rouse the yeast?

Hank_Scorpio, I noticed that no one ever replied on this post. What ended up happening with yur beer? I brewed this a week ago. The wort was incredible! Today I racked it onto some vanilla beans soaked in 20 year old Japanese whisky. I took a little sample during transfer and noticed a similar off-flavor. Did yours balance back out like most leople said about theirs? Thanks!

 

[feelinkindathor]

Is anyone familiar with Biscoff cookies? If you've ever flown Delta airlines, you've probably had them. They are similar in flavor to graham crackers, but with a little more sweetness and complexity of spices. I really enjoy them and have designs on making a beer with those flavors in it. That is what led me to this recipe as I thought swapping graham crackers out for Biscoffs might work. Any thoughts on that? I'm not sure of the preservative content of Biscoffs offhand.

So this is an old ass post, but Biscoff is a GREAT idea for this brew! Got me thinking now. I'm wondering about the Biscoff spread. It's like peanut butter but made out of biscoff cookies. Absolutely delicious. May work in the boil?

 

[ArmyATCBrewer]

Question for the group...
I brewed this not quite three weeks ago with an OG of 1.056. I racked to secondary after one week and had a gravity of 1.031. I check again today and I'm still sitting at 1.031 (it's Tuesday and I was planning to bottle this Saturday or Sunday). I'm considering repitching, but I'm worried about yeasty off-flavors. Any recommendations? Also worth noting, my access to homebrew supplies is rather limited...I live in Korea. I can get a pack of S-04 though. Thanks for any help you all can offer!

 

[ctufano]

I just put this into beer smith and all my numbers are different? My IBU and OG are lower than stated

 

[mprokop]

I also had a very strong acetaldehyde flavor (green apple). I brewed this in October and it has not gone away. I had in the primary for three weeks and even roused the yeast several times to help try and get rid of the off flavor but never went away. Currently, it's sitting in a keg in my closet and hoping more age will help. I plan on sampling in in the next week or so. I think the problem is there is just too much refined sugars in this recipe. How it turned out well for others, I have no idea. This recipe has been nothing but terrible for me so far. I advise others to stay away.