The effects of reducing grain bill

[cxp073]

Hello all,

What is the effect of reducing the grain bill? Clearly, the gravity and colour will reduce. But what about flavour? does it become less pronounced?

A recent situation:

I brewed a beer that was supposed to come out with a pre-boil gravity of around 1.07 or so. I used about 13 pounds grain. For one reason or another I achieved a TERRIBLE efficiency and had a pre-boil gravity of 1.035. This was my first time brewing a high gravity beer, and I suspect that there was either A) a problem with the grain crush, (B) a problem with my thermometer for strike temp or (C) too thick of a mash. Anyways, the point is I used 13 pounds of grain and came out with a 1.051/2 OG beer.

If I am lucky, this beer will end up tasting good. There was tons of hops, so I have worries that it will be too bitter. But, what if it IS great? What if I want to replicate that brew?

In this case, it would seem prudent to use less grain, and assuming my efficiencies are back to normal brew a 1.052 SG beer using, for arguments sake, 9 pounds grain.

The differences, then, between my first brew and the second brew will be the amount of grain used, albeit yielding the same OG.

My question is: what would the difference in beer characteristics be? I would imagine that using less grain would change the color, and as expected the gravities, but would it change anything else?

Thanks,

C

 

[jCOSbrew]

Ideally you would want to scale back all the grains by equal percentage based on your target OG and efficiency.

After a few batches you should be able to get pretty consistent efficiency numbers and can adjust your recipes accordingly.

 

[Roadie]

I was just reading about scaling for efficiency and took away you should scale your base grains but not your specialty grains.

 

[RM-MN]

I was just reading about scaling for efficiency and took away you should scale your base grains but not your specialty grains.

This is what I think too. You're doing a 5 gallon batch, there needs to be a certain amount of specialty grains for the color and flavor. Most of the specialty grains won't give much sugars by mashing so your sugars come from the base grain. Keep the specialties the same, reduce the base grains to get your sugars to meet your expected OG.

 

[cxp073]

I understand what you guys are saying, but this doesn't address my problem. My question is if you use 15 pounds for example of grain, and get a really terrible efficiency, and get a og of only 1.52, would it taste the same as if you used less grain but achieved a great efficiency yielding the same og.

 

[cxp073]

Sorry - 1.052

 

[cxp073]

Another example may bring my question to light:

Two brewers - trying to achieve the same beer using the same grain types. Brewer a uses lots of grain because he knows his efficiency is terrible. Brewer B uses less grain because he knows his efficiencies are great. Both end up with the same target OG. All other things being equal, do the beers taste different!

 

[Zoidberg]

I understand what you guys are saying, but this doesn't address my problem. My question is if you use 15 pounds for example of grain, and get a really terrible efficiency, and get a og of only 1.52, would it taste the same as if you used less grain but achieved a great efficiency yielding the same og.

Yes I believe it would taste the same and this is what others are implying too, given that you only reduce the base grains and keep the specialty grains at the same amount by weight (not by percentage)