Thoughts on my recipe???

[dpinette2]

About to brew my 15th beer in a year. What a ride!!! I have brewed only my creations using other recipes as a guide. Some have gone great....then i had to dump last two. 1st one was crazy bitter, believe human error as my mash temp was wrong and started in the high 160’s, took forever to get down to 153....assuming that was the problem. Then yesterday i was transferring tonkeg, and forgot to pull off blowoff tube, sucked up 1/2 gallon of dirty star-san so dumped it. Really want to make sure I get this one as i feel deflated a bit. Thoughts on recipe

6gallons into fermenter

Mash(grist 1.875 ratio) 7.5 gallon mash, sparge with 2 gallons

I have a false bottom with 2 gallons below, so need a higher water volume) I recirculate every 5 mins or so but draining into a pitcher and pouring over the grain bed)

7#2-row breiss brewers malt
7#Pearl
1#Acidulated
8oz Carapils
8oz rice hulls

Hops
.25oz columbus first wort

.5oz Denali Flame out
.5oz Mosiac Flame out
.5oz Citra Flame out

1.5oz Denali whirlpool 170
1.5oz Mosiac whirlpool 170
1.5oz Citra whirlpool 170

2oz Denali dry hop on day 14 for 4 days
2oz Mosiac dry hop on day 14 for 4 days
2oz Citra dry hop on day 14 for 4 days

Yeast
Imperial-Dry Hop-A24

Additions
whirlfloc-15mins
yeast nutrient 15mins
8oz Turbinado 15mins

Mash 152 60 min
boil 60 min

Water profile
calcium-142.8
Magnesium-22.5
Sodium-29.9
Sulfate-298.9
Bicarbonate-108.2

Ferment at 65 for 8-10 days, then slowly let it creep up to 70 til day 14, dry hop for 4 days. Cold crash(58 degrees, as low as my system allows, am i wasting my time?)for 2 days.


Srm 5
ABV 7.2
OG 1.068
FG 1.013


Looking for a really juicy IPA, hoping some pineapple to show up.


Any thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks in advance

 

[dpinette2]

Should Add, I’m mashing and boiling in same pot. 16gallon pot, false bottom. I’ll drain wort into bucket, empty grain and rinse, then pour wort back into the pot for boil.

 

[RM-MN]

Should Add, I’m mashing and boiling in same pot. 16gallon pot, false bottom. I’ll drain wort into bucket, empty grain and rinse, then pour wort back into the pot for boil.

Instead of removing the wort, dumping the grain, then dumping the wort back in, save yourself a lot of grief and time but just removing the grain. Use a custom made bag that you buy from Wilserbrewer (one of the members) and do the mash in that. When the mash is done, pull the bag of grains and let them drain right into the boil pot.

Switch out the blowoff for an airlock on day 4 and you won't have half a gallon to suck back in.

 

[VirginiaHops1]

You're missing the chloride number in your water profile. Have you gone up to 300 on sulfate before? If you have and it turned out well go for it, if you've never tried it and you want to be more careful with this batch(e.g. limit variables that could **** up your beer) dial it down. I did it a couple times and wasn't a huge fan of the beer. I know some people like it.

 

[dpinette2]

You're missing the chloride number in your water profile. Have you gone up to 300 on sulfate before? If you have and it turned out well go for it, if you've never tried it and you want to be more careful with this batch(e.g. limit variables that could fudge up your beer) dial it down. I did it a couple times and wasn't a huge fan of the beer. I know some people like it.

I just use beersmith hoppy water profile....definitely open to suggestions

 

[dpinette2]

Instead of removing the wort, dumping the grain, then dumping the wort back in, save yourself a lot of grief and time but just removing the grain. Use a custom made bag that you buy from Wilserbrewer (one of the members) and do the mash in that. When the mash is done, pull the bag of grains and let them drain right into the boil pot.


Switch out the blowoff for an airlock on day 4 and you won't have half a gallon to suck back in.

I tried a bag, wasn’t a fan, very hard to clean and get all of the grain out of it in my opinion...not sure if i’m missing something?

I have a ss conical, it has a blow off arm

 

[VirginiaHops1]

I just use beersmith hoppy water profile....definitely open to suggestions

What have you done in previous beers? Everyone's palates are different so I don't want to just suggest what I like. But I would suggest slowly increasing your mineral levels

 

[dpinette2]

Once i started adjusting the water profile, i’ve basically used that water profile to match(beersmith)

I’m looking for the hops to shine through, hopefully pineapple/tropical flavor/aroma

 

[Rob2010SS]

One thing that caught my eye was your acid malt. 1lb of acid malt is A LOT of acid malt. My recipes usually only have around .25lb of acid malt to hit a pH of 5.3 or so. I think that is going to be a problem and drive your mash pH way too low. What are you using to calculate your water profile and mash pH? Is the program telling you that you need 1lb of acid malt?

To @VirginiaHops1 comment, sulfate enhances dryness in a beer. Not sure if you're going for a really dry sensation when drinking this but that's what you're going to achieve there. And yes, you're missing the chloride number. If you're going for a NEIPA mouthfeel, this isn't going to get you there.

As far as the hoppy profile you're going for, I get massive pineapple notes from vic secret. I'd consider that hop in the future. Citra, mosaic, and vic secret is one of my favorite combos for pineapple. You'll get a pretty nice tropical aroma from what you got for sure.

I also usually shoot for a whirlpool temp of 160 but I think 170 will do roughly the same thing.

 

[RM-MN]

I tried a bag, wasn’t a fan, very hard to clean and get all of the grain out of it in my opinion...not sure if i’m missing something?

I have a ss conical, it has a blow off arm

i turn the bag inside out as I dump it and give it a shake to get most of the grain bits off, turn it rightside out, shake it one again, then rinse it. I don't worry if there are little bits of grain stuck to the bag. Once dry they don't do anything and I'm not going to use that bag to strain paint, just use it to mash again. The bag doesn't need to be sparkling clean.

 

[dpinette2]

One thing that caught my eye was your acid malt. 1lb of acid malt is A LOT of acid malt. My recipes usually only have around .25lb of acid malt to hit a pH of 5.3 or so. I think that is going to be a problem and drive your mash pH way too low. What are you using to calculate your water profile and mash pH? Is the program telling you that you need 1lb of acid malt?

To @VirginiaHops1 comment, sulfate enhances dryness in a beer. Not sure if you're going for a really dry sensation when drinking this but that's what you're going to achieve there. And yes, you're missing the chloride number. If you're going for a NEIPA mouthfeel, this isn't going to get you there.

As far as the hoppy profile you're going for, I get massive pineapple notes from vic secret. I'd consider that hop in the future. Citra, mosaic, and vic secret is one of my favorite combos for pineapple. You'll get a pretty nice tropical aroma from what you got for sure.

I also usually shoot for a whirlpool temp of 160 but I think 170 will do roughly the same thing.

Acid Malt-I basically look at the mash screen on beersmith after putting in all the grain, aim for 5.2-5.6 ph, with 1/2# it put me at 5.69, full puts me at 5.3....so that was better? I could be reading it wrong?

I will adjust for 160 whirlpool

 

[dpinette2]

i turn the bag inside out as I dump it and give it a shake to get most of the grain bits off, turn it rightside out, shake it one again, then rinse it. I don't worry if there are little bits of grain stuck to the bag. Once dry they don't do anything and I'm not going to use that bag to strain paint, just use it to mash again. The bag doesn't need to be sparkling clean.

was actually looking at one of these, seems reasonable for 29.99

 

[Rob2010SS]

Acid Malt-I basically look at the mash screen on beersmith after putting in all the grain, aim for 5.2-5.6 ph, with 1/2# it put me at 5.69, full puts me at 5.3....so that was better? I could be reading it wrong?

I will adjust for 160 whirlpool

Nope i don't think you're reading it wrong. If that's what it told you, you're golden. It's just surprising that it's so much is all. I'd be curious to plug your recipe into Bru'n Water or mash made easy and see what it said.

 

[dpinette2]

I’ll give that a whirl

 

[McKnuckle]

I’m nearly positive you’re reading the acid malt wrong. Check to see if it’s actually ounces rather than pounds. I brew batches that are about half as large, and my acid malt for a pale lager is a couple of ounces. It never exceeds 3% of the grist.

 

[Dannyv]

was actually looking at one of these, seems reasonable for 29.99
View attachment 619171

Where did you find this grain screen for 29.99

 

[Brewsncrabs]

I’m nearly positive you’re reading the acid malt wrong. Check to see if it’s actually ounces rather than pounds. I brew batches that are about half as large, and my acid malt for a pale lager is a couple of ounces. It never exceeds 3% of the grist.

I agree with McNuckle. I could be wrong, but that amount seems very high.

 

[RPh_Guy]

1st one was crazy bitter, believe human error as my mash temp was wrong and started in the high 160’s

More likely the bitterness came from the hops.

I agree with others that the water profile is a little off. What source water are you using?

I recommend against cold crashing unless you have a good way to prevent oxygen from getting in.

 

[njviking]

Where did you find this grain screen for 29.99

Ya, I'm in..

 

[dpinette2]

East Coast Brew parts, just purchased one

 

[dpinette2]

More likely the bitterness came from the hops.

I agree with others that the water profile is a little off. What source water are you using?

I recommend against cold crashing unless you have a good way to prevent oxygen from getting in.

when i enter grains into mobile beersmith this is my ph level(boston water)

with a lb of acid malt

 

[Rob2010SS]

Alright, so something is off somewhere with your app or the information you're entering or something. I plugged your recipe and water profile into Mash Made Easy and it's telling me that you only need 2.4oz of acid malt to get to your desired mash pH of 5.2.

 

[dpinette2]

Alright, so something is off somewhere with your app or the information you're entering or something. I plugged your recipe and water profile into Mash Made Easy and it's telling me that you only need 2.4oz of acid malt to get to your desired mash pH of 5.2.

View attachment 619235

Interesting, not sure what is going on with my software. I’ll try that mash made easy tonight! Thanks for the info!

 

[Rob2010SS]

Interesting, not sure what is going on with my software. I’ll try that mash made easy tonight! Thanks for the info!

You don't necessarily have to use mash made easy. You could use Bru'n Water or even your beersmith app. But something with the beer smith app is wrong. Beersmith is pretty reputable so I'm thinking something is just entered wrong, but I'm not familiar with it so I can't help there.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

You don't necessarily have to use mash made easy. You could use Bru'n Water or even your beersmith app. But something with the beer smith app is wrong. Beersmith is pretty reputable so I'm thinking something is just entered wrong, but I'm not familiar with it so I can't help there.

I plugged the grain bill into BeerSmith3 Mobile and (with my water profile) I am seeing similar results. The Unadjusted Mash pH is 5.77, and 1 lb of Acid Malt only drops the Adjusted Mash pH to 5.45. I would think it would drop more, but that is just based on advice seen that "1% of acid malt drops mash pH by 0.1" (which I have to assume depends on the alkalinity of your water).

I am not sure I have seen any discussion on the accuracy of the pH calculations in BeerSmith Mobile. You have to jump around a few screens to enter your water profile and additions and it took me a while to realize that it even does calculate a predicted mash pH. For my last batch the predicted pH from BeerSmith Mobile and Brun Water were almost identical, but I did not use acid malt or any acid additions.

 

[Rob2010SS]

I plugged the grain bill into BeerSmith3 Mobile and (with my water profile) I am seeing similar results. The Unadjusted Mash pH is 5.77, and 1 lb of Acid Malt only drops the Adjusted Mash pH to 5.45. I would think it would drop more, but that is just based on advice seen that "1% of acid malt drops mash pH by 0.1" (which I have to assume depends on the alkalinity of your water).

I am not sure I have seen any discussion on the accuracy of the pH calculations in BeerSmith Mobile. You have to jump around a few screens to enter your water profile and additions and it took me a while to realize that it even does calculate a predicted mash pH. For my last batch the predicted pH from BeerSmith Mobile and Brun Water were almost identical, but I did not use acid malt or any acid additions.

I'm assuming it's just not accurate with mash pH...? With Mash Made Easy, if I eliminate all water additions (gypsum, calcium chloride, etc.) the unadjusted mash pH is 5.55 and to drop it to 5.20, it tells me that 7.38oz of acid malt is needed, little less than half a pound. still a drastic difference...

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I'm assuming it's just not accurate with mash pH...?

I am curious if BeerSmith3 Desktop says the same thing. I use BS3 Mobile to formulate my recipes. While I might have more faith in the dedicated water chemistry tools, if I could just rely on the BS3 Mobile calc and not have to mess with a separate tool it would make life easier for me. I don't have an active version of BS3 Desktop, but I believe it has more advance water profile tools than BS3 Mobile.

 

[dpinette2]

I am curious if BeerSmith3 Desktop says the same thing. I use BS3 Mobile to formulate my recipes. While I might have more faith in the dedicated water chemistry tools, if I could just rely on the BS3 Mobile calc and not have to mess with a separate tool it would make life easier for me. I don't have an active version of BS3 Desktop, but I believe it has more advance water profile tools than BS3 Mobile.

I use both

 

[dpinette2]

I tried Larry’s spreadsheet and i get different numbers, says 6oz of acid malt will get me to 5.46.

Any thoughts on my adjusted water numbers?