Thoughts on this grain bill...

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Ameritoon

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2015
Messages
47
Reaction score
8
Location
Lantana
I just placed an order but I didn't realize that if I didn't specify different grain bills, the entire order will be milled together. So, I am about to get a 23# grain will with the following in one bag:
  • 20# Pale Ale Malt
  • 1# Briess Carapils
  • 1# Briess Caramel 80L
  • 1# Briess Caramel 60L

I do NOT have the set up that will allow me to brew a double batch - but I was aiming for a 5.25 gallon batch of an IPA using:

  • 10# Pale Ale Malt
  • 8oz Briess Caramel 60L
  • 2oz Briess Caramel 80L
  • 3oz Briess Carapils

If I scoop out my "end weight", how messed up will my brew be?

Can't believe I screwed that up! I was hoping for 2-3 different brews (more base malts to be added of course).

Thanks,
Ameritoon
 
There will be no way to "Scoop out" what you need let alone know what percentages of each you have scooped out since more than likely it's all been mixed together. I guess without the capacity to brew a big beer, You could do what you said and just roll with it and pull out the correct grain weight and see what you get. But there will be a lot of unknowns :tank:
 
Just guessing, Looks closer to an amber to me. May want to get a little chocolate and go that way.

Too much dark crystal for my taste in an IPA anyway.
 
I think your beer will still come out just fine if you scoop out your end weight. Maybe a little maltier/sweeter than planned or maybe a little less... or maybe just right. I wouldn't worry about it too much.
 
If you are unsure how mixed it is, pour it into a five gallon bucket. Use two, pour it back and forth. It will mix. Plus or minus a little won't really matter.

yep. and i'd then split it in exactly half and brew two batches. One i'd just hop and the other i'd add 1/4 lb roasted barley and 1 lb black prinz malt cold steeped overnight and strained and added to the last 20 min of the boil and make a porter.

RDWHAHB
 
As long as you mix it up pretty well before you weigh it out, it should be pretty close to your intended recipe. Your percentages will be different, however. Instead of 92.5/4.6/1.2/1.7, it will be 87/4.3/4.3/4.3. Doing some quick number manipulation in excel and determined you could add 4.6 lbs of additional pale malt to 6.22 lbs of the mix you received to get percentages of 92.5/2.5/2.5/2.5. That might be closer to your intended recipe with the same base/crystal ratio.

If you just measure out your end weight as you say, the recipe will most likely be fine.
 
Mix it up very well. Then split it in thirds or quarters. Then do the math as to what is in each portion. Add what you need to that to make the recipes that you desire.

If in quarters you would have 5 pounds pale ale and 1/4 pound each of the Carapils, C-80 and C-60. For a nice IPA you might just add more base malt. For a Brown you might add more base malt and some chocolate malt. etc.
 
I would just split it in half. Then you could do the same erroneous IPA twice or use the second half to make something else, like an amber or something (with or without more additions). It could be interesting to compare an amber ale and IPA with an identical grain bill. For the IPA, you may want to go slightly more bitter than you initially planned. My main fear would be that even if it is mixed very well, will some of the grain be more dense or less dense and want to separate even while trying to divide it. Regardless of what you do, best of luck!
 
Man, those are some good ideas... glad I posted. I know it sounds crazy but I hadn't even thought to add more base malts to get to my originally projected numbers. I was so pissed with myself for screwing up the order I didn't think my option through. I had originally intended to brew the IPA (Cascade & Mosaics) and then use a a portion of the remaining grains along with some adds to make an 80/- Scottish.

Thanks for the inputs!
 
Well, as I posted my last post - the guys from the company I ordered from just got back to me... they redid my order separating everything into individual grained bags... txbrewing.com. They basically ate the cost of my screw up or someone is going to brew some concoction later this week...?

:D
 
Well, as I posted my last post - the guys from the company I ordered from just got back to me... they redid my order separating everything into individual grained bags... txbrewing.com. They basically ate the cost of my screw up or someone is going to brew some concoction later this week...?

:D

I am glad they did this for you.

For me, I would not have asked a company to fix a mistake I made....

I would have taken my original order and supplemented it as stated in an earlier post.
 
I am glad they did this for you.

For me, I would not have asked a company to fix a mistake I made....

I would have taken my original order and supplemented it as stated in an earlier post.

When I spoke to them on the phone - I asked - did you mill it already? When they said yes - I said - ok, thanks... and asked here what y'all thought I could do with the incoming grain bill. They were gracious enough to do so...
 
When I spoke to them on the phone - I asked - did you mill it already? When they said yes - I said - ok, thanks... and asked here what y'all thought I could do with the incoming grain bill. They were gracious enough to do so...

I should have worded my statement differently. I assume they offered, and you didn't ask, for replacement at their expense.
 
Back
Top