what to make with what i have?

[bgrand281]

I have 2lbs. of cracked munich malt 10L and 1lb of cracked crystal 10L. 6 lbs of dried briess malt sparkling amber. 2oz. spalt 2% alpha acid, 2oz. hallertau 1.5% alpha acid, and 1 oz. willamette 4.6% alpha acid. and 2 viles of whitelabs liquid german lager yeast wlp830 (both expired, one 09/08/08 other 03/31/09). what to do and how do you make an activator for the yeast. I have been out of brewing for a couple of years and only made a half dozen batches. and am ready to do it again.

 

[bgrand281]

anybody? any ideas? I was hoping for an amber lager, but how do you jumpstart the yeast or should I just throw away and get new? what am I missing or should eliminate?

 

[Bob]

Chill. You posted an hour and ten minutes apart, dude.

You can make a nice partial-mash lager with that.

Search for DeathBrewer's easy-as-pie stovetop mashing tutorial. Mash your Munich and Crystal. As you start to collect wort in your kettle, add the Willamette and Hallertau hops. (This is called First Wort Hopping, or FWH. It will provide hops flavor as well as bitterness.) Collect a total of ~2 gallons of wort.

Dissolve a pound or so of DME once all the wort is collected and start the boil.

Boil 60 minutes.

Switch off the heat, dissolve four more pounds of DME and add an ounce of the Spalter.

Chill, pitch yeast.

So the basic recipe:

5 lbs Briess Amber DME
2 lbs Munich Malt
1 lbs Crystal 10L

OG ~1.053

1 oz Willamette pellets @ 4.6% AA - FWH
2 oz Hallertau pellets @ 1.5% AA - FWH
1 oz Spalt pellets @ 2% AA - flameout

IBU ~30

Now, your yeast problem might not even be worth getting into. Do you have the ability to lager this beer (30-40F)? Do you have the ability to ferment the beer at lager temperatures (50-60F)?

If not, chuck the yeast. Go get a nice, clean ale yeast. There are a couple of dry yeast strains will work fine in this application - S-05 and Nottingham.

You're trying to combine several techniques fairly advanced for where you say you are along the brewing-experience spectrum (lagering and yeast starters). I advise mastering one before going any further. Both will require some equipment.

I strongly advise you to learn about making yeast management first. Pitching the proper amount of yeast is going to require some skill with building up a colony (starters). That knowledge will serve you well with ales while you take the time to build your lagering setup, and will definitely be applicable when you start brewing lagers - yeast is even more important in lager brewing.

Cheers,

Bob

 

[bgrand281]

thanks Bob, I do have a fridge with space to lager in and my last batch was a lager. And I really want to stay with it. I will be doing a full boil, so I would guess that I should just add all the dme for the whole boil.
I like the whole plan. It is what i had in mind, but was noticing that this is the time of year for a holiday beer. I was thinking about adding allspice and cinnamon, but only made a pumpkin ale before and didn't like the way the nutmeg seemed to land in the back of the throat and not mesh into the actual drink, if you get my meaning

 

[Bob]

Okay, cool! (Pardon the pun.)

I wouldn't use all the DME; the gravity will outstrip the limited bittering potential you've got in those hops and I fear the beer will end up too malty/sweet. Remember Briess Amber extract already has a proportion of Munich and Crystal mixed in.

As to spices, well, I wouldn't, not this time. See if you like it without first. Taste it carefully when you rack it before lagering; if you think it could do with spices, spice it. To add spices, I like to make a spice "tea" by simmering the spices briefly in a bit of water. You can adjust the blend before adding the tea incrementally to the beer. Taste the beer after each addition. When you get to a point you like it, stop! Simple as that.

I'd still get fresh yeast. You could build a big starter, but that's a risk. I'd get a fresh dose of WLP830 (which is a really nice yeast) and start building a starter. There are any number of tutorials here on HBT to walk you through it. After you've got a good 2-3 liters of starter, let it ferment out completely, then chill the starter vessel. Chilling will precipitate the yeast. When you're ready to pitch, decant the spent starter wort, measure how much slurry you need to pitch according to the Mr Malty Pitching Rate Calculator, and pitch the slurry to the chilled, aerated wort.

If you want to really build your knowledge, get a copy of Greg Noonan's New Brewing Lager Beer. It's absolutely indispensible for lager brewers.

Cheers!

Bob

 

[Grizzlybrew]

Well, before I got to the hops and yeats, my first though was Imperial Red, although I'm not crazy about amber DME...

Don't just throw stuff together. Buy a few more ingredients and make two good beers, maybe a nice lager and an imperial red.

 

[FishinDave07]

For some reason, im partial to "everything-and-the-kitchen-sink" brews. you might find that after brewing SMaSH ales, simplicity shines.

 

[Grizzlybrew]

For some reason, im partial to "everything-and-the-kitchen-sink" brews. you might find that after brewing SMaSH ales, simplicity shines.

Go check out Schmaltz Brewing's Lagers : http://www.shmaltz.com/CONEY/cil.html

 

[Grizzlybrew]

For some reason, im partial to "everything-and-the-kitchen-sink" brews.

Go check out Schmaltz Brewing's Lagers : http://www.shmaltz.com/CONEY/cil.html

 

[FishinDave07]

Go check out Schmaltz Brewing's Lagers : http://www.shmaltz.com/CONEY/cil.html

I'm not saying that it can't be done, i've just had "interesting" experiences brewing with multiple grains/hops/etc.

 

[bgrand281]

nq3x, I should use all the hops I have? Or should I get another ounce of willamette with a similar aa level? My goal originally was for a sweeter red lager, with some hints of a sam adams lager without it being a clone. you know, the same, but different, noticeably different.
Or Grizzleybrew, what am i missing besides more dme?

 

[Bob]

Yeah, since that's what you're going for, go ahead and add all of your Spalter at flameout. You'll get plenty of hops flavor and aroma that way without too much bitterness, and without buying any more hops - so long as you don't increase the gravity about ~1.053 - 1.055.

Bob

 

[bgrand281]

the gravity reading is at 1.062 and the sample taste is very bitter. almost like an ipa but too sweet at the same time. will it settle with time?

 

[Bob]

Both will settle out over fermentation. The sweetness will attenuate due to yeast metabolizing the sugars, and much of the bitter compounds will be scrubbed out through CO2 devolution.

Remember to write down your tasting impressions! It's important to taste at every stage of the brewing process. Once you get those flavors in your memory - and can cross-reference them through your notes to great beers - you can monitor each brew. Pro brewers call this sensory analysis. It takes time to gain the experience if you do it multiple times every day; it takes longer as an amateur, which is why note-taking is crucially important.

Cheers!

Bob

 

[bgrand281]

exactly one month has passed and i did a check. I am 1.033. the sample tastes much better, but real bitter. the color was a nice dark gold. there was a layer of yeast on the top of the beer in the container, is that kraeusen? is there a way to tone down the bitterness? If its time, i have plenty

 

[bgrand281]

oh yeah, should i be transferring it to a secondary yet? or what should my target fg be?

 

[bgrand281]

final gravity of 1.018, and it blended together beautifully! Thanks for all the help. I will be brewing this again. I went with all the dme, so its a little sweet. no complaints though.
kegged and drank a third of it with a couple of buddies the first day it was in the cornie