Recipe Advice Thread

[denimglen]

Thought it might be handy to have a thread for some of the more advanced brewers to give some advice on recipes.

Let's see how it goes eh...

[Nick T]

Hi there everyone, I have a slightly strange advice request, if anyone can help. I am very new to this, have my first (extract based) brew in the secondary fermenter at the moment, I enjoyed making it so much (although there were a few stressful moments!) that I am currently collecting gear to set up for AG (have managed to convinced my wife that the "savings in beer costs are going to be huge", I have a green light to go!). However in the meantime I want to do a few more extract based brews. I, like many of you it seems, really really like the Twisted Hop IPA (both this years version and last) and I would like to try to produce something that is at least an approximation to this sort of taste. Here is the slightly strange bit, I would really like to brew it now extract based, and then later as AG when I am set up - I think it would be interesting to compare the differences between the two side by side. Can anyone point me towards a suitable recepie or two?

[Matthew]

Hey Nick,

I'm just trying to put together my IPA at the moment too. Joking just pointed me to his recipe: Yakima Monster with the following tip: If you are an extract brewer, Steep the specialty grains, and substitute the Maris Otter with 4.5 kilos of Light Liquid extract. The resulting beer should be in the ballpark of what you are looking for.

Here's where I'm at:

Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.00 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 100.00 %
30.00 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (60 min) Hops 17.2 IBU
30.00 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (45 min) Hops 15.8 IBU
30.00 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (15 min) Hops 8.5 IBU
30.00 gm NZ Sauvin [13.00 %] (5 min) Hops 8.1 IBU
40.00 gm NZ Sauvin [13.00 %] (0 min) Hops -
50.00 gm NZ Sauvin [13.00 %] (Dry Hop 4 days) Hops -
1 Pkgs SafAle S-05

This was before seeing Joking's recipe. I'm thinking I'm a bit heavy on the bittering (particularly the 45min mark) and also on the later additions of NZ Sauvin. Maybe save some extra for the dry hop?

[JoKing]

That hop schedule looks fine to me. Just make sure you use enough specialty grain (I love Caramel 30ebc) to carry you IBUs and you'll be drinking some pretty hoppy beer.

Try and mix up your hops a bit - those late Sauvin additions on their own will be pretty lemony in your brew. Consider something like this:

5.00 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain
400g Caramel Malt (30ebc)
15 gm NZ Sauvin [13.00 %] (60 min) Hops 19 IBU
30.00 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (45 min) Hops 15.8 IBU
30.00 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (15 min) Hops 8.5 IBU
30.00 gm NZ Sauvin [13.00 %] (5 min) Hops 8.1 IBU
30.00 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (0 min) Hops
20.00 gm NZ Sauvin [13.00 %] (0 min) Hops -
30.00 gm NZ Sauvin [13.00 %] (Dry Hop 7 days) Hops - After Primary Fermentation
30.00 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (Dry Hop 7 days) Hops - After Primary Fermentation
1 Pkgs SafAle S-05

Play around with whatever hops you have... and mix them up a bit. I've found that sticking to one hop variety at the end of the boil can make things a bit 1D. Mind you... Epic is all Cascade....

[Matthew]

Awesome, cheers mate.

I did wonder about the specialty malts... I was trying to keep it as simple as possible. Maybe a bit too simple :P
Hopefully having a brew day in the next week or so, we'll see how things go.

[Nick T]

I've just ordered the specialty gains for the Yakima Monster, as well as Nelson Sauvin (thought I would use this as the bittering hop), Amarillo and Simcoe - also got some Cascade while I was at it, was wondering if also mixing in some of this would work (?) I will be doing extract for the base this time. Can't wait for the current brew to be out of my fermenter so I can get on with this one! (Also need to build a fermentation temp controller before then too).

Specialty grains are not difficult in my (one-brew only!) experience, just follow Palmer's advice in How to Brew. I don't have a mill at the moment (on order) so I just put them in a double plastic bag and used a rolling pin to crush them, chucked them in a strainer bag (from Dunedin Malt House) and steeped in water at the right temp for half an hour - if you don't have a copy of Palmer I can look the temp/water volume up for you when I get home tonight. On second thoughts, looks like you are doing AG anyway, so no need for all that carry on!

[JoKing]

Did you manage fo find Simcoe and Amarillo?

[Nick T]

Yes, from Craftbrewer - I happen to be getting an HLT from them, so filled it up with 450g packs of hops! (and some other bits and bobs).

Couple of questions, your recipie says to 'added dry' the hops to the secondary, what does this mean? Do you just throw in pellets, or do you need flowers?
Also, I assume the steeping hops are put in at flame out and left while cooling, and then for about an hour?
Final one (!) would Wyeast Americn Ale 2 go ok with this?

[JoKing]

"Added Dry" - Yes, pellets into the fermenter is fine. I actually chuck them in the primary after fermentation has subsided... I dont bother transferring to secondary fermenters.

"Steeping Hops" - Yes, pellets chucked into the kettle after flameout aand while your cooling. If you dont have a whirlpool going, it might pay to throw those ones in with about a minute to go before the end of the boil.

"American Ale II" - would work fine, but wont be as hoppy. I'd just use US-05: it really accentuates the hops.

With the Melanoidin Malt - you need to make a mini mash with this stuff. You'd need about half a kilo of Pale malt to convert the starches in it, otherwise you'll end up with a pretty bad haze in the finished beer. Melanoidin Malt isn't caramelised in the husk like Caramel or Crystal malt is - so it has to be mashed. But this is no big deal at all mate.

Here's how you can do this: In your strainer bag, mix together half a kilo of Pale malt and your melanoidin and Caramel malt.

On your stove top, have 2.3 Liters of water in a 6 Liter pot, and heat it to 72 degrees.

Place your grain (while it is still in the bag) in the hot water and mix the water up into the grain so it looks like porridge. Equalise the temp to 67 degrees. This may mean adding cold water or turning the heat on.

Once at 67, try to maintain +/- 3 degrees for 30 mins. You can fill your brew kettle with hot water while you are doing this. Be careful not to burn the grains to the bottom of the pot.

After half an hour, taste it to see if it is sweet. If so... it's done. If there is a "floury" "starchy" flavour in there leave it for 10 mins.

Once it is done, pull the bag out - and dunk it in your 75 - 80 degree brew water (in you kettle) a few times until the water coming out of the bag is clear. Dont squeeze the bag. Add the liquid in the pot into your brew water too, then your extract then top up to your desired pre boil volume.

Dunedin Malt house as well as Brewers coop sells crushed grain, but you can visit Wigrams and they'll sell you half a kilo of crushed grains too.

[Nick T]

Great! another step on the way to AG. Presumably I would need subtract the 0.5kg pale malt from the original grain bill and re-convert the remainder to LME.
Thanks for all the help - I don't know how you guys find time to actually get any work done!

[JoKing]

You could reduce by half a kilo... but I wouldn't worry about it. the beer will be 6% instead of 5.8%... not an issue really is it? Mind you... if you take half a kilo of LME out... the brew will cost a bit less... it'll be 5.5% instead of 5.8%... Your call mate. Wont be an issue for you either way.

[Nick T]

Thanks - as a newbie it is hard to know just how precise or fussy you need to be about a lot of these things, getting this sort of advice from you guys is invaluable - I can limit myself to 'stressing' about one less thing!

[jt]

Just make sure you use enough specialty grain (I love Caramel 30ebc) to carry you IBUs

That's also good if you've got a pretty lightweight beer.
I often find that my lighter ones need a bit of ommph from a caramalt to stop them going psuedo-lager on me
Been most common in the sub 1.040 Blondes