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...

[Reviled]

My advice - mash at about 67-68*c for some extra body, and throw away the S-04 unless youre Barry ;o)

[vdog]

I was planning to use S-04 just for the sake of convenience, and because we've used it in our porter a number of times and always had good results. Who knows, maybe I'm the next Barry? =)

If not S-04 though, what would you recommend using?

[Pilgrim]

Wow. you gotta be kidding. 13.2 Kg Grain Bill and only 3.4% beer!!! Either get BeerSmith or find out why your efficiency is so low. Unless your brewing an 80 litre brew of course. For a 23 litre brew that's way too much grain, even for a Barley Wine. You sure you're not reading a recipe in pounds?

[denimglen]

...Unless your brewing an 80 litre brew of course...

...Revenge of the English (75L batch)...

;-)

[vdog]

Glen's got it - it's a 75L batch, so we definitely need that much grain. Our efficiency is about 65%, not sure what we can do to bring it up, but at this stage it's just something we factor in with the calculations.

[James P]

It's only a couple more kilos of grain to hit your % anyway, but as your volumes are larger you may want to consider looking at where you are loosing your points. DG had a link to a spreadsheet (which I am starting to use) to determin where your efficiency loses are.

[Tony]

Vdog, considering you ar investing so much in grain and because it's such a big brew, why don't you start a liquid yeast starter and throw that in? You'll get much better attenuation and fermentation, plus you'll get a lot more character out of your grain (depending on which yeast you use). Might I suggest Ringwoods ale, would be perfect for this beer?

a"http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=1606" target="_blank">http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=1606

If you ordered it today it would probably be on your door, Saturday, if not early next week.

It's a good, solid, English ale yeast, with loads of character. If you need any help sing out, I'm in Auckland too.

[Reviled]

Agree with Tony 110%!!!!

[jt]

Agreed, almost
I've read that Ringwood can be a bit problematic, can get a bit sleepy - though I haven't used it
Of the wet English ale yeasts I've tried, 1275 - Thames Valley was probably kindest to my hops
1968 was next best and I gave up on 1028 with not much persistence

[Tony]

I use it all the time, JT. It`s my staple ale yeast. I have even harvested it. I have never come across a more stable, reliable and allround good ale yeast. Sure there are lots of good ones you could use, but this is the one I could recommend. It is a malt driven yeast, which is why I thought it would be good for this recipe. If you get it started, it won't have a problem. Certainly not in these temps we are having at the moment, it more of a problem, keeping the temp down, not up. Keep it around 20, it will ferment out in about 3-4 days. Just don't let the temp get too high, to avoid 'hot' alcohols.

[jt]

'Starter' him up then Tony !

[vdog]

I'm inclined to agree, and would be keen to try a liquid yeast but there's a couple of things stopping me (mentally, not physically):
- We've never made a starter for anything, and I worry that we'd bugger it up somehow and get a stuffed ferment. We have a stirplate and a 5L flask, so I presume we have the kit, but not the know-how.
- I know how S-04 behaves, so it's a safe choice.
- The one other attempt we've had at using a liquid yeast (was 1272 from memory) resulted in a drain pour due to the yeast not being viable enough, and getting stressed/overtaken by infection.
- As you say, we're investing quite a bit in grain/hops for batches this size - so doing something we can't predict a satisfactory results for is a bit scary. I hate throwing away beer!

Anyone else experienced brewing anxiety like this? How'd you get over it?