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...

[denimglen]

Just call it a blonde ale and brew the fucker. It will have too much flavour to be a cream ale haha.

[Dale]

Hi guys, sorry to keep posting but not sure where the right place is have done a few lately and they seem to get lost in the system?

Just trying to work out what to do with a lager i did on Monday night. As of today the the SG is the same as the OG of 1.048. I made a 1000ml starter of WYeast 2007 i got from Dunedin Malt House that was in a bottle and not one of those smack packs. Left the starter fo a couple of days and got some white on the bottom before pitching. Have since been told about pitching rates etc so I know if was way to small etc.

Question is do I leave the brew somemore to see if it starts up or do I need to get some S23 dry yeast which is the only thing I have found at Bin Inn in Nelson?

Thanks

[Reviled]

Youve probably underpitched, so I would try to get some more yeast in there, alltough personaly I would go wit hUS-05 over S-23...

[JoKing]

I'd say that your beer might start to get sour if you dont put any yeast in it soon. That little bottle into a 1 Liter starter will not give you any activity at lower temperatures. I thought you were talking about a smackpack of 2007 which would contain about 100 billion cells. Those jars would be lucky to have 1 billion cells... meaning you dont have enough yeast.

Your best option now is to chuck in 2 packets of s-23 (about 150 billion in each packet) and get the temp to about 18 untill you can see it fermenting. Once it has fully started, you can slowly easy the temperature back down to ambient garage temps. Dont foget to aerate the living shit out of the beer when you pitch the yeast.

I dare say.... the brew can be saved...

[Dale]

Great thanks guys off to buy some more now.....fingers crossed

[MrC]

PILSNER

I don't brew many Pilsners (one so far) so I need some help with the hopping on my next brew. My goal with this beer is to brew something like Emerson's Pilsner but also to understand what Melenoidin malt brings to a beer.

As for hops, I have 110g of Riwaka but also have other higher alpha acid hops that could be used (Pacific Jade, Super Aplha, Nelson Sauvin).

Here's what I have so far:

Malt:
5kg Bohemian Pilsner
200g Carapils
200g Melanoidin

Single infusion mash at 66-67c

Yeast: Wyeast 2112 at 17c for 2 weeks

Questions:
35-40 IBUs sound about right?
What hopping schedule should I go for with the 110g Riwaka?
It will be kegged so should I dry hop in the keg, if so how much, 1g per litre?
Also, should I make a starter or just smack & pitch?

Cheers

[James P]

Okay my playground!

I have used a single smack pack of 2112 for a 1045 psuedo-lager. Probably best to consult Mr Malty for sanity sake.

Malt bill looks good, although I have not used melaniodin malts, I just use a stepped mash of 50 / 67 / 76 (I read somewhere it may get you a similar result as using Melaniodin IIRC). If you got it use it.

IBUS are good, I'd use Pac Jade for bitterness and Riwaka at 20 / 10 and 0 depending on the taste and aroma you want althought traditional pils are lower on the hop aroma. Dry hop if you want more aroma!

[MrC]

Ha! I knew you'd be them man for this. Would you use all of the 110g Riwaka evenly split across 20,10,0? Maybe saving some for dry?

[James P]

I would hold some back for dry hop, although 2112 doesn't hide the hops in my opinion I have been corrupted by jt, Joking and Mike as to taste and aroma profiles.

I use 100gm of Riwaka in batches for the taste and aroma, depends if you want the extra punch (which is were I am heading). I'd save 1gm per litre and split the rest over late additions.

Probably a little more than Emersons, but still a good pilsner!

[MrC]

Cheers James.

[Tony]

Yes I agree, I'd go for a stepped mask too, if you can manage it. Maybe even a 55/65-68 step. I've found it really helps to get a more rounded and fuller lager/pilsner.

IBU's look good, there's nothing wrong with a bitter lager, depending on your taste. Then hop the hell out of it, if you're a hop head. Traditionally you'd go for a crispier, less hoppy flavour, but again that's a matter of taste and whether you are going all out trad.

BTW, where'd you get the melanoiden? It could almost be going the Belgian direction, which I love. If you indeed fatten it up and give it more hops, as opposed to less. I have just used Nelson Sauvin, for the first time. Although it is still fermenting, I am impressed by what I smell and taste so far.

[MrC]

I got the Melanoiden from Liberty. That's the only place I buy grain now.