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]

Ive allways used Flaked Maize which I believe Brewers Coop in Auckland has in stock, otherwise ive read that you can use powdered polenta, as well as various other types of corn, ive just stuck with Flaked maize for ease...

[integersmirk]

Good stuff. When would you put it down, for optimum taste in early July?

I have been reviewing some recipe discussions on american forums and have seen a suggestion that you should primary ferment for 2 weeks at 18deg and then secondary cold condition for up to 2 months at fridge temperatures. That would be in the bottle, right?

To follow that suggestion means I should put the brew down pretty much today, I think!

[Reviled]

Well thats a 'it depends' kind of a question really, I normally ferment over 2 weeks, then condition for another 2-3 weeks and the beer is generally tasting its best after 4 weeks in the keg, I cant say I ever notice much of a difference with a small beer like this after one month conditioning, so IMO any longer isnt really nessecary unless youre brewing a big beer, then 2 months may not be long enough lol.. Id say brew mid may and you should be smiling!

[Dale]

Mike i have some flaked maize at home from when i did Reviled's cream ale.

[integersmirk]

Awesome! It's looking like a cream ale is what I am heading for.

I have decided to call it "Pour de Tour".

I will be in touch to see when I can grab it off you, many thanks

[MrC]

I'd recommend this beer (Beer One). It's a Wheat beer fermented with an American Ale yeast with plenty of Crushed Coriander Seeds and Lemon zest. Joking tried it and thought that it reminded him of Montieths Radler. Should be right up a cyclist's alley.

[denimglen]

That's what sprung to mind for me too - Belgian Wit, not out of place having some orange/lemon/citrus in there and you could keep the coriander low and use a subtle yeast (SO5 would be good like mentioned above) to keep it more citrusy.

With all the unmalted wheat and oats it should keep it's body if you decide to go on the low alcohol side of things.

[integersmirk]

All I have done so far is a "standard" AG brew, with no adjuncts and a single step mash. Am I right in thinking that wheat beers are more complicated/harder to get right?

[Reviled]

IMO, yes a witbeer will be a bit harder than a single step mash brew... With the flaked maize, doing a protein rest is reccommended to break down the extra protein you get from the corn, but I never bother as my equipment isnt up to the task of multiple step mashing either, and I find a good 3 weeks in the keg clears it up more than enough :o)

[MrC]

The wheat beer that I was referring to is single infusion mash at 67C with coriander seeds and lemon zest added at the end of the boil. A pretty "standard" brew in my book.

[denimglen]

'Am I right in thinking that wheat beers are more complicated/harder to get right?'

If it's only wheat malt and barley malt (like Mr Cherry's suggestion) you'd be fine. Although if it's your first wheat and second AG beer I wouldn't really recommend more wheat than 50%, just to make your brew day a little easier.

If you're going with large amounts of unmalted grains, then you probably should do a step mash - so that rules a 'traditional' wit out.

MCs recipe looks good - looks like a nice hybrid between a wit, hefe and American wheat.

If you do something like Reviled's beer and would like to try a step mash you can always mash the adjunct in seperate pot on the stove with a little barley malt and add it back to the main mash before you run off - but it sounds like there's no majors with a single infusion mash with Rev's grist.

[integersmirk]

Sorry, I was unclear... I've done probably just over a dozen AG beers, but all with a single step mash. Still tossing up which option to go with, but will probably choose something with a single mash temp - will want to do some step-mashes for personal consumption before attempting them for others.