What are you brewing?

[nzbrewer]

Since this is the most popular thread on the RealBeer.co.nz forum I thought I would start it here just to see what happens

[Daron]

Recipe: Winter Stout
Brewer: Simon Kelly
Asst Brewer:
Style: Foreign Extra Stout
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 20.00 L
Boil Size: 27.55 L
Estimated OG: 1.071 SG
Estimated Color: 33.6 SRM
Estimated IBU: 33.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 60.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.50 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 70.97 %
1.00 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 12.90 %
0.45 kg Brown Malt (65.0 SRM) Grain 5.81 %
0.45 kg Rye, Flaked (2.0 SRM) Grain 5.81 %
0.25 kg Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 3.23 %
0.10 kg Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 1.29 %
53.60 gm Williamette [5.50 %] (90 min) Hops 33.4 IBU
3 Pkgs SafLager West European Lager (DCL Yeast #SYeast-Lager


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 7.75 kg
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 20.23 L of water at 76.2 C 67.8 C

[Tilt]

Having a go at a Special Bitter this weekend.

I want to make this one at the upper end of the style for colour, richness, bitterness and hop character.

I was due to brew this one with an uncle of mine who's a keen footy fan and a longstanding and dedicated volunteer trainer for his local club. He was due to visit us this week but has just been diagnosed with cancer and is spending the time starting treatment instead. Good bloke, wish he was here to take part.

Strapping Lad

4.00 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain
0.30 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (118.2 EBC) Grain
0.20 kg Caraaroma (256.1 EBC) Grain
0.02 kg Chocolate Malt (886.5 EBC)

60 min 40.00 gm Fuggles [4.50 %] (60 min) Hops
20 min 40.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (20 min) Hops
10 min 20.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (10 min) Hops
0 min 20.00 gm Styrian Goldings [5.50 %] (0 min)

Yeast: Thames Valley II

My aim for this brew - my third AG - is to control my temps more precisely - both the mash and ferment.
This is in recognition of some feedback on my first AG brew from Joking (who also provided the yeast for this - thanks mate, much appreciated)
Looking forward to sharing this one with friends and family.

[Tilt]

This turned out to be more of an ESB after a fine day brewing AG no. 3 yesterday.
Pissy weather so nothing better to do than hanging out in the shed working on the brewing skills.

Not sure how much diifferent the end results will be but I re jigged the recipe after a squiz at Designing Great Beers. In the end I went with:

4.00 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain
0.30 kg Caraaroma (256.1 EBC) Grain
0.30 kg Wheat Malt, Malt Craft (Joe White) (3.5 EBC) Grain
0.20 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (157.6 EBC) Grain
0.02 kg Chocolate Malt (886.5 EBC)

60 min 30.00 gm Styrian Goldings [5.50 %] (60 min) Hops
20 min 30.00 gm Fuggles [4.00 %] (20 min) Hops
20 min 30.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.80 %] (20 min) Hops
10 min 10.00 gm Fuggles [4.00 %] (10 min) Hops
5 min 10.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.80 %] (5 min) Hops
0 min 20.00 gm Styrian Goldings [5.50 %] (0 min)

Added 5g of each of gypsum and chalk.
1.5L starter of Thames Valley II (my next project is to build a stir plate to maximise cell count for the next liquid yeast foray)
The aim of adding the wheat was to up the OG without adding colour and improve head retention in the abscence of any other grains - ie to not use sugar. Not sure if my reasoning on this was right though??

I managed to hit the target pre boil gravity exactly - so I figure my guesstimated efficiency of 75% was on the mark.
Will have to adjust my dialled evap rate (8%) up a bit as the end volume was lower, and the gravity higher than I was aiming for (1052 post 90 minute boil).

22L Fermenting at 18deg C and smelling not bad.
Great day all in all!

[studio1]

Fat Pinky

Style: American Amber Ale
Batch Size: 42.00 L Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00
Boil Time: 90 min

OG 1.068
IBUS 75ish

2 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [Starter
4000 ml] Yeast-Ale

Ingredients for Mashing

5.00 kg ..Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (Bairds) 43.67 %
2.00 kg .Pilsner, Bohemian (Weyermann) 17.47 %
2.00 kg .Vienna Malt (Weyermann) (3.0 SRM) Grain 17.47 %
1.00 kg .Munich I (Weyermann) (8.1 SRM) Grain 8.73 %
0.40 kg .Crystal, Dark (Bairds) (121.8 SRM) Grain 3.49 %
0.30 kg .Crystal, Medium (Bairds) (76.1 SRM) Grain 2.62 %
0.30 kg Caraaroma (130.0 SRM) Grain 2.62 %
0.25 kg .Melanoidin (Weyermann) (30.0 SRM) Grain 2.18 %
0.20 kg Carared (20.0 SRM) Grain 1.75 %
30.00 gm .Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (90
min) (Mash Hop) Hops 4.8 IBU

Mash at 67

Add first wort hops during sparge

30.00 gm .Simcoe [12.30 %] (90 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 23.4 IBU

Boil Ingredients
Boil Amount Item Type
90 min 30.00 gm .Simcoe [12.30 %] (90 min) Hops
10 min 10.00 gm .Simcoe [12.30 %] (10 min) Hops
10 min 20.00 gm .Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (10 min)Hops
10 min 40.00 gm .Amarillo [8.40 %] (10 min) Hops
10 min 40.00 gm .Cascade, US [5.80 %] (10 min) Hops
1 min 30.00 gm .Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (1 min) Hops
1 min 40.00 gm .Amarillo [8.40 %] (1 min) Hops
1 min 40.00 gm .Cascade, US [5.80 %] (1 min) Hops
1 min 40.00 gm .Simcoe [12.30 %] (1 min) Hops

Final Ingredients
Dry Hopping
40.00 gm .Amarillo
40.00 gm .Cascade
40.00 gm Simcoe
40.00 gm .Columbus

Water:
Ca 127
Mg 21
Na 30
SO4 130
Cl 50
HCo3 175

[denimglen]

That's gonna be fucking mean.

[studio1]

i hope so bro - took the water from your imperial red (tweaked a little) - hoping the malt flavours will not be too repressed by it?

Have added in some biscuit and pale choc to the grist too. 11 malts!

[denimglen]

It won't repress the malt flavours in a beer like this but the hops/bitterness will be a little more dominant.

That profile works well in my bigger ambers and my barley wine. I would recommend a more balanced SO4:Cl ratio for lighter gravity American style ales though - tends to wash them out a little too much for my taste.

[MrC]

Looks like a nice beer S1. I have a couple of questions though...

Have you added hops to the mash before? Do you know what to expect from that? I've read about it but never tried it.

Also, what is your thinking with the Pils malt? Is it a deliberate move or lack of ingredients? I've never mixed Pils and Pale before, what does it bring to the beer? Are you expecting a little Pils sweetness in there or is it just to provide light fermentables?


Just let me know if I'm overthinking an experimental home brew ;-)

Cheers

[studio1]

Yeah my case swap IPA has mash hops in it. It's supposed to impart a flavour/aroma characteristic similar to (or more intense than) late hopping that survives the boil. Its a bit contentious though I think:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/mash-hopping-4182/
Would be interesting to try moving all the aroma hops into mash hopping completely one brew and see what the beer turns out like.
I'm going to swap the Simcoe into Mash hops and the columbus to 1st Wort.

I'm trying to use up that BOPils malt (along with a few others I have sitting around) and I like the thought of some lightness in the base. I've used a 50/50 combo before in a Belgian that came out great - I think that was a Jamil recipe.

[MrC]

Yeah my case swap IPA has mash hops in it.
Nice. Now I'm even more excited about the case swap beers arriving.

[Martin Bridges]

Just picked mine up from Tyler - thanks man! A Cherry Pilsnzer is in the fridge as I type...

[studio1]

Sweeeet. tyler you going to Brew on Quay this week?