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...

[Soren]

I'm all for experimenting especially with homegrown ingredients, just be aware that the alpha percentage of a homegrown hop can vary a fair bit so using it for bittering might be a little risky. Sauvin and cascade is a good mix.
also, I think with the melanoidind, dark crystal and caraaroma you are going more towards an english pale ale than an apa, especially with the english yeast. that's by no means bad if that is what you'd like to brew. hops are very new world though so it might be an interesting hybrid.

[Tony Garmonsway]

Hey! thanks for the feedback. I also managed to pick up some US05 today.
I'm pretty sure the hops next door are Bullion. I did a test by maxing out the hops in a brew and then checked the flavour profile. Very strong black curent flavours coming through. And the neighbour said it's been there for about the last 30 yrs. I only use it for bittering at the moment as it's cheap and available. (+ the boil takes away the flavours). From quite a bit of experimenting and comparisons I'm estimating the AA at around 5%

As the seasons drawing near, has any one got any suggestions on hop harvesting.
Here's what I do -
Pick and sort the hops,
Put into a plastic bag, squeese out all the air,
Refill the bag with CO2 and shake up the hops to let them re expand and fill the space with CO2.
Squash them into glass jars filled with CO2
Freeze until needed.

I figured that removing the oxygen and freezing them should reduce the risk of oxidation and kep them pretty fresh.

[Nick T]

Cacao nibs vs chocolate extract - are they equivalent? I am using a recipe this morning that calls for the use of chocolate extract - I have cacao nibs, should I use equivalent weight? what about cocoa powder - is this less potent somehow? (This is for the CBC choc stout, of course).

[Soren]

definitely not use equivalent choc nibs as you would extract! more like 100 times as much I'd say depending on the strength of extract... nibs is the raw form, extract the most concentrated. powder is more concentrated than nibs and you get better and faster extraction than from nibs, it can be harder to get out of the fermenter though I think (I like to dry nib chcolate beers, rather than boil). I would advise you to bag the nibs, they don't always sink to the bottom and can be a pain to get rid off. All this being said I have only ever worked with nibs but have done some research on the other options..
From memory, 100-200g is a good starting point for 20L of stout.

[Nick T]

Thanks Soren! Any point in grinding up the nibs?

[Soren]

nah, I wouldn't. I have chewed up some nibs that have been in the fermenter for a week and they had no taste left at all, so the extraction is pretty good without grinding, it would just be a hassle and an extra entry point for bacteria. also, don't leave the nibs in the beer for more than a week, maybe 10 days, eventually you'll extract some harsh bitterness...

[James P]

You should not use any of the above. I would recommend using milo......

[Reviled]

Milo?? Have you done this before James??

[Nick T]

He's a fellow competitor in the CBC...... evil evil evil man......... ;-)

Don't worry James, I just effed up my mash out, bloody thermostat on the electric urn has decided that 78 degrees is actually 90 degrees - arrgh!

[James P]

Sorry Rev, I knew Nick would get the joke! :)

Bugger about the thermostat, time to wire in a temp mate?

[Nick T]

yep, you read my mind - need a thermowell setup I guess...

hmm, it seems brewing and boating have a lot in common.

boat: hole in the water you keep throwing money into.
brewery: corner of the garage you keep throwing money into......

[James P]

Bingo!

I'm on the thermowell hunt too, have contacted Thermowellsupply.com (NZ based company) last night to check prices etc.

Beerbelly has some, but there are also a lot on ebay at around USD$25 inc delivery. Bulk buy? :)