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]

I wouldnt want to ferment a lager yeast above 12*c personally, maybe some strains will let you get away with it but I wouldnt say that W34/70 will...

S-05 around 15*c or slightly higher will be your best bet I reckon, if you pitch at 14/15 the ambient temp from the fermentation should keep it warm enough to stop it dropping out overnight if it gets a bit colder...

[jt]

Yea I brewed the Blondes with '05 but during summer so quite a bit warmer than 15!

[Reviled]

I reckon even at 15*c the S-05 still isnt every going to be as crisp as a true lager strain, but for a good lawnmower beer that doesnt matter too much..

If you are tempted to try a lager yeast you could try putting the fermenter in a bucket with water, freeze a few PET bottles of water and circulate them, that way you should be able to easily keep the fermentation temp around 10*c

[jt]

I'm more your 'fresh & fruity' rather than 'crisply conditioned' sort of guy

[Reviled]

Haha fair enough, I usually am too, however IMO theres nothing better than reaching for a 1 or 2*c crisp lager on an extremely hot summers day - its just sooooo refreshing, almost like iced water haha

[jt]

an extremely hot summers day

Not applicable - I live in Wellington

[Reviled]

hahahaha, come on mate, from memory welly does get one or two hot days a year ;o) lolz, guess its not enough to brew beer specifically for tho...

[warra48]

I lived in Wellington from 1962 to 1973.
I'm having a hard time remembering any hot days there.

From memory, when I lived there the hottest temperature ever recorded in Wellington was 84ºF, or 29ºC. That doesn't qualify as hot.

It's not a hot day until it gets to 35ºC. Any less than that, it's comfortably warm.

[Stu McKinlay]

haven't you heard of global warming warra!?

in recent years it's been rare for it to be under 30c on most summer days.


;-)

[Reviled]

29ºC. That doesn't qualify as hot

Haha, warra this isnt aussie, 29*c is extremely hot for NZ, we can be hot at a mere 25*c, our humidity is alot higher than in Aussie too (well in Auckland it is, I dont think wellington has any humidity :oP lol)

[Dougal]

Looking to brew a Vienna Lager at the weekend with one minor problem: I can't get any Vienna malt in time.
Any ideas how to best substitute? I was thinking something like this:

Gladfield Pilsener Malt 3.842 kg 82.6 %
Global Munich Malt 0.746 kg 16.0 %
Bairds Chocolate Malt 0.063 kg 1.3 %

By my software that gives me 9 SRM at a 1.050 OG.
Also looking for hopping suggestions. I've got Czech Saaz, Motueka, and 20g of Hallertau that could go in.
Any ideas?

[Dougal]

Oops! Forgot to add the 150g of light crystal which takes it up to 9.9 SRM. I was planning to mash low for a nice, dry beer.