Session Amber/Brown ale--Another complex recipe help me simplify it.

[Bigbre04]

Hey yall,

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/embed/1453157

I thought this would be a good beer style for the hot months on the beach. I was going for a 4.5% session brown or amber ale. The recipe started out as a Nut brown hence the victory malt, I left it since i feel like it adds some complexity. I could def sub it out with Vienna or Munich.

The midnight wheat is just for color.

Wheat is for mouthfeel and head retention.

Dextrin is for dextrin stuff(head retention).

The brown malt is also leftover from the nut-brown origins. Could be dropped or subbed for something like Spec X or even chocolate malt.

I might actually add a small amount of smoked malt to this guy. The smoked amber lager that i have on is really complex and i enjoy the hint of smoke on the finish that my old smoked malt added.

Let me know what yall think!

 

[Minbari]

I like complex. Leave it the way it is

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I worked up this to simplify it for myself

14 lb - Domestic 2-Row (75.7%)
2 lb - Victory Malt (10.8%)
1 lb - Crystal 40 Malt (5.4%)
1.5 lb - Chocolate (8.1%)

HOPS:
1 oz - Magnum, Type: Pellet, AA: 15, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 26.25
3 oz - Fuggles, Type: Pellet, AA: 4.5, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 11.72

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I worked up this to simplify it for myself

14 lb - Domestic 2-Row (75.7%)
2 lb - Victory Malt (10.8%)
1 lb - Crystal 40 Malt (5.4%)
1.5 lb - Chocolate (8.1%)

HOPS:
1 oz - Magnum, Type: Pellet, AA: 15, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 26.25
3 oz - Fuggles, Type: Pellet, AA: 4.5, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 11.72

all my recipes today get simplified to less ingredients and even amounts of both grain and hops, I really don't taste the differences to fractioning things out

 

[Bigbre04]

I worked up this to simplify it for myself

14 lb - Domestic 2-Row (75.7%)
2 lb - Victory Malt (10.8%)
1 lb - Crystal 40 Malt (5.4%)
1.5 lb - Chocolate (8.1%)

HOPS:
1 oz - Magnum, Type: Pellet, AA: 15, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 26.25
3 oz - Fuggles, Type: Pellet, AA: 4.5, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 11.72

My feeble mind cannot compare that to mine on my phone. I'll check it out on Monday!

Have you made this recipe or did you work from mine?

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

My feeble mind cannot compare that to mine on my phone. I'll check it out on Monday!

Have you made this recipe or did you work from mine?

Just copied yours and changed it, it's for 12 gallons by the way

 

[Zambi]

Off topic, but since beach got mentioned:
I need to brew @Zefram 's beach brew again

 

[Donoroto]

Drop the dextrapils for more briwn and victory.

Change the water profile to dark and malty.

 

[Bigbre04]

Drop the dextrapils for more briwn and victory.

Change the water profile to dark and malty.

So i just did the water calc for Balanced 2 and it requires me to toss in:
70g gyp
65g CaCl2
20g Baking Soda

Balanced 1 i was only throwing in 20/20 gyp/cacl2

Is there a big enough advantage to justify throwing triple the quantity of salts? I honestly havent changed the water chem since we started. I will get a new water sample around may or June to see if there is a big difference year to year.

Ill do a few more water calcs to see what else might work.

 

[Bigbre04]

Drop the dextrapils for more briwn and victory.

Change the water profile to dark and malty.

So i actually went through all of the water profiles on here and the my water is actually pretty close to Dusseldorf.

Without filtration and more aggro water treatment, my salts are all too high for anything but balanced 1 and 2 and Dusseldorf. which is sort of interesting i guess. The only difference salt addition wise between Balanced 1 and Dusseldorf was 5 grams less gypsum and 10 grams of slaked lime.

So that really begs the question of whether it is worth it to adjust my water???? I could shoot for some middle ground between balanced 1 and 2?

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

the salts will affect the texture and crispness or softness in most cases, the flavor of the beer will not change

 

[Donoroto]

My take from messing with salts is that the Chloride/Sulphate ratio affects bitterness and maltiness. A malty beer with the 'wrong' ratio will be more bitter, and vice versa.

 

[Bigbre04]

My take from messing with salts is that the Chloride/Sulphate ratio affects bitterness and maltiness. A malty beer with the 'wrong' ratio will be more bitter, and vice versa.

i would agree with this, until you get up to some of the much higher salt levels where you start to get sulphates coming through. it makes a difference, but there is only so much that i can do with my city water situation. I dont have any filtration, but honestly it hasnt really mattered. I have made everything from sours to stouts to juicy ipas with the exact same salts and all have turned out well.

at the previous brewery we only changed salt additions for our belgian wit, everything else was pretty standard salts across the board. similar to balanced 1.

 

[Donoroto]

i would agree with this, until you get up to some of the much higher salt levels where you start to get sulphates coming through. it makes a difference, but there is only so much that i can do with my city water situation. I dont have any filtration, but honestly it hasnt really mattered. I have made everything from sours to stouts to juicy ipas with the exact same salts and all have turned out well.

at the previous brewery we only changed salt additions for our belgian wit, everything else was pretty standard salts across the board. similar to balanced 1.

Agree, but I do have to visit to verify all that.

Of course, there's plenty of salted water near by, for the taking, but I suspect the beer flavor might be impacted, and not in a good way...

 

[Bigbre04]

Agree, but I do have to visit to verify all that.

Of course, there's plenty of salted water near by, for the taking, but I suspect the beer flavor might be impacted, and not in a good way...

Nothing but gose. All gose all the time!

 

[Iliff Avenue Brewhouse]

I would drop the flaked wheat and dextrin malt

 

[BilltownBrewingCo]

I would drop the flaked wheat and dextrin malt

I second this- and honestly that's the only thing I would change to brew this myself- even if you didn't i think you'll get a good beer!

 

[Bigbre04]

I would drop the flaked wheat and dextrin malt

I second this- and honestly that's the only thing I would change to brew this myself- even if you didn't i think you'll get a good beer!

Lol yall are relentless! I am gonna leave the flaked wheat/dextrin in the recipe until I run out of Dextrin malt that i have on hand.

I spent A LOT of time reading about Dextrin malt and it seems that it doesnt do what it is advertised as doing. I wont reorder dextrin in the future!

Why remove the Flaked Wheat? Its harmless! lol. I see it adding body and improving head retention without adding much flavor or haze? Im not opposed to removing it, i just am curious why you would take it out. I could also sub in Flaked Oats or White wheat???

 

[BilltownBrewingCo]

Lol yall are relentless! I am gonna leave the flaked wheat/dextrin in the recipe until I run out of Dextrin malt that i have on hand.

I spent A LOT of time reading about Dextrin malt and it seems that it doesnt do what it is advertised as doing. I wont reorder dextrin in the future!

Why remove the Flaked Wheat? Its harmless! lol. I see it adding body and improving head retention without adding much flavor or haze? Im not opposed to removing it, i just am curious why you would take it out. I could also sub in Flaked Oats or White wheat???

I don't think either of them hurt, as I said, I think even if you don't get rid of them you'll have good beer... you just asked how to simplify (which I took as what should I delete). If there was something I'd get rid of, the Dextrin and flaked oats where what I would choose is all.

 

[Bigbre04]

I don't think either of them hurt, as I said, I think even if you don't get rid of them you'll have good beer... you just asked how to simplify (which I took as what should I delete). If there was something I'd get rid of, the Dextrin and flaked oats where what I would choose is all.

Totally. I misread the comment!