# Concept Beers



## Tony (17/11/09)

I enjoy brewing outside the square now and again. Brewing a beer that is a mix of styles.

I thought i would start a thread where people can post ideas, concepts, recipes past or untried etc etc.

A sort of "What the hell are you brewing?" thread 

Im not talking...... "Oh i used some EKG in an APA once"

Im talking things like Belgian Rye Dubbel which is basicly a Roggenbier brewed to belgian Dubbel specs with belgian yeast. I made one and it got infected but plan another shot at it very soon.

Another concept i have is a Wheat based Porter using Wheat malt as aposed to ale malt as the base.

I have a Stout fermented with Saison yeast chilling down ready for the keg and its tasting great. Lightly roasty and smooth but dry as chalk, an interesting combo.

let the mayhem begin! 

cheers


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## reviled (17/11/09)

Great thread Tony!!

Ive added Port to a stout and then just for the hell of it decided to age it on oak chips for a month as well, turned out really nice! In fact, I might have a bottle tonight :icon_cheers: 

And I also made a sort of belgian rye dubbel, it was pretty much a strong dark belgian with 30% rye and a belgian yeast, that was also really good!

I think its great to experiment and think outside the square every now and then! Sometimes you end up with an average beer but when you crack onto something awesome its well worth a couple of losses!!


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## Phoney (17/11/09)

Last night I was looking at all of my hops in the freezer, most of them are about 6 months old and > about 20g in each bottle/bag. Im thinking about making a blended beer... With about 8 varieties of hops and a mixed bag of malts... No idea on my recipe yet but it should be interesting nonetheless!


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## Bribie G (17/11/09)

Good one Tony

Being an impatient bugger, I love light coloured cold refreshing beers but can't be arsed lagering for months on end, so have been exploring blonde ales and 'fake lagers' for ages now. My best results have been with US-05 and Pilsener malt mashed with rice. Probably my best one to date was an 'all Green Bullet'. I love those hops, they have a bitterness that starts in the middle of the tongue then slips away, leaving you longing for the next drop. 

I've tried UK modern summer ales but the hops I've been using such as Target, Challenger and Styrians just don't seem to work with pale beers to my taste. I entered one in the nats and got: "far too much middle/late hop additions" - " too highly hopped for style" - "fails on the basic guidelines". On the other hand I feel that going to the lower alpha hops such as Fuggles or Northdown is going to give too much earthyness and I'm still going to end up with a badly confused ale  Maybe a lightly hopped all-Styrians might work. 

Using US-05 I've got onto a schedule of a ten day primary at 17-18 degrees, followed by a two week cold crash / lager during which I gelatine then polyclar.


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## schooey (17/11/09)

You're probably all going to laugh, but I'm going to try it anyway..

My wife is a teacher and an academic, we attend a fair share of wine geek loaded events... At one particular event one said geek was prattling on about dessert wines, and how beer was uncuth and incultured and short in variety... the point at which I zoned out and started thinking about a dessert beer.. A few of you probably read a thread I posted a while ago about Wild Thing and Ice cream, but this is a bit different.

I want to do just a small batch, maybe even do it BIAB, about 9L.. around 90-95% Cara malts, very subtle bitterness that is well hidden, a little NS for flavour, again only subtle, make it really viscous and syrupy to about 12-13% ABV and then when fermented, fortify it slightly with a bit of good brandy, but not too much...


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## Tony (17/11/09)

Now thats what im talking about!

Carahell and carared as the base malt!

WOW.

Maybe 20% Rye added in there to add to the oily texture?


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## crozdog (17/11/09)

schooey said:


> You're probably all going to laugh, but I'm going to try it anyway..
> 
> My wife is a teacher and an academic, we attend a fair share of wine geek loaded events... At one particular event one said geek was prattling on about dessert wines, and how beer was uncuth and incultured and short in variety... the point at which I zoned out and started thinking about a dessert beer.. A few of you probably read a thread I posted a while ago about Wild Thing and Ice cream, but this is a bit different.
> 
> I want to do just a small batch, maybe even do it BIAB, about 9L.. around 90-95% Cara malts, very subtle bitterness that is well hidden, a little NS for flavour, again only subtle, make it really viscous and syrupy to about 12-13% ABV and then when fermented, fortify it slightly with a bit of good brandy, but not too much...



Schooey, have a look at the recipe DB for Tony's old ale (or ask him for a copy) it had lots of rich dark fruit flavours and sherry/port notes when I judged it a couple of years ago. it might be a good starting point for you....


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## Maple (17/11/09)

latest rye experiment just kegged, a roggen that I'm going to sour up with some lactic to 'Berlinner' it, and hopefully end up with a Berlinner Ryesse. new year plans include a rye based Schwartz, and a black wheatie (with rye of course). 

Great topic Tony!


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## Tony (17/11/09)

From memory i used about 12% TF pale crystal that was about 26EBC. I got it from Grumpys and it was amazing stuff.

Havnt been able to replicate the flavours with anything else yet.

I also did a quick single decoction as i buggered up the mash temp and hit 62 instead of 67 like i wanted.

It was a complete stuff up that beer and won gold at AABC 

cheers


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## Adamt (17/11/09)

It seems like the qualification for this thread is:

"Must have rye in it"

:icon_drool2:


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## Fourstar (17/11/09)

schooey said:


> I want to do just a small batch, maybe even do it BIAB, about 9L.. around 90-95% Cara malts, very subtle bitterness that is well hidden, a little NS for flavour, again only subtle, make it really viscous and syrupy to about 12-13% ABV and then when fermented, fortify it slightly with a bit of good brandy, but not too much...



Wow, i thaught i was stepping outside the square thinking about doing a Black IPA sometime soon as ive discussed with Maple. Was thinking a schwarzbier malt bill hopped out of its skull as an Black AIPA

This is the plan so far:

83% Pilsner/Ale
3% Melanoiden
8% Carapils
6% Carafa Special II (maybe sub a small amount of roast barley around 1% just to up the colour?)

40IBU Magnum FWH
20IBU Centennial 20min
10IBU Centennial 5min
50g Whirlpool/cube addition. (centennial or a mix with something else)

Maybe even a dry hop too has maple pointed out.


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## HoppingMad (17/11/09)

About to make a pumpkin beer myself. 

A variation of the recipe in Jamil's book 'Brewing Classic Styles'. Was also inspired by all the chatter on some US sites about making Christmas beers, and some talk about a beer called 'Punkin Ale' brewed by Dogfish Head Brewery (US). 

Brewed pretty much like an ESB but with a small addition of cinamon, nutmeg and all-spice late boil.

Then adding half a pumpkin (roasted in the oven then mashed) into the boiler. Supposed to taste like Sweet Pumpkin Pie, but it could wind up like beer pumpkin soup. Who knows!!

A little worried about how much fluid I'm going to get through the tap on this but I'll let you know how it goes!

Also very interested in the crazy spruce beers those guys make over there. 

Let the experimental mayhem continue! :beerbang: 

Hopper.


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## schooey (17/11/09)

Fourstar said:


> Wow, i thaught i was stepping outside the square thinking about doing a Black IPA sometime soon as ive discussed with Maple. Was thinking a schwarzbier malt bill hopped out of its skull as an Black AIPA
> 
> This is the plan so far:
> 
> ...



See if you can get hold of a Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter, Fourstar... Very much a Black IPA...


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## Fourstar (17/11/09)

schooey said:


> See if you can get hold of a Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter, Fourstar... Very much a Black IPA...



Will keep ym eye open at purvis.

What are your thaughts? Roasty and hoppy or just black malty and hoppy?


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## Pennywise (17/11/09)

Hopper, a fair while ago i was going through some recipes here http://www.tinkletots.net/kevnlis/beer%20recipes.pdf, page 467 has a recipe for pumkin ale, it's extract but it wouldn't be hard to convert. There's also a few other pumkin recipes, like a wheatie. Never been a pumkin man myself though


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## Thommo (17/11/09)

This summer I'm planning an Apricot Wheat Beer. Just a general wheat beer 50/50 3068 13 IBU's, with some Apricot nectar in secondary. Tempted by a pumpkin ale also, maybe next year in time for winter.


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## schooey (17/11/09)

Fourstar said:


> Will keep ym eye open at purvis.
> 
> What are your thaughts? Roasty and hoppy or just black malty and hoppy?



Well the Gonzo is American hopped... It has more the roasty and dark fruit character of an imperial stout, but its bittered with warrior, has flavour additions of NB and Cascade, and a lot of cascade late. It sounds funny, but it really works IMO... Either way would be worth a shot I reckon..


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## glennheinzel (17/11/09)

How about a summer ale made by pitching lager and ale yeasts? The main premise is having a mostly clean fermentation profile, but with some fruity esters. Lager, but with Tim Taylor Landlord yeast esters anyone?

Pitch both yeasts at once. Have a week of 12 deg C and then ramp it up to 18 deg C. Obviously you'd need a lager yeast that doesn't go too crazy at warmer temps.


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## winkle (17/11/09)

Thinking a Irish Red with peated malt and smoked chillis.


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## Supra-Jim (17/11/09)

Rukh said:


> How about a summer ale made by pitching lager and ale yeasts? The main premise is having a mostly clean fermentation profile, but with some fruity esters. Lager, but with Tim Taylor Landlord yeast esters anyone?
> 
> Pitch both yeasts at once. Have a week of 12 deg C and then ramp it up to 18 deg C. Obviously you'd need a lager yeast that doesn't go too crazy at warmer temps.



Try Wyeast 2112 (?) Cal Common, this is a lager style strain that operates up nearer to ale temps.

A while ago i was thinking about a Black Forrest Porter, then i saw a recipe for something pretty close to it at the back of JZ's Brewing Classic Styles. Will possbily give this a run leading into winter.

Cheers SJ


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## brettprevans (17/11/09)

Rukh said:


> How about a summer ale made by pitching lager and ale yeasts? The main premise is having a mostly clean fermentation profile, but with some fruity esters.


ive got a summer ale fermenting but with saison yeast. was going to have cal common but got a wild yeast infection so i chucked in the saison to compete with it. its smelling great suprisingly.


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## Effect (17/11/09)

I'm trying to expand on the aussie wheat beer that tony first posted up. As soon as I saw it I thought that it would be wicked and just had to make my own variation of it.

70% wheat
30% pilsner malt

Galaxy for bittering
Galaxy, D saaz for flavour
D saaz and NS for aroma

30IBU
1.048 OG

1272 for the yeast

Should be a refreshing pale beer with a good head, passionfruit and tangerine flavour in addition to a peach and citrus nose.

Cheers
Phil


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## joshuahardie (17/11/09)

schooey said:


> My wife is a teacher and an academic, we attend a fair share of wine geek loaded events... At one particular event one said geek was prattling on about dessert wines, and how beer was uncuth and incultured and short in variety...




Interesting, 
That is more or less my view of wine.

I can't think of a more versatile beverage than beer

Josh


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## newguy (17/11/09)

I've brewed some weird things in my day....

- A weird stout-weizen hybrid made with malted wheat, roasted barley, and fermented with wyeast 3068.
- My now infamous HeatSikher coconut curry brown ale.
- Something I called an eis-wee-heavy. I brewed a wee heavy and froze distilled it like an eisbock and ended up with a 24% abv "beer". It's not a misprint - twenty four percent.
- I'm planning to brew an alt but use american "C" hops mixed with noble European hops. Not that out there but different.

There are others but these are the ones that immediately leapt to mind.


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## HoppingMad (17/11/09)

Homebrewer79 said:


> Hopper, a fair while ago i was going through some recipes here http://www.tinkletots.net/kevnlis/beer%20recipes.pdf, page 467 has a recipe for pumkin ale, it's extract but it wouldn't be hard to convert. There's also a few other pumkin recipes, like a wheatie. Never been a pumkin man myself though



Cool I'll check it out. These sorts of beers tend to get very mixed reviews in the US (some like, others despise). But with the lack of anything here locally to try, figured I'd brew my own to see how it goes.

Hopper.


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## Fourstar (17/11/09)

schooey said:


> Well the Gonzo is American hopped... It has more the roasty and dark fruit character of an imperial stout, but its bittered with warrior, has flavour additions of NB and Cascade, and a lot of cascade late. It sounds funny, but it really works IMO... Either way would be worth a shot I reckon..



Cool schooey,

I think this is more what im after though: http://www.stonebrew.com/sublimely/

Its black, its got a faceful of hops, you know its got dark malts in it from the colour, you can taste them, but it does not in any way detract from the qualities of an IPA.

I think the key may be the whole idea i have with carafa (for smoothnes and colour) and a pinch of roast barley to give the mild impression of uber dark malts and the push the colour over the edge. The small amount of roast may give that smoky quality that everyone seems to rave about with their reviews of said beer.

Hopefully the carafa mailny bulks up the nuttiness of the malt and there is enough backbone there to support the hops.

It will either be a complete success or an utter failure. Either way it will be full of US hops so im sure i will consume it quickly.


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## crozdog (17/11/09)

Fourstar said:


> Cool schooey,
> 
> I think this is more what im after though: http://www.stonebrew.com/sublimely/
> 
> ...


if you want a dark ipa, i reckon you need to chuck some crystal in to get that pale ale type sweetness. nothing wrong with your original grainbill, just think if you want a dark ipa, you'd be better to start out with an IPA recipe and add your dark malts to it rather than starting with a dark lager and trying to make it into an ale....


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## Mr.Moonshine (17/11/09)

newguy said:


> I've brewed some weird things in my day....
> 
> - A weird stout-weizen hybrid made with malted wheat, roasted barley, and fermented with wyeast 3068.
> - My now infamous HeatSikher coconut curry brown ale.
> ...



Jeez, that must have been the epitome of thick and heavy. How did it turn out? Did you re carb it after eising it or just have it more like a beer port? Eisbock and other eis beers are my idea of mega dessert beers ( along with wee heavies and RIS).

I was throwing around a couple of different ideas a few months back. One was an "eiscream ale", basically an ultra light cream ale freeze concentrated to hopefully add a fair amount of sweetness and richness to the brew, and an apple pie wheat beer (Got the inspiration from Brewing classic styles, when JZ talked about apricot pie and american wheatbeers). Thinking of making the wheatbeer soon for summer, gotta get some decent unmalted wheat though.

Read about some fairly weird beers in beer and brewer lately, had a peice in the "hall of fame" about a pair of brewers who made a flanders red with rosewater, skimmed almond milk and other odd ingredients, plus the usual wild yeasts/infections required for the style. Solid stuff.

Cheers,

Mr.Moonshine


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## drsmurto (17/11/09)

I must admit i drink a lot of wine with food as my partner and i love our wine - our last holiday was to the Coonawarra. Not much to do down there but :icon_drunk: We have a line in our budget for wine purchases!

Was lucky enough to be able to taste Ross' crazy 170+IBU 1.9% abv mild in the shop a week or so ago.

When i saw it posted in the WAYB thread i shook my head thinking 'you crazy bloody pom'. :lol: 

After tasting it i now have it on my brew list but am already thinking of how to tweak it. Maybe munich as the base malt, ringwood yeast for low attenuation........ Even my non-brewing mates that joined me at the shop thought it was a tasty drop. 

I am a very boring brewer by comparison!


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## schooey (17/11/09)

Fourstar said:


> I think this is more what im after though: http://www.stonebrew.com/sublimely/
> 
> Hopefully the carafa mailny bulks up the nuttiness of the malt and there is enough backbone there to support the hops.



Yeah ok, I'm more on your track now... Not sure if a Schwartz style will have the maltiness to back up a lot of American hops and I agree with Croz's comment re; the Crystal... I think you want something more like a strong dark ale and then hop the bejesus out of it with American Hops... :icon_drool2: 

*sigh* One more thing for the to do list.... Swaps?


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## reviled (17/11/09)

Supra-Jim said:


> Try Wyeast 2112 (?) Cal Common, this is a lager style strain that operates up nearer to ale temps.
> 
> A while ago i was thinking about a Black Forrest Porter, then i saw a recipe for something pretty close to it at the back of JZ's Brewing Classic Styles. Will possbily give this a run leading into winter.
> 
> Cheers SJ




Care to share te recipe mate?


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## Fourstar (17/11/09)

schooey said:


> Yeah ok, I'm more on your track now... Not sure if a Schwartz style will have the maltiness to back up a lot of American hops and I agree with Croz's comment re; the Crystal... I think you want something more like a strong dark ale and then hop the bejesus out of it with American Hops... :icon_drool2:
> *sigh* One more thing for the to do list.... Swaps?



Yeah that was another idea too, just start with an IPA THEN add the dark malt. I am interested how Vinnie from Russian River (i think it was him) thinks crystal malt doesn't have a place in an IPA. He simply trades this off the no crystal factor with carapils for dextrins and mouthfeel. He thinks the hops need to be the forefront and the crystal just detracts from their qualities. Basically i was taking this into account and is what my plan incorporates. I can always up this to 10% carapils so its got some more body and a slightly higher FG. Also why i had the melanoiden there, give the malt a little ooomph on the nose but not detracting with caramel sweetness.

There are plenty of ways to skin the cat on this one. I just dont want it to be porter like and i think keeping away from the crystal malt might be a good thing. Hmmm. ill nut it out for a little while longer.


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## crozdog (17/11/09)

Fourstar said:


> Yeah that was another idea too, just start with an IPA THEN add the dark malt. I am interested how Vinnie from Russian River (i think it was him) thinks crystal malt doesn't have a place in an IPA. He simply trades this off the no crystal factor with carapils for dextrins and mouthfeel. He thinks the hops need to be the forefront and the crystal just detracts from their qualities. Basically i was taking this into account and is what my plan incorporates. I can always up this to 10% carapils so its got some more body and a slightly higher FG. Also why i had the melanoiden there, give the malt a little ooomph on the nose but not detracting with caramel sweetness.
> 
> There are plenty of ways to skin the cat on this one. I just dont want it to be porter like and i think keeping away from the crystal malt might be a good thing. Hmmm. ill nut it out for a little while longer.



Why restrict yourself to 1? Why not make 2, one with crystal ie an IPA "with added darkness" (TM / copyright crozdog  ) & a schwartz with added hoppiness?

avoid brown malt out if you don't want it to be porter like.


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## boingk (17/11/09)

Don't mind the sound of that apple-pie wheat beer, Mr.Moonshine.

I'm thinking of doing my 11% apple champers, plus a Schwartzbier hopped up with Nelson Sauvin and perhaps some sort of Bitter with a decent addition of Amber, Wheat, and perhaps oats. I want to see if I can get a creamy-biscuity thing going on. 

Cheers guys, awesome thread - boingk


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## Doc (17/11/09)

I'm all into doing weird shit beers at the moment.
Stuff that make the Rhubarb ones just look pedestrian.

At the weekend I brewed one which I'm calling "Summer in a Glass". A mix of styles somewhere between a Wit, Berliner Weisse and English Summer Ale.

Now researching Lichtenhainer and Grodziskie (Grtzer). Think smoked sour beers.

Doc


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## Fourstar (17/11/09)

crozdog said:


> Why restrict yourself to 1? Why not make 2, one with crystal ie an IPA "with added darkness" (TM / copyright crozdog  ) & a schwartz with added hoppiness?
> 
> avoid brown malt out if you don't want it to be porter like.



All in good time. i dont want 40L of black hoppy beer when the hot days are coming around soon. especially if they end up porter like! h34r:


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## Doc (17/11/09)

Fourstar said:


> I think this is more what im after though: http://www.stonebrew.com/sublimely/
> 
> Its black, its got a faceful of hops, you know its got dark malts in it from the colour, you can taste them, but it does not in any way detract from the qualities of an IPA.



I've had that beer and it is a mindbender.
Bascially a big American IPA that is black. The carafa does not instill any roasted, nutty or choc flavours. Just colour.

I was inspired by it, and brewed one myself. Bascially took my APA recipe and added some Carafa III near the end of the mash. Enough to give it colour.
It is tasting awesome.
Next batch gets some Rauch Malt just to give it another twist.

Beers,
Doc


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## Maple (17/11/09)

Doc said:


> Now researching Lichtenhainer and Grodziskie (Grtzer). Think smoked sour beers.
> 
> Doc


Sounds brilliant Doc, great thinking!


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## manticle (17/11/09)

schooey said:


> You're probably all going to laugh..



Yes I am going to laugh...............



schooey said:


> one said geek was prattling on about dessert wines, and how beer was uncuth and incultured and short in variety...



At this tit^

I had a milk stout I made a while back recently described to me as being like a chocolate dessert and beers like Rochefort 10 are like a plum pudding so why the hell not?


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## Tony (17/11/09)

Another beer i want to try making is a Honey Basil ale. 

I started to work on my Belgian Rye Dubbel recipe tonight.

THinking pils base, 25% Rye malt, 15% dark wheat malt and a bottle of D2 candy syrip. 

1.068, 22 IBU, 28 EBC. 3787.

MMmmmmmmm.

Love some of the ideas above...... a blask IPA with lats added roast.......... what a great idea.

cheers


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## HoppingMad (17/11/09)

Supra-Jim said:


> A while ago i was thinking about a Black Forrest Porter, then i saw a recipe for something pretty close to it at the back of JZ's Brewing Classic Styles. Will possbily give this a run leading into winter.
> 
> Cheers SJ



Saw that one too in Jamil's book. Looks darn yummy. Have it on the mental list but at the rate I'm going won't get to it till next year. A porter might be nicer for the hotter months though. Yum! :icon_drool2: 

Pumpkin Beer is getting mashed tonight! Will let you know how it comes up.


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## DUANNE (17/11/09)

i have just bottled my first pumpkin beer on the weekend. i used the recipe from the basic brewing video.out of the fermenter its all about the spice. will see how it settles down in the bottle.there was also a sweet potato esb in byo that im also keen to try.


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## samhighley (17/11/09)

DrSmurto said:


> Was lucky enough to be able to taste Ross' crazy 170+IBU 1.9% abv mild in the shop a week or so ago.



That is indeed a very interesting beer. Ross brought it to the nationals, and I had a glass or two. I was very impressed with the complexity, given the low alcohol content.


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## glennheinzel (17/11/09)

Supra-Jim said:


> Try Wyeast 2112 (?) Cal Common, this is a lager style strain that operates up nearer to ale temps.



White labs came out with WLP080, although they only came out with it after I started thinking about it. <_< 
Beware the thought stealers!

WLP080 Cream Ale Yeast Blend
This is a blend of ale and lager yeast strains. The strains work together to create a clean, crisp, light American lager style ale. A pleasing estery aroma may be perceived from the ale yeast contribution. Hop flavors and bitterness are slightly subdued. Slight sulfur will be produced during fermentation, from the lager yeast. 
Attenuation: 75-80%
Flocculation: Medium
Optimum Fermentation Temperature: 65-70F
Alcohol Tolerance: Medium High


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## pbrosnan (17/11/09)

Hi all,

Great thread. This one uses a grain bill for a dubbel and a Belgian yeast but is heavily hopped with Chinook. The first time I did it I used Simcow as the bittering addition but didn't have anu this time round hence the Super Alpha

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
75.9 6.00 kg. TF Maris Otter Pale Ale Malt UK 1.037 3
5.1 0.40 kg. Weyermann Caraaroma Germany 1.034 178
6.3 0.50 kg. Flaked Corn (Maize) America 1.040 1
6.3 0.50 kg. Weyermann Munich I Germany 1.038 8
6.3 0.50 kg. Weyermann Pale Wheat Germany 1.038 2



Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
30.00 g. Super Alpha Pellet 11.00 39.7 90 min.
30.00 g. Chinook Pellet 13.00 38.3 45 min.
30.00 g. Chinook Pellet 13.00 11.4 15 min.
20.00 g. Chinook Pellet 13.00 4.7 5 min.
20.00 g. Cascade Pellet 5.75 0.0 Dry Hop
20.00 g. Chinook Pellet 13.00 0.0 Dry Hop


Yeast
-----

WYeast 3522 Belgian Ardennes


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## newguy (18/11/09)

Mr.Moonshine said:


> Jeez, that must have been the epitome of thick and heavy. How did it turn out? Did you re carb it after eising it or just have it more like a beer port? Eisbock and other eis beers are my idea of mega dessert beers ( along with wee heavies and RIS).



It is very thick and heavy. The original wee heavy was OG 1.107, FG 1.028 so the eis wee heavy was even more syrupy. I've only tried it once since I brewed it as I don't have much of it. After freezing I only managed to get 7l and I want to leave this one for many years.

I'm hoping it mellows a bit. I remember when I was formulating the recipe that I was agonizing over the bitterness level I chose: 35 IBU. The wee heavy itself is quite nice - loads of complexity without being too cloying. The eis wee heavy is a tad on the bitter side (or it was when I made it). I did force carbonate it lightly, then I bottled it. I didn't want it to be completely uncarbonated and I've carbonated barleywines like this before.


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## Fourstar (18/11/09)

Well ive found further inspiration for the Black IPA after reading the latest edition of zymurgy. Turns out Stone,Cambridge and Brewdog whipped out a Black Imperial Pilsner recently. Grist was Pilsner Vienna and Carafa. Carafa additon was 4.8% of the grist.

Interesting! Im starting to take heed on the crystal addition. maybe an addtion of 4% of j/w crystal, subbing out some of the base and carapils. I just dont want it uber sweet and to stay a super massive black hop bomb thats completely unbalanced yet supported.

I think im walking a fine line.

Ok, maybe something like:

81% Pilsner/Ale
3% Melanoiden
6% Carapils
4% JW Crystal (60-80EBC)
6% Carafa Special II (im still tempted by 1 - .5 % roast barley)


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## HoppingMad (18/11/09)

BEERHOG said:


> i have just bottled my first pumpkin beer on the weekend. i used the recipe from the basic brewing video.out of the fermenter its all about the spice. will see how it settles down in the bottle.there was also a sweet potato esb in byo that im also keen to try.



Beerhog how did you go bottling the stuff? Just cubed up my pumpkin ale last night.

I'm a little worried on mine I might get a blocked tap with all the mashed pumpkin in the bottom come bottling time. I guess if I hit a problem I'll scoop it out the top maybe. 

Did you strain or filter the pumpkin residue out at any stage? If so pre-ferment or pre-bottling?

The recipe I have recommends fermentation with the pumpkin residue in it for added flavour. My recipe called for 1.6 kg of mashed pumpkin (oven roasted first) (19L batch). Now I have 2.5 inches of pumpkin sludge in the bottom of the cube! Have to think this through before it goes on the ferment - could be interesting.

Everything went smoothly last night - the wort smells more like a dessert than a beer. With late spice additions of nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice to the boil it's very fragrant. The boiler tap got blocked within a minute of trying to drain to cube. So glad I didn't try to add the pumpkin into the mash and save it for the boiler. That would have been messy!

Sweet potato in a beer? That's taking vegetarian beer to the next level! :lol: 

Hopper.


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## murrayr (18/11/09)

love this idea for a thread and figured i ought to post my upcoming brew. I'm planning on making a gruit which is basically a traditional ale made without hops but with some psychotropic herbs.
my recipe is:
2kg maris otter
2kg aromatic malt
500g smoked malt
250g carapils
100g chocolate

boil:
60 mins: wormwood (10g)
20 mins: yarrow (20g)
5 mins: bog myrtle (20g)
marsh rosemary (20g)
crushed juniper berries (50g)

has anyone had experience with making gruit? does this recipe seem ok?
cheers, murray


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## schooey (18/11/09)

This is what I'm thinking for my trial run of a beer sticky...

Recipe: Beer Sticky
Brewer: Schooey
Asst Brewer: 
Style: Hmmm..??
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0) 

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 10.00 L 
Boil Size: 17.84 L
Estimated OG: 1.128 SG
Estimated Color: 41.1 EBC
Estimated IBU: 12.8 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 180 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU 
2.00 kg Caramalt (Thomas Fawcett) (29.6 EBC) Grain 34.78 % 
2.00 kg Pilsner (Weyermann) (3.3 EBC) Grain 34.78 % 
1.75 kg Carahell (Weyermann) (25.6 EBC) Grain 30.43 % 
5.00 gm Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (60 min) Hops 7.5 IBU 
5.00 gm Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] (15 min) Hops 5.3 IBU 


Mash Schedule: My Mash
Total Grain Weight: 5.75 kg
----------------------------
My Mash
Step Time Name Description Step Temp 
180 min Step Add 14.37 L of water at 76.1 C 69.0 C 

Not sure what yeast yet... See if i can get a 1728, or maybe the Imperial seasonal for the high alcohol. Then when its fermented, i'm going to fortify it with maybe a single malt or a good cognac. Might even split some of into a mason jar on some wood. Oh the possibilities...


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## schooey (18/11/09)

Bugger you blokes... You've got me all excited about this! MHB had and Imperial Blend Wyeast in the fridge from this year, so I went and grabbed it and cracked the grain for it while I was there... That new mill does a fantastic job and I have a pretty fine grist ready to go. Still tossing up whether to gin around and make a bag to BIAB it, or whether to just put some Swiss Voille over the FB in my mash tun and run it that way.

Smacked the pack of yeast today, going to pitch it into a 1L starter, then step it up to 2.5L and the 4L and then let the slurry settle and decant the wort so I don't dilute the beer I'm after too much. Still tossing up whether to mash hot for a really full body and live with the residual sugar from all the Cara and the hot mash, or to mash it lower and get a drier sweeter body.. something to mull over I guess


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## DUANNE (18/11/09)

HoppingMad said:


> Beerhog how did you go bottling the stuff? Just cubed up my pumpkin ale last night.
> 
> I'm a little worried on mine I might get a blocked tap with all the mashed pumpkin in the bottom come bottling time. I guess if I hit a problem I'll scoop it out the top maybe.
> 
> ...




i put the pumpkin in the mash and even doing it biab style i still lost a lot more water that wouldnt squeeze out than normal.after the boil there was also a lot more trub than normal and a shit load of cold break in the fermentor. the brew ended up about 5 litres short after all the losses! i used the proculture wood ale yeast and it fermented out in two days to fg. has been in the bottle 3 days and was carbed pretty nice when i tried one tonight.is this normal with this strain? any way with the carb in the bottle the spices are starting to smooth out and is turning into a nice drop now.just gotta keep the rest for xmas day now


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## revdrjbob (18/11/09)

Now this is my kind of thread! Myself and my brewing partner in crime the JW have always been fiends for pushing the brewing envelope too far. We've pumped out some crazy beers in the past, and I'm sure there's plenty more to come. I started the IBU's IronBrewer comp with the idea in mind to get more HBers to do the same, but it seemed it was too far out for most, even in the beginning. 

I've brewed insane candy and chocolate beers for Halloween - raspberry rock candy double red ale, redskin DIPA, pumpkinated DIPA, Wonkervated American stout (hops and chocolate!) - smoked rye ale and double smoked rye ale, stein beer with the hot granite (not a summer brew), Belgian triple IPA (like Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel), and barleywine with 60% peated distillers malt, and the usual forays into brett and plambic with limited success..

I'm brewing a clone of the Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA this weekend, where you randallise the beer post fermentation before serving. Sounds awesome, kind of the Claytons' Randall. 

Lets keep this thread moving, and hear what others have on their brewing cards.

TIM


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## Fourstar (18/11/09)

One that might get Maple going is an idea in wanting todo an RYErish Red Ale. nothing left of center but would be rather tasty.


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## Maple (18/11/09)

Fourstar said:


> One that might get Maple going is an idea in wanting todo an RYErish Red Ale. nothing left of center but would be rather tasty. Use ry over roast malts.


Been there, done that, liked it - but needs tweaking to finish it. I way over did the hops on the first go, haven't been round to it again.


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## Fourstar (18/11/09)

Maple said:


> Been there, done that, liked it - but needs tweaking to finish it. I way over did the hops on the first go, haven't been round to it again.



This is the starting point. Hopefully enough crystal to carry the rye? :

RYErish Red

Est Original Gravity: 1.047 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.2 %
Bitterness: 22.1 IBU
Est Color: 16.0 SRM

3.00 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 54.5 % 
2.00 kg Rye Malt (Weyermann) (3.0 SRM) Grain 36.4 % 
0.30 kg Carared (20.0 SRM) Grain 5.5 % 
0.15 kg Roasted Barley (Joe White) (412.9 SRM) Grain 2.7 % 
0.05 kg Crystal, Dark (Joe White) (86.7 SRM) Grain 0.9 % 
35.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [5.00%] (60 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 22.1 IBU


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## bconnery (18/11/09)

I'm a fan of weird beers and out there brewing of all sorts. 

Very much my signature beer is my sour orange belgian. A flanders red / oud bruid inspired beer in which the sourness comes from the variety of fruit used, a mandarin orange or rangpur lime, which is an intensely sour citrus. As an extract beer I gave it a 6 hour boil to try and emulate some of the old methods of brewing these styles. Since going AG I've had to use different methods to try and emulate the flavours from that 6 hour boil. 
I've finished it with saison yeast and experimented with different amounts of the oranges. 
I'm thinking about using some rye and caramel rye in the next one, with a saison yeast to dry it out and balance the slickness. 

I made an attempt at a Thai curry in a beer, lemon, limes, coriander, lemon grass, ginger and chillis in the fermenter. The ginger ended up dominating so I was disappointed but others liked it. It kind of just tasted like a slightly spicy ginger beer. 

I made a christmas beer, spiced ale, but on a pale ale base for a summer Christmas. 
Recipe is in the database


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## manticle (18/11/09)

A recipe for your sour orange would be nice. Just starting to get into sourness in the form of lambics and normandy/breton ciders and I'm interested in trying some brews along these lines. I want to keep it as simple as possible as I'm still learning how to brew basic styles well, let alone crazy ones. Nonetheless, I'd love to give it a go.

AG recipe if you have one.


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## bconnery (18/11/09)

manticle said:


> A recipe for your sour orange would be nice. Just starting to get into sourness in the form of lambics and normandy/breton ciders and I'm interested in trying some brews along these lines. I want to keep it as simple as possible as I'm still learning how to brew basic styles well, let alone crazy ones. Nonetheless, I'd love to give it a go.
> 
> AG recipe if you have one.


The trickiness is to get the variety of sour oranges, or something similar to replicate that part, as this provides all the sour aspect to this beer. 

These are the two best AG ones. I like the way the saison yeast works in this. It was only a very small amount of yeast but it finished the beer very well...
Recipe: Have yourself a sour little christmas
Brewer: Mooshells
Asst Brewer: 
Style: Flanders Red Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0) 

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 25.00 L 
Boil Size: 35.00 L
Estimated OG: 1.054 SG
Estimated Color: 23.9 EBC
Estimated IBU: 20.7 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 70 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU 
2000.00 gm Vienna Malt (Weyermann) (5.9 EBC) Grain 33.90 % 
1500.00 gm Pale Malt, Galaxy (Barrett Burston) (3.0 EGrain 25.42 % 
1500.00 gm Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 25.42 % 
200.00 gm Caramunich II (Weyermann) (124.1 EBC) Grain 3.39 % 
175.00 gm Melanoidin (Weyermann) (70.0 EBC) Grain 2.97 % 
75.00 gm Amber Malt (85.0 EBC) Grain 1.27 % 
50.00 gm Caraaroma (Weyermann) (350.7 EBC) Grain 0.85 % 
30.00 gm Northern Brewer [6.60 %] (60 min) Hops 20.1 IBU 
15.00 gm D Saaz [4.40 %] (2 min) Hops 0.6 IBU 
10.00 items Sour Orange Rind (Boil 60.0 min) Misc 
600.00 ml Sour Orange Juice (Boil 5.0 min) Misc 
900.00 ml Sour Orange Juice (Boil 60.0 min) Misc 
200.00 gm Brown Sugar, Dark (98.5 EBC) Sugar 3.39 % 
200.00 gm Palm Sugar (98.5 EBC) Sugar 3.39 % 
small starter French Saison (Seasonal) (Wyeast Labs #371Yeast-Ale 
1 Pkgs SafBrew Specialty Ale (DCL Yeast #T-58) Yeast-Ale 


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 5500.00 gm
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out
Step Time Name Description Step Temp 
60 min Mash In Add 19.00 L of water at 70.8 C 66.0 C 


Notes:
------
Caramelized 200g brown sugar and 200g brown sugar with some of the juice and all the rind. Added about 5L of first runnings and the remainder of 900ml juice and boiled down in a separate pot while the boil was taking place. 
Caremlized for approx 60 mins. 
Added 600ml of juice for 5 mins. 
Added rest @end. 


Recipe: From Flanders to Rangpur
Brewer: Mooshells
Asst Brewer: 
Style: Flanders Red Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0) 

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 21.00 L 
Boil Size: 34.00 L
Estimated OG: 1.051 SG
Estimated Color: 21.7 EBC
Estimated IBU: 17.7 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 75 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU 
200.00 gm Brown Sugar, Light (15.8 EBC) Extract 4.35 % 
200.00 gm Brown Sugar, Light [Boil for 5 min] Extract 4.35 % 
2800.00 gm Pilsner (Weyermann) (3.3 EBC) Grain 60.87 % 
1000.00 gm Vienna Malt (Weyermann) (5.9 EBC) Grain 21.74 % 
250.00 gm Melanoidin (Weyermann) (70.0 EBC) Grain 5.43 % 
150.00 gm Caraaroma (Weyermann) (350.7 EBC) Grain 3.26 % 
15.00 gm B Saaz [8.20 %] (60 min) Hops 15.9 IBU 
20.00 gm B Saaz [8.20 %] (2 min) Hops 1.8 IBU 
10.00 items Sour Orange Rind (Boil 60.0 min) Misc 
500.00 ml Sour Orange Juice (Boil 5.0 min) Misc 
700.00 ml Sour Orange Juice (Boil 60.0 min) Misc 
1 Pkgs Forbidden Fruit (Wyeast Labs #3463) Yeast-Wheat 


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 4200.00 gm
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out
Step Time Name Description Step Temp 
75 min Mash In Add 18.00 L of water at 69.4 C 65.6 C 


Notes:
------
Caramelized 200g brown sugar with 700ml juice and all rind. Added 4L of first runnings for additional caramelization. 
Caremlized for approx 60 mins, added @45. 
Added 500ml of boiled juice direct in primary.


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## manticle (18/11/09)

Beautiful.

By sour orange do you mean blood orange juice or is it something specific you've been buying?

It does give me some interesting thoughts about ruby red and some american hops too.


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## bconnery (18/11/09)

manticle said:


> Beautiful.
> 
> By sour orange do you mean blood orange juice or is it something specific you've been buying?
> 
> It does give me some interesting thoughts about ruby red and some american hops too.


No it's a variety of citrus called a Rangpur Lime or Mandarin Lime. Intensely sour. Or at least that's what we've been led to believe by a little research. 
There's a few trees in the valley where my folks live but we'd ignored them until one started to grow near the house. 

I have no idea if this can be gotten anywhere else...


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## manticle (18/11/09)

bconnery said:


> No it's a variety of citrus called a Rangpur Lime or Mandarin Lime. Intensely sour. Or at least that's what we've been led to believe by a little research.
> There's a few trees in the valley where my folks live but we'd ignored them until one started to grow near the house.
> 
> I have no idea if this can be gotten anywhere else...



Worst come to worst I guess I could make up my own version using a variety of citrus fruits. Mandarin, tangello and lime or blood orange and ruby red or kaffir lime and navel orange.

I might try some cascade with a brew and see how we go. it might become my first experiment with lactobaccillus for extra sour.


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## winkle (19/11/09)

bconnery said:


> No it's a variety of citrus called a Rangpur Lime or Mandarin Lime. Intensely sour. Or at least that's what we've been led to believe by a little research.
> There's a few trees in the valley where my folks live but we'd ignored them until one started to grow near the house.
> 
> I have no idea if this can be gotten anywhere else...



My Acerola Ale is stepping up this year Ben, more fruit less malt & probably some Brett, so dry you'll fart dust


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## HoppingMad (19/11/09)

BEERHOG said:


> i put the pumpkin in the mash and even doing it biab style i still lost a lot more water that wouldnt squeeze out than normal.after the boil there was also a lot more trub than normal and a shit load of cold break in the fermentor. the brew ended up about 5 litres short after all the losses! i used the proculture wood ale yeast and it fermented out in two days to fg. has been in the bottle 3 days and was carbed pretty nice when i tried one tonight.is this normal with this strain? any way with the carb in the bottle the spices are starting to smooth out and is turning into a nice drop now.just gotta keep the rest for xmas day now



Cool so you're on the BIAB. I'm straight AG.

Interesting you got such heavy trub on the ferment. Might have to make sure I use a fermenter with some headroom if it gets vigorous in there! Don't know anything about wood ale yeast - sounds interesting. I might ferment with the pumpkin mash in the fermenter and see how that goes, as the US recipe I have recommends it.

Oh, by the way guys, BYO magazine has an article on adding spices to beer in the latest issue. Here's a table with a list of spices and methods for those who want to take a regular brew and 'Concept' it up! :icon_cheers: 

Brewspices Excel Sheet (xls)

Hopper.


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## brettprevans (19/11/09)

HoppingMad said:


> Oh, by the way guys, BYO magazine has an article on adding spices to beer in the latest issue. Here's a table with a list of spices and methods for those who want to take a regular brew and 'Concept' it up! :icon_cheers:
> 
> Brewspices Excel Sheet (xls)
> 
> Hopper.


interesting spreadsheet. I hope in the article they made referance to some of the spices/herbs being poisonous and not to use them (eg wormwood). Radical Brewing has a great list, but the BYO article is great from the point of view that it gives indicitive amounts and additon times.


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## boingk (19/11/09)

Sounds interesting, Winkle, wouldn't mind trying something like that.

On another note, just found my old recipe for chilli beer. This stuff was awesome from what I can remember, but didn't keep that well - 3 months and it started to turn nasty (might've been the plastic bottles I was using). Here goes:

3.7kg light liquid malt
20g POR @ 60min
100g Jalapenos @ 30min
10g Chipotles @ 30min
30g Tettnang @ 15min
10g Tettnang @ flameout.

Went bloody well with any Asiatic food, complemented it really well. Worth noting that I sliced and de-stemmed the jalapenos, then strained them before dumping into the fermenter. Dropped from 1.046 to 1.012, forget what yeast I used. Drank well from 2 weeks with a greenish, vegetal type aroma. Not unpleasant though, actually tasted very fresh. There wasn't much chilli 'heat' in it, rather the chillis came through as flavour; brilliant for hot weather.

Cheers guys - boingk


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## brettprevans (20/11/09)

It occurred to me that this threads reads like it was something out of Radical Brewing by Mosher. Then it dawned on me....an AHB recipe book 'Beyond the BJCP: AHB guide to brewing outside the guidelines".

well ok maybe not a book but a wiki on tried and tested brews that challange the perception of what's normal.


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## neonmeate (20/11/09)

i thought this thread would be about concept art beers, like john cage's 4.33 in brewing form eg
4:33

Selected Style and BJCP Guidelines
0- No Style Chosen

Min OG: 0.000 SG Max OG: 0.000 SG
Min FG: 0.000 SG Max FG: 0.000 SG
Min IBU: 0 IBU Max IBU: 0 IBU
Min Color: 0.0 SRM Max Color: 0.0 SRM


Recipe Overview
Wort Volume Before Boil: 0.00 l Wort Volume After Boil: 0.00 l
Volume Transferred: 0.00 l Water Added To Fermenter: 0.00 l
Volume At Pitching: 0.00 l Volume Of Finished Beer: 0.00 l
Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.000 SG Expected OG: 1.000 SG
Expected FG: 1.000 SG Apparent Attenuation: 0.0 %
Expected ABV: 0.0 % Expected ABW: 0.0 %
Expected IBU (using Tinseth): 0.0 IBU Expected Color: 0.0 SRM
Mash Efficiency: 0.0 % Approx Color:	
Boil Duration: 0.0 mins 
Fermentation Temperature: no degC 


Fermentables
Ingredient	Amount	%	When
No fermentables

Hops
No hops


Yeast
No Yeast

Water Profile
Mash pH: 0
pH Adjusted with: Unadjusted

Total Calcium (ppm): 0 Total Magnesium (ppm): 0
Total Sodium (ppm): 0 Total Sulfate (ppm): 0
Total Chloride(ppm):	0 Total Bicarbonate (ppm): 0


Recipe Notes
Instructions: Set up a mashtun, kettle, chiller and fermenter. Then sit there and do nothing.


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## Doc (20/11/09)

I'm still waiting for someone to make the Cock Ale.

Doc


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## brettprevans (20/11/09)

Doc said:


> I'm still waiting for someone to make the Cock Ale.
> 
> Doc


you make that one doc and serve it up at next years cops and then maybe we will have a chance of winning some comps/


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## Fourstar (20/11/09)

Just about to mash out on my precious! :icon_drool2: 


Black IPA 
American IPA 
Batch Size: 23.00 L
Brewer: Braden 
Boil Size: 30.90 L 
Boil Time: 60 min 
Brewhouse Efficiency: 68.0 

Ingredients
4.50 kg Pilsner, Malt Craft Export (Joe White) (1.7 SRM) Grain 76.9 % 
0.50 kg Carafoam (Weyermann) (2.0 SRM) Grain 8.5 % 
0.35 kg Carafa Special III (Weyermann) (470.0 SRM) Grain 6.0 % 
0.30 kg Caramalt (Joe White) (17.3 SRM) Grain 5.1 % 
0.20 kg Melanoidin (Weyermann) (30.0 SRM) Grain 3.4 % 
30.00 gm Magnum [12.50%] (60 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 45.2 IBU 
40.00 gm Centennial [10.00%] (15 min) Hops 21.8 IBU 
20.00 gm Centennial [10.00%] (0 min) Hops - 
1.00 gm Baking Soda (Mash 60.0 min) Misc 
2.00 gm Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 min) Misc 
6.00 gm Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 min) Misc 

Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.053 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.1 %
Bitterness: 67.0 IBU 
Est Color: 26.7 SRM

Mash Profile
Name Description Step Temp Step Time 
Mash In Add 17.00 L of water at 70.6 C 65.0 C 60 min 
Mash Out Add 12.00 L of water at 96.2 C 77.0 C 10 min 

Notes
NaHCO3 and CaCl to mash
CaSO4 to boil


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## schooey (21/11/09)

:lol:

I crack me up sometimes... I've done a double brew day today, first up was a trial run 23L batch of Choccy Porter for next years B&T (Yeah... I know, I'm keen as mustard) and as soon as I had it in the kettle, I mashed in my Dessert Beer Sticky for a three hour mash, yes folks that wasn't a typo, 3 HOURS... In the meantime I've had about 10 pints of Imperial Topaz faux Pils (Faux because the only yeast I had available was US-05)... and recirced a fair bit because I'm after some shit hot clarity... 

So I ran the first runnings into the kettle, sparged and then ran that into the kettle and then took a Refrc reading before the three hour boil commences (Yeah, overkill maybe, but I figured it was the only way I could get decent extraction eficiency, and still end up with the sweet viscous wort I'm after at the end of the day..) and the refrac says 20.2% brix.. Holy shit Batman, I've gotten better efficiency than I expected from my crazy ass mash, and I still have three hours of boil to go.... Wonder what my final 10 Litres of wort will end up at...

Disclaimer: schooey is celebrating today, and is pretty well lubricated... if this concept beer comes out anywhere near what the original plan was, it has to be some kind of act of God that schooey doesn't really give much creedence to in the first place.. feel free to glaze over and ignore to your herts content....


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## schooey (21/11/09)

So it's in the fermenter with the slurry from a 4L starter... ended up with 9.9L of extremely viscous wort that my refractometer tells me is 1.134, and my hydrometer tells me is 1.131.... so close enough to mission accomplished I reckon... ... Colour is actually lighter than I expected and I'll be God-Damned if it doesn't taste awesome on the way to the fermenter..... here's hoping...


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## Doc (25/11/09)

citymorgue2 said:


> you make that one doc and serve it up at next years cops and then maybe we will have a chance of winning some comps/



Someone will do it. Even Charlie P is all over Cock Ale 

Doc


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## HoppingMad (25/11/09)

citymorgue2 said:


> interesting spreadsheet. I hope in the article they made referance to some of the spices/herbs being poisonous and not to use them (eg wormwood). Radical Brewing has a great list, but the BYO article is great from the point of view that it gives indicitive amounts and additon times.



Was no mention of it, not sure how much .2 of an ounce is? Maybe it's comparable to wormwood absinthe that still gets sold around the place.

Had read somewhere about brewing with a spice that's not actually on this xls list - valerian root. Reckon that stuff could be dangerous as it makes you drowsy and wanting to go to sleep! A real party stopper!

Hopper


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## murrayr (25/11/09)

.2 of an ounce would only be 5.6 grams. you'd need a lot wore wormwood than that in a 20l batch for it to be dangerous...i'm happy to use 10-15 grams of it


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## schooey (30/11/09)

schooey said:


> So it's in the fermenter with the slurry from a 4L starter... ended up with 9.9L of extremely viscous wort that my refractometer tells me is 1.134, and my hydrometer tells me is 1.131.... so close enough to mission accomplished I reckon...  ... Colour is actually lighter than I expected and I'll be God-Damned if it doesn't taste awesome on the way to the fermenter..... here's hoping...



Well I racked this off the yeast cake today... after 9 days it's chewed it's way down to 1.038. I'll leave it in secondary for a fortnight and see if it makes its way to the targeted 1.033. The sample out of the racking cane is.... I'm not really sure how to describe it... :blink:... Big alcohol, big dried fruits, some sherry in the background, sticky and sweet... Rocket fuel does come to mind there, hopefully that will mellow with age..

I think I'm definitely going to go with the single malt option now, and another third with a brandy and the other third with something on some oak... Ageing is going to be my friend here I think... The experiment continues..

edit: I must add, if you are considering doing a high alcohol beer like a belgian tripel or a RIS, I would highly recommend this WY9093 yeast. It's an awesome worker and throws a very handsome profile at mid twenties temperatures...


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## petesbrew (8/12/09)

Currently planning a Belgian Rye Blonde for this weekend. First time I've used Rye, but from what I read, the spicyness could work well.
Recipe's in the DB, so if anyone has any comments or criticism, go for it.


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## Thommo (8/12/09)

Sounds good Pete. I subbed the Wheat in Dr Smurto's GA on the weekend for some Rye, just for something a bit different.


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## drsmurto (8/12/09)

Thommo said:


> Sounds good Pete. I subbed the Wheat in Dr Smurto's GA on the weekend for some Rye, just for something a bit different.



Scary. :blink: 

You have a camera in my computer room? 

I was playing around on beersmith last night and did the same thing whilst making up a few different golden ale recipe ideas.......


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## Boftolod (20/12/09)

While only ever do kit beers, I have come up with a real winner through it.

Brewcraft Mexican Cerveza as per instructions on can, but add small chilli to each stubby at time of bottling.
To start off with, there was no heat, only the chilli taste, After about 8 months they started to heat up a bit.
After 12 months, nearly undrinkable, burning lips and tongue, nicknamed the ring-burner. onto another batch now, about 6 months old and still spectacular. Gotta get another one on soon.


----------

