Adjusting Jamils Belgian Pale Ale

[Matplat]

Evening all,

I recently bought "Brewing Classic Styles" which is basically a load of Jamil Zainasheffs recipes...

All the recipes use full volume boils despite being extract recipes. I want to brew his belgian pale ale recipe which uses 37g EKG to achieve 26 IBU. I dont have the equipment to do full volume boils, the best i can do is 8-9L, in order to achieve the same IBU, Ians spreadsheet estimates using 65g. I knew i would need to use more but does that sound right? Seems like a bit much?

Also craftbrewer advises that Caraamber (which i have already) is a good substitute for Belgian biscuit (that the recipe calls for) does anyone have experience doing this? Also the recipes calls for Caramunich 3, would Carabohemian (also which i have) make an acceptable substitute or should i really get the real deal?

Cheers, Matt

 

[Matplat]

To make things more confusing the brewers friend calculator estimates 90g of EKG???

 

[Blind Dog]

Stupid question, but why don't you have the equipment to do full volume boils? I mean what do you think are you lacking, not why you haven't got it yet

 

[manticle]

Big enough pot?

 

[Matplat]

Big enough pot?

Exactly! Plus i would need a wort chiller... don't think an ice bath would cut it on a 40l pot

 

[Matplat]

And my stove top is at its limit already so I'd need an outdoor burner too....

 

[NewtownClown]

CaraAmber can be a sub for biscuit (Victory is better).
CaraMunich III can be subbed with Crystal 60 or a mix of Munich and a dark Crystal.

I use to use IanH's calculator and found it very reliable with the outputs pretty much the same as others. Were the AA% for the hops the same in both calculations?

 

[Matplat]

Thanks NTC,

The only bit that got me concerned with Ians calc, is that when I entered the specified quantities using a 26.5l boil volume, it only give 18.7 IBU not 26.... so something is amiss somewhere. might have a crack at calculating IBU myself using Mr. Palmers equations.

I think I'm going to try and get the Caramunich III as I am already changing the recipe a fair bit. I am also using T-58 yeast instead of the specified liquid strain (haven't got a procedure/equipment for making starters sorted out yet).

Cheers, Matt

 

[Weizguy]

Exactly! Plus i would need a wort chiller... don't think an ice bath would cut it on a 40l pot

wort chiller OR... no-chill cube.

Do you have another pot to boil the hops and some of the wort separately, or split the batch into 2 or more pots?

 

[Matplat]

I have a 19L BigW pot, and an 11L good (read - heavy based) pot which I currently use as my kettle.

I pre-boil and cool (refridgerate) 16-17L in the Big W pot, do my hop boil in the good pot add all DME at the end of the boil, chill in an ice bath, then combine both in the FV.

For some reason I am a no-chill bigot. Perhaps I have been indoctrinated by reading How to Brew :lol: or perhaps I'm just stubborn and don't like to change something that works...

Also cubes are either 20 or 25L correct? 25L doesn't allow space in the FV for krausen, and 20L is just inefficient brewing no?

 

[Weizguy]

I think you'll find that 20-30% of the DME in the pot with the hops will increase hop utilisation and then add the remaining DME for the last 5-10 min of the boil.
Pretty sure that the nominal 20 litre cubes will hold about 22 litres. As for the 25 litre units, you can squeeze the excess air out to meet your required or achieved brew length.

 

[manticle]

I have a 19L BigW pot, and an 11L good (read - heavy based) pot which I currently use as my kettle.

I pre-boil and cool (refridgerate) 16-17L in the Big W pot, do my hop boil in the good pot add all DME at the end of the boil, chill in an ice bath, then combine both in the FV.

For some reason I am a no-chill bigot. Perhaps I have been indoctrinated by reading How to Brew :lol: or perhaps I'm just stubborn and don't like to change something that works...

Also cubes are either 20 or 25L correct? 25L doesn't allow space in the FV for krausen, and 20L is just inefficient brewing no?

Your assessment of no- chill is pure bollocks my friend. If/when you do full volume, whether extract or ag, please reconsider trying it out. Certainly I wouldn't dismiss it based on how to brew.
I ferment in my 20L cubes which hold about 23 L and restrain krausen spillage.
I mean bollocks in a non-aggressive way.

 

[Matplat]

Ha ha, yeah that's cool.

I probably will consider it at some point (especially because cubes are cheaper than chillers! in fact I already have one we use for camping) I guess I am still getting the hang of my current process so don't want to add more variables at this stage.

I am also confused about why chill haze isn't an issue with no-chill. Even chilling within half an hour as Palmer specifies, I haven't had a crystal clear beer yet. That being said I don't really give a damn about a bit of haze, perfectly clear beer reminds me of mega-swill!

Back on the original point though, I have got some Caramunich II LHBS didn't have Caramunich III, however they also had Biscuit, so we are a bit closer to the original recipe there (opinion seems divided as to whether you can steep Biscuit or not, but I'm going with Jamil on this one).

I am just going to chuck 50g EKG in at 60 mins and see how it goes. How long does everyone leave in 0 min additions before removing and chilling? (for those who chill!)

 

[srm]

Hi Matplat
Can I suggest you re-read "Converting a Recipe to a Partial Boil" on pages 34 to 38 of "Brewing Classic Styles" and see if you still have a problem.
Cheers
Steve

 

[Matplat]

Thanks Steve, i had forgotten about that chapter!

Interestingly J Palmer reckons you don't need to adjust the hop quantities at all! That theory goes against the hop concentration factor used by IanH spreadsheet... and all other calculators...so im still lost

Ive yet to have a crack at calculating it manually though.

 

[Mardoo]

Maybe just brew a batch and see. Worst comes to worst it's under-hopped and you need to do a mini-boil of hop tea and add it to the fermenter. Sanitation, yada yada...

 

[Matplat]

Yeah i think thats what it will come to... il post the results when i get it done!