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[Acasta]

Hey guys, just putting together a could of recipes for my next brews coming up.
I'm wanting to make a ESB with lots of tastey malt and toffee flavours, which i have loosely based of manticle's youngs clone. And a Choc Vanilla which I based the malt profile off a high rated recipe and added some familar choc and vanilla addition techniques.
Im looking for advice in all areas to make these two really nice. I normally brew APA/AIPAs so there may be something i can learn for these two.

Anyway, here are the recipes:

ESB

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 29.25 l
Post Boil Volume: 24.84 l
Batch Size (fermenter): 21.00 l
Bottling Volume: 19.00 l
Estimated OG: 1.054 SG
Estimated Color: 22.1 EBC
Estimated IBU: 37.1 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 76.7 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
0.46 kg Crystal (Joe White) (141.8 EBC) Grain 2 8.9 %
0.23 kg Biscuit Malt (45.3 EBC) Grain 3 4.5 %
4.50 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 1 86.6 %
20.00 g Target [9.40 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 4 22.1 IBUs
20.00 g Goldings, East Kent [4.30 %] - Boil 40.0 Hop 5 8.9 IBUs
20.00 g Goldings, East Kent [4.30 %] - Boil 20.0 Hop 6 6.1 IBUs
1.0 pkg SafAle English Ale (DCL/Fermentis #S-04) Yeast 7 -


Mash Schedule: -Main Mash - Full Body (Batch Sparge)
Total Grain Weight: 5.20 kg
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 14.50 l of water at 80.3 C 69.0 C 60 min

Sparge: Drain mash tun, Batch sparge with 1 steps (21.46l) of 75.6 C water
Notes:
------
Caramelise 2 L of total preboil wort down to 300 mL or so and add back to boil




-----------------AND---------------


Vanilla Choc Porter

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 29.25 l
Post Boil Volume: 24.84 l
Batch Size (fermenter): 23.00 l
Bottling Volume: 23.00 l
Estimated OG: 1.058 SG
Estimated Color: 63.3 EBC
Estimated IBU: 38.5 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 70.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
4.25 kg Pale Malt, Traditional Ale (Joe White) ( Grain 1 67.5 %
0.80 kg Brown Malt (128.1 EBC) Grain 2 12.7 %
0.80 kg Caramalt (Joe White) (49.3 EBC) Grain 3 12.7 %
0.45 kg Chocolate Malt (689.5 EBC) Grain 4 7.1 %
0.10 kg Cocoa (Boil 5.0 mins) Spice 9 -
0.50 kg Cooking Chocolate (Boil 60.0 mins) Spice 6 -
5.00 Items Vanilla Beans (Secondary 1.0 weeks) Spice 11 -
20.00 g Target [9.40 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 21.5 IBUs
20.00 g Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 40.0 Hop 7 10.0 IBUs
20.00 g Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 20.0 Hop 8 6.9 IBUs
1.0 pkg SafAle English Ale (DCL/Fermentis #S-04) Yeast 10 -


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 6.30 kg
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 16.43 l of water at 77.0 C 70.0 C 45 min

Sparge: Batch sparge with 1 steps (19.13l) of 75.6 C water
Notes:
------
100g chocolate drops = 1 Block of Lindt 70% Cocoa Chocolate

 

[raven19]

Re: Porter - if you are looking to get more choc flavour I would be looking at bringing in pale choc in lieu of the choc grain and the actual chocolate.

I have found pale choc tends to bring more choc flavour in in my beers.

Not sure chocolate is ideal in a beer from previous readings of others using it.

Vanilla beans are very powerful too. I would start with one, taste then go from there.

Re: ESB - simple grain bill should be effective. Bitterness level looks fine for your anticipated OG.

My 2c only.

 

[manticle]

ESB

Looks good. I'd consider a UK liquid yeast though - I find they give more character and will shine in this kind of beer.
Consider dry hopping 1g/L goldings or a goldings target blend. Don't overdo it though.

Porter

No experience adding vanilla to anything but a very well aged sour/funk beer but there are others here who will have better advice. For the chocolate addition, get the best quality, highest cocoa blend you can. Some cooking chocolate is downright awful.

Cacao nibs, toasted have a great choc flavour and adding some chocolate (again high cocoa %) to the mash can help (tip from Ross).

Not sure about 800g of caramalt? or quite that much choc malt.

Again I'd prefer a liquid yeast but it will be less noticeable here than in the first. My go to for porters and stouts is 1099.

Finally hopping looks a little high for my tastes in this beer but it's all personal preference. If you do want higher IBU, consider more bittering and less flavouring so you don't get too much interference with the hops and choc/vanilla flavours.

 

[Acasta]

Thanks guys, maybe ill take that late addition from the porter and add it to the ESB dry.
It will be my first liquid yeast, but i think i might take you up on it and try one for the ESB. Any times on which one?

So i guess ill have to do some more research on choc additions. Im pretty keen for a strong vanilla flavour, however i guess not enough is better then over powering.

I've modified the Porter to look like so:
I didn't change for choc pale malt, as Im not sure its available at my local, however i noticed CB have it, so ill order next time i get stuff from there and give it a shot.

3.90 kg Pale Malt, Traditional Ale (Joe White) ( Grain 1 72.3 %
0.70 kg Brown Malt (128.1 EBC) Grain 2 12.9 %
0.50 kg Crystal, Dark (Joe White) (216.7 EBC) Grain 3 9.3 %
0.30 kg Chocolate Malt (689.5 EBC) Grain 4 5.6 %
2 Items Vanilla Beans (Secondary 1.0 weeks) Spice 11 -
Choc additions undecided


Oh i forgot to add, the cooking chocolate is actually 70% Cocoa Chocolate, or the %80 if i can find it.

 

[manticle]

Thanks guys, maybe ill take that late addition from the porter and add it to the ESB dry.
It will be my first liquid yeast, but i think i might take you up on it and try one for the ESB. Any times on which one?

Talk to Ross about choc additions - he has experience (and others tell me his choc beers are a ripper).

As for the ESB: I've just put down the recipe you based yours on using 1768 which is supposedly the young's strain. It's a PC yeast so not sure if it's around at the moment and mine's still fermenting so I can't give a final result.

Originally brewed with 1318 london ale III which worked very well. 1187 would probably work well, as would 1468, 1098 and 1099 (and probably many others I haven't tried - all UK liquids I've tried, I've loved) but the 1318 I have experienced in this particular beer several times so I give that my number one thumbs up. 1099 for the porter if you decide to go for a second one.

 

[Acasta]

Thanks, appreciate it. Ill see what I can get my hands on.

 

[Charst]

Re: Porter - if you are looking to get more choc flavour I would be looking at bringing in pale choc in lieu of the choc grain and the actual chocolate.

I have found pale choc tends to bring more choc flavour in in my beers.

Not sure chocolate is ideal in a beer from previous readings of others using it.

Vanilla beans are very powerful too. I would start with one, taste then go from there.

Re: ESB - simple grain bill should be effective. Bitterness level looks fine for your anticipated OG.

My 2c only.

Glad I read this post I was wondering about the effects of The different chocs, Been breaking my back to get comments on my Cross breed IPA recipe. Acasta, Raven, Manticle, Can you blokes offer any opinions.

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...mp;#entry801301

 

[manticle]

Love to help but I don't know that beer at all so anything I suggest will be uneducated and based on nothing.

 

[Acasta]

Glad I read this post I was wondering about the effects of The different chocs, Been breaking my back to get comments on my Cross breed IPA recipe. Acasta, Raven, Manticle, Can you blokes offer any opinions.

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...mp;#entry801301

Sorry mate, I havn't had the beer, and I probably can't give you too much recipe advice sorry.
It can definetly be hard getting a clone without much info. I would just brew something and not expect a direct clone however, it may give you something to work on.

I've been working on a little creatures brown ale, however it was a single batch and i forgot what it tasted like haha. But I now have a nice recipe I feel I have input into.

Goodluck.

 

[manticle]

as would 1468, 1098 and 1099 (and

1469 NOT 1468 - typo and too late to edit.

1469 ain't around much at the moment though.

 

[Acasta]

haha, np. Ill have to get my booklet out.

 

[chadjaja]

I have a vanilla Porter on tap atm. Go to the veggie shed by the meat section of the vic market on the Corner if therry and queen St. There they sell at the spice shop queen st end enormous vanilla beans and I paid 5 bucks for the two pods I used. Two was plenty and I had them in secondary for a little over a week. Quality stuff.

 

[Acasta]

I have a vanilla Porter on tap atm. Go to the veggie shed by the meat section of the vic market on the Corner if therry and queen St. There they sell at the spice shop queen st end enormous vanilla beans and I paid 5 bucks for the two pods I used. Two was plenty and I had them in secondary for a little over a week. Quality stuff.

Good idea, I just moved here, but it seems there are a few spice stores around here too. Ill definitely have to check them and some markets out.

 

[raven19]

Glad I read this post I was wondering about the effects of The different chocs, Been breaking my back to get comments on my Cross breed IPA recipe. Acasta, Raven, Manticle, Can you blokes offer any opinions.

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...mp;#entry801301

I have found pale choc gives some nice choc character in my schwartz, recipe here:
Linky

I just prefer it atm over chococlate malt.

 

[Acasta]

The porter has been fermenting for 8 days so far, so i'd expect primary fermentation to be finished. OG was 1.054 (came up a bit short do to shorter boil) and the current SG is 1.022. I used S-04 in there and and maintained a temp of 18-21 over the course of its fermentation. I did mash this one quite high, around 70 degrees.
Does this seem nearly finished? I figure the 100g of chocolate and 200g cocoa powder would add unfermentable sugars?
I was expecting mid to high 10s.

 

[Acasta]

Bump.

 

[manticle]

I wouldn't expect it to be finished although a mash temp as high as 70 might encourage it in that direction.

I'd do a fast ferment test - the beer will only benefit being left a bit longer, even if it is finished.

While waiting for the fast ferment test, do a few yeast rousing tricks and see if it moves - warm, swirl, rack etc.

 

[Acasta]

Alright sounds good. I've never really mashed so high, so this is all new to me.
Also, did you notice 1768 have much krausen? I was planning on top-cropping but its gone after a few days.

 

[manticle]

Got a good krausen for a few days. Should have top cropped but I forgot.

I did reserve a bit of the smack pack and will most likely reserve and wash some of the yeast cake as I'm very happy with the taste of the not quite ready ESB I made with it.

 

[Acasta]

I have to say, the caramelization gives an amazing flavour. Next time I make an ESB, I might caramelization my whole first runnings. The toffee flavour is really nice.