Making a mid strength... thoughts?

[rossbaker]

Hi all,

I am planning to put a mid strength together this evening. I was going to go with this:

1kg of Light dry malt
1kg of Dark Dry malt

500 g of light Crystal steeped

Nelson Sav:
20 g @ 45
20 g @ 10
20 g @ flame out

fill up to 23 litres

The spread sheet gives me an OG of 1036 and about 3.6% alcahol. I've never gone this low before. My reasoning for trying this is:

1. I've been wanting to try out a hoppy mid-low strength for a while.
2. I didn't realise that I only had 2kg of dry malt... I was originally thinking I had at least 3 sitting around. oh well.

So what should I expect? Will it still be drinkable or will it be too thin/dry? Should I change the batch size to 21 litres and shoot for an OG of 1040 3.9%? My last few batches have all been over 1050 OG.

Cheers!

 

[mcalpine91]

Hi Rossbaker
I'm not a pro brewer or anything and haven't given much advise on this website but feel free to listen in on my 2 cents.

With the volume you are going for 500g is a lot of crystal.
I normally use between 150-250g of medium crystal in normal 21-23lt brews. Not sure if light crystal will contribute less than med though. I use less because the crystal grain has sugars that the yeast cannot consume so there will be a fair bit of residual sweetness if you use too much.
I had one brew that was too sweet from using too much crystal. I think it's good to use some to add flavour, character and body to the beer but maybe not as much as you've suggested in that recipe.

Also what were your yeast plans?

I'm keen to make a darker maltier mid strength so will be interested in how it goes!

Either way that's my input to your recipe, hope people here with more experience and confidence can put forward their knowledge too.

Cheers,

 

[rossbaker]

Going to use US05. I may reduce the amount of crystal... thanks Mcalpine. Will let you know how it turns out.

 

[Mickcr250]

yep, that will be pretty sweet with that much crystal and i would also consider some other hop for your bittering addition

 

[Alex.Tas]

agreed with the above comments. 500g is too much. i would go something around 150-200g, especially in a mid.
I haven't used NS before but from what i've read it can tend to give you a pretty wine like flavour if used in excess, so as mick mentions above, you could try using another hop for one of your additions.
Have a look at this: http://www.hopslist.com/hops/dual-purpose-hops/761-nelson-sauvin for an insight into what NS can give you.
I really like amarillo: http://www.hopslist.com/hops/aroma-hops/627-amarillo which can be used well for bittering/flavour and aroma.

But like I said, i've never used NS before so take my ideas with a grain of salt.

Good on you for having a crack at a mid too. I reckon i'll make one soon enough when i've got room in my fermenting fridge. got a damn long list of brews on my waiting list.

 

[shacked]

hey mate,

+1 for lowering the crystal. I've never used Nelson Sav as a bittering hop and I've heard it can get a bit overpowering if used early in the boil.

I'm actually planning a similar mid strength brew for my old man and using Centennial to bitter and Nelson late in the boil.

21L
1.5kg Light DME
0.5kg Dark DME
0.2kg Crystal 60

Hops:
25g Centennial @ 30mins
20g Nelson Sav @ 15mins
20g Nelson Sav @ 5mins
15g Nelson Sav - dry hop

US05 (rehydrated).

OG: 1.037
FG 1.0109
ABV: ~4%
IBU: 41.5
EBC: 19

cheers!

 

[carpedaym]

Mid-strength is next on my list too. I'm using about 200g of carapils as well as some crystal, as this will lend extra body without the sweetness. I'm actually using 240g of crystal, with the thought that moderately high bitterness will keep it all in balance.

Worth checking out the tried and true mid-strength styles, just for some inspiration:
http://byo.com/stories/item/1214-ordinary-bitter-style-profile (extract recipe at the bottom)
https://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/jamils-scottish-ale (a/g recipe, but just ignore the Maris Otter and replace with your 2kg worth of DME)

Different beasts, but I found them helpful for inspiration.

 

[rossbaker]

Ok, thanks guys. I haven't gotten around to putting the brew on but I'll def lower the crystal. I was under the impression that any sugar from the grain will ferment out and sweetness wouldn't be an issue. I guess I didn't fully understand the way steeping grains work. Cheers.