Partial 'smoked' Beer

[KingPython]

So I'm going to try my hand at a partial and was wondering if this was the right way going about it

1.7kg Cooper Bavarian Lager
500g Smoked Malt mashed
150g Carapils steeped
made to 15 litres

I only have Progress on hand so I don't think that will fit the style. From doing a search I'll need 1.25 litres of water for 500g (in a muslin bag) so I'll need to boil at 60 for 1 hour and then sparg, boil it, steep the Carapils, sparg, then boil and then add the extract.

Also since the Coopers yeast seems like a speciality yeast could I use that or should I use Nottingham instead?

Thanks

 

[sponge]

Hey mate, im still very much a newbie, but I'm trying to get my head around amounts of malt and hops and what-not as I'm wanting to attempt partials.

I was just wondering if this was a lot of hops and malt for a 15L batch, or even a 21-23L batch...?

I was thinking that 80-90g of hops per batch was a pretty high amount, and 250-300g was around the limit of one type of grain?

Once again, I'm more then happy to be corrected, just because I still have a lot to learn


Cheers, Sponge

 

[KingPython]

TBH I'm probably more uneducated than you are. I remember someone saying that 300g of smoked malt will give a Scottish Ale smokiness so I presumed that 500g would be more 'Rauchbier' territory which I sort of want.

About hops I'm not sure. I haven't attempted a straight extract recipe so far I've limited myself to kit + bits. I'm hoping by adding the kit late I can retain most of the flavour/bitterness and the smoked malt will not impart too much malt sweetness.

 

[sponge]

Yea, I spose if you want that real smokey flavour then it could be alright. Just with the hops, since your using a kit which already has hops in it, I'd be thinking on cutting back on the extra hops, but someone else with more knowledge would probably be better in assisting you with that

 

[bconnery]

So I'm going to try my hand at a partial and was wondering if this was the right way going about it

1.7kg Cooper Bavarian Lager
500g Smoked Malt mashed
150g Carapils steeped
made to 15 litres

I only have Progress on hand so I don't think that will fit the style. From doing a search I'll need 1.25 litres of water for 500g (in a muslin bag) so I'll need to boil at 60 for 1 hour and then sparg, boil it, steep the Carapils, sparg, then boil and then add the extract.

Also since the Coopers yeast seems like a speciality yeast could I use that or should I use Nottingham instead?

Thanks

I can't necessarily comment on the amount of smoked but I can address a couple of other things...

You can put all your grains together in your bag with water, around 2-2.5L per kg of grain, and 'steep' them at around 65-70C, and that's your mash.
You don't have to separate mashing and steeping grains. Mashing grains can't be just steeped, but steeping grains can be mashed...
So, put your 650g of grains in a bag, (if you want), add in 1.5 - 2L of water, and steep them at around 65-70 for 30-60 mins, rinse (sparge) and boil the resulting liquid, adding hops when you want and kit/extract when you want.

That's a mini-mash...

As to limits of hops and types of grain? No.

It always depends on the intended result, recipe, batch size etc.

In the case of a kit+grain then 300-500 probably would be the limit of a specialty grain but again, all depending on your recipe. Smoked malt can be used as a base malt in AG recipes so there is theoretically no reason why it can't be 100% of a recipe...I don't know that you would but you could...

There are very few absolutes in this game...

Progress wouldn't be the best choice of hop no. Nice in an english bitter/pale ale but wouldn't be my first choice for a smoked lager. Then again, I could be wrong...
I'd go for something from the german noble range myself...

 

[KingPython]

Thanks for the info. I sorta thought mashing crystal grains might lead to tannin extraction but it's good to know I can do it in one lot.

 

[bconnery]

Thanks for the info. I sorta thought mashing crystal grains might lead to tannin extraction but it's good to know I can do it in one lot.

Basically as long as you don't boil anything until the grains are out of the pot you should be right.

In an AG recipe you might be dealing with issues around ph levels etc but with the amounts of grain you have there you would be fine...

I used to do all my steeping using the same sort of techniques as I read about for AG. Then when I started mini-mashing, and then AG, the ratios and techniques I used were all very similar and made the transition very easy...

 

[BoilerBoy]

I think that at 15L 500g of smoked malt will be around 15% of the fermentables.
If its Weyerman, which it more than likely is, that would be a bare minimum, its very mild.

As bconnery said I wouldn't use Progress, definitely go for something noble.

Cheers
BB

 

[KingPython]

Yes it is Weyermann, so I guess it's going to be less baconny/hammy and more like a smoke aftertaste. I'll probably skip the additional hop addition since it shouldn't oversweeten the beer.

Edit: Actually I think I'm going to use the smoked malt in something else since I was expecting something more 'flavourful'. Thanks for your help anyway.

 

[Kai]

That looks like a great start to me though perhaps a little light on the gravity. Also if memory serves the bavarian lager is moderate to high in bitterness, I like smoky beers to be low IBU. Couple the bav lager tin with the reduced volume and you might be looking at a fairly high bittering level. I'd use the ordinary coopers lager tin as preference as it's only around 20 IBU. I'd also not worry about any further hop additions, I think hop flavour/aroma clutters a smoked beer. But of course, whatever you want is yours to roll with.