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Porter is Fermenting, I Would Like Help With my Next Brew
2/7/2012 10:47:49 PM
it will be a clone of Rock Bottom's Brown Bear Ale, a Scottish style ale.
it uses:
Dark Crystal
Light Crystal
Biscuit
and roasted malt for grains
the flavor profile is:
hints of caramel, toffee and coffee with a sweet malty finish
the last thread got no traction
but try try again and all that.
hopefully more people than me has had this beer before...
it uses:
Dark Crystal
Light Crystal
Biscuit
and roasted malt for grains
the flavor profile is:
hints of caramel, toffee and coffee with a sweet malty finish
the last thread got no traction
but try try again and all that.hopefully more people than me has had this beer before...
2/8/2012 3:11:13 PM
Light crystal is used for body. Pick 40*L or 80*L, and you'll want to use somewhere around 3/4 pound for a 5 gallon batch.
Dark crystal is used for "breadiness", something in the 150*L+ range, you'll want 1/4 to 1/2 pound.
Biscuit malt really provides more flavor than texture, IMHO, and up to a full pound is OK. Go between 1/2 and 3/4 pound if you want it more mellow.
Roasted barley gives you "Guinness-like" flavor, even in very small amounts. Here, I would use it principally for color. Use 4-6 ounces to start with, mash as normal, and then pull a small sample after about 30 minutes (saccarification is going to be mostly done by then in a SSIM). Remeber that it will lighten with sparge water, so you want your samples to pull a little darker than you want to drink it at. If you want it darker, add 2-4 more ounces at a time, being sure to paddle it in well.
For more body, mash a bit lower, around 151*F. I'd also add additional gypsum salts. Base grain? Undermodified British malt might be ideal, Marris Otter is my fave. Say, 9 pounds. If you're using extract in a partial mash, throw in 2 pounds of base grain (partial mash works best with 4-5 pounds because of the water ratio) and supplement with Munton's malt - maybe one can of amber plus 2-3 pounds of DME.
Take it easy on the hops. I'd go magnum or perle for bittering, up to around 35IBUs, then cascade or warrior for flavor. Toss in a bit of EKG for the nose if you want to play off the base grain. Go with a neutral yeast, American Ale WYeast 1056 will do the trick and finish off-dry at those gravities.
But that's my take on it. What you make should be far superior to the original product (Rock Bottom is often... Well, I'll say, not as good as it could be), but you'll be in the ballpark with a few unexpected pleasantries. It's worth it to note that I don't generally clone beers. I always change a few things around to the way I see the style.
I'm sure others will have some different ideas.
Dark crystal is used for "breadiness", something in the 150*L+ range, you'll want 1/4 to 1/2 pound.
Biscuit malt really provides more flavor than texture, IMHO, and up to a full pound is OK. Go between 1/2 and 3/4 pound if you want it more mellow.
Roasted barley gives you "Guinness-like" flavor, even in very small amounts. Here, I would use it principally for color. Use 4-6 ounces to start with, mash as normal, and then pull a small sample after about 30 minutes (saccarification is going to be mostly done by then in a SSIM). Remeber that it will lighten with sparge water, so you want your samples to pull a little darker than you want to drink it at. If you want it darker, add 2-4 more ounces at a time, being sure to paddle it in well.
For more body, mash a bit lower, around 151*F. I'd also add additional gypsum salts. Base grain? Undermodified British malt might be ideal, Marris Otter is my fave. Say, 9 pounds. If you're using extract in a partial mash, throw in 2 pounds of base grain (partial mash works best with 4-5 pounds because of the water ratio) and supplement with Munton's malt - maybe one can of amber plus 2-3 pounds of DME.
Take it easy on the hops. I'd go magnum or perle for bittering, up to around 35IBUs, then cascade or warrior for flavor. Toss in a bit of EKG for the nose if you want to play off the base grain. Go with a neutral yeast, American Ale WYeast 1056 will do the trick and finish off-dry at those gravities.
But that's my take on it. What you make should be far superior to the original product (Rock Bottom is often... Well, I'll say, not as good as it could be), but you'll be in the ballpark with a few unexpected pleasantries. It's worth it to note that I don't generally clone beers. I always change a few things around to the way I see the style.
I'm sure others will have some different ideas.
2/8/2012 5:51:01 PM
Originally Posted By TrojanMan:
Light crystal is used for body. Pick 40*L or 80*L, and you'll want to use somewhere around 3/4 pound for a 5 gallon batch.
Dark crystal is used for "breadiness", something in the 150*L+ range, you'll want 1/4 to 1/2 pound.
Biscuit malt really provides more flavor than texture, IMHO, and up to a full pound is OK. Go between 1/2 and 3/4 pound if you want it more mellow.
Roasted barley gives you "Guinness-like" flavor, even in very small amounts. Here, I would use it principally for color. Use 4-6 ounces to start with, mash as normal, and then pull a small sample after about 30 minutes (saccarification is going to be mostly done by then in a SSIM). Remeber that it will lighten with sparge water, so you want your samples to pull a little darker than you want to drink it at. If you want it darker, add 2-4 more ounces at a time, being sure to paddle it in well.
For more body, mash a bit lower, around 151*F. I'd also add additional gypsum salts. Base grain? Undermodified British malt might be ideal, Marris Otter is my fave. Say, 9 pounds. If you're using extract in a partial mash, throw in 2 pounds of base grain (partial mash works best with 4-5 pounds because of the water ratio) and supplement with Munton's malt - maybe one can of amber plus 2-3 pounds of DME.
Take it easy on the hops. I'd go magnum or perle for bittering, up to around 35IBUs, then cascade or warrior for flavor. Toss in a bit of EKG for the nose if you want to play off the base grain. Go with a neutral yeast, American Ale WYeast 1056 will do the trick and finish off-dry at those gravities.
But that's my take on it. What you make should be far superior to the original product (Rock Bottom is often... Well, I'll say, not as good as it could be), but you'll be in the ballpark with a few unexpected pleasantries. It's worth it to note that I don't generally clone beers. I always change a few things around to the way I see the style.
I'm sure others will have some different ideas.
the bold: i do that in every type of recipe when i cookLight crystal is used for body. Pick 40*L or 80*L, and you'll want to use somewhere around 3/4 pound for a 5 gallon batch.
Dark crystal is used for "breadiness", something in the 150*L+ range, you'll want 1/4 to 1/2 pound.
Biscuit malt really provides more flavor than texture, IMHO, and up to a full pound is OK. Go between 1/2 and 3/4 pound if you want it more mellow.
Roasted barley gives you "Guinness-like" flavor, even in very small amounts. Here, I would use it principally for color. Use 4-6 ounces to start with, mash as normal, and then pull a small sample after about 30 minutes (saccarification is going to be mostly done by then in a SSIM). Remeber that it will lighten with sparge water, so you want your samples to pull a little darker than you want to drink it at. If you want it darker, add 2-4 more ounces at a time, being sure to paddle it in well.
For more body, mash a bit lower, around 151*F. I'd also add additional gypsum salts. Base grain? Undermodified British malt might be ideal, Marris Otter is my fave. Say, 9 pounds. If you're using extract in a partial mash, throw in 2 pounds of base grain (partial mash works best with 4-5 pounds because of the water ratio) and supplement with Munton's malt - maybe one can of amber plus 2-3 pounds of DME.
Take it easy on the hops. I'd go magnum or perle for bittering, up to around 35IBUs, then cascade or warrior for flavor. Toss in a bit of EKG for the nose if you want to play off the base grain. Go with a neutral yeast, American Ale WYeast 1056 will do the trick and finish off-dry at those gravities.
But that's my take on it. What you make should be far superior to the original product (Rock Bottom is often... Well, I'll say, not as good as it could be), but you'll be in the ballpark with a few unexpected pleasantries. It's worth it to note that I don't generally clone beers. I always change a few things around to the way I see the style.
I'm sure others will have some different ideas.
for the bitterness, i know theres a LOT more to it than the IBU. i really liked the brown bear ale. its the one beer i can say id gladly drink again because of the pleasant malt flavor and very mild hop flavor.
a mini mash IS probably the best option for me. NOT ready for all grain
i was playing with hopvilles beer calculus program and was using the Dark Crystal 120l along with the Light Crystal 20l. i think ill stick with the 120l and use your suggestion of the 40-80l. or would the 120 change the flavor too much?
2/3 lb of biscuit sounds like a nice compromise there.
from what ive read about barley is it seems it can be quite bitter if too much is used. is there anything that will give the underlying flavors of the roasted barley minus the bitterness? if not, maybe 10? oz.
i think ill go with the magnum hops.
what is the purpose of the gypsom salts?
see this is what i wanted. a useful brainstorm session/ discussion
2/8/2012 10:06:07 PM
My suggestion is to buy a kit, like Nothern Brewers Brown Ale, and do that. They list the ingredients in the instructions so you'll know what you're putting into it. Then after the beer's ready you can reflect on what went into it and how it made the beer taste on the back end. Heck come on here with a flavor profile and the ingredient list and start a topic about your taste test. I'm sure the guys on here have opinions and know what grains do what.
Here's a warning though, I think if you decide to do a 5 gallon batch, you'll never go back to Mr Beer. That's my opinion. That's what happened to me. I also never bottled anything except Mr Beer. I bought all the kegging stuff before I did my first 5 gallon batch because the idea of bottling 5 gallons of beer sucks to me. I may bottle a batch in the future but not any time soon. Kegging is much easier IMO.
Here's a warning though, I think if you decide to do a 5 gallon batch, you'll never go back to Mr Beer. That's my opinion. That's what happened to me. I also never bottled anything except Mr Beer. I bought all the kegging stuff before I did my first 5 gallon batch because the idea of bottling 5 gallons of beer sucks to me. I may bottle a batch in the future but not any time soon. Kegging is much easier IMO.
2/27/2012 12:22:35 AM
derr oops
