Has anyone out there actually brewed "small beer?" How?
We have a batch of beer that went really wrong; in short, too sweet and strong to be much in the way of drinkable. In long - read my "Total Disaster" thread and have a laugh!
The problem batch was originally intended to become an IPA; with work, we might turn it into an Imperial IPA.
But it's super-sweet, thanks to too much crystal in the batch; we're trying a few things, but may just have to blend it.
Rather than throwing good money after bad, I'd rather try to make a batch of small beer, super hoppy but not so strong otherwise, which might bring the required elements into play to make the sum total batch something drinkable.
But I haven't seen much in the way of details on how to brew a small beer.
Sounds like all I need to do is a second running; does that mean an actual second mash and sparge, or just, more or less, rinse the grain a second time?
Also, anyone have any recommendations on how to run numbers for such a batch? I'm thinking of aiming at around 4%ABV, and we can always throw in some sugar to get it there if needed - who cares about general taste in such a thing, of course - but it'd be nice to have a rough idea to dial in some hopping (since we'll aim very high, again to balance out the sweet beer).
So, any advice?
We have a batch of beer that went really wrong; in short, too sweet and strong to be much in the way of drinkable. In long - read my "Total Disaster" thread and have a laugh!
The problem batch was originally intended to become an IPA; with work, we might turn it into an Imperial IPA.
But it's super-sweet, thanks to too much crystal in the batch; we're trying a few things, but may just have to blend it.
Rather than throwing good money after bad, I'd rather try to make a batch of small beer, super hoppy but not so strong otherwise, which might bring the required elements into play to make the sum total batch something drinkable.
But I haven't seen much in the way of details on how to brew a small beer.
Sounds like all I need to do is a second running; does that mean an actual second mash and sparge, or just, more or less, rinse the grain a second time?
Also, anyone have any recommendations on how to run numbers for such a batch? I'm thinking of aiming at around 4%ABV, and we can always throw in some sugar to get it there if needed - who cares about general taste in such a thing, of course - but it'd be nice to have a rough idea to dial in some hopping (since we'll aim very high, again to balance out the sweet beer).
So, any advice?