"Clean Out the Cupboard" brew help

[eulipion2]

I need some help: While waiting on my mash today I decided to weigh out grains for my final brew of the season, a "clean out the cupboard" deal, and here's what I have:

5.3 lb Maris Otter
13.3 oz Crystal rye
10.4 oz Acid malt
8.1 oz Chocolate malt
8.0 oz Crystal 60
4.6 oz Special B
3.4 oz Victory
1.9 oz English Dark Crystal (77 SRM)
1.3 oz Chocolate Wheat (415 SRM)

A typical 6-gallon batch would be OG 1.037, 25.3 SRM (5 gal, 1.045, 28.5 SRM). I could do a session brown or porter, but I'm afraid with all that crystal it'd be overly sweet. I could bump it up with maybe some more base malt to cut the crystal malts, and/or throw in a wild yeast blend to ferment it out, giving me a sour brown. Or maybe Wyeast 3711 French saison strain because I'm pretty sure it could eat through concrete.

Thoughts?

 

[eulipion2]

Or maybe a 11B Southern English Brown?

 

[peterj]

I don't think I would put that much acid malt in there. That's really gonna mess with your mash pH.

Sounds like it could be a sweet brown ale or something. All the crystal malt could help give it some body if it's going to be a low gravity beer. I would use something pretty attenuative like Nottingham, WLP007, or US-05/001/1056. Or you could go the sour route if you don't mind waiting for like a year or so. 3711 would probably dry it out and give you some kind of brown saison I guess? Could be good.

Good luck!

 

[SPR-GRN]

Add strawberries, use saison yeast - strawberry brown saison - higher mash temps (158ish) for more body. The strawberries add nose, hint of flavor (mostly masked by your dark malts) & bump the alcohol content that would have been lacking due to high mash temps. Could be an interesting batch.

 

[eulipion2]

I don't think I would put that much acid malt in there. That's really gonna mess with your mash pH.

Sounds like it could be a sweet brown ale or something. All the crystal malt could help give it some body if it's going to be a low gravity beer. I would use something pretty attenuative like Nottingham, WLP007, or US-05/001/1056. Or you could go the sour route if you don't mind waiting for like a year or so. 3711 would probably dry it out and give you some kind of brown saison I guess? Could be good.

Good luck!

I was a little concerned about pH with the acid malt as well. I think 3711 could still ferment it, and it'd give me a nice tang, but while I love session saisons, I do agree that I'd probably need to boost the gravity.

Add strawberries, use saison yeast - strawberry brown saison - higher mash temps (158ish) for more body. The strawberries add nose, hint of flavor (mostly masked by your dark malts) & bump the alcohol content that would have been lacking due to high mash temps. Could be an interesting batch.

Strawberries?!?!?! I never would have thought of that. Could be good, but this time of year strawberries are expensive and not very tasty. Could use frozen (thawed). For a seasonally appropriate brew I could go with cranberries, but adding those to a beer with that much acid malt would certainly kill me on pH. I guess I wouldn't be opposed to leaving out some of the acid malt.

 

[peterj]

I was a little concerned about pH with the acid malt as well. I think 3711 could still ferment it, and it'd give me a nice tang, but while I love session saisons, I do agree that I'd probably need to boost the gravity.

Yeah, I think the yeast would be fine but I would be concerned about the mash enzymes. I plugged the recipe in real quick and it looks like that would give you a mash pH of no more than 4.7. That's well under the optimal pH range for alpha and beta amylase. If you want the acid flavor from the acid malt, I would probably either steep it after the mash or add it at the end of the mash after you have full conversion.

 

[eulipion2]

Well, I decided to go a little "out there" with this one. I dropped the acid malt altogether (I'll vacuum seal it and use it for pH adjustment next year). I added 12.7 oz flaked oats (also leftover), 4 oz brown sugar, and 2 lb of cranberries. I thawed and crushed the cranberries, mixed them with brown sugar, then topped with oats, baked them for 40 minutes, stirring halfway through, then added the mixture to my mash.

Currently mashing at about 154-156. Will use S-04 to ferment.

I'm calling this one 'Holiday Leftovers' Cranberry Ale.

 

[Travestian]

Well, I decided to go a little "out there" with this one. I dropped the acid malt altogether (I'll vacuum seal it and use it for pH adjustment next year). I added 12.7 oz flaked oats (also leftover), 4 oz brown sugar, and 2 lb of cranberries. I thawed and crushed the cranberries, mixed them with brown sugar, then topped with oats, baked them for 40 minutes, stirring halfway through, then added the mixture to my mash.

Currently mashing at about 154-156. Will use S-04 to ferment.

I'm calling this one 'Holiday Leftovers' Cranberry Ale.

Your creativity totally peaked my interest. Definitely let us know how this one goes.

 

[SPR-GRN]

I'm very much looking forward to your tasting notes, glad you went with some fruit

 

[eulipion2]

Me too! Unfortunately this one's in a holding pattern until I can free up a keg or some bottles. Back in a bit -- guess it's time to start drinking!

 

[eulipion2]

Finally bottled today! The cranberries came through very well in the aroma, as did some dried fig/plum/cherry notes. Flavor was fairly brown ale-ish, and the cranberries were there, but not as strong as in the aroma. I'm curious to see how it ends up after some carbing and conditioning.

Final recipe:

5.3 lb Maris Otter
1.9 oz English Dark Crystal
13.3 oz English Crystal Rye
1.3 oz Weyermann Chocolate Wheat
4.6 oz Special B
8 oz Caramel 60
8.1 oz Briess Chocolate
3.4 oz Victory
12.7 oz flaked oats
4 oz brown sugar
2 - 12 oz bags of Ocean Spray cranberries

.5 oz EKG (7.2%, pellet) - 60 min
.5 oz EKG - 30 min

S-04 English Ale yeast

Bake oats, cranberries, and brown sugar @ 300F for 35-40 minutes, then add to mash.

Mash @ 155F for 60 min, mash-out @ 170F for 15 min, boil 60 min.

Fermented @ 64F for 4 weeks (probably closer to 5), then bottled.

OG 1.040
FG 1.010
ABV 4.0%