Many Mini Batches for Hop/Malt/Yeast Comparison.

[htc]

Before the "newb flaming" begins, I'd like to start by confessing that I am new to homebrewing.

Thusly, I would like to experiment with several small batches in a controlled manner to evaluate separate ingredients. I feel that comparing each individual ingredient's characteristic would allow me to establish a baseline or understanding of what each has to offer. Also, this system could lend itself to recipe variation with maximum variation and minimal loss.

Example/Variable:

Yeast - A 5 gallon batch split 5 equal ways and inoculated with 5 separate yeasts.

Malt - A 3 liter (shrunken) batch of beer calls for 20oz of Pale Ale Malt, and 5oz of specialty malt. Individual batches with varying specialty grains will be brewed with the same hopping schedule and fermented by the same yeast at a consistent temperature. (Downside is that the flavor contribution per weight varies between malts. e.g. 5 oz Caramel 40 vs. 5 oz Black Patent)

Hops - The hopping schedule for a particular recipe will be customized to allow hop additions at or around the same interval/proportion to maintain a consistent IBU.

Boil Time/Melanoidin Development - One wort split equally and boiled for various lengths and exposed to identical hopping schedules and yeast strain.

Post Boil Additions - Primary vs. Secondary vs. Bottling/Kegging vs. Hopback style

Obviously the majority of the work will come with the smaller individual brews as in the malt portion of the experiment. For this reason, I am tempted to consider alterations to my brewing process for the sake of simplicity.

Process: (very, stupidly rough)

My original plan was to go all-grain, brew in bag; but now I consider swapping the base malt for extract and steeping the specialty grains or adjunct mashing, possibly in conjunction with a short-boil/late hopping combination when permissible (no/minimal grains contributing DMS, requiring a longer boil).

I have a 5 gallon max capacity to boil, 7.5 gallon carboy, nearly forty 4L jugs, and enough airlocks/blow offs to accommodate.

I know it sounds like alot of work, but it's not to be completed in a single afternoon, and I'm not opposed to spending alot of time doing what I like to do anyway. Soo...

What do you think?

Enough variation in yeast strain to justify a comparison?

Could I use a generic bittering hop and dry-hop the variable variety?

Anything you would do differently?

Something I missed?

Would you follow a well documented write-up?

 

[chowser]

I've long wanted to do something like this; very scientific. I'm kind of worried that with the conditions under which the homebrewer works, it might be hard to hold all the other variables steady enough to really notice the change in the one you actually varied.

Yeast in particular is a huge change, one that most people underestimate. A local brewery, St Arnold, has started doing a "movable yeast" series, where they do batches of their standard beers with yeasts from other styles; they're hugely different. So I think that's a great idea for experimentation.

I'd also love to be convinced of the differences in different hop varieties; so far, I can't really taste them.

A write-up of your experiments would be great--though beer is so much in the taste that you can't really write up the whole experience, even general impressions would probably be useful.

 

[McGarnigle]

It's not a bad idea, but as you say, a lot of work. Brewing a one gallon batch requires nearly as much effort as brewing a five gallon one. And if you're not a strong brewer yet, you'll get variations in taste that have nothing to do with ingredients, but are related to sanitation or temp controls, etc.

The easiest way to start might be splitting the batch for yeast. You do one boil, but pitch in two different fermenters. Use the same temp controls. Don't worry about all grain yet.

The other comparisons require multiple boils. If you're brewing on different days, then you need to worry about doing things exactly the same.

"Enough variation in yeast strain to justify a comparison?"

Yes. I mean, maybe not comparing White Labs vs. Wyeast for the same strain, but by all means, compare Safale 05 to Safale 04 (not to mention Belgian vs. American, which is even more basic).

 

[htc]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the input.

Chowser, I was just thinking about how I'd go about the write up last night. Flavors are hard to describe. Try describing purple to a blind person, but anything is better than nothing.

McGarnigle, I'm hoping to reduce variation by doing multiple mini-boils at the same time.

I've always been a science nut. I have no idea how many experiments and lab reports I've done so far in my college career. I've learned that variation in process can have just as much, if not more, effect as the variable itself.