What Did I Brew?

[Robin0782]

What style would you call this? Just put it in the fermentation chamber.

8 lbs Vienna
3 lbs Maris Otter
0.5 lbs Caramunich (40L)

1 oz Hallertau @ 60, 10, 5

WLP029

Closest thing I can find in BeerSmith is Octoberfest/Marzen.

 

[ong]

Maybe just an amber? You could probably call it Vienna lager if it weren’t an ale.

 

[grampamark]

Beer. Ask for it by name.

 

[asterix404]

German ale. It exists. It is probably close to an alt if it ferments clean.

 

[Lefou]

German-style ale, very close to a Marzen but just a few gravity points short. Could even be mistaken for a light bock ... but you posted a 1.054 SG, so it's more of a mutt hybrid German ale that could've been a Vienna, too.
WLP029 is a great yeast. This and WLP830 for German beers are my choices.

Enjoy.

 

[Robin0782]

German Ale it is! Generic name, but I'm guessing it will be tasty. It's the highest % of Vienna I've ever used but I really like what it's done in the other beers I've made with it at about 50%.

 

[Hopalong]

If the beer was brewed using single infusion it's Prohibition style beer. Depending on the level of modification of Marris Otter enzymes may need to be added to make ale and lager with the malt. The malt was originally intended to make whiskey with and there's a maltster producing low protein Marris Otter about 8% protein which means there's a bunch of starch in it. Home brew malt is usually 12 to 16% protein. Brewers malt is 10% and below. The problem with the Marris malt is the level of modification. During germination Alpha expended a lot of energy and it's pretty beat up, but it will still have enough strength to cause saccharification of the starch contained in the malt. If adjuncts are added, Alpha won't work on the starch.
It's pretty much impossible to produce ale and lager using an infusion method due to the make up of malt and the way that Alpha works on starch and the way that Beta works on glucose. There are a few other factors that involve a type of starch that gets left behind in spent mash that makes it pretty difficult to produce ale and lager without it.

 

[Lefou]

It's a simple mix of grains that overlaps a few styles.
As a matter of fact, with a few changes I plugged it into Brewers Friend and a mobile app called Wort on my Android. With the right hops and yeast, this could be Belgian Pale ale, a Vienna lager, or Marzen in the right percentages.
I like Vienna lager (especially Devils Backbone) and that's what ended up on my Wort app, so thanks for the inspiration. The Maris was swapped out for Munich 10L and I subbed out the third grain for Belgian Aromatic. American Vienna should have enough amylase in a 90 minute mash to get a good conversion near 150F-152F.

 

[Robin0782]

I brewed a Vienna Lager earlier this year. Really liked it. It might not have been completely authentic, but still it was really good. 5 lbs Vienna, 5 lbs Maris Otter, 1 lb Munich, and just about 2.5oz Chocolate Malt. Some Hallertau and WLP830. It went down smooth and the keg disappeared quickly.

 

[ong]

It's pretty much impossible to produce ale and lager using an infusion method due to the make up of malt and the way that Alpha works on starch and the way that Beta works on glucose. There are a few other factors that involve a type of starch that gets left behind in spent mash that makes it pretty difficult to produce ale and lager without it.

Wait, what? It’s impossible to produce ale and lager using an infusion mash?

 

[Lefou]

See the "Warm Fermented Lager Thread" for more info.
We don't have a "Cold Lagered Ale Thread" yet, but someone will get around to it eventually.

 

[Lefou]

I brewed a Vienna Lager earlier this year. Really liked it. It might not have been completely authentic, but still it was really good. 5 lbs Vienna, 5 lbs Maris Otter, 1 lb Munich, and just about 2.5oz Chocolate Malt. Some Hallertau and WLP830. It went down smooth and the keg disappeared quickly.

Should I assume from your user pic that you're using an Igloo to mash your grains?
Kinda wondered, because the amount of grain in your recipes indicates your mash efficiency might be low for a 5 gallon batch.
I moved on to mashing in a stovetop kettle and using direct heat. Still have the cooler for bigger beers but ain't using it - for now. Most of my beers never make it past 1.050 or less by design ...

 

[Robin0782]

Should I assume from your user pic that you're using an Igloo to mash your grains?
Kinda wondered, because the amount of grain in your recipes indicates your mash efficiency might be low for a 5 gallon batch.
I moved on to mashing in a stovetop kettle and using direct heat. Still have the cooler for bigger beers but ain't using it - for now. Most of my beers never make it past 1.050 or less by design ...

Yeah, I tend to get 68-72% depending on the type of grain. I find Avanagard Pale Ale gets me 72% usually, MAYBE 73%. If I use anything else I get 68-69%. I got 69% yesterday on the recipe in my original post. It's consistent so I just roll with it. I'd love to upgrade to squeeze out a few more points but, like I said I know my setup and I think the beers I'm making are delicious. I wouldn't know what to do to get better efficiency anyway. Maybe one day I'll look into it and start a project. In the end, what's an extra pound or 2 in a batch? 1-3 bucks depending. I can live with that for now.

Edit - I just checked my Vienna Lager recipe. Ended up with 70% on that one. Fermented to 5.8% which I think is high for the style, but delicious all the same.

 

[Lefou]

You're a fellow Hoosier, so I'll help you out a bit.
In order to squeeze out a bit more mash efficiency, there are three things you can do.

** Treat your mash water with calcium salts. It can help adjust your mash pH to a more acceptable range and improve sugar extraction.

**Get a good grind on your grains. If your doing "brew in a bag", more efficient grinding can boost your mash efficiency by ten percent or better. If you're using wheat malts, grind them down to near flour, Wheat doesn't have a hull like barley and the malt is highly diastatic, so adding an extra boost of amylase to your base malts will help speed conversion.
.
**Last, but not least, add some powdered amylase into your mash, stir, and extend the mash time slightly. You can buy the amylase enzyme online or in a good brewshop. Be careful on adding the enzyme and extending your mash at lower temps - it can dry out your beer, so pick your style of beer and use the enzyme wisely.

 

[Robin0782]

Well thanks for those suggestions, that's nothing too hard to pull off. I'll definitely get some salts. And I crush my own grain so maybe I'll tighten up the rollers a bit. I thought the grains looked a little under crushed yesterday for the Vienna and Maris, but when I'm using Avangard Pale I would be scared to go any more. It already looks very fine and I tend to get a stuck sparge without adding rice hulls as it is. I don't recall what I have the crush set at but it's been a while since I adjusted it at all. Either way I'll be taking a close look at my next batch.

 

[6Tap]

Mash pump running very slow today.
Too much late hops?
Well missed dinner with the in laws today. Not going to waste 8 hours of brewing for dinner with the in laws.