Leftovers brew...

[Furious_Tea]

I've got a load of leftovers from kits and other brews etc, I was thinking I could do a quick kitchen sink style extract brew tomorrow morning. Here's (some of) my inventory:

One can of woodfordes Admiral's reserve (1/2 of a 2 can kit)
Steeping grains for a 1 gallon stout and a 1 gallon porter, (i stole the dme and some other ingredients out of them a couple of months ago and never replaced them)
500g light DME
Golden syrup
Potters malt extract
chocolate malt, caramel malt, pilsner malt
Loads of varieties of hops

So my idea is for an 11L brew and to use the woodfordes, dme and potters (and maybe some golden syrup) and steep the porter & stout grains and maybe some extra chocolate and caramel malt, chuck some fuggles in and maybe a few cups of coffee and call it a coffee porter.

Is this a stupid idea? The grains need using up as they are from xmas and pre-crushed and I don't have enough extract to do a brew without using the woodfordes.

 

[DromJohn]

I'd drink that.

 

[Furious_Tea]

I'd drink that.

See you in 6-8 weeks

 

[Miraculix]

I recently did something similar but with all grain and ipa style. Turned out good, I'll bet yours will as well.

Maybe you want to do a partial mash and get rid of the Pilsener as well?

. .. Don't add coffee. It's a beer, not a coffee.

 

[madscientist451]

How much pilsner malt?
What are the steeping grains from the stout and porter?
I wouldn't use everything at once, too much chocolate malt could make the brew too bitter. The extract isn't going to go bad so you don't have to use all of that either.
But you probably should try to use up as much of the pre-crushed grain as possible.
I'd try to use the pilsner malt in a mash with the steeping grains from the porter and stout, and make something like a Baltic porter.

 

[magno]

I've done this a couple times now, always making what I've described as a porter. They haven't been stellar, but they are drinkable,and I see it as an effective way to use ingredients that would otherwise go to waste.

I had just made a bunch of changes to my equipment and procedures when I made one of the leftovers batches. It was helpful to work out the kinks in the system on a batch that I knew was going to be extra-experimental... low pressure.

 

[Furious_Tea]

I recently did something similar but with all grain and ipa style. Turned out good, I'll bet yours will as well.

Maybe you want to do a partial mash and get rid of the Pilsener as well?

. .. Don't add coffee. It's a beer, not a coffee.

I brewed this yesterday, didn't have the time for a mash so just steeped the grains for 30 mins - caramel, choc, carapils and the 2 bags of kit grains I had. Took 2 hours start to finish including clean up and smelled great. Threw a couple of cups of freshly brewed coffee in (I like coffee stout/porter) and plan on throwing some vanilla pods and possibly lactose if it needs it later.

The thing I was worrying about was the kit LME is probably hopped and I'm guessing it's Admiral (being called Admiral's Reserve), didn't want it to be too bitter but I just rolled with it and added a small amount of Fuggles late on in the boil.

It's one of those brews I'll never even attempt to recreate exactly but was a fun experiment and quick brew day.

Cheers

 

[Furious_Tea]

How much pilsner malt?
What are the steeping grains from the stout and porter?
I wouldn't use everything at once, too much chocolate malt could make the brew too bitter. The extract isn't going to go bad so you don't have to use all of that either.
But you probably should try to use up as much of the pre-crushed grain as possible.
I'd try to use the pilsner malt in a mash with the steeping grains from the porter and stout, and make something like a Baltic porter.

This was from a couple of days ago, I brewed this already, didn't have time for a mash and after I plugged my other ingredients into beersmith it was coming out at ~7% so I left the Pilsner malt out for now.

I have a kilo of Pilsen malt, was thinking of doing a partial mash "alesner" with that and maybe some DME/LME some point soon. I have some Saaz in the freezer, so maybe start that when my 12L fermenter is free (i.e. after this brew ferments out).

Thanks

 

[RM-MN]

I brewed this yesterday, didn't have the time for a mash so just steeped the grains for 30 mins - caramel, choc, carapils and the 2 bags of kit grains I had. Took 2 hours start to finish including clean up and smelled great. Threw a couple of cups of freshly brewed coffee in (I like coffee stout/porter) and plan on throwing some vanilla pods and possibly lactose if it needs it later.

30 minutes is how long I mash for. If the grains are milled fine that's more than it takes.

 

[Furious_Tea]

30 minutes is how long I mash for. If the grains are milled fine that's more than it takes.

Weirdly I was reading an article on Brulosophy earlier about the short and shoddy brews they have been doing. Looks pretty interesting. Quick methods for making passable brews in a short amount of time. Definitely worth a try I think.

 

[RM-MN]

If you have iodine, try a shorter than normal mash period and when you think it may have had enough time, grab a little of the grain and test it for remaining starch. It might surprise you. With that information you can decide if you need to mash longer (unconverted starch) or if you can shorten the mash. Whatever you find with the starch test, do not go shorter than 30 minutes as it takes about that long to extract flavor.

 

[Furious_Tea]

If you have iodine, try a shorter than normal mash period and when you think it may have had enough time, grab a little of the grain and test it for remaining starch. It might surprise you. With that information you can decide if you need to mash longer (unconverted starch) or if you can shorten the mash. Whatever you find with the starch test, do not go shorter than 30 minutes as it takes about that long to extract flavor.

Ah right, I've seen this on some YouTube videos and have been meaning to get a bottle. What kind of iodine do I buy? I've seen Lugols Iodine solution at different percentages, and also iodine tincture. Which is the right one?

Thanks for the help

 

[RM-MN]

Lugol's iodine is intended as a dietary supplement. What you want is povidone iodine like this: https://www.cvs.com/shop/cvs-povidone-iodine-10-8-oz-prodid-1011812?skuid=955338 but in a smaller amount if you can find it. You'll be using only a few drops per test so 8 ounces will last an awfully long time.

 

[Furious_Tea]

Lugol's iodine is intended as a dietary supplement. What you want is povidone iodine like this: https://www.cvs.com/shop/cvs-povidone-iodine-10-8-oz-prodid-1011812?skuid=955338 but in a smaller amount if you can find it. You'll be using only a few drops per test so 8 ounces will last an awfully long time.

It won't let me look at that as I am in the UK.

Is this the stuff: https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/X2-Betadin...15-CC-Each/1128274843?iid=273023881457&thm=10

Thanks again for the help

 

[RM-MN]

Yes, Betadine is povidone iodine. Should work great. Try it on a tiny bit of wheat flour. It should turn purple. That shows starch is present. It only takes a drop of it.