If I lower the amount of 2 Row malt from 19 lbs to 14 lbs on an 11 gallon batch, what (if anything) will that do to the flavor? All the specs are still within style (according to BrewSmith) but the ABV is quite a bit lower.
Lowering base malt
- Thread starter HBHoss
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
it will mess with the overall balance of your beer. You should probably also adjust your bittering hops (at a minimum) to keep your IBU:OG ratio consistent. I would keep the specialty malts where they are, though, otherwise it can start to taste a little watery.
ReverseApacheMaster
Well-Known Member
Your specialty malts will be a larger percentage of the mash, so they will contribute more flavor and color.
HokieBrewer
Well-Known Member
I'd be tempted to mash higher too.
I've been lowering the OGs on some of my favorite beers. I've found that in addition to reducing the basemalt, I've reduced the specialty malts to keep the %s the same. So, it still stays 90% two row, 5% crystal, 5% Munich malt, for example.
Then I scale the hops so the IBU/SG ratio is roughly the same.
I do this because sometimes I have a beer that I love, but the ABV is just too high so I try to lower it. Sometimes it works great, sometimes it's less great. An IPA is really tough- you want big hop flavor and aroma, but need enough malt to back it up. I finally got my favorite IPA recipe down to under 6%, and I'm still happy with it.
Then I scale the hops so the IBU/SG ratio is roughly the same.
I do this because sometimes I have a beer that I love, but the ABV is just too high so I try to lower it. Sometimes it works great, sometimes it's less great. An IPA is really tough- you want big hop flavor and aroma, but need enough malt to back it up. I finally got my favorite IPA recipe down to under 6%, and I'm still happy with it.
