some ingredients laying around, what to make?

[carbonzx]

i have through circumstances found myself with a large bag of mixed grains for a spotted cow recipe laying around along with 1 oz of cascade hops.
i am having a hard time (due to inexperience) thinking of what to make from these, i do not want them to go to waste!
i am not an all grain brewer but i am able to do some mashing in my oven, and sparging if needed.
anyone have ideas?

 

[julioardz]

How inexperienced? Have you ever done all-grain? If not, read up on it or look into BIAB.

I've never heard of Spotted Cow, but looking it up online it seems to be a cream ale. If that's the grain bill you have and you only have 1 oz of Cascade, I would do a light body mash, something like 60-90 minutes at 148F then boil with hop additions at 60, 30, and 15 minutes. Divide the 1oz of Cascade equally for the 3 additions, so .33oz at 60, .33 at 30, and .33 at 15. Ferment it cool with US-05 or some other clean ale, and you should get a decent beer.

This is assuming it's for a 5 gallon batch.

 

[carbonzx]

i have done the advanced extract brewing, never ag. yes spotted cow is a cream ale, but thats not what i am trying to make i just want to use the grains from it.
in all honesty i have zero idea how to put together a recipe that will be at least drinkable.
i will however be able to go out and buy some malt extract, hops if needed, and yeast, but idk what to get or what direction to go in.

 

[julioardz]

If you want to jump into all grain. The easiest and cheapest would be to get a bag for the grains and do a BIAB. You can mash the grains in the bag in your brew kettle at 148F-152F, for an hour. Stir from time to time and try to maintain that temperature as stable as possible. Then you pull the bag out, let it drip and you've got your wort. The rest of the process would be the same. Boil, add hops, kill the heat, cool, pitch yeast. My instructions are a little simplified. You can find more detailed information here. That's where I learned to do my first BIAB, together with a few other threads I found here by searching.

What's the weight of grains? That will give you an idea of the intended batch size and amount of water needed. Assuming it's a typical 5 gallon Cream Ale with a moderate OG around 1.050 (+/- .005), then I think the hop schedule I provided above would work for that beer.

 

[julioardz]

Sorry, I just reread that you don't want to make a cream ale. Using this hop schedule will give you a pretty decent beer, probably nicely blanced flavor. If you add more extract to make it a higher OG beer, then you'll need more hops, unless you like sweeter beers.

 

[carbonzx]

yes julio, the method of brewing you described is actually what i did for my last brew. my local hbs made me a kit but they forgot to crush the grains, so when i went back i got the same grains crushed and had two of the same amounts of the same grains. the cascade came from a black ipa where they accidentaly gave me an extra 1oz of cascade.

i just dont know what kind of beer to aim for with the blend of decently high ibu hops, and a creamy grain bill. i was thinking maybe a rye beer... but really i have no idea just talking out my arse.
here is the grain bill for anyone willing to help, and they are all in one bag so i cant seperate them.

2 lbs Rahr 2-row
0.5 lbs CaraPils
0.25 lbs flaked barley
0.25 lbs flaked maize

 

[julioardz]

Ok, I understand a little better now. So are those grains for a partial or mini mash? You would mash those grains then add some extract to the boil, right?

Considering the grains and using only 1 oz of cascade, I lean more towards a light colored, medium body, clean yeast, American adjunct beer, but that's me. Adding a darker extract and making something like an amber ale/lager may also work, if that 1oz of cascade is all you plan to use.

Adding more hops and grains opens up the door to endless possibilities. In that case, brew whatever you feel like making next and use the grains to add gravity points, body, and head retention to your next brew.