my super simple recipe ...

[justenoughforme]

steeping grains:
0.5 lb chocolate malt
0.5 lb black patent malt
1 lb crystal malt 60 deg L.

and of course :
6.6 lbs DME Extract

hops:
1 ounce Saaz @ 60
1 ounce cascade at 20
1 ounce cascade at 2 min.

whirfloc at 5 min.


... am i on the right track ? how do i calculate expected ABV of this ... i'm thinking 6%

 

[Murph2002]

There's software to calculate estimated OG, FG, and ABV... There's also formulas, though I don't know them well enough to quote them here.

Whether or not you are on the right track depends on what flavor beer you're going for. You're not going to get much bitterness from Saaz, even with the full 60 minute boil, there's just not enough alpha acids in Saaz. The Cascade at 20 and 2 will give you some hop aroma and flavor, but with those steeping grains, you're going to have a very malty, roasty beer.

What did you have in mind for your flavor?

 

[meatcleaver]

that seems like a lot of crystal to me, but I'm no recipe expert.
brewersfriend.com has a free online recipe calculator. I use it all the time

 

[RobInOre]

+1 on brewersfriend. it's pretty handy for checking facts and comparing styles.

Your recipe looks a lot like what I brew for my house ale. I prefer a Pilsen DME because the darker extracts seem to compete with the grains for flavor.

 

[NCSU_Brewer]

Plugging those numbers into BeerSmith, you'd be looking at around 5.5% ABV. You'll also have a color north of 30 SRM, so I'm not sure that the whirfloc will really benefit this beer.

 

[justenoughforme]

wow. i had no idea such sophisticated software for beer existed.

i wanted malty and a little sweet, not bitter, dark like a porter.

but do people think more hops is better? is there a way to guess future IBU's based on hops additions ?

 

[justenoughforme]

to be honest, i am making this recipe based 100% on what was on sale.

 

[hanuswalrus]

Assuming this is a 5 gallon batch??

I would cut back on the Black malt quite a bit.

These calculators can estimate IBU's as well if you input your hop addition times and variety/alpha acid %

 

[BrewInspector]

Find some being software. They make all the calculations for you. OG. FG. ABv.iBU. color. They will even show you a target range for different beer style s and let you know if you are within them. There are several free versions s well as high powered paid ones. Q brew is a free one for the desktop and brewr is one for android.

 

[justenoughforme]

i miss spoke originally, i am using Pilsen Light LME not DME.

anyway thanks for all your helps guys

 

[Yooper]

wow. i had no idea such sophisticated software for beer existed.

i wanted malty and a little sweet, not bitter, dark like a porter.

but do people think more hops is better? is there a way to guess future IBU's based on hops additions ?

The black patent will make an intensely roasted/acrid flavor, it will be roasty and maybe more ashy than a typical porter. If that's what you want, you're on the right track but the cascade hops will not really go well in that beer since citrusy hops in a sweet porter don't tend to meld.

 

[justenoughforme]

You guys got me scared ... i was thinking more "unibroue" and much less "old rasputtin"

 

[m00ps]

That grain bill wont get you anywhere close to anything from unibroue. None of Unibroues beers have that much crystal or roasted black grains. Many of them use simple sugars too to dry it out. Plus, youll need an expressive Belgian yeast.

Here's my latest beer I tried to model after Don de Dieu (they call it a tripel wheat ale). I fermented with their yeast (WY3864)

7lb pilsner
4lb wheat
1lb flaked barley
4oz aromatic
12oz honey
12oz cane sugar

Its carbing now but turned out much better than any other attempts to make a high OG belgian tripel

 

[z-bob]

What's the black patent for? (half a pound is a *lot*) Half a pound of chocolate malt might even be worse; it's not as dark as black malt but IMHO it tastes stronger.

I wouldn't use Saaz at 60 minutes, ever. Switch it with the Cascade might be okay.

What style are you going for? (nevermind, I saw the part about "on sale") Use 1 or 2 ounces of black OR chocolate malt, and save the rest for next time.

Goto brewersfriend.com and plug stuff into their recipe calculator. That's what I do, but I usually have something in mind when i start.

 

[justenoughforme]

thanks all, especially zbob ...
... i didn't know all these resources existed.

and i'm probably going ot get what i need to make that trippel recipe

btw i have saffbrew abbeye yeast

 

[m00ps]

thanks all, especially zbob ...
... i didn't know all these resources existed.

and i'm probably going ot get what i need to make that trippel recipe

btw i have saffbrew abbeye yeast

Cool, yeah I figured you might not be into liquid yeasts yet. Safbrew Abbaye will make a decent tripel. Its a strong attenuator with authentic tasting Belgian esters, both crucial in a tripel. If you have any questions on techniques for Belgian beers just ask.

Main point of advice is to let the yeast free rise. This helps attenuation and makes the Belgian yeast produce more flavor. I usually put my winter jacket on the fermentor to insulate it. It can get up past 80F this way

I use this calculator for designing my recipes. I've found its much better than any other online calculator and is free and easy to use. Its got a more extensive malt and hop database than brewers friend and you can choose a yeast
https://brewgr.com/homebrew-recipe-calculator

 

[justenoughforme]

Okay after all the advice i changed it all up,

what do people think of:

4 Oz chocolate malt
4 Oz Black Patent Malt
1 Lb Crystal Malt

6.6 Lb Pilsen light LME
2 Lbs candy rock sugar

cascade 2 Oz 60 minutes
Cascade 1 Ounce 20 minutes

i have citra to dry hop with.

 

[Murph2002]

Sounds like you've got a pretty well balanced imperial porter to me. Let us know how it turns out!

 

[chickypad]

I have no problem with the black malt in the first version if you are going for a porter, which is what you initially stated. I know lots of folks say they get charcoal from it but I actually find it a little smoother than roasted barley. I make Jamil's robust porter with a few tweaks, it calls for 0.5 lb black malt and 0.75 lb chocolate. IMO 0.5 lb of total roasted grains is a little light for a high-ish gravity porter, but since you now seem to be going for a hybrid Belgian style restraint on the roasted grains sounds like a good idea. Not sure how all that will play with the citrusy american hops. I'd consider some dark candi syrup in place of your crystal and sugar.

 

[justenoughforme]

OG1.078
FG1.023
Color35.0° SRM
Efficiency75%
Bitterness42.9 IBU (tinseth)
BG:GU0.55
Alcohol7.0% ABV
Calories269 per 12oz



the problem is, i didn't know how many different kinds of hops there were : ) and, i couldn't decide between a porter and a belgian.

my OG seemed a little light, 1.072.