BeerBorg

A 2.5 gallon batch that will turn around fast, so I can get both fermenters open and brew a 5 gallon something.

Steep:

1oz Belgian Biscuit
1oz British Chocolate
2oz Special Roast
2oz Fawcet Medium Crystal
4oz Carapils

3# MoreBeer Extra Light LME

40 minute boil

1oz East Kent Goldings (5.7%AA) @30

Chilled, pitched S-04.

OG 1.046
SRM around 12-13
IBUs around 25

Have you had success only steeping malts like Biscuit and Special Roast?

Looks like something I would brew. It's a good time of year for an Irish Red.

Yes, they are ok in small amounts if you are only after the flavor and aroma. You won't get enough starch to get a haze problem with the amounts I used here. You won't get any fermentable gravity points from them either of course. If you tried to use 5%+ of your grain bill, then it would be a problem.

That said, if you tossed in just a few oz of highly modified American 2 row and did a 30 minute "steep" of those grains at high mash temps you'd probably get most if not all of the conversion if you wanted it. Steep the rest in a different pot, then combine, so the 2-row can just go at those two. That should work if you are into it. I've done that before with a larger amount of such grains, I just didn't think about it here since it was such a small amount and all I was going for was the flavor/aroma.

I used more Goldings close to finishing hop territory then I'd normally use in a red, but that's how you make the short boil work. It should be fine though, it is really hard to over-hop with Goldings IMHO. Now if it was that much Fuggles @30, it might be noticeably too hoppy to be "right". I love Fuggles, but they are not as "delicate" as Goldings.

I steeped vs. mashed and short boiled to save time, but if you have the time then I'd split those hops half @60 and half @30 and do a little mash... Maybe use 1/2oz Fuggles @60 and 1/2oz Goldings @30 instead too. That's always a good combo.

Interesting...
Good Sounding recipe. I agree. An Irish Red would be nice this time of year.

This does sound good. Thanks for sharing the recipe. If you don't mind me asking, I was wondering how much water you steeped the grains in? I've read "less than a gallon for a pound of grain", so in this case since you've got 10oz of grain, so maybe 2.5-3qts of water? I've also read that it doesn't really matter for steeping and to go ahead steep the grains in the full amount that you're going to boil.
Thanks, Tony

I just recently did 3 extract batches with specialty malts in the way you described. I did pretty much a mini mash. Just a pound of 2 row with my specialty grains and a 30 min high temp mash. That's a good point about steeping those type grains. Small amounts seem to work out fine.

And Fuggles...love Fuggles.

TonyKZ1 wrote:If you don't mind me asking, I was wondering how much water you steeped the grains in? I've read "less than a gallon for a pound of grain", so in this case since you've got 10oz of grain, so maybe 2.5-3qts of water? I've also read that it doesn't really matter for steeping and to go ahead steep the grains in the full amount that you're going to boil.

Honestly, it doesn't matter in my experience.

For Steeping + Extract:

If I'm doing a partial volume boil I'll steep in a smaller amount of water, and after the steep add enough extract to get up to a 1.03 to 1.04 wort (if required), then do the boil in that... then with 10 minutes left in the boil, turn off the heat, add the rest of the extract, stir it in, fire up the burner, bring it back to a boil and continue on. Then top up with cool water in the fermenter once complete.

If I'm doing a full volume boil for a batch this size, I'll steep or do a mini mash in a more water, add the extract, then top up to boil volume if necessary.

In either case, I don't spend a lot of time "figuring" for this kind of beer - I'm doing it this way to save time after all - so I just make sure I leave enough room for extract volume and top up as required. I've done it so many times with the same equipment that I can pretty much "eye ball it". My only concern is to get my boil gravity inside that 1.03 to 1.04 range. That seems to work best for me as far as hop utilization with the late extract addition. Topping up doesn't bother me in any way. Some people get a bug up their butt about having to do it, and want it to all work out, but I don't see the point when it comes to steep + extract + late addition.

For Mashing/Partial Mash:

If I'm doing a 2.5 gallon BIAB mash (no extract) I just use a BIAB calculator to figure out everything, so I end up at boil volume when I pull the bag.

For a 5 gallon PM (all of my 5 gallon batches are PMs these days due to equipment/burner limitations), I do a BIAB as if for a 2.5 or 3 gallon batch, then after I pull the bag add extract to get to between 1.03 and 1.04 (if needed, in this case if often is not), do the boil, late extract at 10 as above, finish the boil, top up in fermenter.

I hope that helped?

MadBrewer wrote:And Fuggles...love Fuggles.

Me to. Fuggles seems to be a love/hate hop. Some people think it tastes like dirt. They are silly. One of my favorite hops is Styrian Goldings, which are basically fuggles/fuggles hybrids grown in different soil conditions.

Yes, it did. Thanks for the explanation/info.

mash, this sounds like a fun recipe to try and looks like it would be very drinkable. how's the color, does it come out with some red.
[sorry my key board is shot on my laptop and won't let me use question marks and caps much anymore.. think too much beer has been spilled on it]

It should be redish - it looked reddish - but the Fawcett Medium Crystal isn't always an exact color. It falls anywhere between 50 and 60L. I've used Bairds in the past too, it's the same deal. Same with the British Chocolate, it goes anywhere from 350-500L (even lighter then that if you use pale chocolate, which I would not do here, as it is very much for color and a touch of flavor). I have Bairds on hand which is on the higher end of that scale, I think it's 480L. I used the extra light LME instead of the regular LME, since my Chocolate is quite dark. Old/not so fresh extract (anything in a can) would make it darker and potentially browner of course. So YMMV.

berryman wrote: [sorry my key board is shot on my laptop and won't let me use question marks and caps much anymore.. think too much beer has been spilled on it]

Shift keys might not work but...

Try turning the Caps Lock on and then typing your letter or ? Etc and then turning it off.

Do you have a picture of this brew? Very interested to see the color!

It's in the fermenter which is amber, so I can't get a good pic right now. I'll try to remember to take a pic when I pull a sample / before bottling it.

Bottled at 1.011.

Someone wanted to see color, here is hydro sample held up to the light. This sample is a bit trubby since it cleared the spigot, so it's not going to be quite as dark, but you will get the idea...
The chocolate malt will have the most dramatic affect on the color in this recipe. My stuff is pretty dark. If your chocolate is lighter, then it will be lighter (you could always use more, but too much and it might start to taste "porterish" I'm afraid).

EDIT: Oh and it tastes good. It will be easy to drink in large quantities.

I'm off to the brew shop to make this today!