Recipe help

[pantsmachine]

Hi guys,

I am getting home next week for about 7 days before i go offshore again till mid december so i have 1 shot at a beermaking session in between the decorating and other stuff! I am looking to make a nice session ale, light in colour. Its going to have a fair bit of carboanation as well. I like Bitter and twisted citrus bite. So i am thinking about 3 1/2 kgs Marris otter, a half kg of torrified wheat maybe a bit(1/4kg) of pale crystal malt to colour slightly and add a bit of body, styrian hops and plenty of them and use S04 yeast to get a quick fermentation and yeast settle then transfer the lot to a king keg whack a co2 cart into it and boogy offshore to let it settle and carbonate in the garage. If my idea rings any bells with anyone post your thoughts/ingredients as i enjoy different interpretations. I am aiming for about 4 to 4.2% ABV and will try for 5 gallon or so. Cheers!

[Gurgeh]

not far off a 'styrian stunner' then. sounds like a good plan!

[Northern Brewer]

The Styrians will give you the bitter and twisted bite that you're after. I love them, but personally feel that they don't mix well with crystal. I normally use just pale malt, or maybe 500g flaked maize when brewing with Styrians and this keeps the citrus flavours clean.

[pantsmachine]

Thanks for that guys. I have my order in with Paul At Barley bottom. I have not ordered any maize, in fact i have never used maize and it is now added to my things to do list. Any other grains to use to give it a bit of colour? I have ordered munich/vienna amber and choclate, i have a few others at home but cannot remember what. Would a couple of hundred grammes of choc malt give a little bit of colour or best left alone i suppose, just wheat and MO. I'll have a look for the styrian stunner recipe. Are styrian ok to use as bittering and aroma or should i use some other for bittering and styrian for aroma? This site never fails to amaze me how helpful people are and how fast the replies are, thanks.

[Northern Brewer]

If you used 4 1/2 KG pale malt and aimed for 35 IBUs of bitterness with 30g Styrians for last 15 mins and a few more at flame out, you will not be disappointed with the result. The bitterness can come from either Styrians or Fuggles with little discernible difference. Styrian Goldings are in fact a variety of the Fuggle. I see no reason why you couldn't use some torrified wheat, although this may impact upon the ultimate clarity, something which is more noticeable in paler beers. I usually substitute 500g of the pale malt with flaked maize, but this is by no means essential.

[pantsmachine]

Ok, thanks for the advice on the hops, i have both fuggles and styrian. Can i use just wheat malt for head retention then and is there a better chance of a clearer beer with wheat malt than torrified wheat? I've got an old mate coming over from Germany in December and he's bringing one of his german mates with him. These guys are so spoiled for quality beer choice in their region so i want my little corner of the island to be able to hold its head up! Used Styrians last month for the first time and it was love at first smell! Since you guys suggested Styrian stunner i have searched and seen the variations on the recipe. Nice and simple and gets positives from all who make it.

I also bought some liquid belgian trappist yeast from H&G but thats a story for New Year with lots of research and annoying questions on this here forum, i do like those trappist triples so will be looking to simulate the flavour with a single mash beer before adventuring into full 3 wort sparge. Still can't believe they do that! Heck, you'd need the patience of a ......

[Northern Brewer]

Dunno is the short answer. It is my understanding that wheat is higher in protein and therefore more likely to leave a residual haze. However, if head retention is important to you then you may want to add something to assist this, because with pure malt or malt/maize recipes, the head will be gone halfway down the pint. Much will depend your previous experiences with wheat adjuncts, how much you use, and how clear your beers have been up to press.

Pale bitters invariably amuse me. They look like a larger, so when you get a mouthful of ale this really confuses the little grey cells

I get the impression that brewers throughout the country are starting to recognise that Joe Public is less concerned about his beer's appearance than his granddad was, because commercial 'blonde' bitters seem to be popping-up all over the place. It's probably a case of larger drinkers being more prepared to try a blonde, and thereby discovering that they do in fact prefer ale.

[pantsmachine]

I'll stick in a 1/2 kg of torrified wheat. I haven't done a blond ale for a while but the last one was clear to the point where people were surprised when i'd give them a pint of it(a nice feeling i must say). It will be up on brew days late next week.

[mysterio]

I also bought some liquid belgian trappist yeast from H&G but thats a story for New Year with lots of research and annoying questions on this here forum, i do like those trappist triples so will be looking to simulate the flavour with a single mash beer before adventuring into full 3 wort sparge. Still can't believe they do that! Heck, you'd need the patience of a ......

I've done a couple of Triples, the trick is to use a lot of sugar to give it a dry finish and build a big starter with your trappist yeast.

[pantsmachine]

Thanks Mysterio, i must owe you a beer by now! Any recipes or websites to research on for the belgian stuff?