Making another British IPA

[Clibit]

Dangerous stuff, 7.8% beer that tastes great!

I'm making lower abv stuff and trying out different ingredients and mashes etc. If I was in your shoes I'd be taking some pale malt out of those brews and taking them down to 5.5% ish, 6% tops. You get a good malt body with that, I think. I could only do one bottle at 7.8% these days.

My strategy is to make some 3 to 4% stuff for school nights and sessions, and nice stronger beers in small batches for the occasional treat. IPAs, India Reds, strong stouts and porters. Session beers are mainly pale ales with English and/or American hops. Slowly getting into saisons. Occasional brown ale/mild.

[Notlaw]

Bloody hell Tony, those brews you do sound pretty fine, but I don't know how your even still standing at the strength you make 'em at

Sounds another good un though.

[Tony1951]

Bloody hell Tony, those brews you do sound pretty fine, but I don't know how your even still standing at the strength you make 'em at

Sounds another good un though.

I need to say I DESPISE drunkenness and am not recommending it or boasting. It is something I really try to avoid and mostly do.

The normal sensible judgement just slipped away somewhere between bottle two and bottle three. After that I was just a moron. This is to be avoided in my opinion. I have been to three funerals in the last four years of old pals who were the same age as me and got into a bad habit of getting blasted. I think Clibit's point above is well made about taking some of the pale malt out of the mix. In fact, I did that on my last brew which is still fermenting. The dodgy one I was talking about was made of 6kg Weyermann's Pale and 150gm of crystal. That used to produce about 5.6ABV over several brews in the bag type mashing, but since I started putting the exact same grain bill into the boiler and mashing in there with 15 litres, then 10 and then about 8 in two sparges, the ABV has gone up a lot. In my last brew I dropped the Pale malt from 6KG to 5kg, and the OG then fell to 1059 from 1066. It could still come down though, because even at 5kg the abv could be 6.8% if it ferments down to 1010 - I don't know yet because it is still in the FV. Maybe I should try about 4.5KG.....

Thanks for those points Clibit. I will give it serious thought. The strong beers are great. I just need to remember that they need respect or there will be consequences.

[Clibit]

It was you who used to make low ABV beers from kits wasn't it?!

[Tony1951]

It was you who used to make low ABV beers from kits wasn't it?!

Yes .

Then I got corrupted.

I think they were about 2.5%. I just used the Cooper's kit can and about 100g of table sugar. Some of them were OK, but they didn't have the mouth feel of these monster brews I started making.

Looking at that thread on mashing, maybe I should keep the malt at around the 5kg mark and go for short 'hot' mashes. I'd probably find it easier to control the mash time - the mash temperature being a bit more tricky to get exact. I did do a big mouthy beer that was only 5.6% but I mashed that at 69C +

[stevej383]

Laughing

[Tony1951]

Laughing

It wasn't funny. The wife says I couldn't walk. I can't remember much.

[Clibit]

Your grain bill is your responsibility.

Try 4.5kg and 4kg? Interesting to see what the optimal OG is for you. And knock up some gentle quaffers at 3-3.5%?

[Tony1951]

Your grain bill is your responsibility.

Try 4.5kg and 4kg? Interesting to see what the optimal OG is for you. And knock up some gentle quaffers at 3-3.5%?

Sounds wise - as long as they don't come out 'thin'.

[stevej383]

Dont you just love the range of ales at your hands though Tony, one of my ales i made a few months ago ended up at 8.7% now that was one drink only for the weekend

[Clibit]

Your grain bill is your responsibility.

Try 4.5kg and 4kg? Interesting to see what the optimal OG is for you. And knock up some gentle quaffers at 3-3.5%?

Sounds wise - as long as they don't come out 'thin'.

I'm looking at how to make lower strength beers that aren't thin. I know there are limits to what can be achieved but there are lots of tools, like mash times and temps, lower attenuating yeasts, and grains that add body. I see no need to go above 6% in any event, I've had plenty of mouthfeel and body at that strength. Without even using any body building techniques. 5.5% is enough even, for me any road.

[Tony1951]

Your grain bill is your responsibility.

Try 4.5kg and 4kg? Interesting to see what the optimal OG is for you. And knock up some gentle quaffers at 3-3.5%?

Sounds wise - as long as they don't come out 'thin'.

I'm looking at how to make lower strength beers that aren't thin. I know there are limits to what can be achieved but there are lots of tools, like mash times and temps, lower attenuating yeasts, and grains that add body. I see no need to go above 6% in any event, I've had plenty of mouthfeel and body at that strength. Without even using any body building techniques. 5.5% is enough even, for me any road.

I know this is completely right and I only got to where I did accidentally when I started trying to mash in my boiler with a wire mesh bin as the container for the grain. Shortly after trying to enter the bin full of grain into the boiler (I was thinking like - grainfather malt pipe ideas) I realised that the top three inches of malt was not even going to be wet, so in desperation I pulled the lot out and tipped it straight into the boiler bare back so to speak... This impulsive stupidity caused me to get more conversion from the grain. It's actually much easier than messing with a soaking wet bag full of grains. I just strain out the wort through the bazooka filtered tap into a storage vessel (FV) and then sparge on top again, like it was a mash tun.

The idea of using a 68C mash for 30 mins would favour production of unfermentable sugars and lead to a higher FG. I'm thinking of the points made in the other thread here.

Just packed up some beer to take to a friends where I am having a curry tonight. I will be on water though - penance needed for Wednesday.

[Notlaw]

Quick question... To add some body, could you add lactose like you would in a milk stout, but counter the sweetness by adding an extra dozen or so IBUs in the boil? I know there are other ways, better ways, but is that something that would work?

[Clibit]

Quick question... To add some body, could you add lactose like you would in a milk stout, but counter the sweetness by adding an extra dozen or so IBUs in the boil? I know there are other ways, better ways, but is that something that would work?

No reason why not. I've never used lactose myself, doesn't appeal for some reason. I'm not a milk stout fan. There are lots of ingredients that will add body.

Mikkeller does a lactose IPA. And American breweries seem to be chucking lactose into some pale beers.

[Tony1951]

Pm me your details Tony and dont worry about the money there just sitting there going to waste

Hops arrived this morning Steve. Fantastic packaging and a gorgeous smell from the vac pack when I nicked the corner and sneaked a sniff. Smells just like Cascade which is no surprise since it is very like that.

I will make a nice (hopefully) APA with it this week.

What a gent you are. I will be winging some beer your way when it is ready so You can see what I did with your kind gift.