Chai Beer - Your input needed! :)

[RobWalker]

Hi! After a few bad batches over the festive season, I completely lost my temper with home brewing, and have since made two kits and a simple extract beer. Before this I was partial mashing, but quite frankly, just wanted to get some financial leverage and good beer back! My third keg beer is now fermenting and so I'm ready to go whacky bonkers again.

My set up allows me to make 3 keg beers and have one 2.5 gallon all grain batch fermenting at one time. When it's fermented, it's racked into a bottling bucket and then bottled.

Anyway, that's just to give you an idea of the options available to me. What I want to do is make a Chai Beer - a beer spiced with indian style spices, spicy hops, and a light malt flavour. I want to make the perfect curry accompniament

Code: Select all

Chai Beer
Brew Type: Partial Mash
Style: American Amber Ale
Batch Size: 1.80 gal
Boil Volume: 2.06 gal 
Boil Time: 60 min 
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.0 %

Ingredients 
1.20 kg Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (5.9 EBC) Grain 75.0 % 
0.10 kg CaraGold (9.0 EBC) Grain 6.3 % 
0.10 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (157.6 EBC) Grain 6.3 % 
0.10 kg Wheat, Flaked (3.2 EBC) Grain 6.3 % 
0.30 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 5.0 min) Misc  
0.30 oz Ginger Root (Boil 5.0 min) Misc  
1.00 items Cinnamon Stick (Boil 5.0 min) Misc  
2.00 items Cardamom Pod (Boil 5.0 min) Misc  
0.10 kg Brown Sugar, Dark (98.5 EBC) Sugar 6.3 % 

Beer Profile Estimated Original Gravity: 1.055 SG (1.045-1.060 SG) Measured Original Gravity: 0.000 SG 
Estimated Final Gravity: 1.014 SG (1.010-1.015 SG) 

No hops so far, so I'm after recommendations. I'm thinking clean, earthy, spicy, nothing floral. The spice flavour comes through and I don't have a huge knowledge of flavour clashing, would it be best to use something very non offensive like hallertau?

Other than that, how's this looking? Any ideas for a yeast?

[dave-o]

Chai doesn't have coriander in it, and it does have star anise.

I would say that i don't think this will work very well. Spices can work in darker ales, but in light ales they are just not very nice IMO - kind of insipid and bland, but with an unpleasant spice harshness.

By all means give it a go though. Perhaps you will have better results. For the yeast, S05 or Notts i'd say.

[RobWalker]

I made a brown ale for christmas with spices, and it was awesome, still debating whether to drink the last few or save them for next year so not too worried about it being out of style, sort of thing.

I'm thinking coriander seed as it's used in light german beers as a secret ingredient, so its use is at least documented as beneficial in a less dark spiced style. I have no real idea what chai tastes like as I have an almost inhuman hatred for tea (sorry!) but we use coriander seed all of the time in our curries, and being brummies, we know our curries :p

I suppose this is sort of coming down to my own personal taste as I've got a vision in the head/on the tongue of what I want it to taste like, star anise makes me barf! lol. Definitely got some things to think about.

Thanks for the advice though I appreciate the honesty!

[dave-o]

Yeah i hate aniseed favloured things too. Somehow in a Chai it just lifts it though - gives it a kind of freshness without actually tasting of aniseed.

[kck74]

Sittin here after a few...

Chai tea has a cinnamon flavour. Worth an addition?

Kev

[Eadweard]

I made a chai beer once by adding chai tea bags to the boil. I was really pleased with it: http://edsbeer.blogspot.com/2009/03/lat ... ebrew.html

[RobWalker]

Well, got round to this, it's conditioning in bottles now. Here's pics, final recipe and branding. First taste tests are good, quite a bit of chilli kick but it's quite aromatic but forgiving on the spices, made some last minute adjustments from my original plan, but i've modified them into the recipe here. We'll see when it's conditioned properly

Chai Beer (2 Gal)
Brew Type: All Grain Date: 17/02/2012
Style: Blonde Ale Brewer: Robert Walker
Batch Size: 1.72 gal
Boil Volume: 1.97 gal Boil Time: 60 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.0 %

Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU
1.00 kg Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 71.4 %
0.20 kg Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 14.3 %
0.20 kg CaraGold (4.6 SRM) Grain 14.3 %
4.00 gm Northern Brewer [8.50%] (60 min) Hops 11.7 IBU
5.00 gm Bobek [4.00%] (10 min) Hops 2.5 IBU
0.03 oz Fennel Seed (Boil 45.0 min) Misc
0.10 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1.00 items Cardamom Pod (Boil 30.0 min) Misc
1.00 gm Cayenne Pepper (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
2.00 items Cinnamon Stick (Secondary 30.0 min) Misc
2.00 items Kaffir Lime Leaf (Boil 15.0 min) Misc

Beer Profile Estimated Original Gravity: 1.047 SG (1.045-1.060 SG)
Estimated Final Gravity: 1.012 SG (1.008-1.015 SG)
Estimated Color: 4.8 SRM (2.0-8.0 SRM)
Bitterness: 14.2 IBU (15.0-33.0 IBU)
Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 4.5 % (4.0-6.0 %)

Millie keeps brew ruining sheeps at bay, pesky buggers.