AG#7 - Is this nuts?

[NickW]

Looking for a caramel taste...

Am I being ridiculous? :hmm:

 

[dennisking]

Too much crystal, max 10% of gris.

 

[graysalchemy]

That will be ridiculously cloyingly sickly sweet :nono: :nono: . As Dennis says no more than 10%

 

[NickW]

What would 25% crystal do ? Too bitter? Too sweet?

 

[NickW]

That will be ridiculously cloyingly sickly sweet :nono: :nono: . As Dennis says no more than 10%

cheers guys, always best to check before I ruin a brew!

What about 15%..... can't be bad having a sweet beer if that's what you like?

 

[dennisking]

From what I've read anything over 10% will make the beer unpleasant. If you want a sweeter beer you are better using something like lactose that is not 100% fermentable.

 

[Dr Mike]

GW's recipe for Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild has 25% Crystal in, and that's in a 1060 beer.

I did a slightly toned down version at 20% (1.2kg Crystal in a 23L batch) fermented with Notty and it certainly wasn't cloying. If anything, not quite as rich as I was expecting !

EDIT : Just re-read your recipe and that is more like Dark Crystal (150 SRM = ~300EBC) not sure what 25% of that would do. The recipe I was referring to was 'ordinary' crystal (75 SRM / 150 EBC)

 

[Good Ed]

GW's recipe for Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild has 25% Crystal in, and that's in a 1060 beer.

the recipe has 15% crystal, and having brewed it I got fruity, caramel and liquorice flavours, but as you say this is a 1058 beer and a different style.

 

[Dr Mike]

Which edition of the GW book is that in ? Looks like he has adjusted the recipe as my 1993 edition says 25% (1.65Kg!)

 

[Good Ed]

Which edition of the GW book is that in ? Looks like he has adjusted the recipe as my 1993 edition says 25% (1.65Kg!)

It's the 2010 reprint, for 23L, 5110g pale and 900g crystal. How did your version with 20% turn out?

 

[NickW]

So I'm not completely nuts then...

Im trying the build a stock up of a variety of beers you see.

Are we saying my beer isn't big enough for all that crystal?

Edit: I need to check my crystal when i get back home, unsure if its 150SRM or EBC

 

[NickW]

Ah,.its this one..

http://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/index.ph ... oductId=26

So 150 EBC I'd assume

 

[RobWalker]

I was about to mention the sarah hughes too...over 10% is not really crazy, you just...need to like it.

In a similar vein, try Victory Ale which i think is made by Bateman's. Available in most supermarkets - That's a total crystal bomb, almost undrinkable :lol:

As for being big enough, I'm a firm believer that any big ale can have a smaller brother made with the same percentages and be just as awesome. Awesome milds, session pales, session APAs...I've had a few of each and there's some impressive ones about!

I say go for it, but what temp will you mash at? That will make a massive difference to sweetness.

 

[NickW]

I usually try to hit 67/68c.

I'm worried now as there seems to be a split of people who think "He's crazy" or "Yeah that might just work"..

 

[graysalchemy]

I have had sarah Hughes and I am not a fan of it, rather bland I thought.

 

[RobWalker]

well, there's some comments here that are all for high percentages of crystal;

http://hbd.org/brewsandviews/messages/2 ... 1080512319

so it's not outright insane...

 

[NickW]

Cheers guys, this is all very helpful :thumb:

There seems to be a small consensus that adding more hops to counteract the sweetness is a good idea

I'll do a little more research :)

 

[jonnymorris]

You might consider mashing a bit lower than 67/68 to dry it out.

 

[NickW]

Cheers jonny.

You know what, I'm going to go for it. Perhaps reduce the crystal to 18% and mash at 66c.

Would this brew benefit from any other additions? I have roasted barley, oat malt, chocolate malt, and flaked barley in stock.

Thank you all for your help... I'm still green to AG so I'm still unsure what goes with what

Edit: I will also drop the wheat as crystal is meant to improve head retention in itself

 

[RobWalker]

I think your malt profile is big enough :lol:

Flaked barley will give it a haze. Oat malt helps with mouthfeel but you certainly don't need that! Chocolate and Roasted Barley are both dark flavour and colours additions. Again, you've got enough. :lol: