AG Recipe Help - Munich/Spalt. What am I making?

[brisboy]

Greetings all,

planning a little 4.5 L BIAB batch for this evening.

Here's what I've got.

Grain Bill:
Munich Malt Light 1kg (haven't used this before)

Mash 67c in 4L one hour. Dunk sparge at 75c (haven't tried this before) 3L 10 mins.

90 min boil
Hops:
Galaxy 14.5% 3g 90 mins
Spalt 4.5% 5g 10 mins
Spalt 4.5% 5g 5 mins

BRY-97 West Coast American Ale Yeast

Brewers friend says it matches everywhere for an American Pale Ale but obviously Munich Malt and Spalt hops are a bit out of place in that style (aren't they?).

1.048 OG to 1.013 FG. 4.6% ABV. 36.81 IBU. 7.79 SRM.

My question is two-fold.
Firstly, is this a weird thing to do Munich Malt?
Secondly, what should I call it style-wise? Is it an APA? A German Pale Ale? Don't know.
Wanting to see how it tastes and also wanting to try out the spalt hops I got recently so german hops with german malt I thought might work.

I also have a little bit of Crystal, Chocolate and Roasted Barley malts as well as Cascade and Cluster hops if anyone thinks the munich will need something to back it up.

Looking forward to seeing what you all think. http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

 

[MyQul]

From Brupaks grain guide:

As the name suggests, this malt is used to brew the famous rich, sweet beers associated with Munich. It can, however, be used in small quantities to enhance the maltiness in other beer styles. Many Belgian ales contain this malt and even some of the more adventurous British breweries are experimenting with it. Munich Malt is kilned while the moisture content is still quite high (about 20%). The gradual raising of the temperature to around 1OO°C allows for some caramelisation.
Colour 15 - 25 EBC; Maximum percentage 100% (although rarely used at over 80%)


Just call it beer!

 

[brisboy]

Ha ha, thanks @MyQul

"Beer" has a certain ring to it.

I'll probably just call it Munich/Spalt Ale, I guess, which is descriptive but maybe a bit boring.

 

[MyQul]

Your not entering it for a competition (are you?) so just call ti whatever you like. BPA - Brisboy Pale Ale?

 

[brisboy]

Yeah, not going anywhere but down my gob and some sharing with some friends if it's any good. Just curious if there's anything I was obviously missing that someone else knew about.

 

[clibit]

It looks kind of like a German bock beer with American yeast. Maybe a steam bock! I think I'd use Cluster for bittering instead of galaxy, perhaps, and make sure there is enough bitterness to cut through the malty sweetness of the Munich malt.

 

[brisboy]

It looks kind of like a German bock beer with American yeast. Maybe a steam bock! I think I'd use Cluster for bittering instead of galaxy, perhaps, and make sure there is enough bitterness to cut through the malty sweetness of the Munich malt.

Steam bock sounds interesting, thanks! Is the idea of Cluster for bittering just that it's a more neutral hop? Galaxy is higher alpha percentage so less of it gets me more bittering (that's the idea I'm working from anyway). Will it carry some of its other characteristics through as well? Appreciate your experience. I've got it on now but it will help me in the next brew.

 

[clibit]

The galaxy is fine, was just thinking the Cluster might suit it, and Galaxy is a great flavour hop. Cluster is used a lot for bittering. Actually Galaxy and Cluster are both good for early and late additions, would be interesting to do a comparison maybe! Let us know how it turns out.

 

[brisboy]

Certainly will, thanks!

 

[brisboy]

Update on my brew day.
I had a good night but apparently my efficiency was right down. I think this is due to my milling not going so well tonight. I usually just use a rolling pin and a ziplock bag which has been fine for my first three brews but this one didn't have the same result. I probably just needed more patience to make sure it was ready. I also had a bit more liquid than expected at the end of my boil. The end result being that my OG was about 3.5 brix on my refractometer so about 1.014 (pretty pathetic). I added 2 cups of sugar (about 400g) which brought it up to about 6.5 brix so 1.026. It's going to be pretty light on and the sugar will ferment dry but hopefully it's drinkable.
Brew 4 and still learning heaps and loving it!

Of course it's possible I did something weird with my refractometer but the half mL I squirted into my mouth tasted mostly of hops and bitterness, not sweet, so it's probably right.

 

[brisboy]

Update on this one.

Have drunk a few now. My impression is that it almost works but not quite. The malt backbone is good, the cleanness of the yeast is good but hasn't quite brought out the best of the spalt hops. I've since done a Pilsner/Spalt SMaSH using Belle Saison yeast and that one is awesome! Saison yeast with the Spalt hops seems a much better combination. Thanks for the help and interest.

 

[clibit]

Update on this one.

Have drunk a few now. My impression is that it almost works but not quite. The malt backbone is good, the cleanness of the yeast is good but hasn't quite brought out the best of the spalt hops. I've since done a Pilsner/Spalt SMaSH using Belle Saison yeast and that one is awesome! Saison yeast with the Spalt hops seems a much better combination. Thanks for the help and interest.

You will have much more flavour with the Belle Saison yeast. Different beer altogether. You need to buy crushed grain. Or get a mill.

 

[brisboy]

Yes, my most recent order I asked them to mill it for me. The mob I order from do it for free so worth the increase in efficiency over the risk of losing a little freshness if I have to store it. Yes, the Belle Saison has made a lovely beer.

 

[clibit]

I mill most of my own but you can order from places that mill it fresh when they send it, as you seem to do.