Brewdog AB:05, unsure about the recipe!

[Wouter]

Hey guys,

are you more experienced with brewing recipes from brewdog?
I've inserted the recipe of AB:05 in my brewing software and what I get just doesn't seem to add up to what they present in the recipe.

My calculations give a much much higher OG and a lot darker beer.

With the same ingredients:

Volume: 20L
OG: 1,165 SG
Calculated colour (Morey): 245 EBC
Calculated bitterness (Rager): 65 IBU
Yield: 75,0 %

Any ideas why when I put this in it calculates it to be soo much darker and stronger?
Maybe the result of being above OG=1.100? That the software is simply not designed to make the calculations for this.

 

[Sadfield]

Hi Wouter,

I quickly plugged the recipe into beersmith and calculate that their recipe is based on 53.5% brewhouse efficiency. Not sure what your efficiency is , unless Yield: 75,0 % is the same, this will account for the higher OG. Lower efficiency is usually expected when brewing such high ABV beers.

The brewdog recipe doesn't give any specifics to the EBC of each grain, particularly the crystal malts, so it is difficult to get an accurate colour match. I do notice that there is a significant difference in the EBC of Carafa III Special vs Carafa III, just in case you haven't got that specific info in your software's database. My EBC came out close though at 171, to BDs 180.

Pale malt (3.4 EBC)
Flaked Oats (2 EBC)
Light Crystal (88.7 EBC) 45L
Dark Crystal (150 EBL) 77L
Carafa 1 Special (630.4 EBC)
Carafa 3 Special (925.9 EBC)

IBUs came out at around 40, using First Gold 7.5%AA with 50g at 60 and 10 minute additions.

 

[Wouter]

Hi Sadfield,

Thanks for your answer!

Yeah with yield I meant brewhouse efficiency (I am yet quite familiar with all terminology in English). I considered lowering it. But isn't 55% extremely low, even for such beers? My last 10% beer even had around 70% yield. But i've never went up beyond that. Anyone any experience with such high alcohol beers?

Hmm, perhaps the colour differences are differences with what's available over here in the Netherlands. My software database ofcourse contains data for locally available malts. I double checked, over here Carafa 1 Special is 900 EBC and Carafa 3 Special is 1400 EBC! Will have to look into that what it might do with the taste.

 

[steveshep8676]

Just to let you know I downloaded the DIY Dog pdf file and chose a beer to make and the PH value of the mash didn’t seem right so I emailed the brewery and it was wrong by a long margin. Don’t believe all what they say as there’s loads of typos


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[Sadfield]

I think the DIYDOG recipes are very much designed to be brewed by novice homebrewers and 55% efficiency makes this high OG beer achievable. We've probably all skipped past it, but the DIYDOG starts with very basic instructions on how to brew beer for beginners. I feel that Brewdogs thinking is that, more experienced brewers, who will usually have better efficiency, will alter the recipes accordingly.

 

[ACBEV]

Anyone any experience with such high alcohol beers?

I sometimes cheat with high ABV beers to get high efficiency... 5kg grain and the rest made up with LME and sugars. As we all know sugar is a good malt substitute.

 

[Ajhutch]

I think the DIYDOG recipes are very much designed to be brewed by novice homebrewers and 55% efficiency makes this high OG beer achievable. We've probably all skipped past it, but the DIYDOG starts with very basic instructions on how to brew beer for beginners. I feel that Brewdogs thinking is that, more experienced brewers, who will usually have better efficiency, will alter the recipes accordingly.

That’s a really interesting point, I’d never actually plugged a DIYDOG recipe into software. For me designing recipes is part of the fun, but I do look at the book for a sense check, though I look more at proportions than the absolute amounts

This looks like a great recipe!

 

[Wouter]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I think I'll just throw in the amounts they advice and check the gravity during the mash. If it is indeed too much I will just dilute.

I also usually look to the recipes for inspiration. But thought it would be fun to try this one out.

Don't think I'll be doing the lagering on the extras though. My plan is to throw the extras in vodka in a stirring plate and stir for two weeks. After which I will just add the infused vodka to the beer before bottling.

 

[Sadfield]

That’s a really interesting point, I’d never actually plugged a DIYDOG recipe into software. For me designing recipes is part of the fun, but I do look at the book for a sense check, though I look more at proportions than the absolute amounts

This looks like a great recipe!

Me neither, so did this out of curiosity. I was slightly suprised how restrained this recipe is for an Brewdog Abstrakt.

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[Wouter]

Me neither, so did this out of curiosity. I was slightly suprised how restrained this recipe is for an Brewdog Abstrakt.

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Personally I love such recipes. Simplicity is often best haha.

 

[Wouter]

Alright! So took a look at what ingredients I currently have and wish to make a small tryout batch (10L).

In the same quantities as in the recipe:
- Pale Ale Malt instead of Extra Pale
- Flaked Oats
- Biscuit malt instead of pale crystal malt
- Chocolate malt instead of Carafa Special Type 1
- Roasted Barley instead of Carafa Special Type 3
- Special B instead of Dark Crystal Malt

Any ideas? I think the barley might not be what im looking for.

The yeast I am yet uncertain of. I'm not sure that I even have a yeast present currently that can ferment so low.
So I might just order some and then order malts with it anyway.

 

[Sadfield]

All those ingredients will make a great stout. As for cloning AB:05, the issue will be that Carafa Special grains are dehusked and give less bitterness from the roasting compared to other dark grains. It may be worth reducing the hop IBUs to compensate. I guess Brewdog do it this way to achieve a cleaner bitterness in the base beer before adding more bitterness with the cocoa.

 

[BeerCat]

If you don't have dehusked do a cold steep on the roast grains.