What would you brew?

[Jiffy176]

So after a few brews I have some left overs and wondered if there is anything brewable with minimal additions.

So far I have.
2.3kg of Maris Otter
500g caramalt
300g ish of chocolate
80g of eask Kent Golding pellets
20g fuggles.

I am aware I will need some more base malt.
Looking for a 19l yield.

I do not want to make a porter or stout.

Ladies and gentlemen thoughts please on additions and a yeast.

 

[Brew_DD2]

So after a few brews I have some left overs and wondered if there is anything brewable with minimal additions.

So far I have.
2.3kg of Maris Otter
500g caramalt
300g ish of chocolate
80g of eask Kent Golding pellets
20g fuggles.

I am aware I will need some more base malt.
Looking for a 19l yield.

I do not want to make a porter or stout.

Ladies and gentlemen thoughts please on additions and a yeast.

I'd be tempted to brew a Mild or Bitter.

 

[Slid]

Yep you could do a mild ale with the grains and bittering with some EKG and chuck the Fuggles in at 15mins to go.
A Pleb brewer like me would add 500g sugar to get a higher ABV.
In an ideal reality you sub my sugar for another 1kg of base malt and you could fantasise that you have a Mild and not a late (i.e. weak) version of English Porter.

 

[Clarence]

Ladies and gentlemen thoughts please on additions and a yeast.

Two thoughts:
Why do you need to use them up at all? Stored properly they'll keep for a year or more. Put the hops in an airtight bag in the freezer and they'll last, too. Use them when they can contribute to something you really want to make.
If it's a user-upper, whats the point of buying more base malt? Why not make a 15 litre batch or even a 12 Litre batch.

 

[Brew_DD2]

Two thoughts:
Why do you need to use them up at all? Stored properly they'll keep for a year or more. Put the hops in an airtight bag in the freezer and they'll last, too. Use them when they can contribute to something you really want to make.
If it's a user-upper, whats the point of buying more base malt? Why not make a 15 litre batch or even a 12 Litre batch.

The latter is what I'd do too.

 

[jof]

I would save the choc malt & make a mild or bitter with 1/2 the Cara malt.
You won't need to use all the EKG either.
I would go 20g EKG bittering & the fuggles at flameout.

(Ok, you could add a little choc malt for colouring if that's what you want, but not very much)

 

[Sadfield]

American brown ale with a bit more base malt and another hop to add to the ekg at flame out.

Brown with caramel and chocolate notes, but hoppy enough to move it away from Stout and Porter.

 

[Brew_DD2]

American brown ale with a bit more base malt and another hop to add to the ekg at flame out.

love an American Brown. Cigar City Maduro is beaut.

 

[Sadfield]

love an American Brown. Cigar City Maduro is beaut.

I'm drinking an ABA now. An overlooked style, IMHO. In a Venn diagram of IPA, Porter and Bitter, it'd be the bit where all the intersect.

 

[Brew_DD2]

I'm drinking an ABA now. An overlooked style, IMHO. In a Venn diagram of IPA, Porter and Bitter, it'd be the bit where all the intersect.

Yeah, criminally overlooked. And you get all the good bits from all of those beers.

I'm a fan of Black IPA too, and unfortunately they have become rarer and rarer. I suppose they are like an amped up ABA.

 

[Alastair70]

You’re a couple of kilos of base away from an Irish Red. 100g chocolate and 75g caramalt. 20IBU EKG at 60min, 5IBU EKG at 15min. WLP004 is the obvious yeast choice, but SO-4 actually works well on this brew.

 

[Brew_DD2]

You’re a couple of kilos of base away from an Irish Red. 100g chocolate and 75g caramalt. 20IBU EKG at 60min, 5IBU EKG at 15min. WLP004 is the obvious yeast choice, but SO-4 actually works well on this brew.

WLP004 is a great yeast to have in your arsenal. I find it really versatile.

 

[Alastair70]

WLP004 is a great yeast to have in your arsenal. I find it really versatile.

I love it; clean as a whistle at lower temps, and it throws out the esters when you warm it up. My only gripe is it hasn’t made the brightest beers for me. My plan for 2024 is to do a load of brews with 004 and 090 and try to get under the skin of both strains.

 

[Brew_DD2]

I love it; clean as a whistle at lower temps, and it throws out the esters when you warm it up. My only gripe is it hasn’t made the brightest beers for me. My plan for 2024 is to do a load of brews with 004 and 090 and try to get under the skin of both strains.

Oh really? I've found it to be a great flocculater. As you say, you get some great esters when you warm it up. I brewed a Pale Ale will it fermented at 21c, and it was really quite fruity. I find it leaves a little creaminess too (possibly diacetyl?)

 

[Jiffy176]

Liking the sound of the ABA.
My malts are already 6 months and hops in freezer
Cheers.

 

[Brew_DD2]

Liking the sound of the ABA.
My malts are already 6 months and hops in freezer
Cheers.

I'd consider getting some Cascade or Centennial in too.

 

[Alastair70]

Oh really? I've found it to be a great flocculater. As you say, you get some great esters when you warm it up. I brewed a Pale Ale will it fermented at 21c, and it was really quite fruity. I find it leaves a little creaminess too (possibly diacetyl?)

Yes, but based on 2 or 3 brews from the same sachet. I’m looking forward to the 2024 deep dive into WLP004 and WLP090.

 

[Alastair70]

In other news American Brown is on the radar for a 2024 brew and swap.
Keep an eye out for the upcoming poll (once I get round to setting it up) to have your say..