In Technique

CEREAL MASH

The purpose of this post is to give anyone who is thinking about doing a cereal mash a good place to start.

This is basically my blonde ale recipe with unmalted raw red rice from Thailand in place of the usual flaked/instant rice and unmalted white wheat in place of malted white wheat.

I thought it would be interesting to try red rice and thought it might even impart a pinkish/redish hue but it didn't.

It seems like there is a bias against using adjuncts in craft brewing. Most likely due to the fact that Bud/Miller/Coors uses adjuncts and in a sense the craft beer movement is a response to these boring flavorless mass market beers and I get it.

However, contrary to popular belief these adjuncts weren't used in order to save money (at first), they were used to cut the protein/nitrogen content of the domestic 6-Row barley that is better suited for growing in the US than 2-Row barley.

For a much more in depth and much better written explanation, here is a link for you (here)

Since the red rice is raw, you have to gelatinize the starches before the enzymes can get to work converting them into sugar during the mash.

In this case since the overall % of adjuncts is on the low side (<20%), you could just boil the rice/unmalted wheat for 15-20 minutes to gelatinize the starches and throw it in the mash, but I decided to do a proper cereal mash for the fun of it. This is the original website I used as a guide (http://www.ingermann.com/cerealmash.html). There's also a BYO article from Mar/Apr 2005 issue but you'll have to find that yourself since it's not available free online.

(6 Gallons, ~70% Eff, Tinseth)
OG: 1.047
FG: 1.011
IBU: 29
ABV: 4.7%
SRM: 4

3.5 lbs - 2-Row
3.5 lbs - Pilsner (German)
2 lbs - Red Rice (Thailand)
1 lb - Unmalted White Wheat
.5 lb - Crystal 20
2 oz - Rice Hulls

1 oz German Perle (Pellets) 9.1% @ 60 min
.5 oz Crystal (Pellets) 2.8% @ 10 Min
.5 oz Crystal (Pellets) 2.8% @ 0 Min

Yeast: US-05 (re-pitched 100ml thick slurry)

Fermented at 62 for two weeks

Mashed 60 min @ 150, 1.25 qt/lb

Main Mash:
3.5 lbs Pilsner (German)
2.5 lbs 2-Row
.5 lbs Crystal 20

Doughed in with 4.5 gallons of strike water to raise temp up to 122 for a protein rest and mashed for 30 min.

Cereal Mash:
2 lbs - Red Rice (Thailand)
1 lb - Unmalted White Wheat
1 lb - 2-Row

Crushed the rice and wheat in my malt mill with the gap setting tighter than normal.

Note, grinding up unmalted adjuncts is tougher than malted barley, you should prob do it by hand. The rice/wheat was ground to the consistency of grits more or less.

Heated up the adjuncts on the kitchen stove in a separate 1.5 gallon pot and the 1 lb of malted barley with 7.5 quarts of water (a very thin 2.5 qts per lb).

Heated to 122 and held for 30 min then raised to 148 for 25 min. with direct heat (stir constantly).

After that I boiled it gently for 15 min while stirring often to avoid scorching.

Then I added it directly to the main mash (with the rice hulls) which was siting at 122 which brought the temp of the main mash up to my target of 152.

This was the part I was most worried about since I've never step mashed in my cooler before this point but it worked out well. I had some hot & cold water on hand though just in case I had to adjust the temperature.

I was shooting for 1.75 - 2 qts per pound for the final mash with the adjuncts added. I mashed thin because I was worried about effeciency. I also rested the mash for 90 min to ensure conversion.

Hope this helps anyone thinking about using unmalted adjuncts in their brew.

Cheers!

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In Recipe

BROWN PORTER

I've never brewed a Porter before so I figured I would start with the most basic of the sub-styles, Brown Porter. Brown Porter is characterized by the use of Brown Malt and in my opinion the lack of roasted barley.

I've never used Brown Malt in a beer before. It's basically a heavily toasted form of 2-Row malt. It's similar to Amber malt and is about 50-70 L and has very little diastatic power. Chocolate or Black Malt (or both) also contribute to the profile of modern Porters. There is a debate about whether roast barley is appropriate for a Porter. My feeling is that if it is used in a Porter it should be used sparingly. For me, the main difference between a Porter & a Stout is that Stouts rely heavily on roasted barley for the flavor profile.

In the past, Porters were made exclusively from Brown malt, however, it must have had more diastatic power in the past if it was making up 100% of the grain bill. The following recipe is based of Jamil Zainasheff's recipe, modified to use the hops I had on hand. I also did a 10 gallon batch split into two 6 gallon Better Bottles. One was fermented with Wyeast 1469 West Yorkshire and the other with Wyeast 1318 London Ale III.

If you ever want a good base recipe either to introduce you to the style or to just produce a guaranteed good beer, I would suggest using one of his recipes as a starting point.

Porters and Stouts have a long complicated and sometimes intertwined history which I won't get into. Again if you're interested in the origins of the style I would check out the "Shut up about Barclay Perkins" website. I would also recommend the book, "Amber Gold & Black" by Martin Cornell which is a fantastic and well researched book about the history of beer styles in Britain.

Brown Porter (BJCP Description)
(6 Gallons, ~70% Eff, Tinseth)

OG: 1.050
FG: 1.015
IBU: 26
ABV: 4.6%
SRM: 25

9 lbs - Maris Otter (Warminster Floor Malted)
1 lb - Brown Malt
1 lb - Medium Crystal (Simpsons)
10 oz- Chocolate Malt (Simpsons)

2.5 oz Willamete (Whole Leaf) 4.6% @ 60 Min
.5 oz Willamete (Whole Leaf) 4.6% @ 10 Min
.5 oz East Kent Goldings (Whole Leaf) 4.7% @ Flameout

Yeast: Carboy #1 Wyeast 1469 West Yorkshire (2 Liter Starter)
Carboy #2 Wyeast 1318 London Ale III (Washed, 6 oz Thick Slurry)

Mashed 75 min @ 150, 1.25 qt/lb

Pitched yeasts at 65 and let it free rise to 72

Tasting Notes (Wyeast 1469 West Yorkshire):
Look - Dark brown/black with ruby highlights, 1 finger tan head with nice lacing
Aroma - nutty & fruity yeast but still clean, some dark chocolate notes and slight earthy hop aroma
Mouthfeel - Medium-full bodied
Taste - Very balanced with a full malt character that isn't cloying. Nice dark chocolate flavor, little/none roasted character, sweet bready malts, medium bitterness, slight earthy/spicy hop flavor

Notes (Wyeast 1469 West Yorkshire):
Overall this beer surprised me. It's much more complex than I thought it would be and all too drinkable. I enjoy the occasional stout/porter now and again but I was never a huge fan of the style but this beer has me re-thinking that. It's also really well balanced between the malt, yeast & hop flavors. This is the first time I've used this strain so I'm excited to try it in some different styles.

UPDATE:
Tasting Notes (Wyeast London Ale III):
Look - Dark brown/black with ruby highlights, 1 finger tan head with nice lacing (same as West Yorkshire)
Aroma - Fruity yeast esters but subdued (compared to WLP002), some dark chocolate/coffee notes and slight earthy hop aroma
Mouthfeel - Medium-full bodied
Taste - full chewy malt character. Nice dark chocolate flavor, roast coffee, nutty malts, medium bitterness, slight earthy/spicy hop flavor

Notes (Wyeast London Ale III):
Overall the London Ale III (LA3) batch was along the same lines as the West Yorkshire (WY).  The key difference I found was in the dark malt character.  The LA3 batch had more of a pronounced coffee flavor compared to more of a dark chocolate flavor in the WY batch.  The LA3 batch also had a little more fruity esters (although still restrained) and a slight mineral quality to it.  In the end I prefer the WY version as it was a little more balanced, however both yeasts made a very good Brown Porter.

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In Recipe

ENGLISH SPECIAL/PREMIUM/BEST

This is maybe my third version of an English Special Bitter, each time I've tried a different recipe/yeast/malt supplier etc. For this one I wanted to start from scratch in terms of the grain bill so I kept it very simple. It's mostly pale malt with some medium crystal and a little wheat malt for increased body & head retention. The hops are mostly East Kent Goldings with some Willamete late in the boil for complexity.

I usually use a combination of EKG and Fuggles but I was out of Fuggles so I used Willamete which is a US version of Fuggles.

For the yeast I decided to give the London Ale III strain from Wyeast a try because I've heard good things about it. I've previously used, WLP002 English Ale, WLP023 Burton Ale & S-04.

So far my favorite is the classic WLP002. It leaves a really nice "soft" malt character, has really nice "fruity" esters & of course it floccs like a ton of bricks which leaves the beer very clear in a minimal amount of time.


English Special/Premium/Best Bitter (BJCP Description)
(6 Gallons, ~70% Eff, Tinseth)

OG: 1.047
FG: 1.012
IBU: 30
ABV: 4.6%
SRM: 8.5

10lbs - Maris Otter (Warminster Floor Malted)
1.25 lbs - Medium Crystal (Simpsons)
.5 lbs - White Wheat (Weyerman)

2 oz East Kent Goldings (Whole Leaf) 4.6% @ 60 Min
.5 oz East Kent Goldings (Whole Leaf) 4.6% @ 10 Min
.5 oz Willamete (Whole Leaf) 5.1% @ 10 Min
.5 oz East Kent Goldings (Whole Leaf) 4.6% @ 0 Min
.5 oz Willamete (Whole Leaf) 5.1% @ 0 Min
.5 oz East Kent Goldings (Pellets) 4.5% Dry Hopped 14 Days


Yeast: Wyeast 1318 London Ale III (2 Liter Starter)

Fermented at 68 for two weeks

Mashed 60 min @ 150, 1.25 qt/lb

Tasting notes:
Look - Deep orange, chill haze, small 1/2 finger head that sticks around, nice lacing
Aroma - Earthy/spicy/sweet almost candy like hops, stone fruit esters, bready/toasty malt, spicy earthy hop aroma/flavor
Mouthfeel - Medium-thin bodied
Taste - Spicy bitterness upfront gives way to a toasty bready malt character, firm bitterness lingers on the back end, very easy drinking.

Notes:
This is definitely a solid English Pale ale and I would have no problem brewing this exactly the same again.

I really like the London Ale III yeast and the fruity esters it produces. They're not sweetish fruits like WLP002, it's more of the stone fruit type esters if that makes sense.

I should note that this yeast loves to hang out at the top of the fermenter. It took about a week for the thick mat of yeast that hung around after fermentation to fall back into the beer. Obviously a very good candidate for top cropping.

It's a very easy drinking Pale Ale, which is nice with the hot weather we have right now. The only complaint I have is that it's a little one dimensional as far as the malt flavor goes. You get the nice marris otter malt character with a little sweetness from the crystal malt but that's about it. I'm going to try and maybe mix in some darker crystal or try a different crystal malt (special B, Carastan, etc.) I'm also going to lower the gravity a little since this almost drink like an ESB. Getting closer...

Crappy Cellphone pic but you get the idea

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