[tommymorris]

Yeah, I try to color between the lines. The little dot in BeerSmith went below the 2x Bock line so I changed the style to Bock and it centered itself. It really doesn’t matter, I was shooting for a nice warm beer and based on the taste test I think I nailed it.

I am doing the same for my current 100% Pils malt “Festbier”. The beer’s specs fit Festbier best, but without Munich or Vienna it’s probably not like what you would get at a German Fest.

[ynotbrusum]

Yeah, I try to color between the lines. The little dot in BeerSmith went below the 2x Bock line so I changed the style to Bock and it centered itself. It really doesn’t matter, I was shooting for a nice warm beer and based on the taste test I think I nailed it.

I am doing the same for my current 100% Pils malt “Festbier”. The beer’s specs fit Festbier best, but without Munich or Vienna it’s probably not like what you would get at a German Fest.

It might fit into the Helles Bock category for competitions:  https://www.bjcp.org/style/2015/4/4C/helles-bock/

Cheers.

[dannyjed]

I would say if it tastes like a Dopplebock, then it’s a Dopplebock. Most Dopplebocks probably finish higher, but you are in the ABV range. Numbers can be deceiving and they don’t taste like anything. Maybe try to find a commercial example and compare yours to it. Here’s mine with an OG of 1.075 and a FG of 1.018 for an ABV of 7.9% Cheers to your Dopplebock


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BrewBama]

I’ve decided to try to brew a Low ABV Vienna Lager via a Nonenzymatic Mash (NEM). Everything else in the recipe will remain the same except for the initial mash temp and the hop bill. The goal is full flavor and body but with reduced carbs. I do not want a watery thin flavorless beer. We’ll see how this turns out.




*Disclaimer*: Any comment I add is simply the way I brew beer. I am not paid or sponsored by anyone. There are certainly other ways that can be equally effective which other brewers may contribute. This is what I’ve found that works for me using my equipment and processes so I offer this for your consideration. YMMV

[BrewBama]

I just milled the base grains, added my salts, Brewtan B, and acid, mashed in with room temp deaerated RO water, and placed the primary mash tun (a repurposed bucket fermenter) in a 32°F fridge for an overnight rest.




Tomorrow AM I will head back upstairs to the brewery, pull the grain bag out of the primary and let it drain for an hour allowing the residual starches to settle below the spigot. Then, I’ll drain the initial mash wort into the secondary MLT for the ‘high mash’ (leaving the settled starches behind in the primary mash tun).  I may do this in the kettle then transfer to the secondary MLT.  Either way, after the wort is at my target (172°F) I’ll add the dark grains to the grain bag, place it in the secondary MLT to serve as a filter, and start the recirculation for the vorlauf/hot steep/‘high mash’.

I understand removing this settled residual starch is vital to success so I’ll vorlauf until clear. I am planning at least 30 min but it could be longer.

I’ll then xfer the — hopefully — clear, very low SG, but flavorful wort to the brew kettle and continue a routine brewday.

I’ll take some pH readings along the way. I have no idea if pH even matters in a mash that I don’t want enzymes to convert starch to sugars but we’ll see what they are anyway.



Ref: https://youtu.be/gFdmIOLMA4Q

[BrewBama]

I used an old closet rod to straddle the gap between the brew stand and a laundry cabinet shelf to hang the bag. I may improve upon that a bit but it works as a prototype.



My SG is 1.020 but I have to dilute that to get my secondary mash volume. I have some reserved deaerated RO water for that little trick. After dilution, the SG was 1.010.

pH was a bit low so there may be a course correction required there.



There was a fine, thick silt below the spigot which is what I think I wanted to happen



I haven’t used this fermenter in a while (and never used it as a primary mash tun) so I had to rig a transfer hose. Another problem to solve in the near future.



I decided to recirculate thru the HERM to bring the wort thru conversion to the ‘high mash’ temp. The silt in the wort can scorch ruining the beer and I figured the direct heat of the kettle would not give me as good a chance at an un-scorched beer as the indirect heat of the HERMS will. This will probably take a while to come to temp giving me good conversion along the way.




*Disclaimer*: Any comment I add is simply the way I brew beer. I am not paid or sponsored by anyone. There are certainly other ways that can be equally effective which other brewers may contribute. This is what I’ve found that works for me using my equipment and processes so I offer this for your consideration. YMMV

[BrewBama]

After it came to temp, I placed the grain bag in the MLT and recirculated thru the grain bed. It cleared up very nicely in ~30 min.



I transferred to the kettle and simmered for 30 min. Some interesting rafts formed.



It’s like jello



Anyway, I ended up at 1.027 OG which is a bit higher than I planned but I am going with it.


*Disclaimer*: Any comment I add is simply the way I brew beer. I am not paid or sponsored by anyone. There are certainly other ways that can be equally effective which other brewers may contribute. This is what I’ve found that works for me using my equipment and processes so I offer this for your consideration. YMMV

[denny]

Ref: https://youtu.be/gFdmIOLMA4Q

Also, there is a HomeBrew Con 2016 presentation by Dan Bies here: https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/seminar/how-cold-steeping-malt-can-elevate-your-beer/.

I have a copy of the original cold steeping info from Ann Gruber of Briess from maybe 20 years if anyone is interested. She and George Fix were really into it. We considered devising an experiment around it for the podcast and talked to Dan about it a lot,too. I may still have some of that info around,too.

[BrewBama]

That would be awesome. Thx!

[denny]

That would be awesome. Thx!

I'll dig up the info

[BrewBama]

The ~6 oz of 34/70 slurry took the SG from 1.027 to 1.009 just shy of 2 full days. It was starting to level out teetering between 1.009 and 1.008 so I decided to closed xfer to the keg with a spunding valve attached, apply 10 psi, and raise the temp from 55°F to 60°F this AM. I am hoping the pressure rises and it drops a few more points over the next 7 days.


*Disclaimer*: Any comment I add is simply the way I brew beer. I am not paid or sponsored by anyone. There are certainly other ways that can be equally effective which other brewers may contribute. This is what I’ve found that works for me using my equipment and processes so I offer this for your consideration. YMMV

[denny]

This is from George Fix in HBD somewhere around 2008 I believe

George Fix on Cold Steeping

Question to Dr. Fix:

>On the Brews & Views discussion board a couple months ago, someone mentioned a talk you gave regarding cold steeping of malts like Munich. I would very much appreciate it if you would elaborate on this technique. How do you do it, what does it do for the brew, what malts are good candidates for this technique.

Dr. Fix:

The talk was in the NCHF at Napa in October. Those folks on the left coast really know how to do a beer festival!  The cold steeping procedure was designed to maximize the extraction of  desirable melanoidins, and at the same time minimize the extraction of  undesirable ones. The former are simple compounds which yield a fine malt taste. The undesirable ones come from more complicated structures. Polymers with sulfur compounds tend to have malt/vegetable tones. Others yield   cloying tones, which to my palate have an under fermented character. The highest level melanoidins can even have burnt characteristics.  The cold steeping procedure was developed by Mary Ann Gruber of Briess. My  version goes as follows.

             (i) One gallon of water per 3-4 lbs. of grains to be steeped is brought to a boil and held there for 5 mins.
             (ii) The water is cooled down to ambient, and the cracked grains are added.
             (iii) This mixture is left for 12-16 hrs. at ambient temperatures,  and then added to the brew kettle for the last 15-20 mins. of the boil.

Mary Ann has had good results by adding the steeped grains directly to the  fermenter without boiling, however I have not tried that variation of the             procedure.

 The upside of cold steeping is that it works. The downside is that it is very inefficient both with respect to extract and color. In my setup I am using 2-3 times the malt that would normally be used. As a consequence I  have been using it for "adjunct malts" such as black and crystal. I also am very happy with the use of Munich malts with this process when they are used as secondary malts.
 
Afraid I can't find the Dan Bies stuff yet.

[BrewBama]

Thx Denny. I have Dan Bies’ slides and some articles from BrewnWKopperKat (#53 above and his links on HomeBrewTalk).

[denny]

Thx Denny. I have Dan Bies’ slides and some articles.

I had a bunch of correspondence with him regarding a NEM experiment we were thinking of for the podcast. In the end, we couldn't figure out how to structure it and dropped it.

[hopfenundmalz]

Many Doppelbocks made in Germany are just a tick over 7% ABV. Some of my favorites are mid 7 range. Look up Korbinian for example.

I'm remembering from somehwere that Doppelbock dependes on the ⁰Plato of the wort. Found a reference.
https://beerandbrewing.com/dictionary/Wh98KEUoo1/

There is Ayinger Celebrator at 18.5⁰ P and 6.7% ABV as an example, meets the OG spec.
https://www.ayinger.de/cms/index.php/celebrator-266.html