Beer Recipe Design Brad Smith, PhD

Transcription

1 Beer Recipe Design Brad Smith, PhD 1

2 A spectrum of choices Deliberate - Mechanical Artistic 2

3 Come up with an idea Research the target style and beer Determine target color, gravity, bitterness Develop the: Grain bill Hop varieties and schedule Yeast variety Water profile Apply Techniques Mash schedule, fermentation, hop techniques, more Brew, Judge, and Iterate 3

4 I want to brew a. Robust Porter (Category 12B) for Competition Clone of Bass Ale Something with Smoked Oats Gluten Free Imperial Stout Jalapeño flavored Atomic Hop Bomb I don t know where I m going, but I am on my way. - Voltaire 4

5 What are you trying to accomplish? Style, Clone, Unique beer? What does each ingredient contribute? Can I do it with fewer ingredients? Is the beer balanced? How do the techniques contribute? Do they support overall goal? What s Unique about my beer? Read Radical Brewing 5

6 Start with the BJCP style guide (BJCP.org) Provides target OG, color, bitterness, some ingredients and history Books Designing Great Beers, Brewing Classic Styles, recipe and style specific books Research Online (styles and recipes) Google search, BeerSmithRecipes.com, discussion forums, blogs, style specific articles First Hand Research Sample commercial and home brewed beer! 6

7 What ingredients define the style? A Wit requires unmalted wheat Weizen banana/clove flavors come from yeast Dry Irish Stout needs roast barley What alternatives might I consider? Vary the yeast, grains, hops used What about something really new (aka Radical Brewing) How does each contribute to my goal? Can I simplify (SMaSH style) rather than dumping everything but the kitchen sink in? What can I get rid of? 7

8 Use Software or a spreadsheet Match your equipment Estimate Original Gravity Color Bitterness ABV (rough) Compare these to your target style 8

9 I like to work in percentages Base grains first (80% typical) Key specialty grains next (5-10%) Remaining grains (body, ABV, etc) (5-10%) Select grains that match your target Ex: Maris Otter for flavorful English Ale Understand what each brings to the table SMaSH brewing (and variants) a great way to understand what each grain does 9

10 Bittering Additions Tend to use a single addition, long boil to achieve my target bitterness (IBU) level I use Bitterness Ratio (IBU:GU ratio) for balance Aroma Additions Most of the aromatic hop oils will boil off within a few minutes I ve moved towards very late or steeped/whirlpool hops to maximize aroma and hop oil flavor Dry Hopping Shorter contact times (24-72 hours) 10

11 Select yeast for effect Styles for yeast provide a good starting point Go off style to achieve a specific effect such as a dry finish, low attenuation, or complexity added by esters A Starter is Important for Liquid Yeast A typical liquid pack is 100 Bil cells when produced and degrades about 20%/month Ideal pitch rate for 5 gal, ale: 164 Bil cells Lagers ideal pitch rate is double that of ale Fermentation Temperature Matters! 11

12 Know your local water source! What is your Residual Alkalinity (How to Brew)? Is your water deficient minerals or is it too hard? Consider the Mash ph when designing beer Dark grains lower ph less of a worry Light beers - need buffer or acid to lower ph Water additions ph buffers or acids to manage mash ph Overall water profile considerations Should I target a particular profile for this beer? Do I need to start with bottled water then add minerals? 12

13 Pick mash temp as needed for beer body: Light body 148 F Medium body 152 F Full body 156 F A Single Infusion Mash - 98% of the time! Add melanoidin malt to simulate decoction Use flaked or torrified grains when you need to work with unmalted barley/wheats/oats (no cereal rest) Consider Brew-in-a-bag Saves an hour due to short sparge and cleanup Prevent Stuck Sparges Use rice hulls for wheats, oats, etc 13

14 Late Extract Additions Reduces scorching, increases hop utilization Segregate Dark Grains into Tea Steep dark/harsh grains separate from mash (Gordon Strong) Reduces perceived bitterness/harshness Add Honey/Fruit (some sugars) after boil or in secondary Fragile fruit/honey aromas boil off Risk of infection relatively low after primary fermentation complete 14

15 First Wort Hopping Add hops to pot during sparge (smooth flavor) Mash Hopping Don t bother! Late Hop Additions Very late may be best! Steep/Whirlpool/Hop Back Additions Great for preserving volatile hop oils Adds small amount of bitterness Dry Hopping use pellets just before bottling Trend to shorter contact times usually 1-3 days Recent research indicates 24 hours may be enough 15

16 Pitch two different yeasts Either together, or separated in time Add Lacto or Brett in Secondary Sour beers only Diaceytl Rest - Lagers Raise temp by a few degrees for a day in secondary Cold Crashing Crash beer to near freezing in secondary Lager or Ale may require more yeast for bottling 16

17 Is Clarity Important? Ways to improve clarity Watch protein content of grains Cool wort quickly Chiller Use Irish Moss/Whirlfloc at end of boil Choose yeast with high flocculation Add a fining agent: Isinglass, Chillguard, Gelatin, Polyclar Cold store beer after carbonation 17

18 Must be able to Judge your beer! Evaluate external appearance first Capture aroma up front right after its poured Evaluate color, clarity, head retention Taste the beer- overall impression first Finish, malt, hops, aroma Obvious flaws Mouthfeel Overall Impression The BJCP score sheet is a great guide Provides 17 taste terms (grassy, phenolic, astringent, etc ) used for evaluating beer Beer Judges are some of the best brewers! 18

19 Diacetyl/Butterscotch Use starter, diacetyl rest for lagers Astringency/Grainy Oversparging, sparging too hot, excess tannins Phenolics/Medicinal Chlorine in water, bacteria, oversparging Dimethyl Sulfide (DMS)/Cabbage/Eggs Bacteria, high moisture malt, covering during boil or insufficient boil Sour/Acidic flavors Sanitation, Bacteria, excessive acid 19

20 Pro brewers perfect their beer Many homebrewers never brew the same twice! Seriously evaluate the flaws in your beer Adjust grain percentages? Change hop schedule or varieties? Fix or try new techniques? Correct specific flaws? Brew it Again! 20

21 Start with a clear artistic vision Do your homework (research!) Create a list of potential ingredients Simplify whenever possible more is not better! Run the numbers Grain bill first Then hops, yeast, misc items Consider which techniques are best Mash, Boil, Fermentation and Aging techniques Body, Clarity, Eliminating flaws Judge your beer after brewing Correct flaws and iterate! 21

22 Resources BJCP.org BJCP style guide Books: Designing Great Beers - Daniels Radical Brewing Randy Mosher How to Brew John Palmer Brewing Classic Styles Zainasheff and Palmer Brew Like a Monk Stan Hieronymous India Pale Ale Mitch Steele BeerSmith References BeerSmith.com BeerSmithRecipes.com Newsletter, blog, podcast BeerSmith.com/blog Questions? 22