Ok. Im all about feedback here. I was going for a cherry looking ale (all grain) and this is receipe that I came up with, so far fermenting as planned in a keg.
10lbs english marris otter
1lb Breiss Caramel 40l
2lb Breiss Caramel 60l
1/2 lb fawcett pale chocolate
1/2 lb cherrywood breiss smoked malt
yeast safale 04
Hops: .5 Newport at 60 mins
Flavoring .5 Santiam 45 mins
Finishing .5 Glacier 15 mins
I noticed once I pitched the glacier I started getting real nervous about the hop break, but it happened. Original gravity 1.058
also, just for technical correctness, you pitch yeast not hops. and it’s HOT break rather than hop break. either way don’t worry about it. It’ll happen.
No worries Johnathan. I’ve been doing this about 5 months. Wasnt much of a beer drinker until I met ol man Newcastle. Been looking for the Ale ever since by my own hands. Me and buddy have been coming up with receipes and going to town. He is very technical on what he says and does, so the feedback on the terms is the norm for me. I was just amazed after the glacier went it on what it did. I like caramel and a dark red look so that is why I went with the receipe. My buddy on the other hand likes an extremely dark beer and his last batch came out good. 3 more weeks fermenting and I will give this one a try. I currently have the Scott Wee Heavy in the Carboy “bubbling” away and another extract kit of Caribou Slobber going to town. It is turning out real dark and ready to bottle next week. So long story straight…we are doing all grain and extract kits at the same time. All grain in the kegs and the extract in the carboys.
Well the final gravity was 1.016 and it tasted pretty good. I could taste the smoked cherry as a aftertaste, but overall it came out ok and yes the color was a little dark, but not too sweet at all.
So do I understand correctly you want us to critique a recipe you already brewed? because if you haven’t brewed it you really should cut way back on that crystal malt. At the very least cut the 60L back to one pound because for my tastes what you have there will be not very palatable. Also, if you want a red color in the beer I would recommend using cara-red, and in that case that is a cara malt you actually can use a lot of because it is seemingly more fermentable.
What is the flavor profile you’re shooting for with this recipe. A specific style? A commercial example? Or… Are you trying to be creative? This will help us better understand your intentions and lend some better insight.
All that pale chocolate is going to give you muddy brown. Good for English Brown Ale (I use it a lot) but not good if you want cherry red. I use 12 oz CaraRed, 1 LB C-120 and 4 Oz Carafa Special II (430L) in a red ale and it IS cherry red.
