[davidcross]

Help!

I've acquired some sacks of Weyermann organic grain - 1 sack of Carafa 1, 2 sacks of Caramunich 1 and 4 sacks of Vienna - I'm new to home brewing and am looking for recipes to use these grains

Thank you for any suggestions.

[morticaixavier]

Wow 55 kb of carafa is going to take a while to get through.
The vienna can be used as a base grain as long as you don't user too many non enzymatic adjuncts.

Do you have access to fermentation temp control? You could do lots and lots of vienna lager.

The good news is that as long as it's not milled yet it will last a very long time as long as you keep it dry and away from bugs

[davidcross]

Do you have access to fermentation temp control? You could do lots and lots of vienna lager.

I was planning to build a keezer, so...yes. Do you have a preferred recipe you can share please?

[hopfenundmalz]

Do you have access to fermentation temp control? You could do lots and lots of vienna lager.

I was planning to build a keezer, so...yes. Do you have a preferred recipe you can share please?

The first 2 in the recipe list should be close to what you want to do with the grains on hand. You can also make a 100% veinna malt Veinna lager. You can use a little CaraMunich in the Vienna too. Mixing in a small amount of Pils and/or Munich will give some complexity.

http://wiki.homebrewersassociation.org/3AViennaLager

[mihalybaci]

Carafa brings schwarzbier to mind, or really any beer where you want some color without too much roastiness.

[hoser]

Do you have access to fermentation temp control? You could do lots and lots of vienna lager.

I was planning to build a keezer, so...yes. Do you have a preferred recipe you can share please?

The first 2 in the recipe list should be close to what you want to do with the grains on hand. You can also make a 100% veinna malt Veinna lager. You can use a little CaraMunich in the Vienna too. Mixing in a small amount of Pils and/or Munich will give some complexity.

http://wiki.homebrewersassociation.org/3AViennaLager

This^^^^^^!

[a10t2]

Other than pilsners, Vienna would be a good base malt for most continental lagers. As mentioned, 100% Vienna makes a tasty beer. A little (2-5%) CaraMunich could add complexity. Small (<2%) amounts of Carafa are useful for color adjustment with little flavor impact.

Assuming you're doing 5-10 gal batches, it's going to take YEARS to go through a sack of Carafa or CaraMunich. I'd sell or give some to friends while it's still fresh.

[brad79]

I think you are right about that. The owner of my local homebrew store said the same thing

[erockrph]

CaraMunich can generally be substituted for Cara/Crystal malt of the same color with good results in most recipes. Still, it's going to take quite a while to go through it even if you use a pound or two in all your batches.

[ynotbrusum]

You may want to get some pils or 2 row to add a little diva static punch to your mash with the Vienna - not absolutely necessary, but otherwise you should mash for a long time (90+ minutes) to ensure conversion.  Sounds like you could really dial in a recipe by repeating one several times with that mixture!

[hopfenundmalz]

I have  a new brewing term - little diva static. I wonder how she helps with the mash, must have a good punch!

Autocorrect, I know. Could. Not. Resist. 

[ynotbrusum]

Ha I missed that one!  Auto correct is  sometimes pretty funny.  Other times it is confusing....but it is here to stay, I guess.

[davidcross]

Hi,

I wanted to thank everyone who contributed to this thread. Yesterday I made my first-ever all-grain batch with:

12lbs Vienna
6oz Carafa I

75 mins @152F, sparged to 7 gals

60 min boil:
1oz German Tradition hops at start
1oz German Tradition hops at 30 mins
Whirfloc at 15 mins
2oz Saaz at flame out

I ended up with about 5.8 gals of wort.

I used Wyeast Bavarian Lager yeast

OG 1:051

My brewing software says this is a 73% efficiency and I'm looking at 5% ABV

Fermenting in my garage at mid-50s Fahrenheit, which over the next weeks will drop to the upper-40s...but I plan on having my keezer built by then anyway.

The chickens loved the spent grains.

Now I only have 188lbs of Vienna left! :-)

Thanks again.

[hopfenundmalz]

It looks like you made some tasty beer, and are making tasty eggs/chicken with the grain.

You will be hooked when you drink it and it tastes good!

[1vertical]

I was reading with some interest about cold extraction using carafa grains.
Adding mostly color keeping the dark roast flavors in reserve.....YMMV
I have not tried this as of yet