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Author Topic: Recipe switch from Extract to Partial Mash - ABV change with specialty grain?  (Read 1755 times)

Offline toohoppy?!

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I entered the following recipe that I found for a hoppy red ale as an extract recipe:

2.0 oz black barley (500.0 SRM)
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt (60.0 SRM)
1lb Carared (20.0 SRM)
6lbs Amber liquid extract (12.5 SRM)
+ hops (amarillo, centennial) and WLP001 yeast

When I entered the recipe for the purpose of a 5 gallon extract brew, the ABV and OG was at the low extreme on the gauge (3.7% and 1.037) and the bitterness at the high extreme (59.0).

Just for fun I wanted to see what the calculation would be if I switched the type to a partial mash. The values then looked normal (OG 1.051 and ABV 5.1%).

If I am only using specialty grain yielding non-fermentables in the steeping process, how is my ABV changing from extract to partial mashing?

This is only my second batch, please enlighten me.

Offline morticaixavier

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you are confusing what a software product tells you with reality.

However, the software is assuming that you will get no fermentable sugar when you STEEP the listed malts. however if you MASH the selected malts you MIGHT get some fermentables. not all the sugars in crystal malts are unfermentable and carared from what I understand is not actually a crystal malt perse.
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Offline toohoppy?!

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Thanks for the quick reply. So by jumping from 3.7% (with grains steeping during boil only) to 5.1% (with 75 minute steep at 152-154 prior to the 60min boil), do you think the software is overly optimistic about the amount of fermentables that will be released from the carared?


Offline Joe Sr.

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Yes.  The software is overly optimistic, but it's probably a result of some settings you haven't adjusted. 
Depending on the software you're using there are a LOT of variables to adjust.

But you won't know for sure until you brew it.  Efficiency will depend on your system and I wouldn't rely on the numbers from the software until you've dialed in your process.

Not that you asked, but if I were converting that recipe to partial mash I'd add several pounds of 2-row or pale malt, decrease the amount of extract to balance the expected OG, use light instead of amber extract, and increase the caramel/crystal and cara red to get the same SRM.

If you're going to go for a partial mash, use as much base grain as possible, IMO.
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Offline dordway29

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Also, the liquid extract is a known gravitiy. So depending what you dilute it to you'll always know what gravity you have. Briess LME's are 36 points per pound per gallon.

So 6lbs of Amber LME in 5 gallons = 1.043

6x36=216 / 5 = 43.2

Weyermann does list Carared as a crystal malt on their website. So does their American distributer brewers supply group

Offline morticaixavier

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Thanks for the quick reply. So by jumping from 3.7% (with grains steeping during boil only) to 5.1% (with 75 minute steep at 152-154 prior to the 60min boil), do you think the software is overly optimistic about the amount of fermentables that will be released from the carared?

just taking a rough average pppg value or 30 for the specialty grains gets you ~45 points per gallon so ~9 points additional if the software didn't give you anything for. given what dordway29 points out, the initial LME only get's you 1.043 so that puts you ~ 1.051. not sure why the software told you only 1.037 to start with.
"Creativity is the residue of wasted time"
-A Einstein

"errors are [...] the portals of discovery"
- J Joyce