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Author Topic: Substitution and % fermentable  (Read 2268 times)

Offline drunkenpuff

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Substitution and % fermentable
« on: January 24, 2011, 05:42:34 am »
I brewed up a 5gal batch of the Belgian Tickle from Charlie's Homebrew companion with great success. NOW, i'd like to play with that recipe a bit. It calls for 2lbs of honey, which i would like to substitue with different grains. Preferably something toasty. How can i determine how much to substitute? I know honey is pretty much 100% fermentable.. and i'm horrible at math! Is there a basic guideline for the fermentability of grains? As always the help and feed back on this forum is outstanding, and i am thankful for any and all advice. Prosit!!

Offline majorvices

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Re: Substitution and % fermentable
« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2011, 06:16:24 am »
What exactly are you trying to accomplish? The 2 lbs of honey is meant to dry this beer out, which is exactly what you want to do with a belgian tripel. You want it dry and highly attenuated. Taking the honey out will cause the beer to attenuate less and I'm not sure why you would want that.

That said, sounds like you need some brewing software. You can try Beer Tools Pro for free at http://www.beertools.com/

Offline drunkenpuff

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Re: Substitution and % fermentable
« Reply #2 on: January 24, 2011, 08:44:43 am »
Ahhhh.. i didn't even THINK about that...to be expected from a noob :D  Ok so i won't nix the honey. I would simply like it a bit "meatier".  I'd like a bit more malt flavor in it. I know a multitude of people have the book but for the forum's sake below is the recipe:

 5.5 lbs light dried English malt extract
 2 lbs light honey
 1 lb 40l crystal/caramel malt  (steep at 150 for 30 min)
1 oz Styrian Goldings 60 min
1/2 oz Kent Goldings 15 min (after 60 min)
1/2 oz Kent Goldings (steep 2-3 min)
Belgian Ale yeast ( I used WPL500)

I also tried the free version of BeerSmith. It seemed like a really awesome app, so come bonus time i may get the full version. Subsequently, if anyone has input on that app, i would love to know...

Offline majorvices

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Re: Substitution and % fermentable
« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2011, 08:58:43 am »
Belgian tripels aren't really supposed to be "meaty", they are supposed to be high gravity "digestible" beers. If you want more malt flavor you could mash a little aromatic malt, but you will have to mash the malt. You won't be able to steep it. Personally, it sounds like you want a different style of beer. Maybe try a Belgian Dubbel or a Quad. Or, if you really want meaty look to a big barley wine or imperial stout. Also, while I love Charlie P's books and started out with them myself, the information is somewhat outdated (for instances, there's no need to put crystal malt in a tripel) - I'd recommend picking up John Palmer's book "How to Brew" (www.howtobrew.com) and if you want a really nice recipe book that is kind of in the spirit of Charlie's books, but with a more modern approach, check out Randy Mosher's "Radical Brewing".
« Last Edit: January 24, 2011, 09:04:47 am by majorvices »