A recipe does not a beer make.
Brewing 1,000 barrels (1,200 hl.) at a time is extraordinarily different from homebrewing 5 gallons (19 1.). There’s even a significant difference between 5 gallons (19 1.) and 200 gallons (760 1). Those differences are a result of ingredient and material handling, equipment efficiencies, fermentation behavior, packaging stress and ability to control the process. These differences are discussed in detail in my Home Brewer’s Companion. Briefly presented here are discussions of some of the most important considerations to keep in mind when using the recipe formulations in this book.
There are all manners of styles and setups for homebrew equipment. Your equipment and your methods for using it are unique and will invariably influence the final character of your beer. That recognized—all of the recipes are based on a standard set of assumptions and methods. You will need to take these into consideration in order to formulate the recipe you use based on the efficiencies of your equipment and process.
1. Mash efficiency is assumed to be 75 percent. This means that of the potential maximum yield you might expect from your grains, the recipes assume you will only be able to attain 75 percent of that maximum. If, for example, you know that you can achieve greater efficiency, then you should use proportionally less grain or produce a higher volume of beer (add more water—more beer!) to achieve the same extract from the grains.
2. Boiling times of more than 60 minutes are approximations. Often more boiling time is needed to evaporate water for high-gravity beers. The energy output of your heat source will dictate your total boiling time.
3. Metric conversions are made from English units and are rounded off to the nearest significant decimal point. When there is a discrepancy between accurate and approximate conversion, regard the difference as insignificant in the big picture.
4. Conversion to EBC visual color units from SRM visual color units was achieved simply by multiplying SRM by 2. There is no consistent factor for converting SRM malt color units to EBC malt color units and vice versa. EBC malt color units are determined by a different method than SRM, and there is not a linear or regular relationship between the two.
5. Hop utilization is influenced by the form of hops, quality of the boil and the density of wort in which the hops areboiled. All these are taken into consideration for a wort that will yield 5 gallons. All recipes have been formulated with hop form specifically designated. Hop pellets can always be substituted for whole hops and vice versa, but a difference in utilization rates must be taken into consideration. If pellets are substituted for whole hops, use 15 percent less than indicated in the recipe. If whole hops are substituted for pellets, use 15 percent more than indicated in the recipe. For a full-wort one-hour (or more) boil of 1.040-46 (10-11.5) gravity beer, 30 percent utilization is assumed with hop pellets. Fifteen percent less or 25.5 percent utilization would be assumed if using whole hops. As the density of the boiled wort is increased, hop utilization decreases. This has been taken into account in formulating the recipes.
6. HBUs (Homebrew Bitterness Units, sometimes referred to as AAUs or Alpha Acid Units) is a quantitative measure of hops convenient for homebrew formulations. Homebrew Bitterness Units represents the number of ounces of hops multiplied by their percent alpha acid rating. One ounce of a 5 percent alpha acid hop is equal to 5 HBUs. One half ounce of a 10 percent alpha acid hop is also equal to 5 HBUs.
MBUs is a new unit introduced in this book. Metric Bitterness Units is equal to the number of grams of hops multiplied by the percent alpha acid rating. One ounce is equal to 28.35 grams. One HBU = 28 MBU. Ten grams of 5 percent alpha acid hops is equal to 50 MBU. Five HBU = 28.35 × 5 = 141.75 = 142 MBU.
7. Quality of water is of great importance in brewing beers to style or type. Information regarding this subject is widely available in brewing literature. Recommended readings on this subject are Ray Daniels’ Designing Great Beers (Brewers Publications, 1996) and Gregory Noonan’s The New Brewing Lager Beers (Brewers Publications, 1996). Mineral content and pH are critical when attempting to perfect a specific beer or beer style. Generally speaking, lighter lagers are best brewed with soft water with low mineral content. Nearly all commercially made beers are brewed with water that is not excessively alkaline nor high in pH. Exceptions can be made with beers using roasted grains. The quality of some classic British ales is sometimes attributable to water high in sulfates. When in doubt, begin with soft water having neutral pH.
8. Oftentimes breweries will use yeast that is commercially available to anyone. If this information was divulged by the brewery, then this is the yeast recommended. In many instances brewers use proprietary yeast, not commercially available. Under these circumstances yeasts are recommended based on my own experiences or assessment. There are several laboratories that culture, package and sell yeast to the homebrewer. Wyeast Laboratory yeasts are suggested in most recipes because of their widespread availability. Their use is not intended to be an endorsement of one brand over another. Other brands of yeast can be substituted interchangeably if availability or preference dictates.
9. For convenience and quality, most homebrewers bottle-condition their beers. Unless noted, most of the winning beers underwent some type of filtration and carbonation prior to packaging. The difference in the quality will be notable, but the overall character of your homebrewed version will be faithful to the commercial product in most cases. One can always exercise the option to filter and carbonate the beer prior to bottling to more closely finesse the detailed character of the winning beer.
10. Many of the winning beers are pasteurized in order to help stabilize the flavor for a longer period of time. This process has some effect on the overall character. Your un pasteurized homebrew will be different. As a homebrewer myself, I believe the character of unpasteurized beer, when the beer is cared for properly, is better.
11. Additional finesse. The process of whirlpooling and kraeusening outlined in more detail in many homebrew books, including The Home Brewer’s Companion, can help you to more closely match the character of the winning beers. Whirlpooling removes protein trub from the boiled wort be fore it is chilled. Removing trub before fermentation will give the beer an added cleanness and greater flavor stability. Virtually all commercial brewers practice some form of trub removal, usually by whirlpooling (swirling) the hot wort in a tank and drawing off clear wort from the side, while the trub sediment migrates naturally to the center of the tank.
Rarely do commercial brewers use sugar to prime or carbonate their beers. Instead, they use kraeusening methods, which involve adding malt extract or new wort in measured amounts to finished beer. Refer to my book The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing for simple kraeusening procedures for homebrewers.
12. No winning recipe used malt extract as the basis for beer. Malt-extract and mash-extract recipes have been for mulated for the beginning and intermediate homebrewer wishing to participate in the adventure of brewing world-class beers. The malt-extract versions will be damned close and certainly every bit as satisfying as an all-grain recipe, but in many cases will not as closely match the character of the commercial/winning beer. You will often find me brewing mash-extract versions due to time and effort limitations. I personally would not hesitate to brew an extract or mash-extract version; in fact, my preference is for mashextract procedures.
13. There are hundreds of malt extracts available at your local homebrew supply store. Some can be used inter changeably with the dried malt extract called for in the recipes.English dried malt extract is chosen as the base for most malt-extract or mash-extract recipes because (1) it is my personal preference, (2) attenuation is excellent, (3) it can be conveniently measured, and the unused portion easily stored for future use, (4) it is some of the lightest malt extract available, and (5) the quality of dry malt is more stable with age.
Malt syrup can be substituted in many cases. Use 18 percent more malt extract syrup than dried extract. For example, if the recipe calls for 3 pounds dried extract, substitute 3½ pounds malt extract syrup.
14. Disclaimer: All of the recipes are my own formulations based on tasting notes, technical analysis, a limited amount of brewery information, and my own experiences as a homebrewer. In no way should any of these recipes and procedures be construed to represent the brewery’s actual formulation and process.
15. Remember, you are a homebrewer. Have fun. Relax. Don’t worry, and have a homebrew.