The conundrum of the black bitter

Hi all
After my first mini BIAB I had some grains and hops left. I really enjoyed the first BIAB and had just had to do another brew. I've made a "small" mistake in ordering the grains for my first brew - instead of ordering pale wheat malt I've ordered roasted wheat malt. The details of that recipe is on the forum - http://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php ... &start=250. Post number 260.

Regardless - I've created another brew loosely based on the recipe in that posting but with the following grain bill:

Brew length = 7L
OG = 1.048
S-04 yeast
Mash temp at 68 C

Malt

• Pale Ale Malt - 1416g

• Caramunich malt - 331g

• Wheat malt - 92g

Hops

• Motueka - 15.2g (8.4%AA) 90 minutes

• Goldings, East Kent - 8.6g (8.2%AA) 15 minutes

The OG for this brew turned out at 1.047. It's been in the primary for 6 days now and the gravity readings over the past 2 days have been 1.019. I'm wondering whether the gravity will ever fall further - seeing that I've used way too much adjuncts? I'm tempted to bottle the brew in the next 2 days or so but I'm not sure. Any chance that the gravity will go lower? Opinions will be greatly appreciated!

(For interest sake - the brew is as dark as the background of your worst nightmare . I had a couple of sips from the test tube - this is a beer with an identity crisis - it's a bitter that's asking to be drank in winter. I really like what I'm tasting at the moment and I'm rather excited about tasting it after 4 weeks in a bottle. I'm aware that I've probably committed some kind of brewing sacrilege with this experiment - I do apologist in advance for those who might be offended!)

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lambert wrote:I'm aware that I've probably committed some kind of brewing sacrilege with this experiment - I do apologise in advance for those who might be offended!)

LOL Lambert

First of all, Andrew is a very good brewer so the original recipe should be great. I've never heard of roasted wheat malt so thanks for the education. Looking on the net, it seems this is as dark as roasted barley so I'm not surprised your brew is black as . The great thing about making a mistake is that you nearly always find that the resulting beer is still surprisingly delightful and you also learn something valuable. I think this is great!

The stalled gravity at 1.019 is quite common. My schwarzbiers usually stop around there (brewed with an ale yeast) and I used to worry about it until someone told me this was quite normal BUT I wouldn't be tempted to bottle in the next two days especially if your fermentation temperatures have been low. There is no quality upside to bottling earlier only the danger of creating bottle bombs. Let the temp creep up a little (for example if it is 17 C now, let it creep up to 19 C) and leave it be in the primary until two weeks from pitching. This will give the fermentation a little bit more time and prevent bottle bombs.

Let us know how this 'mistake' turns out please Lambert.


PP

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PP,
Thanks for the answers/feedback/info. I was way too impatient and bottled the beer on Sunday evening - I should have read your post first . The FG was still at 1.019 on Sunday... It's a good idea to increase the temps, I will keep it in mind for future brews. Oh - the temp of the brew during fermentation was pretty much stable at 18 C.
I will give feedback on the brew(s) as soon as I've popped the first bottle... I can't wait.

I'm about to re-order the ingredients in order to brew the correct recipe - I must try the original!

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Hi all,
Some feedback on my first BIAB attempt - where I got Pale wheat malt (ECB 3-4) confused with Roasted Wheat Malt (ECB 900-1000). This is the recipe (Bosun Best Bitter by Andrew Clark) I've followed (7L brew length):

OG = 1.048
S-04 yeast as per the recipe.
Mash temp at 70deg C
Malt
Pale Ale Malt - 1622g
Caramunich malt - 144g
Roasted Wheat malt - 72g
Hops
Goldings 26g 5% 90 mins
EKG 9g 5.2% 15 mins
EKG 9g 5.2% dry hopping 1 week

In the initial posting I've asked what difference the 72g of Wheat Malt will make. Well, my mistake, and subsequent re-brew of the recipe, using pale malt answer that question nicely. It makes a MASSIVE difference. I've attached a photo of the brew - about 5 weeks in the bottle.

blackThing.jpg

I've got no idea what to call or how to categorise this beer - for the time being it will be the Black Thing. Event though its a "mistake" it's as nice, if not nicer than any kit beer I've brewed. The burnt sugar/caramel comes through nicely but it does not overpower. It wants to be a strong ale, and also taste a bit like this one http://www.broughtonales.co.uk/store/in ... roductId=8 but it lacks the mouth feel. It's very very drinkable all the same - I've had worse tasting beer in a pub.

Will I brew it again? - Unlikely. A sneak peak of the "correct" Bosun Bitter (only 3 weeks in the bottle) made it abundantly clear that I have NOT created an award winning brew.(Yes, I know it's like comparing apples with elephants, but still...)

One thing that amazes me is the influence of the 72 grams of roasted malt on the hops. In the "correct" Bosun Bitter the hops is all over you whereas it's barely noticeable in the Black Thing... I'll get to the science behind that one day

Next I'll post some results on the bitter stout and the "correct" Bosun Bitter.

Thanks for everybody who's replied to my post, it's much appreciated.

lambert

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Sounds like a valuable learning experience

And you made beer

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