Secret Ingredients

brown malt

 

This was the first I used any of these. They're together because someone at Midwest/nb thought they'd make a good kit, and they were having a b2g1 or similar sale. I figured why not let a company with experience show me how to use them. Thumbs down. But I really haven't tasted those characteristic flavors, except for the cat pee

 

Only if he was going to an imaginary fruit beer festival ; )

 

gets a telejunkie
Have you tried malt conditioning? Still get 80-85% efficiency with beautifully cracked hulls that release the starch, but doesn't shred the husk. It's pretty easy for 5 gallon batch, but I'll get lazy sometimes on larger batches though...

 

Not much...i guess columbus hops had been a 'secret' ingredients for my good ipas and dipas for years, but that was thanks to Pliny....

 

No, tell me more

 

I started to write a reply...but decided best to leave it to the man who introduced it to me:
http://www.braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Malt_Conditioning

 

Have you had Lagunitas Citrusenisus Pale Ale? This is what I imagine adding citric acid to a Pale Ale/IPA would taste like. Not a bad thing, just different.

 

I don't think I would have the patience even for 5 gal batches, but sounds interesting

 

melanoidin gives a really nice bready/crusty taste that i enjoy. i also love the flavors from different raw honeys.

 

Along those same lines, I'm a sucker to include just a bit of Belgian aromatic and/or Biscuit in just about everything I brew. I love that bready-ness

 

Clementines

 

@GUNSLINGER pm me about dry weeding ratios please...

 

I knew you would say that...so predictable.

 

Done.

 

Definitely with you re the Briess Ashburne...it's good stuff at a very good price, and I also occasionally use their CaraBrown as well. Gambrinus' Honey Malt and the European 'melanoidin' malts also find theri way into a good number of my regular brews.

Two other things I use with great regularity which most of my homebrew friends don't use (and even turn their noses up at) are #2 & #3 invert (sugar) syrup, and flaked corn (which I buy quite cheaply at the many Indo-**** stores where I live...they call it "Poha"). Invert syrup and maize are traditional ingredients in many British brews (going back more than 125 years) and my attempts at recreating them were not successful until I abandoned the "all malt" hype that was rammed down homebrewer's throats in the '80s & '90s (used properly, there is absolutely no sacrifice in flavor or body in the resulting beers...quite the opposite, actually).