Hello everyone... It's nice to interact after all the Google searches have turned up threads from here over the years. I'm bored of brewing with the same old base malt bills. And bittering agents, but that's another thread. Going on a completely experimental kick. First stop: a mashup of base grains. Anybody tried anything like 2 lbs each of 6 different base malts? Or 1 lb each of 12? My gut tells me it could get too muddled but I gotta start somewhere. A simple bittering charge and a flame out addition of a single hop to see what the mashup brings to the table. And a yeast that will bring the malt forward more than the hops. Am I crazy? Interested in hearing what some of you all think.
Welcome to the BA site, Arturo2, and to the Homebrewing forum. I personally think that mixing too many hops together in combo can produce a muddled mess unless you are a hop flavor genius, so I suppose the same can happen with too many base malts. But experimenting is the basis for great results sometimes. Enjoy your time while here.
Homebrewing is about experimenting. If you think it'll come out good - go for it. I don't know how much of a mess a bunch of base grains will be, each one brings a little something to the table, but it's not dramatic. I once did a Black IPA that had 6 or 8 different grains in it - didn't quite work how I planned. For experimentation, I more recommend doing SMASH beers - single malt and single hops. Do small batches, 1 or 2 gallons, do everything the same, except for the base grain. that way you can get an idea what the differences are between each one. Same thing with hops - small batches only changing the variety. Some hop varieties with play better with certain ones than others - IMO Chinook and Simcoe go together well, but Chinook with Citra, not so much. (YMMV.)
They are called base malts for a reason. Feel free to experiment. Just keep in mind a few hundred years of malting has provided us nearly perfect base malts, and it seems unlikely you can make it better. Big but here; the same was said about just about every other ingredient used in modern brewing. Go for it. Me personally. SMASH. Great ingredients make great beer. And you can learn something with a SMASH. Cheers.
I like a good Smash and yes they certainly are a good teaching tool. I learned that I don't like Eldorado at all when I did a Munich Eldorado this past year. I think the problem is boredom because everybody else likes what I'm doing more than I do. That's why I'm looking for something different. I also agree that too many different hops can muddy an ale to the point of saturation. I'm hoping that a bunch of different base malts will be subtle, but noticeable and different. Which ones can do that will be the challenge. Today I bought 2 lbs each of Munich, Pilsner, Red X, Full Pint, Vienna and MO. Red X might be cheating a little but it can be used 100% where a Crystal can't. Leaning towards 100% Centennial. The yeast is key I think. Want a malt forward brew with a cleanish finish but not a 001/S4 type.
I mix base malts fairly often. But usually just two. Maris otter, Munich, or Vienna make a nice complement to US 2-row for American ales. Munich or Vienna plus Pils is pretty common for my Belgian and German beers. I used pils and Red X in an alt, a few batches back, and Maris and 2-row in my most recent pale ale. But mixing 6 or 12? Not for me. I lean more towards "brewing on the ones," usually trying to limit complexity to one or two facets that can shine.
I'd have thought that a better way of figuring that out would be doing six small batches (maybe just a gallon each) of a simple recipe using the same yeast and hops but with a different base malt for each, and then trying different blends in the glass. From my experience of cooking, at least, you tend to arrive at really good complex recipes by starting with a simple recipe that basically works and then thinking about whether there's something extra that could add another dimension to it, not by starting with a random mash-up of ingredients and then trying to identify what's working and what isn't in the midst of the chaos.
PWeis... Yes, of course .. but that's been done. Nothing new. Dave S... Your post has peaked my interest. Kind of like blending wines. Why not blend worts? It's more work, but it does give you more control I would think. Pre or post fermentation... Pre or post hopped... I've got to think about this.
For the purposes of trying stuff out to find combinations that you like, I'd say post packaging! Do as many batches as you can at the smallest size you can with the base malt being the only thing you vary. Bottle or keg them, and then crack a bunch at the same time and see what combinations you like in what proportions. To be honest, I'm mildly sceptical that you've exhausted all the possibilities for making beer with a single base malt, but in any case you'll probably learn something.
When i started all grain i had zero clue about grains so i went by their descriptions and used small amounts of about 15 grains and called it a Frankenbrew. The recipe is hilarious.Somehow it came out decent and remembered to save it. I made a second one with 3 different yeasts added at different times and it also wasn't bad. lol
That’s the spirit! I hope I didn’t disrespect anyone ... especially the long timers. I’ve got about 50 brews under my belt. Using SSBrewtech kettle/conical/temp control. Jerryrigged a mash tun from a HD cooler. My ales are good. My lagers too as I have a super cool crawl space I can fit a glass carboy in. I’m just a type Z. Always looking for something different. I enjoy the creative aspect of brewing more than the imbibing actually as I prefer wine as my drink of choice. But you can only vint once a year from local grapes. Brewing gives me many more chances to try stuff out. Appreciate all the replies. Cheers!
This blending of yeasts is also intriguing to me. I was under the impression the dominant yeast would take over and you’d just be wasting the others. But as I read more around this site I’m learning some new techniques ... such as the thread with the discontinued saison yeast and guys/gals blending to try and recreate it. Awesome stuff.
Mike Tonsmeire of Sapwood Cellars has experimented with blending yeast strains. Here's a blog post (link) where he brews one half of the batch with only S-04 and the other half with a blend of S-04 and T-58.
