Grain Shopping

Eartha sampling a previous brew

It's time for Home Brew Kimener to start beer number 9. Each HBK batch of beer is started on the first Sunday of the month and in keeping with the rotation August is Eartha's choice, she has decided on a Sweet Corn Cream Ale.  Tim has in his mind the ingredients to make this interesting ale be so. But to do the first step in brewing we must go shopping! 







Any good brew must first start with picking out the ingredients and grain, you will be surprised how excited that Tim guy can get about grain. First we went to Kruger's Hawthorne Farm Stand a local farmers market. We looked to see if they had sweet corn on the cob, and we were in luck! They had bi-color corn and after some quick smart phone research and them letting us try an ear (by the way it was awesome raw!) we knew it was in fact a type of sweet corn.  Sweet corn comes in three colors: yellow, white, and bi-color (yellow and white). We were aiming for 1 pound of kernels once it was off the cob; we got 13 ears, and did not estimate very well. Tim ended up using 2.5lbs in the mashing and had plenty more ears to spare.

The grain at U-Brew

Next stop was to get the grain at a local friendly home brewing store called U- Brew (http://www.portlandubrewandpub.com/).

3 grains mixed

Going off of Tim’s notes of what to get we started with 16lbs of our base malt Maris Otter Pale Ale- (2.5-3.5°L) Maris Otter is a British barley malt variety known for producing beers with a full malty flavor.  Next was 3lbs of Biscuit Malt- (25°L) Biscuit is a roasted malt, with a slightly burned biscuit like flavor, with a brown color. Then 1lbs of Cara-Pils (Dextrin) - (1.2°L) Used to increased foam, improved head retention and enhanced mouthfeel (the perception of body in the beer. Body is how heavy or how light a beer feels in the mouth.).  You probably noticed the numbers with the °L in the parentheses; the numbers are “Degrees Lovibond”, from the system used to characterize beer color. The original lovibond system was created by J.W. Lovibond in 1883, and used colored slides that were compared to the beer color to determine approximate value. For decades, beer was compared to colored glass standards to determine the Lovibond color, and we still use the term “Degrees Lovibond” extensively today to describe the color of grains. Moving on, once we had all our grain measured out and poured into the bucket it’s time to mill.

Milling station

Grain after milling

Milling is crushing malt to retain barley husk integrity while exposing starchy endosperm.  The goal is to expose the starch parts of the barley kernel. You don’t want to pulverize malts into flour. By simply cracking the grains and leaving the husks mostly in tact you will have the best brewhouse yield (percentage of sugar liberated from the malted grain) while still being able to sparge and lauter effectively (don’t worry we will get into those fun words later). Most homebrewers do this at their local homebrew shop like us. You can also use a rolling pin to crack the grains if simply steeping a small percentage of your malts as in partial mashes. U- Brew has a great machine that you just pour in your grain and it spits it out the bottom, Ta-Da! You’re done.



     

Rice hulls



Once the milling is done we measured out 2lbs of Flaked Corn (Maize) - Flaked corn is a common adjunct in British bitters and milds and used to be used extensively in American light lager (although today corn grits are more common). Properly used, corn will lighten the color and body of the beer without overpowering the flavor. The Corn must be mashed with the base malt.  Then 2lbs of Flaked Barley- (Unmalted barley), Flakes are easiest to use. Otherwise, the unmalted barley must be gelatinized (made soluble by heat and pressure) prior to mashing. Flaked unmalted barley is often used in Stouts to provide protein for head retention and body. It can also be used in other strong ale styles. Flaked barley also must be mashed with the base malt. Next was 2lbs of Rice Hulls - the hulls of rice are not fermentable, but they can be useful in the mash. The hulls provide bulk and help prevent the mash from settling and becoming stuck during the sparge.

 



  

Last but most definitely not least Tim grabbed a few packages of yeast:

1056 American Ale- This has very clean, crisp flavor characteristics with low fruitiness and mild ester production. A very versatile yeast for styles that desire dominant malt and hop character. This strain makes a wonderful “House” strain. Mild citrus notes develop with cooler 60-66°F fermentations. Normally requires filtration for bright beers.

Flocculation: Medium-Low
Attenuation: 73-77%
Temperature Range: 60-72°F

Alcohol Tolerance: 11% ABV

2124 Bohemian Lager- This Carlsberg type yeast is the most widely used lager strain in the world. This strain produces a distinct malty profile with some ester character and a crisp finish. A versatile strain, that is great to use with lagers or Pilsners for fermentations in the 45-55°F range. It may also be used for Common beer production with fermentations at 65-68°F. A thorough diacetyl rest is recommended after fermentation is complete.

Flocculation: Medium-low
Attenuation: 73-77%
Temperature Range: 45-68°F
Alcohol Tolerance: 9% ABV

Next up Co-Blogger Josh will talk about what happens in the first day of beer making.