Modern Homebrew Recipes (55 page)

And that’s how I use software. It’s kind of a cobbled-together approach, but I find it flexible for my requirements. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not likely the average brewer, so I don’t want to imply that this is an approach everyone should use. It’s meant to illustrate how you can look at the full range of your requirements and pick the products that best meet your needs.

Products mentioned:

C. WORKING WITH EXTRACT RECIPES

RECIPE CONVERSION

The ability to convert between all-grain and extract recipes is a skill every brewer should master. You shouldn’t have to pass on a great-sounding recipe just because it’s all-grain and you only brew extract beers. Likewise, you might sometimes find wonderful extract recipes in basic brewing books, and want to brew them on your all-grain system.

In the United States, more than half of all brewers are extract brewers, but the percentage of all-grain brewers keeps growing. Homebrewers in South America are all-grain brewers because malt extract is not available. Don’t make the assumption that brewing using a particular method equates to skill level or experience. Brewers of all skill levels might need to convert recipes to suit their needs.

My recipes are all-grain because that’s how I brew. I’m not comfortable giving extract versions if I haven’t actually brewed them. I am, however, more than happy to describe the conversion process so that you can adapt them yourself.

CONVERTING ALL-GRAIN RECIPES TO EXTRACT

I’ll first give you my method for converting recipes, and then walk through an example and discuss the various points where there might be alternatives. The basic method involves substituting malt sources; more advanced approaches look at other aspects of the beer (I’ll cover those separately). Note that this method uses the US customary measurement system (sometimes colloquially known as English units), but the quantities can be converted to metric afterwards, if needed.

1. Address malt first
– In the recipe, separate the mashed grains from the steeped grains. Steeped grains are crystal malts, dark/roasted malts and grains, and anything that does not contain convertible starches. If it’s already a form of sugar, leave it alone, it doesn’t need to be converted. Mashed grains are generally base malts (two-row, pale ale, Pilsner, Vienna, Munich, and similar) that make up the bulk of the grist.

2. Get recipe parameters
– You’ll need to have the batch size and the system efficiency in the recipe. If this information isn’t present, you’ll need to calculate it (recipe software can help). I’m assuming you’ll be brewing a batch of the same size as the original recipe (if you’re not, see the
Advanced Topics
). Keeping the volumes equal allows you to use the original recipe’s OG and IBU, saving you considerable time and effort.

3. Calculate total gravity points contributed by base malts
– Add up the total pounds of base malts. Multiply this number by the system efficiency. Then multiply the product by the theoretical extract from the base malt. This can vary by type of malt, but is generally 36 to 38 points per pound (if you are unsure, use 37). The result represents the total number of gravity points in the wort that must be replaced by extract.

4. Replace gravity points with an equivalent amount of pale extract
– If you want to substitute liquid malt extract (LME) for the base malts, divide the total gravity points contributed by the base malts by 36 to get the pounds of LME (or liquid sugars) required. If substituting with dry malt extract (DME), divide the total gravity points contributed by the base malts by 45 to get the pounds of DME (or dry sugars) required. If you want to use both LME and DME, keep in mind that the total gravity points contributed by malt extract should match what was contributed by the base malts in the original recipe.

5. Steep steeped grains, then boil with extract
– The most common extract brewing process involves putting crushed specialty grains in a mesh bag and holding it in the strike water at 150–170°F (66–77°C) for between 15 and 30 minutes. After the grains have been removed, the malt extract is added, and the kettle is brought to boil. From this point on, the converted
recipe should be the same as the original (hop additions, chilling, fermentation, and packaging).

As an example, consider this partial recipe for a dark mild (for the full recipe, see
Simplicity Mild
):

Using my process step by step, we can convert this to extract:

1. Base malt: 7 lb.; steeping malts: 19 oz (12 oz + 7 oz)

2. Batch size: 6.5 gallons; Efficiency: 75%

3. 7 lb. • 0.75 • 37 points per pound = 194.25 points

4. 194.25 / 36 = 5.4 lb. LME (or 194.25 / 45 = 4.3 lb. DME)

The converted extract recipe would be:

Steep crystal and chocolate malt in mesh bag in 8 gallons 158°F water for 15 minutes. Remove bag from water, add liquid malt extract, bring to a boil, and boil 60 minutes. Ferment at 66°F.

Be sure to check your calculations:

5.4 lb. • 36 points per pound = 194.4 points.

19 oz = 1.2 pounds. 1.2 lb. • 30 points per pound = 36 points.

194.4 + 36 = 230.4 points.

230.4 points / 6.5 gallons = 35.4 points per gallon

35.4 is close to 36, or 1.036 starting gravity; recipe validated.

With rounding and approximation, the number won’t usually be exact, but should be close. Note that I also averaged the gravity contributions
from specialty malts, using 30 points per pound for combined crystal-type and dark malts. For a more accurate calculation, calculate the contributions independently.

With me so far? Let’s try a bit more complicated example. Consider this Belgian
dubbel
(for the full recipe, see
Traditional Homebrew Dubbel
)

OK, maybe
a lot
more complicated. A version of this recipe was my first all-grain batch, since I knew I couldn’t get the same malt flavors from extract. But let’s see how close we can get when following my process:

1. Base malt: 13.5 lb. (pale, Munich, dark Munich, Aromatic); steeping malt: 19 oz (caraPils, caraMunich, special B, chocolate wheat); sugar 1 lb.

2. Batch size: 6.5 gallons; Efficiency: 70%

3. 13.5 lb. • 0.7 • 37 points per pound = 350 points

4. 350 / 36 = 9.7 lb. LME (or 350 / 45 = 7.8 lb. DME)

The converted extract recipe would be:

Steep specialty malts in mesh bag in 8 gallons 158°F water for 15 minutes. Remove bag from water, add liquid malt extracts and candi sugar, bring to a boil, and boil 60 minutes. Ferment at 64°F.

Be sure to check your calculations:

5 lb. • 36 points per pound = 180 points

4.7 lb. • 36 points per pound = 169 points

19 oz = 1.2 pounds. 1.2 lb. • 30 points per pound = 36 points

1 lb candi sugar = 45 points

180 + 169 + 36 + 45 = 430 points

430 points / 6.5 gallons = 66 points per gallon

66 is close to 64, or 1.064 starting gravity; recipe validated

Did you see the extra trick I slipped in (it’s something I cover in the advanced tips)? I noticed that some of the base malts included Munich-type malts (Munich, dark Munich, Aromatic) so I separated those from the pale ale malt, converted them into Munich malt extract, and used the more common pale malt extract for the pale ale malt.

This method will result in beer similar to the all-grain version, but it is unlikely to taste exactly the same due to the differences in ingredients and methods. If you’re a perfectionist and want your extract brew to be an even closer match, there are still a few more advanced methods you can try.

ADVANCED TOPICS IN EXTRACT RECIPE CONVERSION

Not all recipes are easily converted. Sometimes there are ingredients that can’t be found in extract form, or sometimes the recipe needs to be adapted to the size or idiosyncrasies of your brewing system. Rather than overly complicate the basic recipe conversion procedure, I’ve separated
out the special cases and optimizations. Use any or all of them if they apply, and you want to make your recipe more accurate. Many of these methods can be calculated using recipe software.

Concentrated boil
– If doing a concentrated boil (boiling less than the full wort volume, adding water post-boil to reach the target volume; sometimes called a
partial boil
), your original bitterness calculations will likely be wrong. The extraction of bitterness from hops is gravity-dependent, with higher gravities resulting in lower hop utilization. A concentrated boil has the same amount of sugar in a smaller quantity of water, so the gravity will always be higher. You can correct for this difference by first calculating the bitterness obtained using the parameters of the actual boil (which is a higher-gravity, smaller-sized batch than the full recipe), then further reducing the bitterness due to dilution as the partial boil is topped up with water in the fermenter.