Real Partial Mash Recipes at BrewToad

I have used almost all of the different brewing software over the years. Before BeerSmith came out we would fill out worksheets to make our calculations.  They looked a little like a brewing log does now, but you filled them out by hand and used a calculator to figure out where you would come out on OG and AAUs.  This was before it was universally agreed that we should call the hop bitterness IBUs.  By the time you were done farting around with a recipe the worksheet would be tattered and covered with smudged ink scribbling, but it was fun.  BJCP was in existence but not really in its full capacity.   We didn't care what the specific style guidelines were, we just got inspired by the latest BYO or Zymurgy and brewed.   I remember, now that I am reminiscing, that we were always excited when the local home brew shops "newsletter" would arrive in the mail.  And we made some pretty damned good beer.   Our white stout recipe was born one day when we forgot the darker grains. According to BJCP it is an incorrect "Blonde Ale".  But back then we called it the "stout and sultry".

A frustration I have when searching online for Partial Mash recipes is, most of the recipes are just extract recipes with additional grain.   And since the recipes are user created they can be categorized as whatever the user wants to call them.   You see some doozies on line.  I just saw a "partial mash" recipe that had  1 lbs of chocolate malt, 1.25 lbs of black malt, and .5 lbs of cara 60 lovibond.  Do you see any mash-able grains in that list? Combined with 9.9lbs of amber LME, it was supposed to be an imperial stout.  What it would actually be is an undrinkable extract batch that, I'm sure you'll agree, will taste like burnt grain.   So, rather than trying to change this, I have decided to react to it with real recipes.

Recently I have found myself using BrewToad pretty much exclusively.  It is just easy.   Easy to plan and easy to use.  The only frustration is that on the weekends the site can get overloaded.  (update, they have been fantastic in customer response, they have let me know they are adding capacity currently.)   They are working to correct this issue.  I'm not sure they understood what a great site they had created.

I have posted 20 or so "Real Partial Mash" recipes on the site.   Just go to BrewToad and type in "( Real Partial Mash ) "  yes, include the parenthesis.  The recipes will come up.   Feel free to use them.  And if you have any recipes you want converted to Partial mash, just leave me a reply I will be happy to convert them for you.   Just leave the recipe or beer you want converted and let me know if you are a full volume boiler or if you add water and how much?  By the way, subscribe to BrewToad.  Its worth the $20 a year.

Gotta recipe for me to convert? Leave a comment I'll be happy to help.

Ok I said never again. But...

I tasted a raspberry wheat beer last night.  I forced a 1 liter in a sanitized coke bottle (PET).

I know I said never again, but Wow.  This may be the best raspberry wheat beer I have ever tried.   And I made it.   In my kitchen.

So the old adage, "never say never"  holds true.   Because this morning I find my self already planning my next raspberry wheat beer.   But I think Ill make some changes.    I'm going to try both extract and (fresh puree).

Easy Texas Two Step Raspberry Wheat Beer: Extract with Grains with Raspberry Extract.
(a raspberry wheat you can make in your kitchen or counter top)

1 lbs  Flaked Wheat
1 lbs  Honey Malt
3.3 lbs Liquid Malt Extract Preferably Wheat  I like Briess
2  lbs Dry Malt Extract Wheat
1 oz Cluster hops (7 AAU) at 30
1 oz Hersbrucker (4 AAU) at 5 Minutes
1 satchel of Fermentis US-05
1 tsp of yeast nutrient

• Steep Grains at around 155-158 for 30 Minutes in 1 Gallon of Water
• Rinse Grains with .5 Gallon of Water.
• Add Dry Malt Extract with heat off and stir to mix it all in to the wort
• Separate the Wort into two 4 Gallon or larger pots
• Add Near Boiling Water to bring boil up to 6 Gallons
• Bring both pots to a boil
• with 30 minutes left add Cluster Hops in a bag
• with 5 minutes left add Hersbrucker Hops in a bag
• with 4.9 minutes left add the Liquid Malt Extract (heat off ) stir in, heat back on.
• with 4.9 minutes left add yeast nutrient.
• At the end of boil you should have around 5 gallons of wort.
• Chill wort (or don't chill, you can just put the lid on at flame out, let it cool for an hour or two, wrap the top of the pot, where the lid sits with plastic wrap and let it cool slowly, when I do this I let it sit all night.) 
• Pitch entire satchel of US-05
• Ferment at 65-68F 14 days in Primary
• Right before you transfer to 2ndary, Create a raspberry puree of 3 lbs of frozen raspberries. 
• Add to pot, bring to 160 F for 10 Minutes
• Mash with a potato masher.
• Run through a fine sieve with cheese cloth. to remove all seeds and skins
• Rack beer onto Puree. 
• A slight new fermentation will start. leave it alone for 2 weeks.
• On bottling day add bottling sugar and 1-2 oz of Raspberry Extract to bottling Bucket.  The amount will depend on the flavor provided by the puree.   So taste it and decide.   The extract has better aroma, the puree better flavor. 
• Condition for 1 Week, or longer it gets better with age. 

This will work for any fruit wheat beer.  Try it with apricot...yum