Will Powell Posted March 16, 2020 Report Share Posted March 16, 2020 Has anyone tried using molasses in a brew? Obviously it'll darken the color, and maybe up the sweetness as it's not all fermentable, but does would it add much depth and flavor, do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain 3 Droids Posted March 16, 2020 Report Share Posted March 16, 2020 Yes, in my stout brewing days, 200 to 250g per 23l batch. This was mixed in just after the boiling stage of biab (brew in a bag for those that don’t know). Added a depth of colour, sweetness and mouthfeel to the stouts. More often than not I’d use brown sugar instead, fermentable and better for head retention. With the molasses 100g of maltodextrin helped in this area. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Powell Posted March 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2020 3 hours ago, Barrelboy said: Yes, in my stout brewing days, 200 to 250g per 23l batch. This was mixed in just after the boiling stage of biab (brew in a bag for those that don’t know). Added a depth of colour, sweetness and mouthfeel to the stouts. More often than not I’d use brown sugar instead, fermentable and better for head retention. With the molasses 100g of maltodextrin helped in this area. Cool. Thanks for that. I've put 56g of Blackstrap molasses and the same of maltodextrin into the Dusk Cerveza Brewprint. Might end up being too sweet after fermentation I suppose. If that's the case I'll add some hops to the kegging maybe? We'll see what happens! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain 3 Droids Posted March 16, 2020 Report Share Posted March 16, 2020 9 minutes ago, Will Powell said: Cool. Thanks for that. I've put 56g of Blackstrap molasses and the same of maltodextrin into the Dusk Cerveza Brewprint. Might end up being too sweet after fermentation I suppose. If that's the case I'll add some hops to the kegging maybe? We'll see what happens! Suspect it will be sweet as the Brewprint ended up somewhat sweet. Not a lot of molasses but H1 or H2 dry hop with citrus and bitter finish should help this one. How did you add the molasses and maltodextrin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Powell Posted March 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2020 2 minutes ago, Barrelboy said: Suspect it will be sweet as the Brewprint ended up somewhat sweet. Not a lot of molasses but H1 or H2 dry hop with citrus and bitter finish should help this one. How did you add the molasses and maltodextrin? Dissolved them straight into the water before adding the yeast and packages. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain 3 Droids Posted April 9, 2020 Report Share Posted April 9, 2020 On 17/03/2020 at 10:16 AM, Will Powell said: Dissolved them straight into the water before adding the yeast and packages. Hi Will, think you probably have kegged/bottle this one. How did it look, smell and did you have a taste? Cheers Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Powell Posted April 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2020 (edited) 9 minutes ago, Barrelboy said: Hi Will, think you probably have kegged/bottle this one. How did it look, smell and did you have a taste? Cheers Mark Kegged it just a couple of days ago actually. Seemed to take quite a while to finish fermenting and there was noticeably a lot more crud in the bottom of the droid after kegging. I’m sure it’s got a technical name. 😉 Taste was good and not as sweet as I expected. There’s still some bitter in there so I didn’t add any hops to the kegs. Was also dark-ish, but not porter like. First impressions at this stage is that at least I didn’t overdo the molasses. I’m going to give it at least a 6 week period before tapping I think. No idea why, just that so far the 2 week suggested time seems to end up being a little ‘thin’. The Aztec I recently did certainly benefited from an additional 2 weeks. Edited April 9, 2020 by Will Powell 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain 3 Droids Posted April 9, 2020 Report Share Posted April 9, 2020 8 minutes ago, Will Powell said: Kegged it just a couple of days ago actually. Seemed to take quite a while to finish fermenting and there was noticeably a lot more crud in the bottom of the droid after kegging. I’m sure it’s got a technical name. 😉 Taste was good and not as sweet as I expected. There’s still some bitter in there so I didn’t add any hops to the kegs. Was also dark-ish, but not porter like. First impressions at this stage is that at least I didn’t overdo the molasses. I’m going to give it at least a 6 week period before tapping I think. No idea why, just that so far the 2 week suggested time seems to end up being a little ‘thin’. The Aztec I recently did certainly benefited from an additional 2 weeks. Sounds good. 6 to 8 weeks is a good start. Like your brewing chart, have a Czech Pilsner in a droid as well, top drop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Powell Posted April 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2020 2 minutes ago, Barrelboy said: Sounds good. 6 to 8 weeks is a good start. Like your brewing chart, have a Czech Pilsner in a droid as well, top drop. As I’m now pretty much unemployed this seemed like a better use of the whiteboard in my office. 😂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Powell Posted April 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2020 48 minutes ago, Barrelboy said: Sounds good. 6 to 8 weeks is a good start. Like your brewing chart, have a Czech Pilsner in a droid as well, top drop. Did you just use the brewprint for the Pilsner, or are you altering it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain 3 Droids Posted April 9, 2020 Report Share Posted April 9, 2020 21 minutes ago, Will Powell said: Did you just use the brewprint for the Pilsner, or are you altering it? I use the Brewprint ingredients accept for the hops, I dry hop with 20g of Czech Saaz pellets in a reusable hop bag. Dropped that in on day seven, now on its 9th day, expect to keg Friday or Saturday. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Powell Posted April 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2020 Now I need to google Dry Hopping. That might be a rabbit hole I'm not ready to go down just yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain 3 Droids Posted April 9, 2020 Report Share Posted April 9, 2020 5 minutes ago, Will Powell said: Now I need to google Dry Hopping. That might be a rabbit hole I'm not ready to go down just yet. There’s a fair bit on here about it, go to main threads, under “Advanced Brewing...” you’ll find topic “dry hopping 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Courtney Posted April 9, 2020 Report Share Posted April 9, 2020 5 hours ago, Will Powell said: Now I need to google Dry Hopping. That might be a rabbit hole I'm not ready to go down just yet. Yep, space ain't mans final frontier, bloody dry hopping is 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain 3 Droids Posted April 9, 2020 Report Share Posted April 9, 2020 1 hour ago, Rob Courtney said: Yep, space ain't mans final frontier, bloody dry hopping is Just to give you a picture of my hop stock varieties (for known and experimentation). Makes brewing more fun. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRYON BILLMAN Posted April 22, 2020 Report Share Posted April 22, 2020 On 08/04/2020 at 10:48 PM, Barrelboy said: I use the Brewprint ingredients accept for the hops, I dry hop with 20g of Czech Saaz pellets in a reusable hop bag. Dropped that in on day seven, now on its 9th day, expect to keg Friday or Saturday. Hey Barrelboy, I'm new to the BeerDriod process and interested in trying dry hopping at some point. It looks like from most of the dry hop forum responses, dry hops are added with about 48 hours left in the first fermentation. How do you identify the particular brewing profile to know when you have sufficient time remaining to add the dry hops? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain 3 Droids Posted April 23, 2020 Report Share Posted April 23, 2020 32 minutes ago, BRYON BILLMAN said: Hey Barrelboy, I'm new to the BeerDriod process and interested in trying dry hopping at some point. It looks like from most of the dry hop forum responses, dry hops are added with about 48 hours left in the first fermentation. How do you identify the particular brewing profile to know when you have sufficient time remaining to add the dry hops? Hi Bryon, Mark here and welcome. Initially I would add the hops when the droid advised that fermentation had finished and was ready to keg, leaving them in there for 24hrs. However now having done particularly brews are number of times I have recorded the days when fermentation has completed so I now add a day before the predicted finish is due. It is not 100% accurate but if the hops are in for a couple of days, no harm or detrimental effects. If you advise what brew I could let you know a predicted fermentation finished based on my records if you don’t want to the droid “tied up” for 24hrs. (other than time for next brew no harm in leaving) Please feel free to ask away with any questions ect, good mob here to assist. Cheers Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRYON BILLMAN Posted April 23, 2020 Report Share Posted April 23, 2020 Thanks Mark! I'm brewing my first pale ale right now so it may be a bit before I experiment but i'll definitely get back with you. I appreciate the quick response. Cheers!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Powell Posted June 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2020 (edited) On 08/04/2020 at 6:18 PM, Barrelboy said: Hi Will, think you probably have kegged/bottle this one. How did it look, smell and did you have a taste? Cheers Mark I’ve just tapped the keg on this one (8weeks) and it’s SUPER interesting. It pours with a massive, thick head which settles out and is very dark. It’s definitely on the sweeter side but has almost a Belgian / Trappist tone to the flavor. It’s got a deep mouthfeel and is very rich. Its unfortunate we’re just getting to summer because it tastes like a winter brew, but I’m really happy with this one. Edited June 8, 2020 by Will Powell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain 3 Droids Posted June 8, 2020 Report Share Posted June 8, 2020 23 minutes ago, Will Powell said: I’ve just tapped the keg on this one (8weeks) and it’s SUPER interesting. It pours with a massive, thick head which settles out and is very dark. It’s definitely on the sweeter side but has almost a Belgian / Trappist tone to the flavor. It’s got a deep mouthfeel and is very rich. Its unfortunate we’re just getting to summer because it tastes like a winter brew, but I’m really happy with this one. You’ll probably find the head will be less after the first couple of pours. If your not doing it I find with a bit extra carbonation if I tilt the glass at nearly 90 degrees to the tap and slowly straight as it hits the lip the head will be reduced quite a bit. Plus very cold glasses. It certainly looks good and the molasses would give that Trappist tone to the flavour. Cheers Mark Not to late to brew another if you rate it highl6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillies Brewing Posted February 15, 2022 Report Share Posted February 15, 2022 I know this is a dead thread but it's something I have some experience with... What I did a long time ago in pre-beerdroid days was for some reason (I think I needed something speedy to brew and carbonate) I found some "recipe" (basic scrawl of instructions) for a "beer" from ships in the 1700s that used molasses instead of malt. I basically made it like a LME kit, and I hopped it at the end as it cooled. I'm not saying molasses can't be used in beer but you sure should use it in moderation. The result was the "Unrepresentative Swill Sailor's Ration" and though not entirely undrinkable it sure wasn't pleasant. It was universally lauded (and rightfully so, including by myself) as the worst beer anyone present had ever tasted at the Brewers Of Own Beer Society blind tasting. I even tried some that had been conditioning for over a year when I got the droid and dug out my old set of bottles. Marginally better but most of the rest still went down the sink. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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