For this one I used, more or less, the grain bill for Denny Conn’s “Noti Brown Ale” recipe. Note that the hop bill was not at all the same. As a quick aside, if you haven’t brewed a Noti Brown Ale I highly recommend it, tasty!
I’ve been getting into hyper low alcohol beers. I can’t say that they taste the same as their heavier weight counterparts but they are satisfying in their own way.
If you want more info on brewing using the “cold extraction”, “non-enzymatic mashing”, or “cold mashing”. See the links below:
Overview
- Packaging volume: 19 L (5 gal)
- OG 1.021
- FG 1.009
- EBC 39.5
- IBU 14 (estimated 80% utilization) Tinseth
- Steep 8+ hours (cold) *actual was 7:30 pm to 10:45 am at 9 ° C
- Convert at 70 °C (30 minutes) *actual was 72 °C
- Boil for 30 minutes
- Carbonation 2.2 Vol
Fermentables
- 3.5 kg — The Swaen Swaen Ale — Grain — 7.1 EBC
- 2 kg — Briess Munich — Grain — 19.7 EBC
- 550 g — Weyermann Carared — Grain — 47.5 EBC
- 225 g — Weyermann Carafa I — Grain — 630 EBC
- 200 g Lactose (added post fermentation)
Hops
- 20 g — Willamette 7.8%AA — FWH — 30 min (Boil)
Yeast
- 75 ml — Mangrove Jack’s M36 Liberty Bell — Slurry
Water (RO)
- 4 g — Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) — Mash
- 2 g — Gypsum (CaSO4) — Mash
Fermentation
- 20 °C (probe on the side of the bucket in my fermentation chamber)
- Fermentation slowed after two days and FG was definitely reached by day 3. I kegged it after 6 days total.
Tasting
Appearance -Dark brown. Decent looking light tan head that stuck around for 5 minutes and resolved into a thin layer. No gelatin but crystal clear after about a week in the keg
Aroma – Nutty and slightly grainy
Mouthfeel – Pre-lactose addition it finished very dry. With lactose it’s got a nice smoothness bordering on silky. Thin-medium fullness.
Taste – Nutty and ever so slightly sweet at first with roast and a slight bitterness in the back of my throat at the end. A tiny bit of raw grain.
Impressions and Changes
Overall this beer was pretty good but there is definitely room for improvement.
When I first tasted it, it came across quite dry, possibly tannin like. That’s when I added the 200g of lactose to round it out. I must admit that there’s a small part of me that feels this is an underhanded trick but the effect was exactly what I wanted. It made it less dry on the finish and made the mouthfeel fuller.
Next time around I’d like to step back on the Carafa I and maybe bump up the caramel malt. I will also reduce the amount of hops to get closer to an estimated 8-10 IBUs .
Feel free to comment below!
4 thoughts on “Cold Extraction Brown Ale 1.5% ABV”
I’m really interested in this recipe, but was confused by one thing. You say the hops are FWH, but then also a 30 minute boil. So does that mean you add the hops after removing your grains, so they’re in there while the water heats up, goes through conversion, and then you have a 30 minute boil? But all the hops added at FWH stage?
How much did you plan to reduce hops the next time around?
I understand the confusion. I added my hops as a first wort hop addition. And I only boiled the wort for 30 minutes. Feel free to add your hops at a FWH or at 30 minutes if you want to do a 30 minute boil. Or you can do a more traditional 60 minute boil. I like short boils.
Using a calculator, target 8-10 IBUs. Take note that a lot of calculators are not very accurate when it comes to estimating the difference between boiling hops for 30 minutes vs boiling them for 60 minutes.
There is an in-depth study out there that says the actual IBU contribution difference is minimal between the above mentioned boil lengths.
All that to say, set your boil length for 60 minutes with your calculator and target 8-10 IBUs, whether or not your actual boil length is 60 minutes or 30 minutes.
Thank you. I’m assuming the 8-10 IBU calculation is based on an assumed efficiency rate of about 25% or less. Correct? I was assuming about 2.8 to 3 AAs for 30 minutes. Does that sound about right?
Also, you did the extraction at 9 degrees C. Did you have any concerns about infection at that temperature? Could there be a benefit to do the extraction at a slightly lower temp – say 2-4 degrees C?
Joshua,
Sorry for the slow response. Use your normal efficiency rate for your hops. The conversion of alpha acid is not changed dramatically when brewing low abv beer. If anything I’d expect higher conversion rates.
Is 2.8 to 3 AA a measure of the alpha content of the hops your using? Regardless of hop choice just target 8 ish IBUs.
I don’t think that 9 C for a day is problem. It will be boiled regardless but there is nothing wrong with dropping the temp to 2-4 degrees. I used 9 because that was ambient in my sunroom at the time.
Hope that helps.