So the recipes I use always have dry grains left over (anywhere from .5 to 2 lbs). The type ranges from Munich to 2-row to Briess and many in between. I would like to make a brew out of this, but I don’t know what would be the best selection of hops and yeast. I understand that it might taste weird, but I’m willing to accept it to avoid throwing away good grain.
What would be the best subtle hop selection? I’m not a big IPA fan, I love lagers and stouts, with minor hop flavor.
And what would be the best type of yeast? Lager? Ale? I’m a novice so I’m not all that in-tune with the best yeast for the job.
I appreciate the help.
Cheers ya’ll
can you post exactly what grains you have? Those will determine the recipe. Long and short, you are probably better off just buying some pale extract (I’m assuming you are extract brewing) and making something that way. Why make (try to make) something that doesn’t taste good?
You could possibly do some small extractions to collect wort for yeast starters.
I know off the top of my head, I have 2-row, Pilsner, Munich and Briess. The “garbage” will be added to as I’m doing a Hefeweisen and a Bourbon Beer in the next month.
This is all grain. I don’t do extract. It’s not as fun, and I can’t control the wort as much as I would like.
I know off the top of my head, I have 2-row, Pilsner, Munich and Briess. The “garbage” will be added to as I’m doing a Hefeweisen and a Bourbon Beer in the next month.
This is all grain. I don’t do extract. It’s not as fun, and I can’t control the wort as much as I would like.[/quote]
You can use the pils for your hefe, and you can use the 2-row for your bourbon beer (not sure what the base style is).
The best way to develop a recipe is to figure out what you want the beer to taste like then work backward. But if you really want to just throw everything in the mash tun and run wild, I would just do 0.5oz of magnum or warrior at 60 minutes, then use US-05. Or just let it spontaneously ferment with wild yeast. That should really enhance the garbage notes :mrgreen:
In all seriousness I’m not trying to deflate your idea. And the answer to your question is “yes”, you can make a fermented beverage out of your leftover grains by throwing them in hot water, draining, boiling, and fermenting. But if there’s no thought given to the grains, why give any to the yeast or hops? If you want those ingredients to be ‘out of the way’ for your experimental beer, I would suggest just using neutral hops/yeast as I’ve suggested above.
@Pietro
That’s pretty helpful. I’ve already got new grain set aside for the Hef and Bourbon. I’m just adding left over dry grain to my current left overs. I’m just not interested in throwing away good dry grain when I could use it for an interesting garbage brew. Buying hops and yeast doesn’t bother me, as I use it all.
But again, your suggestions for hops and yeast. I will definitely look into that. And I’ll post my “results.” I look forward to the interesting flavor.
