The truth about black patent malt and more

With Sierra Nevada Stout, RCH Old Slug Porter, Broughton Black Douglas, and Great Northern Brewing Co.'s Fred's Black Lager clone recipes, and more

Find Recipes Start your free trial Brew Day Bulletin Dear Homebrewer, Learn the functional uses of black malt, then check out commercial clones that highlight black malt like Sierra Nevada Stout, RCH Old Slug Porter, and Broughton Black Douglas clone recipes [Free]. Great Northern Brewing Co.'s Fred's Black Lager clone [Free] features a special de-bittered dark malt, fermented cold & lagered at least 4 weeks. Then, Gordon Strong's Belgian Dark Strong Ale [Digital Members] is a fairly complex recipe that uses layers of malt flavor to build a solid base that displays the yeast character well.  These spicy ideas to add zest to your brew [Digital Members] range from rosemary to ginger to nutmeg, including Orange Lager and Old Smoky Scots Ale recipes. Using a DIY counterpressure bottle filler [Free], you can achieve a perfect fill with no oxidation (wet cardboard flavor) and little or no loss of carbonation. Create an easy and portable cooling station with this toolbox pump project [Digital Members]. Mark your calendars for the live Q&A with New Realm Brewmaster Mitch Steele on May 27 [Digital Members]. Mr. Wizard talks welding terms [Digital Members] to help you choose the right equipment and dives into the details of converting starches [Free]. Reminder: we're providing a list of current homebrew supply retail shops' business status. Please support your local homebrew shop through these challenging times for everyone. Cheers! Brad Ring Publisher Read & Brew: Free Content For All Recipe Great Northern Brewing Co.'s Fred's Black Lager clone According the The Great Northern's website, "A dark beer with a soft bite, Fred's is brewed using a special de-bittered dark malt, fermented cold & lagered at least 4 weeks. A smooth brew with light roastiness." (5 gallons/ 19 L. extract with grains) OG = 1.052 FG = 1.012 IBUs = 28 SRM = 24 ABV = 5.2% Ingredients 3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) Muntons light, unhopped, liquid malt extract 2 lbs. (0.9 kg) light dried malt extract 1 lb. (0.45 kg) 2-row pale malt 10 oz. (0.28 kg) Carafa® Special malt (400 °L) Read more Live Chat for Digital Members Q&A with New Realm Brewmaster Mitch Steele May 27 Article Back in Black: The Truth About Black Patent Malt Many articles about specialty malts talk about the history of a malt, how it came into being or how three hogsheads of it appeared on a ship's manifest in 1780 or whatever. That sort of historical information may be interesting in the abstract, but what interests me the most is practical information I can use in my home brewery. I'd like to teach you the functional uses of and present a few commercial clones that highlight black malt. Read more Ask Mr Wizard Converting starches Q I used a recipe calling for eight pounds of British pale two-row, one pound of carapils, and some crystal and chocolate malts. I am using a step mash: 30 minutes at 126° F, 15 minutes at 140° F, one hour at 154° F, and five minutes at 168° F. After the 15-minute beta amylase step at 140° F, I took a sample just for kicks and ran the iodine test; it showed no starch! This was before my 154° F conversion rest. How can all the starch be converted to sugars this soon? And if it is, why bother with the one-hour conversion rest? A One of the most important aspects of measuring anything is to understand what is being measured and how the measuring device works. The iodine test indicates the interaction between iodine and the alpha-helices of amylose starch (amylose is the unbranched form of starch, and amylopectin is the branched form). This interaction causes an absorption of light resulting in a blue-black color. A negative iodine test indicates the absence of large amylose molecules, but it does not by default indicate the presence of fermentable sugars. Read More Last call! Mead & Cider Competition Entry Deadline June 1 Due to the pandemic, judging for the world's largest competition for home winemakers, run by BYO's sister magazine WineMaker, has been pushed back to late June. As a result, we've reopened the entry deadline and you can still submit your best homemade meads and cider during the next month by the new deadline of June 1. Click here for full entry and competition details. Project Counterpressure Bottle Filler Kegging is convenient. it eliminates the bottling process, and cuts out days of carbonating time. When you bring a keg to a friend's house, however, you're bringing a lot of beer. The more beer you bring, the more beer the friends drink. You may never get a full glass for yourself. These are the times that call for bottles. Read More For Digital Members Only Members get access to thousands of recipes, all new BYO issues and more. Try membership risk free for 14 days.* Brew Better. Try Membership, Free!* Recipe Gordon Strong's Belgian Dark Strong Ale I'm presenting a fairly complex recipe that uses layers of malt flavor to build a solid base that displays the yeast character well. (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain) OG = 1.091 FG = 1.015 IBU = 24 SRM = 26 ABV = 10.2% Ingredients 7 lbs. (3.2 kg) Pilsner malt 3 lbs. (1.4 kg) pale ale malt 2 lbs. (0.91 kg) Munich malt   Read more Article Spicy Ideas to Add Zest to Your Brew Homebrewers are resurrecting many elements of brewing's long and glorious history, elements that were partially erased by Prohibition, then shrouded in the mists of marketing spewed from the factories of commercial conglomerate breweries. Read more Ask Mr. Wizard Welding terms Q I am an extract plus grain brewer and kit winemaker who is thinking of stepping up to a stainless steel conical fermenter. I notice that most are listed as seamless with no welds, but some brag about being welded. What is the difference and which is "better?" Is there any place to find honest reviews on brewing equipment to help me decide? A I have answered some stainless steel questions in the past and at the time Mr. Wizard was still cloaked by the wispy clouds of anonymity. Now that I have been unveiled I can write with a bit more authority on this topic. I am employed by one of the largest stainless steel equipment fabricators in the United States, Paul Mueller Company.   Read more Project Toolbox Pump Cooling your wort in a timely matter could make the difference between a crisp, hoppy ale or a sour, infected mess. I'm sure a lot of brewers can remember a time when they had to lug a near-boiling pot of almost beer into their sink or bath tub and add what seemed like endless bags of ice into the tub to cool their wort. After doing this myself I knew there had to be a better way and that's when I decided to invest in a plate chiller and a pump.  Read more *For new members and subscribers only. Limit one per customer. 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