recipie question

[croc4]

I buddy wants my to try making a smith wicks clone, and the recipie he found contains a few "odd" ingredients. Does anyone know why these are called for and what they do?


Smithwicks Style Ale
(Recipe for 18.9 Litres)

7 1/2 lbs English Pale Malted Barley
1 lb of crystal malt
6 oz Roasted Barley
4 oz Corn Starch
1 1/2 oz Fuggles hops 4.5% alpha acid
2 tsp Gypsum <------????
1 tsp Chalk <------????
1/2 tsp Epsom Salts <----- ????
1/2 oz Goldings hops (finishing)
Wyeast British Ale Yeast
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[Beerconnoisseur]

These are water modifiers, which affect the overall mineral content (and the taste somewhat) of the final beer. They are also sometimes used to modify pH, which is recommended to be slightly acidic for better extraction efficiency.

Gypsum is another name for Calcium Sulfate, Chalk is Calcium Carbonate, and Epsom Salts are Magnesium Sulfate.

Oh, and in case I didn't mention it, this recipe is for an all-grain beer, rather than a malt extract one. But don't be afraid to try it, with the right equipment! :)

[croc4]

ok, makes sense, but it worries me because I'm sure these amounts were based on a water supply different from mine, so these amounts maybe too much?.


I'll have to tell my budy to research it better if he wants a brew ;-)

Thanks for the reply
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[toneyc]

Um, what's the corn starch for?

:D
Toney.

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by toneyc
Um, what's the corn starch for?

:D
Toney.

Glad I'm not the only one that thought that?!?!?!

Maybe it's some misguided way to add mouth feel....

[Beerconnoisseur]

Originally posted by Fast_Eddy
Glad I'm not the only one that thought that?!?!?!

Maybe it's some misguided way to add mouth feel....

Probably meant Corn Sugar, for bottling... and you can use Maltodextrin for mouthfeel, as needed. :D

[wortchillergoal]

Originally posted by toneyc
Um, what's the corn starch for?

:D
Toney.

As I said before I know of a gent who flavored a beer with A-1 Steak Sauce. Mabye they do mean corn starch? I would hope not.

[croc4]

I'm note sure where the recipie came from (a buddy handed to me, with a request to make some), So I cannot be sure it is accurate or even remotely correct, but when I read it it looked odd, so I thougt that I would toss it out to people with more experience.
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[Beerconnoisseur]

You will need to do some work before you can just whip up this beer from scratch. For instance, "1 lb. of crystal malt," is interesting, but caramelized to what degree? 40 degrees Lovibond? Or should it be 60? Or maybe even 120?

Also, the alpha acid percentages will vary from crop to crop of hops, so you will need to adjust those quantities as well.