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Using Agave?

beernbourbon

Grandmaster Brewer
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Oct 20, 2012
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Location
Cincinnati Ohio...Home of the resurrected Christia
trying a cream ale for the summer..... heard pros and cons about honey, and I know I have to pasteurize it. I'd like the ABV to be up closer to 5%, but I don't want to use any more honey......
Has anyone used Agave?
Also.... long enough mash?
any other critiques?

Recipe: Mowin' Down the Thirst
Brewer: beernbourbon
Asst Brewer:
Style: Cream Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.37 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.24 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.00 gal 
Bottling Volume: 4.25 gal
Estimated OG: 1.046 SG
Estimated Color: 3.6 SRM
Estimated IBU: 16.0 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 78.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                    Name                                    Type          #        %/IBU       
6 lbs        Pale Malt (2 Row) Bel (3.0 SRM)          Grain        1        64.9 %       
2 lbs        Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM)                      Grain        2        21.6 %       
8.0 oz      Rice, Flaked (1.0 SRM)                        Grain        3        5.4 %       
0.50 oz    Crystal [3.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min          Hop          4        6.4 IBUs     
0.50 oz    Willamette [5.20 %] - Boil 60.0 min      Hop          5        9.6 IBUs     
0.50 tsp  Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 mins)                  Fining        6        -           
1.0 pkg    Cream Ale Yeast Blend (White#WLP08) Yeast        7        -           
12.0 oz    Honey (1.0 SRM)                                Sugar        8        8.1 %       


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 9 lbs 4.0 oz
----------------------------
Name              Description                            Step Temperat Step Time   
Mash In          Add 10.63 qt of water at 172.5 F        156.0 F      60 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (2.05gal, 3.69gal) of 168.0 F water
 
My experience with honey is that it does leave behind a flavor of what it came from. I've put a couple pounds of clover honey into an ale and it tasted like I was chewing on a clover stem. 
Not sure what kind of flavor agave would leave behind. Cactus rind?
 
LOL, now that's funny.....
Yeah, only looking at 12oz....so I'm thinking I should be ok. Been researching it, and it looks like the stuff is all bullpucky anyway. Agave appears to be highly processed, and anything BUT 'natural'.....looks like it might be worse than HFCS....bleh...not to mention it has a very dark color, which goes against what I'm shooting for. Maybe I'll go ahead and crank the honey back up to a pound like I had originally and leave it at that.
How did you pasteurize it....the 176 degree for 30 minutes thing? Or do you have another method?
 
Yeah, only looking at 12oz

I just went to the kitchen and tasted bit of Dominoes Organic Agave Nectar. Got a small container a while back. Use it here and there for tea.  Like honey. Not much of an aftertaste. I'd try it in a batch in that quantity.

How did you pasteurize it....the 176 degree for 30 minutes thing? Or do you have another method?

I've tried adding honey during the last five minutes of the boil. Bad idea. Killed the temperature and took time to get the boil going again.  Next time I'll add it at flame-out.  The likelihood of there being hitchhikers that could survive being dumped into boiling wort is pretty much nill.
 
I just went to the kitchen and tasted bit of Dominoes Organic Agave Nectar. Got a small container a while back. Use it here and there for tea.  Like honey. Not much of an aftertaste. I'd try it in a batch in that quantity.
Maybe it's the kind I've got. Dunno.... Honey was free. That Agave S**t is espensive. Maybe next batch. I've got to learn how to make the batches smaller, cuz I'm not liking the 5 gallons and 'oh, maybe it'll be good....maaaybe it won't'. Just seems such a waste.

I've tried adding honey during the last five minutes of the boil. Bad idea. Killed the temperature and took time to get the boil going again.  Next time I'll add it at flame-out.  The likelihood of there being hitchhikers that could survive being dumped into boiling wort is pretty much nill.
Ok, I'll make sure to do it at flame out...i had same experience with my chiller last time. Took 20 minutes to re-start boiling. (I swear, it had NOTHING to do with air temp of 22 degrees!!)
 
I've got to learn how to make the batches smaller, cuz I'm not liking the 5 gallons and 'oh, maybe it'll be good....maaaybe it won't'.

I've seen three gallon glass carboys for sale.  That might work for you.

In my case I try to keep things simple. I'll pick a style and make several similar batches, varying one ingredient in differing degrees to get a feel for how things come out.
When you try changing several ingredients at once, it's hard to tell what contributed what.
For example last season I came up with a decent base pilsner.  This season I took that base and made one with a little dark roasted malt (only 3oz), one regular, one with some wheat, and one with some corn.
The one with dark malt is all gone. That was a killer beer. The others haven't yet made it into kegs.
 
I think my biggest challenge is the reduction in ingredients.... I want to try certain brews, but they are always at least 5 gallons, sometimes 10 or 15.... not that I would even have the equipment for such large batches.....
I don't get the criteria of reducing the recipe, is it as simple as 'ok, my 5 gallon batch calls for 6lbs of 2 row, and I want to make 3 gallons, so..... that would be 3.6 lbs?
Right now I have a list of recipes I'd like to perfect ::) before I move to new stuff....so I would feel better making smaller batches to be able to change those things one at a time, as you said.
 
Interesting with agave. I bought agave syrup when i was in mexico a month ago. Just for pankaces. But it tasted very similar to maple syrup. And no aftertaste. But I think its too expensive to use for brewing. I dont see a way fo get it cheap, unless you go to Jalisco. The syrup is made from blue magaye and i dont think they use green magaye or agave americana for anything.
 
Yeah, I kinda gave up on that one....same reasoning. Too expensive, and really, not a high quality ingredient it would seem. It was just a thought, given my inexperience at using honey. Did a bit more research on the honey, and like Maine was saying, it can leave a flavor of where it came from. Locust blossoms =  citrus hints....that kind of thing. Most I'm using is around 12 ounces at flame out....I might run that up to a pound on one I've got coming up. That one is a summer shandy clone that I'm looking for that citrus type.
 
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