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Graham Cracker Ale

KernelCrush said:
Decoctions don't create a tannins problem.  I read a good explanation of why not once but cant remember now.
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In a nutshell: pH and sugar density prevent tannin extraction.

WinnipegFats said:
In a previous batch I drain ed just the wort out boiled it and added it back to the mash to get different temps for my mash. I have that beer over at my buddy's place layering for awhile but the flavourful after the primary was in sanely good.
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Keep Calm and Brew On. The proof is always in the flavor.

Relevant to this off topic hijack  ::) is that boiling the wort alone actually destroys enzymes. However, please refer to my first instruction.

So that being said what would that method of multi temp mashing be called when you are not truly decocting.
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It's called a step or profile mash. It's accomplished several ways. Direct heat to the kettle is one way. My system uses steam, so things don't burn, but homebrewers use flame, which can scorch wort. Some brewers add boiling water (a step infusion, and an option in BeerSmith mash profiles), while others recirculate wort past or through a heat source (RIMS and HERMS) and back into the mash.
 
Well looks like some of you guys are up to 6 weeks from your brew day?  Any tasting notes?
 
Sorry--forgot to follow up on this the other day.

I've been sampling this for a couple weeks now, and finally starting to enjoy it. I do wish I had used a British yeast and either MO or some other fuller tasting malt, but other than that I think the grain bill is pretty good. Might bump up the Carabrown or Special Roast just a weeeee bit next time, to eke out a little more graininess. I don't necessarily want more "cracker" flavor--just more "graham" flavor.

At first, it was pretty astringent, I thought--a bit too bitter. I had used cinnamon in the boil (just a bit at the end), and it tasted good as wort but after fermentation I thought it was a bit lacking, so I added a cinnamon stick to my priming sugar while I boiled it. I probably should have just waved it over the pot, because it was a bit hot. Now that it's been cold conditioning in bottles for a couple weeks, it's much more balanced. It's still there, but now it feels more like part of the beer rather than a side shoot. Interestingly, as the beer warms a bit (assuming I don't guzzle it down), the cinnamon fades a bit more into the distance and the malt and sugar (molasses) flavors start to come more to the fore.

So, with a couple tweaks, I'll do this one again. It's not out-of-this-world, but I think it's an interesting endeavor to try to replicate a known flavor in a beer, so it's worth the exercise.
 
Oh man the beer i made tasts nothing like graham crackers but it is an awesome american brown ale. it's somewhere in the recipies on the brewsmith site. i forgot to add molassas during the priming.damn good beer
 
Good beer is what counts.  I have quite a collection of tinctures going.  The base beer is pretty good.  We'll see if I can ruin it.  There's a big thread on Slim's Graham cracker ale on another site.  He uses Nabisco Honey Grahams.  Was at Fresh Market today to get some oddball items and read the box.  Cant remember all the ingredients but none had to do with what you read goes into a graham flavor.  The last item listed usually indicates the % content.  It was 'artificial flavor'.    Somebody has it figured out.
 
Got scoresheets back on this today.  At 26% CaraBrown which Breiss says at 25%will produce pronounced graham flavor, comments were all 'nice malty', one said slight cocoa.  My wife said cinnamon but she cant drink (I didn't add any).
 
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