Flanders Red Recipe Critique
What do you think about my recipe? I am shooting for a somewhat malty Flanders Red with a nice balance of sweet and sour and aging it in an oak barrel. I'm especially looking for feedback on my mash temp. Chose to go with 158 to give the bugs more to chew on in the barrel.
Recipe Specifications
Boil Size: 9.06 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.56 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.80 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.30 gal
Estimated OG: 1.057 SG
Estimated Color: 16.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 10.1 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 78.2 %
Boil Time: 120 Minutes
Ingredients:
Amt Name Type # %/IBU Volume
5 lbs Munich I (Weyermann) (7.1 SRM) Grain 1 40.7 % 0.39 gal
2 lbs 12.0 oz Pilsner (Weyermann) (1.7 SRM) Grain 2 22.4 % 0.21 gal
2 lbs 12.0 oz Vienna Malt (Weyermann) (3.0 SRM) Grain 3 22.4 % 0.21 gal
9.5 oz Aromatic Malt (Simpsons) (30.5 SRM) Grain 4 4.8 % 0.05 gal
9.5 oz Carawheat (Weyermann) (50.0 SRM) Grain 5 4.8 % 0.05 gal
9.5 oz Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain 6 4.8 % 0.05 gal
0.61 oz East Kent Goldings (EKG) [5.00 %] - Boil 60.0 mi Hop 7 10.1 IBUs -
1.0 pkg Roselare Belgian Blend (Wyeast Labs #3763) [124. Yeast 8 - -
Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 12 lbs 4.5 oz
Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Mash In Add 4.50 gal of water at 168.7 F 158.0 F 40 min
Sparge: Fly sparge with 6.04 gal water at 168.0 F
5 comments · 71% upvoted · other discussions
Looks good to me. Blend of munich, vienna, and pils. 12 percent specialty grains, 10 IBU. I don't think you really need the 120 minute boil.
5 gallon barrels have a lot more surface to volume ratio than 60 gallon barrels. Some people will wax part of the barrel to get a more comparable ratio.
I personally really love flanders red, and I think it's a style that's very amenable to partial mashes, so that's something to consider if you are brew system constrained but want more volume.
HeyGuysImJesus [OP] 1 points · Feb 2019
I got the 120 minute boil from other Flanders recipes calling for it. My guess is that because of the pilsner they want a longer boil to drive off dms. Probably also to create some maillard reactions for extra caramelization complexity and color. Not decided if I want to try that or not. It's also traditionally known to have a much longer boil but I think the historical reasons are hubub.
I do need to wax my barrel. Currently have a Barleywine in there right now that really needs to come out. Maybe if I wax it, it will buy me some time to make this one. But I think it is overdue to be bottled as it is.
rrenaud 1 points · Feb 2019
Pills is not really going to make a difference is 2 row in the recipe, with it only being 20 percent of the grist and so many more characterful malts there. DMS in pilsner malts isnt really a problem anymore with modern malt. But the current recipe is great.
HeyGuysImJesus [OP] 1 points · Feb 2019
You're probably right about the modification. Plus since it's only 22% and not some delicate lager I'll probably be fine. Thank you for saving me an hour of my time. I am considering using a floor malted pils instead just for variety's sake. But even still, it will probably still be a 60 minute boil.