one ingredient to rule them all

[jmcnamara]

Here's the scenario: you have to use one particular ingedient, whatever it may be, in all of your brews from here unto eternity. You can always choose how much of it to use, but it should be in amounts that are somewhat noticeable (no .0000001 oz of citra or anything like that).

What do you choose?

Seems like a noob answer, but I'd pick honey malt. Ive been happy with it every time i use it.

 

[Nosybear]

Magnum hops. No matter what flavors I'm layering into a beer, Magnum gives me a good, clean base to start from.

 

[Head First]

2 row :lol:
Magnum hops come in a close second.

 

[jmcnamara]

2 row :lol:
Magnum hops come in a close second.

All right smarty pants, you found a loophole. For the sake of argument, let's disregard base malts

 

[GernBlanston]

Water?

 

[The Brew Mentor]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Water?

 

[jmcnamara]

Are we a bunch of brewers or lawyers here?

Revised rules: no water, no base malts, no gelatin, irish moss, brewing salts, or anything similar to that.

 

[The Brew Mentor]

Hops!
You're making this too easy. haha

 

[The Brew Mentor]

Sorry I couldn't help myself

 

[The Brew Mentor]

OK, I'll play..
I love Aromatic Malt and homemade Victory.

 

[jmcnamara]

OK, I'll play..
I love Aromatic Malt and homemade Victory.

That's more like it

I don't believe i've used / tasted aromatic malt before. what's that like? what do you typically use that in?

and how do you make your homemade malt? I'd kind of like to get into that, since I'd have even more control over my ingredients. But, i'd think it would be hard to consistently reproduce it in a home setup

 

[The Brew Mentor]

Aromatic is very malty and adds a nice backbone to most beers. It's 20L so I'm not adding it to my lighter beers but it sure is nice in a pale ale! As far as Victory goes, I just toast up some 2 row @ 275° for 10 minutes, stir and then toast for another 10. You can adjust the time and temperature to your liking, but this is what I do for a Victory replacement. It's not technicality correct, (Victory is made from 6 row) but it works for me and I like it.
I use that in most of the beers I make. :mrgreen:
Better?
Brian

 

[jmcnamara]

I'll have to try those out, thanks.

slightly off topic, but I'm just trying to get some activity going on these boards. I notice a new thread's Views skyrocket quickly, but there's only 2 or 3 replies to it. Oh well, i guess some conversation is better than none at all

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

carapils, I just realized I use it in almost every brew

 

[sbaclimber]

Nothing new, but...
1) Magnum. Love it, starting to like Polaris more and more though.
2) Carapils/Carafoam. 19 out of 20 beers I brew have it. I just like the mouthfeel it gives.
3) US-05. Obviously not the yeast for every beer, but I am so much more happy with it for IPAs than with the WLP007 I used previously. The WLP was good too, but so much more "tricky" to use.

 

[jmcnamara]

not sure if I'm surprised by it, but everyone's answers seem to be fairly versatile ingredients. ones that can be used in practically any recipe or style

 

[The Brew Mentor]

I thought mine were unique :mrgreen:

 

[MrBIP]

How about a yeast with a wide ferment range? Cry Havoc? SF Lager? US-05 has a wide range.
IF there's a yeast that can be held respectable in "lagers" and ales alike, perhaps it leaves everything else open?

 

[jeffpn]

Could you reasonably use Kölsch yeast in any recipe? It's an ale yeast that thinks it's a lager yeast!

 

[The Brew Mentor]

I think yeast is out of the question. Yeast determines so much flavor in a beer and if you choose just one you'll be limited to significantly less styles that you can make.
Brian