Ninkasi's Question and Answer Page

Copyright © 1995 Mary Samuels ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Ninkasi's Questions and Answers

So just what (or who) is this Ninkasi???

Ninkasi responds:

Ninkasi is the ancient Sumerian goddess of brewing. Think kindly of her, and have nothing but pure thoughts in your heart when you pitch the yeast into your latest batch, and she will reward you with long life and better beer.

Malt Extract OG and Color

Mike Burke (tmburke@motown.ge.com) poses the following on the subject of malt extracts:

I'm interested in a comprehensive listing of malt extracts by name or brand that also gives its OG rating and Lovibond rating. Do you know of any downloadable source or book that has this info?

Thanks in advance

Ninkasi responds:

I don't, and it seems that this information is not easily forthcoming from the malt extract industry, probably because their recipes are somewhat variable and the ratings vary from lot to lot.

Reading between the lines of your question, though, I suspect you're wanting to be able to more easily predict the color and OG of your brews. Here's how I do it when I make an extract-based brew: I use the lightest extract I can and use the specialty malts to affect the color and flavor of the brew.

Alexander's is usually what I use. I believe its Lov. rating is about 10, and the OG would be computed as follows: 6.6 lbs mixed with sufficient water for 5 gallons gives an OG of about 1.048, so the OG is about (5 * 48 / 6.6) = 36 pts/lb.

Mike follows up with:

Thanks for the speedy reply! You're exactly correct in that I am trying to formulate recipies and predict the color and strength of my brews (haven't done my first yet).

If I understand what you're saying than 6.6 lb of a light malt extract and 1/2 lb of crystal 80 would be acceptable. Would that be correct?

Thanks !

Ninkasi responds:

It depends on what you're trying to make, but it would probably be acceptable for a pale ale. Here's a recipe I formulated:

 Recipe: 80L Crystal     
   Type: Extract   
  Style: American Pale Ale        

 0.50   Lbs  Crystal 80                 32 Pts/Gal/Lb     84.3 Lovibond
 6.60   Lbs  Light Extract Syrup        35 Pts/Gal/Lb     20.0 Lovibond
 1.00   Oz   E. Kent Goldings           5.10% alpha for 60 minutes
 1.00   Oz   E. Kent Goldings           5.10% alpha for 20 minutes
 1.00   Oz   E. Kent Goldings           5.10% alpha at end of boil 

 OG=1.049       FG=1.012        IBUs=29         Color=24.5      
 Yeast: Ale     Gal=5.00        Alcohol: 4.9% by volume

I think I'd go for a pound of 40L crystal, all things considered, because it would contribute more head retention and body. The result might lean more to the red side of brown than the 80L, but red beers are trendy today, no?

Good Brewing!

Mary Samuels
Section Leader, General Home Brewing
Compuserve's Bacchus Wine and Beer Forum