Planning some partials

[Steve]

I completed my first extract brew the other week and still have a white house honey ale extract kit to do. I then want to move on to BIAB and have already built myself a boiler. However, I have collected a few beer kits that I want to spruce up a bit as partials before I move on to BIAB. They are: John Bull IPA, Wilkinsons stout and cerveza, Wherry and Milestone donner and blitzed. I know what I want to do with some and some (wherry and milestone) I might just brew as standard being 2 can kits but I could be persuaded not to.

Wilkinsons stout
Aim: Produce a coffee/choc/toffee/milk stout. Explore limits of what I like e.g. if someones opinion is the brew will be cloyingly sweet will it be to my liking as a 'different' beer. Also to get a good taste of the grains to get experience for BIAB recipes. Will be bottled in smaller bottles not full pints and so will aim for a higher ABV as my preference.
Recipe:
1 can kit
Nice amount of crystal maybe 500g
Some chocolate malt probably about 100g
500g lactose
A cafetiere of strong good coffee (found a bag of taylors of harrogate after dark I didn't know I had)
Fermentables to 6-8% ABV - due to the body added by the lactose this won't be malt extract but probably something like honey/golden syrup or might even make some caramel.
No extra hops.

Wilkinsons cerveza
Aim: Produce a summery lager with added fruitiness.
Recipe:
1 can kit
Juice of a bunch of lemons and limes
Honey as fermentable
Play with some hops that fit the aim maybe citra?

John Bull IPA
Aim: Not really sure with this one. I wouldn't be bothered if it turned into a INSPA (not so pale ale) for the sake of flavour. Any suggestions?
Recipe:
Undecided.

I know what I want to make won't be to everyone's taste but I'd just like to make something a bit different. The list of BIAB recipes are similarly different to what I see being made on this forum. Top of the list is a dunkel to create a similar beer to one I had while working in warsaw.

 

[lancsSteve]

Best thing with the coffee is to do a cold extract overnight in the fridge (i.e.;e make it with cold water in the cafetiere and leave overnight in the fridge then plunge) and then add post-boil - then you get all the smooth taste but not the harsh caffeine of hot extraction.

Same can be done with dark grains (choc, carafa etc. ) to get a smoother roastiness rather than harsher flavours.

 

[lancsSteve]

Wouldn't add limes or lemon - add slices at serving the acidity coulod be v. problematic... (If you want to be genuinely mexican add salt as well as the slice of lime when drinking)

You could add lime and lemon zest, cascade would be more grapefruity flavours, citra more like passionfruit.

With the john bull IPA why not make it a cascadian / black IPA and add some cold extract dark grains (choc, black malt, carafa or similar) as per cold extract coffee above and then a LOAD of late hops and dry hops...

 

[graysalchemy]

I would go with cascade hops and bin the lemon lime juice,

 

[Steve]

Had a busy week so not been able to reply until now. Thanks for the advice, cold coffee infusion and cascade hops it is.