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Date: 10 Jul 2006 06:17:17
From: John M
Subject: Big beer recipe question
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I want to make my first big beer using a recipe from The Homebrewers'
Recipe Guide. The recipe for a 5G batch is as follows:
10 lb light DME
3 lb honey
0.75 lb brown sugar
2 oz Fuggle hops bittering
English yeast
Here are my questions.
1. The recipe lists the expected OG as 1.079. That's way off correct?
I put the numbers into beertools.com and got 1.115, which seems more
correct.
2. The recipe doesn't specify what type of yeast to use. Would
something like Nottingham's be adequate, or do I specifically need to
buy a high-gravity yeast?
3. What size starter is needed for a beer of this type?
4. The recipe doesn't specify the type of honey, and I've never used
it for brewing. I can get clover honey for real cheap at Costco. Is
clover honey adequate for brewing?
4. Any other helpful suggestions in making a big beer?
Thanks everyone.
John
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Date: 10 Jul 2006 13:56:32
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Big beer recipe question
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On 10 Jul 2006 06:17:17 -0700, <statepenn99@gmail.com > wrote:
> I want to make my first big beer using a recipe from The Homebrewers'
> Recipe Guide. The recipe for a 5G batch is as follows:
>
> 10 lb light DME
> 3 lb honey
> 0.75 lb brown sugar
> 2 oz Fuggle hops bittering
> English yeast
>
> Here are my questions.
>
> 1. The recipe lists the expected OG as 1.079. That's way off correct?
> I put the numbers into beertools.com and got 1.115, which seems more
> correct.
You're right, the recipe's expected OG is way off. Just estimating it I
get 1.114, so your number sounds reasonable. Are you sure the original
recipe is for a 5 gallon batch size?
> 2. The recipe doesn't specify what type of yeast to use. Would
> something like Nottingham's be adequate, or do I specifically need to
> buy a high-gravity yeast?
You'll probably be alright with regular beer yeast, but make a really
big starter.
> 3. What size starter is needed for a beer of this type?
As big as you can. Personally, what I would do is brew another beer first
and then pitch the slurry from the primary of that first beer into your
big beer.
> 4. The recipe doesn't specify the type of honey, and I've never used
> it for brewing. I can get clover honey for real cheap at Costco. Is
> clover honey adequate for brewing?
It'll work, but won't carry as much flavor through into the final beer. I
use it, but I know other brewers prefer to use more "exotic" honey for
their brewing.
> 4. Any other helpful suggestions in making a big beer?
In addition to the large starter, make sure you aerate really well. Keeping
the yeast healthy/happy is going to be the key to a successful big beer.
John.
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Date: 10 Jul 2006 12:03:05
From: Thomas T. Veldhouse
Subject: Re: Big beer recipe question
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John 'Shaggy' Kolesar <spam@shagg.net > wrote:
>
> In addition to the large starter, make sure you aerate really well. Keeping
> the yeast healthy/happy is going to be the key to a successful big beer.
>
Yeast cell quantity and oxygen are the two greatest components required to
make a large beer in my opinion. Personally, I would just buy DCL US-56
American Ale yeast and use 3 or 4 packets :-) This will reduce the need for
building and stepping a starter and it also minimizes the need for all the
additional oxygen.
--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1
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Date: 11 Jul 2006 04:52:51
From: Dick Adams
Subject: Re: Big beer recipe question
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John M <statepenn99@gmail.com > wrote:
> 4. The recipe doesn't specify the type of honey, and I've never used
> it for brewing. I can get clover honey for real cheap at Costco. Is
> clover honey adequate for brewing?
Do not boil the honey if you want any flavor to come through.
Add it after the wort has cooled down and vigourous mix it in.
Clover is perfectly acceptable. Buckwheat has a very strong
flavor to it. Be sure you want the flavor before you add
Buckwheat honey anf, if you do, age it at least those 6-7
months. Also if someone tells you to substitute unsulphured
molasses, don't do it. The stuff stinks when fermented.
> 4. Any other helpful suggestions in making a big beer?
JohnnyMc (who is still recovering from Katrina) reported
having a fan blowing over the boil kettle to make the
boil more efficient. I haven't tried it yet, but logic
says it should be effective.
Dick
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Date: 10 Jul 2006 17:53:10
From: John M
Subject: Re: Big beer recipe question
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Kyle wrote:
> When I first started brewing, one of the first books I got was The
> Homebrewer's Recipe Guide. I've probably done a dozen recipes from
> it. It's not a bad source of ideas for beginning extract brewing, but
> as you've found their are not only errors in it (such as the gravity
> issue) but the book is rather lean on process & details. The
> combinations of hops suggested for many of the recipes aren't
> necessarily to style. Some recipes are pretty good-- lookup "Maura's
> Bride Ale", I remember that one turning out pretty good for a pale
> ale. "Dicken's Christmas Ale" is pretty good too for a winter warmer
> style. But overall I'd steer clear or seriously question most of the
> recipes in there.
>
I don't mind the lack of detail simply because the process for 90% of
extract brews are the same. But I would agree that it's not a very
good reference if you are trying to stick to style guidelines. I like
it more for the esoteric beers, like the fruit beers and ciders.
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Date: 11 Jul 2006 08:21:03
From: Thomas T. Veldhouse
Subject: Re: Big beer recipe question
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John M <statepenn99@gmail.com > wrote:
>
> I don't mind the lack of detail simply because the process for 90% of
> extract brews are the same. But I would agree that it's not a very
> good reference if you are trying to stick to style guidelines. I like
> it more for the esoteric beers, like the fruit beers and ciders.
>
If you want a book that will renew your interest in brewing to what it was
when you attempted your first brew, check out Ray Daniels, "Designing Great
Beers". There are few books out there that are any better for most styles of
beer.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0937381500/sr=8-1/qid=1152623999/ref=sr_1_1/104-2156265-9943919?ie=UTF8
or
http://tinyurl.com/elz22
--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1
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Date: 10 Jul 2006 22:18:18
From: Kyle
Subject: Re: Big beer recipe question
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When I first started brewing, one of the first books I got was The
Homebrewer's Recipe Guide. I've probably done a dozen recipes from
it. It's not a bad source of ideas for beginning extract brewing, but
as you've found their are not only errors in it (such as the gravity
issue) but the book is rather lean on process & details. The
combinations of hops suggested for many of the recipes aren't
necessarily to style. Some recipes are pretty good-- lookup "Maura's
Bride Ale", I remember that one turning out pretty good for a pale
ale. "Dicken's Christmas Ale" is pretty good too for a winter warmer
style. But overall I'd steer clear or seriously question most of the
recipes in there.
In article <1152537437.759718.68370@75g2000cwc.googlegroups.com >,
John M <statepenn99@gmail.com > wrote:
>I want to make my first big beer using a recipe from The Homebrewers'
>Recipe Guide. The recipe for a 5G batch is as follows:
>
>10 lb light DME
>3 lb honey
>0.75 lb brown sugar
>2 oz Fuggle hops bittering
>English yeast
>
>Here are my questions.
>
>1. The recipe lists the expected OG as 1.079. That's way off correct?
> I put the numbers into beertools.com and got 1.115, which seems more
>correct.
>
>2. The recipe doesn't specify what type of yeast to use. Would
>something like Nottingham's be adequate, or do I specifically need to
>buy a high-gravity yeast?
>
>3. What size starter is needed for a beer of this type?
>
>4. The recipe doesn't specify the type of honey, and I've never used
>it for brewing. I can get clover honey for real cheap at Costco. Is
>clover honey adequate for brewing?
>
>4. Any other helpful suggestions in making a big beer?
>
>Thanks everyone.
>John
>
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Date: 10 Jul 2006 13:07:55
From: Denny Conn
Subject: Re: Big beer recipe question
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John M wrote:
> I know making a
> starter isn't that difficult, but I'm a lazy homebrewer :). Thanks for
> the responses.
There are few homebrewers lazier than I, but I NEVER brew without making
a starter (unless I'm using a slurry or dry yeast). While I want to do
the least work possible, I also want the best beer possible, and making
a starter is one way I do that.
----------- >Denny
--
Life begins at 60...1.060, that is.
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Date: 10 Jul 2006 12:16:37
From: John M
Subject: Re: Big beer recipe question
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Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:
> Personally, I would just buy DCL US-56
> American Ale yeast and use 3 or 4 packets :-)
That's not a bad suggestion. I did this with a cider I made last year.
The OG was 1.084 if I remember correctly. I pitched 2, double packets
of dry yeast, and got great attenuation. FG was right around 1.000. I
also like the idea of not having to introduce extra O2, b/c I want to
age this beer for about 6-7 months. Normally, I don't worry about
oxidation b/c the beer is gone too fast :). If it doesn't work, I
could always resort to some champagne yeast, right? I know making a
starter isn't that difficult, but I'm a lazy homebrewer :). Thanks for
the responses.
John
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Date: 10 Jul 2006 19:54:15
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Big beer recipe question
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On 10 Jul 2006 12:16:37 -0700, <statepenn99@gmail.com > wrote:
>
> Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:
>> Personally, I would just buy DCL US-56
>> American Ale yeast and use 3 or 4 packets :-)
>
> That's not a bad suggestion. I did this with a cider I made last year.
> The OG was 1.084 if I remember correctly. I pitched 2, double packets
> of dry yeast, and got great attenuation. FG was right around 1.000. I
> also like the idea of not having to introduce extra O2, b/c I want to
> age this beer for about 6-7 months. Normally, I don't worry about
> oxidation b/c the beer is gone too fast :). If it doesn't work, I
> could always resort to some champagne yeast, right? I know making a
> starter isn't that difficult, but I'm a lazy homebrewer :). Thanks for
> the responses.
I'd try to avoid using champagne yeast unless it's truly a last resort. It
ferments different sugars than beer yeast does and also leaves a different
flavor profile. IMO, you should be alright just pitching a large quantity
of beer yeast.
John.
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Date: 11 Jul 2006 09:05:58
From: Scott L
Subject: Re: Big beer recipe question
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Dick Adams wrote:
> John M <statepenn99@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > 4. The recipe doesn't specify the type of honey, and I've never used
> > it for brewing. I can get clover honey for real cheap at Costco. Is
> > clover honey adequate for brewing?
>
> Do not boil the honey if you want any flavor to come through.
> Add it after the wort has cooled down and vigourous mix it in.
With clover honey I doubt it matters. Clover honey has practically zero
taste after it has fermented out :-)
I know I posted this recently but I'll say it again -- unless you're
going to be using a wildflower honey or some other honey with a
noticable flavor, you might as well be using sugar. In my opinion.
Scott
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Date: 11 Jul 2006 19:23:05
From: Dick Adams
Subject: Re: Big beer recipe question
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Scott L <scott-sp02@neuralnw.com > wrote:
> Dick Adams wrote:
>> John M <statepenn99@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 4. The recipe doesn't specify the type of honey, and I've never used
>>> it for brewing. I can get clover honey for real cheap at Costco. Is
>>> clover honey adequate for brewing?
>> Do not boil the honey if you want any flavor to come through.
>> Add it after the wort has cooled down and vigourous mix it in.
> With clover honey I doubt it matters. Clover honey has practically
> zero taste after it has fermented out :-)
>
> I know I posted this recently but I'll say it again -- unless you're
> going to be using a wildflower honey or some other honey with a
> noticable flavor, you might as well be using sugar. In my opinion.
I've never noticed a distintive taste in Wildflower honey as
compared to Clover. But I definitely agree with you that if
you are not going to get a distinctive taste from the honey,
you should be using sugar - preferably brown sugar.
Dick
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Date: 11 Jul 2006 12:50:48
From: Denny Conn
Subject: Re: Big beer recipe question
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Dick Adams wrote:
> I've never noticed a distintive taste in Wildflower honey as
> compared to Clover. But I definitely agree with you that if
> you are not going to get a distinctive taste from the honey,
> you should be using sugar - preferably brown sugar.
Why brown sugar, Dick? I've never noticed any taste contribution from
it as opposed to white sugar.
------------- >Denny
--
Life begins at 60...1.060, that is.
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Date: 12 Jul 2006 06:19:39
From: trequites
Subject: Re: Big beer recipe question
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I don't know - it's a long time since I've made an extract brew but
that gravity (1079)seems about right to me for the ingredients you've
listed, for 5 Imperial gallons.Might come out a bit stronger if you're
talking US gallons.
But I'd seriously question the amount of hops. 2 ounces? A big beer
needs the hop bitterness to balance it. I'd probably be looking at at
least twice that amount for a beer of that strength.
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