Looking for a light ale extract recipe

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Hilbert

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I am looking for suggestions for a really light ale recipe. I play poker with a bunch of guys and we all like a light beer to mix into the heavier and hoppier beers that we drink. We drink a ton of beer throughout the course of the night and to drink real heavy ales all night wears on you.:drunk:

Anyways, I am asking for suggestions for the lightest ale recipe you know of. What I mean by light is low IBU and light color. Real easy drinking beer.

I am not set up to do all-grain and I can only do 5 gal recipes.

Thanks in advance
 
cream ale is a nice light beer, but you won't be able to do it all-extract. check out the partial mash thread in my sig...that might help, and let me know if you want a recipe.

otherwise, just create a light recipe...something like:

4 lbs Light DME
0.25 lbs Crystal 10L

0.50 ounce Hallertau Hops @ 60 min
0.50 ounce Hallertau Hops @ 20 min
0.50 ounce Hallertau Hops @ 5 min

Nottingham or US-05 Yeast

I just threw that together and for your hop additions you could use anything, although the quantity might change depending on your alpha acid content.
 
Here is a light beer recipe that I enjoy. Came up with this out of the motivation to make light beer and make it using the simplest recipe possible. Sort of a SMASH beer philosophy except made with extract.

5# Munton's Extra Light DME
or
6.6# Cooper's Light LME ( 2 cans )

3/4 oz Sterling 6.8% AA Leaf Hops for 50 Minutes
1/4 oz Sterling 6.8% AA Leaf Hops for 10 Minutes

Yeast: Saflager W34/70

Primary Fermentation: 4 weeks at 50F
Secondary Fermentation: None
Lagering: None

I like to make it as a Lager, but it would be good as an Ale if you want to make it that way. Its a real guzzler.

If you want an Ale recipe that's light that you'd really enjoy take a look at "Lawnmower" in my recipe drop down, its really close to the same as that recipe I just posted.

Light beer is easy to make, just have to keep the Starting Gravity down around ~1.047, and avoid anything with a strong flavor.
 
I was asked to bring a keg for a bowl party we were having in December. They wanted something light, low IBU's, and drinkable. They wanted something as close to BMC but an ale.

Since it was 10 degrees outside I decided to brew an extract beer (something I haven't done in a long time) although I did do a full boil outside.

It's not something I'd make again or that I'm proud of but it was very light and drinkable. We called it "Holiday Bowl ***** Slap"

Here is the recipe it was cheap and easy to make. I think it drank it after two weeks of being in the primary (forced carbed)




Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
4.00 lb Extra Light Pilsen Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 80.00 %
1.00 oz Centennial [9.10 %] (60 min) Hops 32.9 IBU
1.00 lb Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 20.00 %
1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.040 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.040 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.010 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 3.96 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.55 %
Bitterness: 32.9 IBU Calories: 172 cal/pint
Est Color: 2.5 SRM Color: Color
 
cream ale is a nice light beer, but you won't be able to do it all-extract. check out the partial mash thread in my sig...that might help, and let me know if you want a recipe.

otherwise, just create a light recipe...something like:

4 lbs Light DME
0.25 lbs Crystal 10L

0.50 ounce Hallertau Hops @ 60 min
0.50 ounce Hallertau Hops @ 20 min
0.50 ounce Hallertau Hops @ 5 min

Nottingham or US-05 Yeast

I just threw that together and for your hop additions you could use anything, although the quantity might change depending on your alpha acid content.

That's pretty much what I was thinking of brewing but the recipes I've found have Cascade hops. Not sure if I should use Cascade or Hallertau.

Probably going to use Notingham on this because my local shop doesn't have a good White Labs yeast that will be clean enough. Plus my thought is that I can almost lager it because the Nottingham ferments at such a low temp.
 
Cascade will give you more of American PA (citrusy hops) and hallertau will get you more of a clean german flavor (noble hop...spicy, soft). It just depends what you want.

Nottingham works very well at low temps and will make it nice and clean.
 
Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
4.00 lb Extra Light Pilsen Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 80.00 %
1.00 oz Centennial [9.10 %] (60 min) Hops 32.9 IBU
1.00 lb Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 20.00 %
1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale

When do you add the corn sugar? Do you put it in during the boil the same as you would with DME?
 
Here's the recipe I have come up with. Please let me know if this will suck or if there is anything I'm not thinking about because I am making this up based on the comments and a simple recipe I found.

5 Gallon extract batch
- 6.6 lb of Muntons Extra Light LME
- 1 lb Crystal 10L (steeped @ 160 for 20 mins)
- 1/2 oz Cascade Hope (60 mins)
- 1 oz Cascade Hops (30 mins)
- 1 tbs Irish Moss (15 Mins)
- 1 oz Cascade Hops (5 Mins)
- Nottingham Dry Yeast
- 5 oz corn suger for priming

I am planning on do 1-2-2 (primary, secondary, bottle) at the low end of the Nottingham scale (55-60 F). Then I'm thinking about lagering it for 2 more weeks.

The other question I have is can I mix Hallertau with Cascade? If so where would you put those or am I over thinking this?
 
well, with 6.6 lbs of LME, you'll be at about 4.5% alcohol.

Normally I'd say that is too much Crystal, but it's a light crystal (10L) so it should work.

I think it looks fine.

You can use hallertau and cascade together. In regards to flavor, Hallertau is a little more spicy/fruity, cascade is more citrusy/grassy/grapefruit. Cascade probably has a alpha acid content.

You could even blend them both through the whole brew. That would probably give you some nice characteristic from the cascade while smoothing it out with the hallertau.
 
good idea - I'll probably bitter with the cascade then blend the last two for the next two aroma dumps

The other recomendation that was thrown out there was to add corn sugar. I'm assuming that would bump up the ABV. Correct? Do I add it to the boil at the same time I add the malt?

again i may be overthinking a simple recipe. plus this is meant to be an all night drinking kinda beer so low APV may not be bad.
 
The corn sugar will bump the alcohol, but it will also lighten the body of the beer, making it more drinkable. Any sugar will work...table sugar, invert sugar, etc.
 
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