Noob making own recipe

Hey all!

I hope this is in the right section?

This is going to be my 3rd beer and 2nd AG.
Looking to make a lite style beer for my summer holidays
Does this recipe look ok? its is made up of only what I have on hand and there are no such thing as a LHBS where I live..... so here it is

lite beer

Original Gravity (OG): 1.035 (°P): 8.8
Final Gravity (FG): 1.009 (°P): 2.3
Alcohol (ABV): 3.44 %
Colour (SRM): 2.8 (EBC): 5.5
Bitterness (IBU): 11.3 (Average)

80% American 2-Row
10% Flaked Rice
10% Vienna

0.8 g/L Saaz (3.6% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)
0.4 g/L Saaz (3.6% Alpha) @ 30 Minutes (Boil)

0.8 g/L fresh lemon and lime peel @ 5 Minutes (Boil)

Single step Infusion at 65°C for 75 Minutes. Boil for 90 Minutes

Fermented at 18°C with Safale US-05


Recipe Generated with BrewMate

I go have other hops on hand Nugget, Cascade and fuggle and also can roast some 2 row if that will make things more interesting

looking forward to some feed back to get me on the right track!

I am sty ill a beginner myself but I would shorten my boil to 60 minutes or less for a lite beer.

I'm only on my fifth brew. So, consider the source. It sounds good to me. I think a 60 minute boil would be plenty, and might give you a lighter beer.

I haven't worked with saaz yet, but I've brewed a summer ale with dried citrus peels and cascade really complimented that flavor well.

I think it'll work out well. A 90 minute boil couldn't hurt. 90 minutes seems to be really popular with really light beers, usually when using a pilsner base malt. The reason being is lightly kilned grains hold more DMS, which produces off flavors/smells (akin to cream corn from what I've heard).

You shouldn't have too much of that problem with 2-row. Also, keep in mind that boiling longer will darken the beer slightly.

Really it's up to you, and what's important in your beer.

I would use the Nugget for bittering. You would need VERY little, and you could save the Saaz to use as a finishing hop.

Also, I would probably do a 90 minute mash at 147°F (not sure what that is in C), followed by a 60 minute boil if you are looking to make something in the spirit of an American "Lite" lager (a la Bud Light or Miller Lite). The longer mash will make for a more fermentable wort (crisper finish), and the shorter boil will keep the color very light.

147f is about 64c, how quick of a turn around on something like this? My holidays are in 3 weeks.... Am I pushing it? Ive got no idea what bud or miller tastes like but ive got a pale ale that is my first AG and smells great that will be bottled this weekend that will be ready by then I can drink then. But I want something light to drink on the deck after a day of mountain biking without falling off the deck...


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If you keg, you can get this done and ready. If you bottle, not so much. You probably want a week minimum to ferment (lag time, fermentation, clean-up) before you do anything with it, and longer if there are any issues along the way. You can keg as soon as fermentation is complete and force carb in just a few days, then give it some time to cold condition before your holiday. Bottling will set you back, as they may not be fully carbed or ready to drink with two weeks or less of bottle conditioning.

I will be bottle conditioning. As I'm new to brewing and don't have a keg setup. But I might brew it any way as my brothers in law will be here and they will drink anything as long it has alcohol in it. But i want to add a little character to the beer.... But im not sure what I want to put in...


Drink more coffee and do stupid things faster

Try dry hopping with a little bit of Cascade. It will play nice with the citrus peel you are adding. I'd also consider just adding the zest instead of the whole peel. The white pith can be bitter, and all of the nice aromatics are in the zest.

I only have zest on hand in the freezer for making tarts. Cascade might be nice.


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Well it was bottled 3 days ago and it spent 14 days in the fermenter and dry hopped it the last 2 days with cascade. Out of curiosity i opened one tonight and its carbonated... It spend 3 days in 25 - 28c in the upstairs bathroom, its tastes fine but will be interesting to see what a couple of weeks will do for it.


Drink more coffee and do stupid things faster