First Recipe Critique Request

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Broadway

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Hello to all,

I just recently got into brewing. With my first batch, I basically walked into a homebrew store and said, "Gimme something tasty and easy to brew, please."

And he pulled out a bunch of stuff (6.6 lbs. Golden Malt Extract, and 2 oz. of Hallertaou (sp?) hops, and a packet of yeast), and gave me a page of instructions on how to make it.

It turned out that it was easy, and tasty, but since then, I've read a few books, and several websites and have been reading a ton of the threads on this site... and, well, I wanted to put together a recipe on my own.

This is a Amber Wheat Ale.

Roasted Barley 1/4 lb.
Briess DME-Amber 3 lb.
Briess DME-Wheat 3 lb.
1 cup brown sugar
Irish Moss- 1 teaspoon
Fuggle Pellet Hops 2 oz
Willamette Pellet Hops 1 oz
2 packs Nottingham Ale Yeast

Plan to steep the Barley

Then bring the DME to a boil in 3 gallons of water

Add the 2 oz. Fuggle Pellet Hops at 60 minutes left
Add the cup of brown sugar at 30 minutes left
Add the 1 teaspoon of Irish Moss at 15 minutes left
Add the 1 oz. Willamette Pellet Hops at 5 minutes left

Chill it, and aerate it, put it in the fermenter, fill with water up to 5 and a 1/2 gallons total, and toss in the rehydrated packs of Nottingham Ale Yeast.

Then I'm sticking it in the downstairs closet to ferment (temp varies between 62 and 65 F) for about 10-12 days or so...

Then put it in a corney keg, and carb it, and let it sit in the keg for about a week before tasting it.

Any advice?
 
so technically I don't think that can be considered a wheat beer. its less than 30% wheat (the Briess wheat DME is only 60% wheat). I'd swap the amber DME for another wheat DME and steep some munich and crystal to get you to the color you want. 1/2lb of munich and 1/2lb of C40 will get you to pretty much the same color

edit: also, alot of the wheat beer taste comes from the yeast, and nottingham won't do that.
 
Hello to all,

I just recently got into brewing. With my first batch, I basically walked into a homebrew store and said, "Gimme something tasty and easy to brew, please."

And he pulled out a bunch of stuff (6.6 lbs. Golden Malt Extract, and 2 oz. of Hallertaou (sp?) hops, and a packet of yeast), and gave me a page of instructions on how to make it.

It turned out that it was easy, and tasty, but since then, I've read a few books, and several websites and have been reading a ton of the threads on this site... and, well, I wanted to put together a recipe on my own.

This is a Amber Wheat Ale.

Roasted Barley 1/4 lb.
Briess DME-Amber 3 lb.
Briess DME-Wheat 3 lb.
1 cup brown sugar
Irish Moss- 1 teaspoon
Fuggle Pellet Hops 2 oz
Willamette Pellet Hops 1 oz
2 packs Nottingham Ale Yeast

Plan to steep the Barley

Then bring the DME to a boil in 3 gallons of water

Add the 2 oz. Fuggle Pellet Hops at 60 minutes left
Add the cup of brown sugar at 30 minutes left
Add the 1 teaspoon of Irish Moss at 15 minutes left
Add the 1 oz. Willamette Pellet Hops at 5 minutes left

Chill it, and aerate it, put it in the fermenter, fill with water up to 5 and a 1/2 gallons total, and toss in the rehydrated packs of Nottingham Ale Yeast.

Then I'm sticking it in the downstairs closet to ferment (temp varies between 62 and 65 F) for about 10-12 days or so...

Then put it in a corney keg, and carb it, and let it sit in the keg for about a week before tasting it.

Any advice?

Unless there is really something that you want from the wheat, have you thought about abandoning the wheat all-together? Is there some type of taste, or beer, that you are trying to formulate to?

My guess is that you want a flavorful, malty type beer but with a crisp profile. Correct?
 
"My guess is that you want a flavorful, malty type beer but with a crisp profile. Correct?"

That pretty much nails it on the head.

I've just liked all the wheat beers that I've ever tried, so I thought I would try to incorporate it into the brew. That was my only thought on the wheat.
 
"My guess is that you want a flavorful, malty type beer but with a crisp profile. Correct?"

That pretty much nails it on the head.

I've just liked all the wheat beers that I've ever tried, so I thought I would try to incorporate it into the brew. That was my only thought on the wheat.

Here is my suggestion:

Scrap the wheat DME and switch to regular. If you can get dry, do that as it is a little better to work with (in my opinon). Also, go as light as you can on the DME and use your steeping grains for color.

Your use of Nottingham is a great idea, as is the brown sugar, for getting a crisp profile.

Try this perhaps:

scrap the Roast Barley - you may get more than you bargained for - really good in stouts and porters, but might not be right for your goal

Use the following two items for your fermentables and flavor:
6 pounds of dry light DME
1 pound of Marris Otter malt. Take 1/3 of the malt, spread on a cookie sheet, and roast in an oven for 15 minutes at 320. Take all the malt and steep.

You will get a color similar to English Ale's, a little like Bass, perhaps darker. You will get a very nice malty flavor from the homemade roast and the base Marris Otter. If you can't get Marris Otter, just use an American Pale Ale malt.

I like your hops...should be good with that I would think!


this is the color of the beer, more or less, that you would get:
Steam.jpg
 
Use the following two items for your fermentables and flavor:
6 pounds of dry light DME
1 pound of Marris Otter malt. Take 1/3 of the malt, spread on a cookie sheet, and roast in an oven for 15 minutes at 320. Take all the malt and steep.

Wouldn't that be a mash not steep? Also, on that home roasting, does that come out like victory or is it something different? I've never tried it
 
Wouldn't that be a mash not steep? Also, on that home roasting, does that come out like victory or is it something different? I've never tried it

If using extract versus partial mash or AG, the grains are just used to steep in flavors and colors.

The home roast is different, a little different flavor. I like using that technique and do for a few beers. I learned it from one of the very first extract brews I did when I started.
 
If using extract versus partial mash or AG, the grains are just used to steep in flavors and colors.

The home roast is different, a little different flavor. I like using that technique and do for a few beers. I learned it from one of the very first extract brews I did when I started.

well what i meant is that since MO is an enzymatic grain doesn't it make it a mash rather than a steep, albeit a very mini-mash

oh cool, any idea what the L is roughly?

edit: oh and back onto subject, I like Brocster's additions to the recipe and it sounds like it'll get you what you wanted
 
I actually ordered the ingredients yesterday, so I'm gonna run with the recipe as is this go round.

I'll make the adjustments that Brocster suggests on my next batch and compare the two.

Thanks for all the input, from both of you guys.
 
No problem, this one should still turn out good. I think it might fit as a mild
 
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