How about this extract ale recipe and technique - Anything you'd change?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Spames

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2008
Messages
59
Reaction score
7
I'm looking to do a mildly hopped pale ale that I can have on hand most of the time, I've come up with this:
For 10.5 gallons-
13lb Extra Light DME
1lb carapils
1lb caramel 10
1/2lb caramel 40

1.5oz Perle 60 min
1.0oz Cascade 15 min
1.0oz Cascade 5 min

White Labs California Ale (2 starters from washed yeast)

I plan to steep grains in 1 pot with 5 gal water, then, in that same pot, pre-dissolve the extract. While steeping grains, I'll start boiling the hops in another pot with 7 more gal. water. Then, in the last 15 minutes while the hops are boiling away, I'll bring up the 1st pot to boil, then combine both pots, cool, and pitch.

This should save me a good bit of time and use less hops - Is there a reason this won't work out right? Does the boiling pot need to have some extract in there, or can it be all water and hops?

Let me know how this recipe and technique sounds -
 
This should save me a good bit of time and use less hops - Is there a reason this won't work out right? Does the boiling pot need to have some extract in there, or can it be all water and hops?

Let me know how this recipe and technique sounds -

You should have some extract along with the hops. Something to do with the PH balance of the water. I'm sure someone here can explain in detail, I just know you should have at least a little extract in there.

Edit: Here's an article that briefly discusses this-
http://www.beersmith.com/blog/2008/02/20/better-beer-with-late-malt-extract-additions/
 
Ok, I'll add about 2lb to the boiling pot with the hops then, should keep me safe. Any suggestions for my recipe? Anything I could add or take away? BeerSmith put it on the low end of bitterness and color for a pale ale, and I'm aiming for a highly drinkable "keeps you going back for more" type of beer.
 
Does the rinse water from the specialty grains need to be boiled for an hour to reduce the DMS? Or is this only a problem with base malts and mashing?
 
Sounds like I shouldn't have a problem with adding the specialty grains late with the DME:

From BYO:
DMS is a molecule that causes beer to have a cooked corn-like flavor and aroma. During malting, the precursor to DMS (s-methyl methionine or SMM) is formed as the barley is germinating. SMM is converted to DMS when heated. In the darker base malts — including Munich malt, Vienna malt and pale ale malt — the heat of kilning converts SMM to DMS. And, since DMS is very volatile, the heat also drives it off. In lightly-kilned malts — such as 2-row pale malt and especially 6-row pale malt — SMM is still present in the malt and must be converted to DMS and driven off during the boil. A good 90 minute rolling boil, evaporating about 10% of your wort volume per hour, should achieve this.
 
Any suggestions on my ingredients?

Doesn't Carapils have to be mashed? Anyone? I was thinking 3.5 oz. of hops was a bit low for 10.5 gallons but I guess boiling them in 7 gallons of water should put your IBU's right about where you want them for a "mildly hopped pale ale". I hope you have a couple big ass pots!
 
Doesn't Carapils have to be mashed? Anyone? I was thinking 3.5 oz. of hops was a bit low for 10.5 gallons but I guess boiling them in 7 gallons of water should put your IBU's right about where you want them for a "mildly hopped pale ale". I hope you have a couple big ass pots!

No problems on the equipment side, I keep talking myself in and out of doing a mini-mash.
 
Went off well Saturday, took me about 3 hrs or so with cleanup. I ended up using Nottingham since my WLP001 is still under my double IPA in the carboy. I should have known better, but the airlock was full of foam this morning -- Had to do an emergency blow-off tube... It's a wild party in there!

And yes, those are snowmobile skegs locking down my fermenter lid :)

blowoff.jpg
 
Back
Top