first recipe

I've never made my own recipe before, my sister normally does that, but i had a couple questions...

it's a partial mash and this is what i've come up with so far

4 # light LME
1.5# crystal malt 70L
1 # crystal malt 90L
1 # honey

1.5 oz Kent Golding 60 min
1 oz Fuggles 10 min
.5 oz Centennial 1 flameout

Windsor Ale Yeast

Mash 154
Boil 60 min


I used the white house honey ale recipe as a basis, and after a few beers I can't remember why i decided to change things but I think i'm too far in to turn back now! I chose the hops based on the original recipe, but also what i had left from previous brews (I'm a bit short on cash and rich in extra hops).
The mash temp I got from my previous brew and from things i've read here.
I think i've got the basis for a decent amber, though i'm not really concerned with style, more with flavor, also i figured this would be a relatively quick and simple brew (once i finish the recipe!), so any pointers/criticisms are welcome!

More experienced brewers, correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think you can mash crystal malts

spacecowboy13 said:

More experienced brewers, correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think you can mash crystal malts

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Correct. Steeping is what you do with crystal malts. Essentially it is the same process except you don't watch for ph or conversion like you do when mashing. As for the recipe I think it looks fine. Not sure about the centennial for aroma and the ekg for bittering but if it gets you the IBUs then rock on.

You can totally mash crystal if you want... ie; in an AG recipe with other malts that need to be mashed. I think what you guys mean is that in this recipe, it's pointless to mash the crystal since it's the only grain. Just steep it for 20-30min like mentioned.

As far as the recipe? That's an awful lot of crystal! Do they really call for that much in the recipe? I'd go 1lb crystal total, myself, maybe 1.5lb max. 70L and 90L are not really all that different so I'd ditch one of them, or just do half of each.

Do you like the flavor/aroma of Fuggles? A lot of people say they taste like dirt. If you've got something else, maybe go with that, unless you know you like Fuggles.

Ok so I've done a little research on crystal malts and am I right in assuming that's too much because it will add too much sweetness? When making the recipe I wanted the caramel/toffee flavors, but didn't consider that the reason it imparts those flavors is because the sugars are unfermentable.
Also with the hops, the recipe calls for fuggles, but the centennial I added because I have them lying around, I hadn't really thought about the specific flavor/aroma/bitterness of each hop or when to add it, I'll probably just stick to the recipe where that's concerned.
Thanks for the comments, hopefully I can come up with something that ends up being drinkable!

spacecowboy13 said:

More experienced brewers, correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think you can mash crystal malts

Click to expand...

kaconga said:

Correct. Steeping is what you do with crystal malts.

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Do what now? You can surely mash crystal malts.

Rhino, you do have a bit too much crystal malts for that recipe. In general you'll want to keep crystal malts around 10% of the total malt bill, and specialty grains as a whole no higher than ~20%. Personally, I'd just ditch the c 70. Or go with ~1/2 a lb of the c 70 and a 1/2 lb of c 90. Too much crystal malts and your beer will end up too sweet. With an amber, you want some caramel sweetness, which comes from the crystal malts. I always go a little high on crystal for something like that, but 12% maybe 14% max.
I also somewhat like your hopping schedule. You see alot of British brewers using traditional English hops in the kettle and then dry hopping, or aroma hopping at flameout with a citrus-y American hop. Makes for a nice beer.

So the full 60 minute mash time isn't necessary because I'm not concerned with any enzyme activity, I'm just pulling the already converted sugars out of the crystal?
Also I'll just stick with the 90 since it seems to have the profile I'm looking for, but since I'll only have one pound, will I only use 1.25 quarts fir steeping or is there another ratio I should use?

With steeping, water volumes aren't that important. If you wanna go with the 1.25 qt/lb ratio, that's fine, but not necessary for steeping. 20-30 mins should be more than enough time to steep. I think the c 90 is the better choice for an amber, but both would be fine together, just cut the amounts back a bit from the recipe in your original post.

Just to clarify: mashing is when you use enzymes to convert starches to sugars. Unless you are using a base malt such as 2-row you are only steeping and not mashing.