Yoop
Member
This will only be the third beer that I've ever brewed so I'm looking to get some feedback. I still have yet to even try any of the beer that I have brewed since the first batch has been in the bottles for only a week and the second batch is in the secondary, they were both kits that I purchased from a local brew shop. This third batch will also be a kit but I'm looking to tweak it a bit.
Below is the recipe after my tweaks, any feedback I can get would be very much appreciated! I will be using a 5 gal brew pot.
-1/2 lb. DME for starter with WLP 001 (California Ale) - let this start for 2-3 days
-Steep 1/2 lb U.S. Crystal 20, 1/2 lb Chocolate Malt, 1/2 lb U.K. Roasted Barley @ 150 for 30 minutes in 2 gallons of bottled water
-Add 1.5 gallon bottled water, bring to boil
-Boil 3 lb Dark DME for 60 minutes with 16 HBU Perle Hops
-With 15 minutes left in boil add 4 lbs Dark DME
-With 5 minutes left in boil add 1/2 lb Brown Sugar, 1/4 lb Hershey's Unsweetened Cocoa
-Cover and let stand for 10 minutes after flame out
-Cool to 70 then add to primary, top off with bottled water at room temp aerate and pitch yeast
-After 5 days cut in half and pit 5 lbs of cherries, put in ziplock bag with bourbon, put in freezer for 2 days
-After 7 days in primary add cherries to secondary and transfer beer on top, let sit for 2 weeks
The original schedule had me adding all of the DME at the beginning of the boil, and also was just using a 2 gallon boil for the entire process.
What are your thoughts? Should I plan on reducing the bittering hops to compensate for a lower SG and larger volume boil? If so, how much should I reduce it by? How strong will the different flavors of spices and fruit be? Should I adjust how long it's in the primary and/or secondary?
I may not have tried any of my beer yet but I'm completely hooked on home brewing!
Below is the recipe after my tweaks, any feedback I can get would be very much appreciated! I will be using a 5 gal brew pot.
-1/2 lb. DME for starter with WLP 001 (California Ale) - let this start for 2-3 days
-Steep 1/2 lb U.S. Crystal 20, 1/2 lb Chocolate Malt, 1/2 lb U.K. Roasted Barley @ 150 for 30 minutes in 2 gallons of bottled water
-Add 1.5 gallon bottled water, bring to boil
-Boil 3 lb Dark DME for 60 minutes with 16 HBU Perle Hops
-With 15 minutes left in boil add 4 lbs Dark DME
-With 5 minutes left in boil add 1/2 lb Brown Sugar, 1/4 lb Hershey's Unsweetened Cocoa
-Cover and let stand for 10 minutes after flame out
-Cool to 70 then add to primary, top off with bottled water at room temp aerate and pitch yeast
-After 5 days cut in half and pit 5 lbs of cherries, put in ziplock bag with bourbon, put in freezer for 2 days
-After 7 days in primary add cherries to secondary and transfer beer on top, let sit for 2 weeks
The original schedule had me adding all of the DME at the beginning of the boil, and also was just using a 2 gallon boil for the entire process.
What are your thoughts? Should I plan on reducing the bittering hops to compensate for a lower SG and larger volume boil? If so, how much should I reduce it by? How strong will the different flavors of spices and fruit be? Should I adjust how long it's in the primary and/or secondary?
I may not have tried any of my beer yet but I'm completely hooked on home brewing!