My first non-mr beer kit recipe.

I have 3.3lbs of pilsner light extract
1/2lbs of crystal light
1/4lbs of dextrine
1/2 ounce of coriander
1 ounce of Mt Hood hops
and some Irish ale yeast.

This is a 2.2 gallon Mr. Beer keg I'm using.

How do you think this will come out. Does anyone see any tweaks that should happen?

Is this a five gallon batch? 3.3 lbs of extract wouldn't be much for an all extract recipe. The OG would be really low.

Sorry forgot to add I'm still using my 2.2 gallon mr beer keg until I get a bigger setup.

That's a lot of coriander for 2.2 gallons. It's gonna taste like soap.

Why the coriander?

What flavor does coriander actually add I've seen it in a few beers. I'm trying to make a lighter beer. If I can get my fiancee to like this beer it should help explain the larger budget I'm going to put towards beer making.

Cut the hops in 1/2

So I'll scale back the coriander a bit. Why the reason for cutting the hops back?

Also how should I go about adding the dextrine and crystal light? I have muslin bags.

Cojones893 said:

What flavor does coriander actually add I've seen it in a few beers. I'm trying to make a lighter beer. If I can get my fiancee to like this beer it should help explain the larger budget I'm going to put towards beer making.

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Just smell it, that's pretty much what you're going to get in the finished beer. To me, it's a spicy, floral perfume character. Too much and it can be undrinkable. My rule of thumb is, if you can instantly recognize a spice addition in a beer, then it's too much.

thedude00 said:

Cut the hops in 1/2

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If you like coriander, that's fine. It's in some beers (like wits). I personally hate it, though.

I'd cut the hops, too. If you plug your recipe into a recipe calculator, that can be very helpful to know how much bittering you have. There are free online calculators that can help with that. Without knowing the AAUs (the % that is on the package) of the hops, I'd only be guessing at the amount of bitterness but a whole ounce for bittering in a small batch sounds like a lot, and I would think your beer will be too bitter.

The alpha acid of the hops is 5%

What are the boiling instructions? Does Mr. Beer tell you to add all the hops and boil for 60 minutes? Or do you add half the hops at the beginning of the boil (flavor) and add the other half in the last 5 minutes (aroma)?

This is my first non-mr beer recipe. I'm just making it up as I go. I figure I'll just add the hops the last 15 minutes of a 60 minute boil. I don't know where the dextrine and crystal light should come in. First 30 minute maybe?

Cojones893 said:

This is my first non-mr beer recipe. I'm just making it up as I go. I figure I'll just add the hops the last 15 minutes of a 60 minute boil. I don't know where the dextrine and crystal light should come in. First 30 minute maybe?

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Congrats on moving up.
Now - please do NOT boil the dextrine and crystal grains in the first 30 minutes... Place the crushed grains in a muslin bag, drop it in the water, bring up to 150F and let them sit (steep) for 20 minutes or so. Then REMOVE them, and bring to a boil. Add your extract and hops, (you can add extract later if you want the color lighter, as boiling extract for 60 minutes tends to darken it a bit). If you want, you could add 1/4 oz to 1/2 oz of hops with a flavor variety like Cascade, Amarillo, Simcoe...at the last 15 minutes or less. Then cool to 65 and pitch your yeast. Keep the fermenter at 65F for a week and you will have something very drinkable...(three weeks before bottling would be great, but initial fermentation week - 65F)

Make notes, you may want more bitterness, or less. You may want more hop flavor or less, more malt flavor or less....you need notes to help you remember what you did, and where to make the changes.

Good luck!!!

Hang glider's advice sounds really good to me. I would add one more thing... it's unlikely to turn out particularly well on the first try. You may LOVE it, and so may a few others, but don't be too disappointed if you didn't make a beer she likes on the first try.

You will be happiest in this hobby if you try to please yourself first.

Put everything you had on list into BTP here's what I got
OG 1.059
FG 1.015
ABV 5.84 %
SRM 4.11
IBU's 28.5 See Notes Below

Steep Crystal and Dextrin as stated in the comment above.
After removing grains bring the wort to a boil and add the extract. and .5 oz's of the hops for 60 minutes
Add another .25 oz's at 15 minutes left
Add the last .25 oz's at 5 minutes left.

As for the Coriander I used .75tsp of coarsely crushed coriander at 5 minutes left in the boil, for 5gallons so, go light.

It doesn't really fit into any category it's like an unlagered pilsner or a pale slightly underbittered "English pale ale, strong bitter" but I don't think it would taste to bad.

Can you fit your Mr. Beer in the fridge? Then you could lager it....

I just bottled a batch that had pilsner, rice syrup solids, dextrine, and ale yeast. Agreed, it doesn't really fit in anywhere on the style guide.

I drank 20oz (un-carbonated) while I bottled it and it is probably best described as a dizzy blond. Straw colored, simple (not a complex flavor at all), with a clean finish. Probably a good summer beer for a non-hop head.

If there is anything you guys think I should add please let me know. I'll be brewing this after I get out of work.

Would lemon zest go well with the coriander?

I just brewed a summer ale that came with dried orange and lemon peel, I added the coriander and cardamom myself. It's still carbing but I enjoy it.

Cojones893 said:

Would lemon zest go well with the coriander?

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Yes, and orange even better.

If it was me, I would add half of your hops at 60 min. and half at 5 min. I really like the aroma of Mt. Hood, very floral. I have a Tripel with a big late charge of Mt. Hood, fantastic flowery aroma.

*Tip* Add a crap load of zest, more than you think is reasonable. Add it with your 5 min. addition of hops. You don't want to boil it for long for two reasons, 1. you'll boil away the aroma, and 2. it will get bitter and astringent.