let me make sure I've got this right...

Hello everyone. I'm a band spankin' new home brewer. I was looking for something that sounded good for my inaugural run. I came across a recipe on here for a vanilla stout. All credit for this recipe belongs solely to histo320. Here's the recipe:

Recipe Type: Extract
Yeast: White Labs Irish Ale
Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Original Gravity: 1.054
Final Gravity: 1.015
IBU: 19.0
Boiling Time (Minutes): 70
Color: 46.4 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14 days at 70
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 7 days at 70
Tasting Notes: Malty with a great vanilla after taste.

6 lb. Dark Liquid Malt Extract
1 lb. Dark Dry Malt Extract
.75 lb. Black Patent Malt
.25 lb. Roasted Barley
1 oz Cluster (7.00%) at 60 minutes
1 oz East Kent Goldings (4.00) at 20 minutes
1 tsp Irish moss at 15 minutes
2.5 Tablespoons of Vanilla Extract (add to secondary)
1 White Labs Irish Ale Yeast

Steeped grains at 150F for 35 minutes in oven

Boil for 70 minutes

After 14 days move to secondary and rack on top of 2.5 tbsp of vanilla.
(I know I should have soaked beans in bourbon, but thought i would try this, so far so good)

Primed with 3/4 cup of Corn Sugar.

Enjoy!


Now my issue is this: I'm not entirely sure I understand all of what this is telling me. So, with that problem in mind, I watched some youtube brew videos and did some reading. After that, I wrote down some step by step instructions for myself, and maybe anyone else who needs them. I was hoping someone a bit more experienced than I could take a look over them and offer me any corrections you see that need to be made. Thanks in advance.

Directions:

1) Add 2 1/2 gallons of cold water to brew pot.

2) Add grain in steeping bag to cold water.
(Roasted Barley & Black patent malt)

3) slowly bring water to 150F.

4) Steep Grain 35 minutes. (maintaining 150F)

5) remove grain, pour 2 1/2 cups clean hot
water over bag. Discard grain.

6) Bring wort to boil.

7) Remove from heat. Add Malt extract (liquid and dry)

8) Bring wort back to boil.

9) 15 minutes after bringing back to boil,
add Irish Moss to wort.

10) 20 minutes after bringing back to boil,
add East Kent Golding (hops) to wort.

11) 60 minutes after bringing back to boil,
add Cluster (hops) to wort.

12) 70 minutes after bringing back to boil,
remove from heat, cool wort to approx
80F as quickly as possible.

13) Add water to 5 gallons.

14) pitch yeast (white labs irish ale yeast)
& affix airlock

15) Maintain temp of approx 70F. Allow 14 days
for primary fermentation.

16) Add 2 1/2 T vanilla extract to secondary fermenter.
Rack wort to secondary fermenter.
Alow additional 7 days for secondary
fermentation.(Keep covered, light is the enemy)

17) Add 3/4 cup Corn sugar mixed with 1 cup hot water
to "bottling bucket" Add wort to "bottling bucket"

18) Bottle wort leaving 1" space at top of bottles.
cap bottles.

19) Keep somewhere dark and cool. allow 30 days for
conditioning.

20) Drink and enjoy!


Also, as a side note, in some of the videos, people were leaving their hops in the wort and letting it hang out in the fermenter, but other folks I've seen have use hop bags and removed them from the wort before the fermenter. Others still have just strained the hops out before the fermenter. Which of these practices would be best for this beer?

Ok, you have a few things backwards. but no biggie.

Add your grains to water already at 150, not to the cold water.

The times in minutes are backwards...ie: minutes left in boil. Typically a boil is 60 or 90 minutes. Once you have a boil start your 60 min clock and do what ever hop addition happens at 60 mins (cluster). With 20 mins left (40 mins in) you do your second hop addition. 15 mins left (45 in) you do the irish moss. at 60 mins in you remove from heat.

The rest looks pretty good. You should weigh your priming sugar though. 5oz is a good start.

**EDIT. don't carb your beers in a cool place. carb at 70.

ogrepyle said:

9) 15 minutes after bringing back to boil,
add Irish Moss to wort.

10) 20 minutes after bringing back to boil,
add East Kent Golding (hops) to wort.

11) 60 minutes after bringing back to boil,
add Cluster (hops) to wort.

Click to expand...

We always refer to the boil additions with the time remaining on the boil.

So,

1 oz Cluster (7.00%) at 60 minutes
1 oz East Kent Goldings (4.00) at 20 minutes
1 tsp Irish moss at 15 minutes

means add the Cluster when you get it back to a boil, add the Goldings with 20 minutes left on the boil, and the irish moss with 15 minutes left on the boil.

I usually write it down included the time of day. So if you start your boil at 4:00pm add your cluster at 4:00pm, Goldings at 4:40pm, and Irish Moss at 4:45pm

Man am I ever glad I asked first. Thanks for taking the time to help.

Don't forget to aerate your wort after you cool, and before you pitch your yeast. You would have boiled off all of the oxygen in the water that is needed for the yeast to multiply. Rock vigorously for about five minutes in the carboy (capped of course), then pitch. Don't aerate after the yeast has begun fermenting.

Plain/Light/Extra Light/Pilsner/Golden/or whatever LME or DME is preferred to dark.

Dark is just light extract that has been colored somehow, and you don't know what with; could be crystal, dark malts, molasses, or whatever.

Use a light malt extract and get 3/4 lbs of Crystal Malt 60 (anything from Crystal 40 to 90; the number represents the color).

You do not have to get both LME and DME. They are interchangeable. The recipe creater was probably just using up what he had of one of them. DME is just dried LME, a bit like sugar and sugar syrup.

1 lb DME = 1.25 lbs LME

So 1 lbs DME can be replaced with 1.25 lbs of LME.
Or 6 lbs of LME can be replaced with 4.8 lbs DME.

Make sure you do not use hopped extract. You should be able to tell pretty easily. You want it without the hops in it.