Deschutes Twilight Summer Ale - Extract

Hi all,

This is my 3rd homebrew attempt. Attempt #1 apparently was a fail.

I currently have in the fermenter this clone recipe (with a few minor changes I made in bold and in parentheses).

Batch Size: 5.000 gal
Boil Size: 3.000 gal (6 gal)
Boil Time: 1.000 hr
OG: 1.055 (1.070 - HOLY COW!)
FG: 1.015
ABV: 5.3%
Bitterness: 35.0 IBUs (Tinseth)
Color: 5 SRM (Morey)

Fermentables
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Pilsen Dry Extract Extract 6.000 lb
Cara-Pils/Dextrine Grain 8.000 oz
Carastan 30-37 Grain 8.000 oz (Carafoam 8 oz. couldn't get Carastan)
(Also added 5 oz priming sugar from a kit. I keg, but didn't want to waste fementables)
(This recipe didn't specify a steep time or temp on the grains, so I went with 30 minutes, hovering between 155-165. My burner control skilz are not so hot yet)

Hops
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Magnum 12.1% 0.750 oz Boil 1.000 hr Pellet 19.2
Cascade 5.5% 0.500 oz Boil 30.000 min Pellet 4.5
Tettnang 4.8% 0.500 oz Boil 15.000 min Pellet 2.5
Amarillo 10.2% 1.000 oz Boil 5.000 min Leaf 3.9
Amarillo 10.2% 1.000 oz Dry Hop 7.000 day Leaf 0.0

Yeast
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Wyeast - London Ale III Ale Liquid 0.528 cup Primary

This will no doubt be a strong, hoppy summer beer. I am very excited about it, and it smells lovely at the airlock. Will be posting updates and a side-by-side taste test soon. I keep Twilight in the fridge at all times, so it when it's done, we will know!

Update: Not a great beer. I dry-hopped in the primary for way too long and it tasted like alfalfa. It took months before it became palatable, and never was very good.

This time I'm just going to run a standard kit from Midwest, Amarillo Pale Ale.

Wanted to recommend "The Home Brewer's Companion" by Charlie Papazian, I think it will help you a lot. Also my advice would be to do a couple BB kit brews to give yourself a successful brew. I wouldn't add your own touches until you have enough experience with brewing to know (or at least have a good idea) what your changes will taste like. I understand that you are kegging, but how are you carbonating your brew? You mentioned that you added the priming sugar because you didn't want to waste fermentables and then talked about that it smelled good in the fermenter, so I'm assuming you added it during the boil. You need the priming sugar to naturally carbonate it in the keg after your secondary fermenter.

Hi Dave,
I have the book "How to Brew" by John Palmer. I've read pretty much everything to do with extract brewing in it. Perhaps the book you recommended would be helpful too. I agree with you that it was probably too soon to strike out on my own with a recipe, but I feel that probably I would have done fine without that one screw-up.

As for kegging, there are two advantages: You only have to clean and sanitize a single container, and you get to force-carbonate your beer with CO2 from a gas bottle, and avoid the whole priming sugar thing. Link Here:

IdahoSpud said:

Hi Dave,
I have the book "How to Brew" by John Palmer. I've read pretty much everything to do with extract brewing in it. Perhaps the book you recommended would be helpful too. I agree with you that it was probably too soon to strike out on my own with a recipe, but I feel that probably I would have done fine without that one screw-up.

As for kegging, there are two advantages: You only have to clean and sanitize a single container, and you get to force-carbonate your beer with CO2 from a gas bottle, and avoid the whole priming sugar thing. Link Here:

Click to expand...

Yes I know you can force carbonate with CO2 when kegging, I've never done it but have read the CO2 doesn't infuse as fully but like I said I don't know having never done it...

Even if you follow a recipe that is proven, if you don't want to do a kit, for a while is all I'm saying...

I hear ya bro. Batch #3 was probably too soon to strike out on my own.

I have now brewed 6 kits though (with 2 more in the mail), and it's getting a little old doing the same old cookbook brewing.

I think that I have brewed enough batches at this point to move on using a recipe and non-kit materials. All-grain will be the next big step, just need another keggle and an igloo cooler.