My first brew isn't even bottled yet and I'm already thinking what I should do next. One of the reasons I started brewing was to try different beers. Are there any beers that are different, yet the ingredients are easy to find and the brewing process isn't too hard? I like lagers don't have the ability to ferment them at the cold temps.
Good second brew?
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mbreen01
Well-Known Member
Brown ale, stout, porter, red, IPA, English mild/bitter, wit bier, Belgian ales, wheat, Hefe Weizen...
The sky is the limit; especially since you have easy access to pretty much any ingredient you need using the internet.
A better idea, would be for you to go out and try a wide array of commercial brews and think about what you like/dislike about each one and why. Then you can begin to look for a good recipe in the particular style you want. If you don't have access to a very broad selection, then post up about what beers you've tried and liked and why. Perhaps someone can suggest something more appropriate for you. Otherwise, the suggestion is just reflective of what WE like.
Marc.
PS. But a batch that you don't really like makes quite a nice gift! he he. (now I'm not admitting anything from personal experience of course.)
The sky is the limit; especially since you have easy access to pretty much any ingredient you need using the internet.
A better idea, would be for you to go out and try a wide array of commercial brews and think about what you like/dislike about each one and why. Then you can begin to look for a good recipe in the particular style you want. If you don't have access to a very broad selection, then post up about what beers you've tried and liked and why. Perhaps someone can suggest something more appropriate for you. Otherwise, the suggestion is just reflective of what WE like.
Marc.
PS. But a batch that you don't really like makes quite a nice gift! he he. (now I'm not admitting anything from personal experience of course.)
EdWort
Well-Known Member
Go Hefeweizen!
I think my favorite beers are probably porters, except Guiness. I don't care what everyone else thinks, I hate Guiness. Now...where'd I put that flame suit?mbreen01 said:
Anyways, I want to try something different. Trying to make something like beers I already like would go against what I'm trying to do. Just trying to find something distinctive I guess. I found a beer that actually isn't made from hops, but some kind of flower. The brewing process was do-able, but I have no idea where I'd find this flower. I don't mind taking suggestions from what you guys like, because if I only try stuff I know I like I'll never be able to try the full spectrum of beers.
I won't flame you for disliking Guinness, but I will correct you - it's a stout, not a porter.giant016 said:
The flowers you mention aren't Humulus lupulus are they? Hops are the flowers of that particular species.
For something different, try an English mild. There really aren't many of those commercially available. It's not wild or flashy, it doesn't have 100+ IBUs, it doesn't use non-traditional ingredients, but it IS different.
dibby33
Well-Known Member
giant016 said:
Have you tried proper Guiness and not the watered down stuff you get outside of Ireland?
...btw, you don't have to like every beer in the world!
Nope. It's Yarrow. Page 221 in "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing". Probably the smallest ingredient list I've seen so far. Extra light malt extract, fresh Yarrow flowers/leaves, sweet gale, American ale-type yeast, and corn sugar for bottling. When spring comes I may see if I can find some Yarrow.Yuri_Rage said:
To the other poster: I've only had the Guiness from the U.S.
dibby33
Well-Known Member
You should be able to just about chew guiness! Four sips (gulps really) to the pint 
:cross:
I had some about ten years ago in America and you could see through the pint glass to the other side. Maybe I just had a bad local pub.
I had my 30th birthday party in Dublin - that was messy.
:cross:I had some about ten years ago in America and you could see through the pint glass to the other side. Maybe I just had a bad local pub.
I had my 30th birthday party in Dublin - that was messy.
t-dogg
Well-Known Member
dibby33 give him the ye olde ripper recipe that sounds interesting is it a barley wine?
dibby33
Well-Known Member
Taken from www.thhbs.intas.net :
YE OLDE RIPPER (Basically a barley wine)
6kg dry light malt extract
250g honey
750g corn sugar
60g Pride of Ringwood boiling hops (13.2 alpha)
60g Cascade boiling hops (5.5 alpha)
2 teaspoon Irish moss
60g Fuggles hops (finish)
Champagne yeast
Boil malt, boiling hops, and corn sugar in 7 litres water for about 1 hour.
In last 30 minutes add Irish moss and Fuggles hops. Strain into the fermenter and ¾ fill fermenter with cold water. Pitch yeast and ferment as per THBS brewing sheet. Bottle and age for at least 1 year - it will be worth it!!!! The 280g/L O.G. is high and will give the beer an alcohol of about 12%, so drink with care!!!!!
...I have only just started brewing and I have been using the THBS brewing sheet and have not had any problems at all. It is normally for kit brewing but is a good starting point.
http://www.thbs.intas.net/beer_how_to.htm
YE OLDE RIPPER (Basically a barley wine)
6kg dry light malt extract
250g honey
750g corn sugar
60g Pride of Ringwood boiling hops (13.2 alpha)
60g Cascade boiling hops (5.5 alpha)
2 teaspoon Irish moss
60g Fuggles hops (finish)
Champagne yeast
Boil malt, boiling hops, and corn sugar in 7 litres water for about 1 hour.
In last 30 minutes add Irish moss and Fuggles hops. Strain into the fermenter and ¾ fill fermenter with cold water. Pitch yeast and ferment as per THBS brewing sheet. Bottle and age for at least 1 year - it will be worth it!!!! The 280g/L O.G. is high and will give the beer an alcohol of about 12%, so drink with care!!!!!
...I have only just started brewing and I have been using the THBS brewing sheet and have not had any problems at all. It is normally for kit brewing but is a good starting point.
http://www.thbs.intas.net/beer_how_to.htm
Focus
Well-Known Member
I'll just offer up that, in my experience, porters (extract kits with specialty grains from your LHBS or any of the copious online merchants) are hard to screw up. It was the first beer I ever brewed after I graduated from the Mr Beer setup. It was a clown act from the begining - pots too small, boilover, spotty sanitation, etc.. We were really expecting it to be terrible, but when we tasted it, it was awesome. And they've only gotten better as I refine my clown act each time.
It also has the benefit of a relatively quick conditioning period. I can usually drink my porters about three weeks after bottling.
Focus
It also has the benefit of a relatively quick conditioning period. I can usually drink my porters about three weeks after bottling.
Focus
mbreen01
Well-Known Member
Focus said:
Lemme guess, you'd recommend that giant016 make mead...
all I can say is that's a hell of a lot of mead!
Marc.
dantodd
Well-Known Member
dibby33 said:Taken from www.thbs.intas.net :
YE OLDE RIPPER (Basically a barley wine)
6kg dry light malt extract
250g honey
750g corn sugar
60g Pride of Ringwood boiling hops (13.2 alpha)
60g Cascade boiling hops (5.5 alpha)
2 teaspoon Irish moss
60g Fuggles hops (finish)
Champagne yeast
Boil malt, boiling hops, and corn sugar in 7 litres water for about 1 hour.
In last 30 minutes add Irish moss and Fuggles hops. Strain into the fermenter and ¾ fill fermenter with cold water. Pitch yeast and ferment as per THBS brewing sheet. Bottle and age for at least 1 year - it will be worth it!!!! The 280g/L O.G. is high and will give the beer an alcohol of about 12%, so drink with care!!!!!
...I have only just started brewing and I have been using the THBS brewing sheet and have not had any problems at all. It is normally for kit brewing but is a good starting point.
http://www.thbs.intas.net/beer_how_to.htm
That recipe doesn't look right. 6kg of DME in 7 litres of water is not right. perhaps it is supposed to be for a full 19-25 litre fermenter?
Torchiest
Well-Known Member
It does say to fill with cold water, which comes out to a normal batch size. I ran it through BeerSmith, and it comes out to 13.7% alcohol, and a 1.034 final gravity, which is massive! Of course, doing it with only 2 gallons of water gives it a OG of 1.343, an FG of 1.074, and ABV 37.3%, which is clearly ridiculous. I don't even know if champagne yeast can get you that high.
dantodd
Well-Known Member
That makes a WHOLE lot more sense.
I don't think anything (even distiller's yeast) will get close to 37%. I would also recommend doing a close to a full boil as possible. The heavier you wort when you boil the less extraction you'll get from your hops and the more darkening oxidation your get plus a good chance of scorching.
I don't think anything (even distiller's yeast) will get close to 37%. I would also recommend doing a close to a full boil as possible. The heavier you wort when you boil the less extraction you'll get from your hops and the more darkening oxidation your get plus a good chance of scorching.
Focus
Well-Known Member
mbreen01 said:Lemme guess, you'd recommend that giant016 make mead...
all I can say is that's a hell of a lot of mead!
Marc.
Each one is just a single gal batch, so I've only got 4 gals going at present. So it's not THAT much - although I'd like to get much more going than that :cross:
dibby33
Well-Known Member
dantodd said:
sorry for the delay in response - for some reason all threads get marked as read at about 10am each morning here!
...after disolving the DME in the 7 litres of water it is added to the primary vessel and topped up to 25 Litres. sorry - was being lazy and linked to the rest of the instructions!
It is tasty though - had one a couple of nights ago and shall have to get another batch going soon!!!
MariaAZ
Well-Known Member
Yarrow is used medicinally, and there are several Internet sources for it including mountainroseherbs.com; I've ordered from them and would definitely do so again. If you want a local source, try a health food store; they might have it in tea bags.
