Mutilated1
Beer Drenched Executioner
Got the itch to brew something tonight, so took a little inventory of what I have on hand to work with. Just going for a quick extract batch really.
Here's what I got:
Fermentables:
* About 1.5 oz Uncracked Pale Malt scavenged from some malt bags I've been hanging on to.
* 3# 6oz Pale LME
* 1# Extra Light DME
* 1/2# Corn Sugar
* 12 oz Honey
I put that all together in the software, and I come up at 1.040 for 5 gallons, with 4 SRM - probably not much hope for anything other than a light beer, but considering the beers I already have and what my family and friends will drink a light beer should be just the thing.
Now I got a really good hop collection going on in the freezer, but I'm thinking for a small "light" beer like this, going easy on the hops is whats required. I'm thinking 1 oz of 4.0% Liberty at 60 minutes, and thats it. No flavor hops, no aroma hops, just trying to hit say 12 IBU with a low AA hop so the hops are soft and present but won't taste hoppy if I try this beer on a typical BMC drinker.
Here's the game plan: Heating the oven to 350F, toss the Pale onto a cookie sheet and take it out when I start to smell some toastiness. Going to steep the toasted grain in 2.5 gallons of water while its heating, and strain it out once it gets to say 170F.
Once its boiling, take it off the heat and add the 3# 6oz of Pale LME and Corn Sugar, stir and then return to the heat. Add 1 oz Liberty 4.0%AA and boil for 50 minutes, at ten minutes, turn down the heat and add 1 pound of DME, stir till its disolved and boil the remaining 10 minutes. Take off the heat, and chill in the sink with ice bath till the temp comes down to about 150F. At this time, I will add the 12oz of honey and stir, leaving it in the ice bath till I don't see it chilling anymore, experience tells me that with my sink I can get it down to like 120 in a few minutes.
Then I will pour the partly chilled wort into my fermenter which I will already have filled with 2 gallons of cold water. I will top the fermenter off with cold water to 5.3 gallons and measure the gravity expecting to hit 1.040.
Provided the temperature is down near the 70s or possibly 60s, I will go ahead and pitch a vial of White Labs Czech Budejovice Lager (WLP802). I am not making a starter, but this is the only Lager Yeast I have on hand right now and my only other option is to rack an Ale I'm making and harvest some US-05. Screw it, I want a Lager and in a small beer like this I think one vial will be plenty, if nothing else I will be able to consider this beer a starter for the next lager I decide to make.
Then I will seal the fermenter up and put it in the fridge at 50F for the next three weeks.
So what do you think ?
I'm optimistic that Its going to turn out pretty good, I like light beer too and at 4.1% ABV I should have something that I can drink more than a few of, and crossing my fingers I might just have something thats a little better than typical light beer from the store.
Here's what I got:
Fermentables:
* About 1.5 oz Uncracked Pale Malt scavenged from some malt bags I've been hanging on to.
* 3# 6oz Pale LME
* 1# Extra Light DME
* 1/2# Corn Sugar
* 12 oz Honey
I put that all together in the software, and I come up at 1.040 for 5 gallons, with 4 SRM - probably not much hope for anything other than a light beer, but considering the beers I already have and what my family and friends will drink a light beer should be just the thing.
Now I got a really good hop collection going on in the freezer, but I'm thinking for a small "light" beer like this, going easy on the hops is whats required. I'm thinking 1 oz of 4.0% Liberty at 60 minutes, and thats it. No flavor hops, no aroma hops, just trying to hit say 12 IBU with a low AA hop so the hops are soft and present but won't taste hoppy if I try this beer on a typical BMC drinker.
Here's the game plan: Heating the oven to 350F, toss the Pale onto a cookie sheet and take it out when I start to smell some toastiness. Going to steep the toasted grain in 2.5 gallons of water while its heating, and strain it out once it gets to say 170F.
Once its boiling, take it off the heat and add the 3# 6oz of Pale LME and Corn Sugar, stir and then return to the heat. Add 1 oz Liberty 4.0%AA and boil for 50 minutes, at ten minutes, turn down the heat and add 1 pound of DME, stir till its disolved and boil the remaining 10 minutes. Take off the heat, and chill in the sink with ice bath till the temp comes down to about 150F. At this time, I will add the 12oz of honey and stir, leaving it in the ice bath till I don't see it chilling anymore, experience tells me that with my sink I can get it down to like 120 in a few minutes.
Then I will pour the partly chilled wort into my fermenter which I will already have filled with 2 gallons of cold water. I will top the fermenter off with cold water to 5.3 gallons and measure the gravity expecting to hit 1.040.
Provided the temperature is down near the 70s or possibly 60s, I will go ahead and pitch a vial of White Labs Czech Budejovice Lager (WLP802). I am not making a starter, but this is the only Lager Yeast I have on hand right now and my only other option is to rack an Ale I'm making and harvest some US-05. Screw it, I want a Lager and in a small beer like this I think one vial will be plenty, if nothing else I will be able to consider this beer a starter for the next lager I decide to make.
Then I will seal the fermenter up and put it in the fridge at 50F for the next three weeks.
So what do you think ?
I'm optimistic that Its going to turn out pretty good, I like light beer too and at 4.1% ABV I should have something that I can drink more than a few of, and crossing my fingers I might just have something thats a little better than typical light beer from the store.