Easiest beer I have ever made recipe

[heyjaffy]

I kegged this beer a couple of weeks ago and enjoying a glass of it right now. I used this recipe as a base, and changed a few things:

* used 7 lbs LME instead of 6.6
* omitted the orange peel and coriander
* added 2 ounces apricot extract while kegging

It's great! I will definitely use this recipe again. Thanks again for posting it

 

[Cacaman]

Lol I'm making it tomorrow, I can't wait! It's funny how it's like I'm involuntarily following heyjaffy's footsteps.

 

[NTOLERANCE]

I kegged this beer a couple of weeks ago and enjoying a glass of it right now. I used this recipe as a base, and changed a few things:

* used 7 lbs LME instead of 6.6
* omitted the orange peel and coriander
* added 2 ounces apricot extract while kegging

It's great! I will definitely use this recipe again. Thanks again for posting it

What type of LME did you use? Most that I see comes in 3.3 lbs cans, hence the 6.6 lb ( plus 1 lb dme) recipe.

Whats the color like?

 

[heyjaffy]

What type of LME did you use? Most that I see comes in 3.3 lbs cans, hence the 6.6 lb ( plus 1 lb dme) recipe.

Whats the color like?

I bought the LME from Austin Homebrew Suppy - they sell fresh LME in plastic containers in half pound increments. The color is more amber than most wheat beers, but hey, this is an amber wheat so it's all good. I'm not to the point in my brewing that I'm concerned about color or clarity at all - if it tastes good (which it does), I'm happy.

I had my first broad sampling of this particular brew last night - SWMBO had book club at our house and all the ladies showed up with a bottle of wine. I think only one bottle of wine got opened before they started sampling the beer and for the rest of the night "Apricot Amber Wheat" was the only adult beverage that was consumed. Several left with comments like "I've had homemade beer before but none ever that good" and "that beer was the best". So NTOLERANCE, this brew is a winner!

 

[Caboose]

I cant wait to start a batch! Just need to get the ingredients together. Also sent the recipe to my dad so he can try it out.

 

[NTOLERANCE]

I bought the LME from Austin Homebrew Suppy - they sell fresh LME in plastic containers in half pound increments. The color is more amber than most wheat beers, but hey, this is an amber wheat so it's all good. I'm not to the point in my brewing that I'm concerned about color or clarity at all - if it tastes good (which it does), I'm happy.

I had my first broad sampling of this particular brew last night - SWMBO had book club at our house and all the ladies showed up with a bottle of wine. I think only one bottle of wine got opened before they started sampling the beer and for the rest of the night "Apricot Amber Wheat" was the only adult beverage that was consumed. Several left with comments like "I've had homemade beer before but none ever that good" and "that beer was the best". So NTOLERANCE, this brew is a winner!

I was at first put off by the Apricot, but after thinking about it, its a pretty good idea. Did you use the whole extract bottle? What are they 5 oz or so?

 

[Cacaman]

So i brewed this beer on Monday, and noticed the quick yeast activity. By Tuesday it started bubbling, but when I checked on it again on Wednesday, I noticed that I had an overflow. Some beer had spilled to the floor, and the vodka on the airlock was brown now. The airlock lid didn't explode off, it just lifted, and landed back into place when the krausen was done overflowing. What should i do about this? Leave the airlock as it is? Replace the vodka? Suggestions?

 

[heyjaffy]

I was at first put off by the Apricot, but after thinking about it, its a pretty good idea. Did you use the whole extract bottle? What are they 5 oz or so?

My reasoning for going with apricot was:

* I like apricot
* I used to really like an Apricot Wheat put out by Pyramid
* I already had ingredients on hand to make a blue moon clone, and thought making this brew with the orange and coriander would be a bit redundant

I bought a 2 oz. extract bottle which said it would give a nice hint of flavor, but if you want the flavor to really be present, you should use up to 4 oz. I guess the trick is to taste your beer as you're adding the extract (while putting it in your bottling bucket or transferring to keg) until it tastes right to you.

Anyhow, the end result is that if I didn't tell you that it was "Apricot Amber Wheat", you might not guess that it had apricot in it. You would notice some extra depth or twist on the flavor. If I tell you it has apricot in it, you could probably pick the flavor out, but it is very mild, in the background type of flavor. I actually wish that I had used a bit more extract.

 

[heyjaffy]

So i brewed this beer on Monday, and noticed the quick yeast activity. By Tuesday it started bubbling, but when I checked on it again on Wednesday, I noticed that I had an overflow. Some beer had spilled to the floor, and the vodka on the airlock was brown now. The airlock lid didn't explode off, it just lifted, and landed back into place when the krausen was done overflowing. What should i do about this? Leave the airlock as it is? Replace the vodka? Suggestions?

Clean out the airlock, replace with vodka

 

[NTOLERANCE]

So i brewed this beer on Monday, and noticed the quick yeast activity. By Tuesday it started bubbling, but when I checked on it again on Wednesday, I noticed that I had an overflow. Some beer had spilled to the floor, and the vodka on the airlock was brown now. The airlock lid didn't explode off, it just lifted, and landed back into place when the krausen was done overflowing. What should i do about this? Leave the airlock as it is? Replace the vodka? Suggestions?

Do you have a second air lock?

If so, clean and sanitize it, put your vodka in, and swap it out with the one thats filled with beer.

If not, take a paper towel, sanitize it, remove the air lock, place the paper towel over the fermentor where the air lock sits, clean and sanitize your air lock, refill with vodka, and reinstall onto the fermentor.

 

[NTOLERANCE]

My reasoning for going with apricot was:

* I like apricot
* I used to really like an Apricot Wheat put out by Pyramid
* I already had ingredients on hand to make a blue moon clone, and thought making this brew with the orange and coriander would be a bit redundant

I bought a 2 oz. extract bottle which said it would give a nice hint of flavor, but if you want the flavor to really be present, you should use up to 4 oz. I guess the trick is to taste your beer as you're adding the extract (while putting it in your bottling bucket or transferring to keg) until it tastes right to you.

Anyhow, the end result is that if I didn't tell you that it was "Apricot Amber Wheat", you might not guess that it had apricot in it. You would notice some extra depth or twist on the flavor. If I tell you it has apricot in it, you could probably pick the flavor out, but it is very mild, in the background type of flavor. I actually wish that I had used a bit more extract.

I like apricot as well, guess I could try it on the next batch. Glad the recipe worked out for ya. Pretty simple aint it? Makes a decent brew. I dont think it would win many awards.

Im a hop head myself, but this brew makes lots of people happy. I had a deck party last fall, full keg of this. Had about 10 people or so. Killed the keg. When your guests drink 4 gallons or so in a nite, you know they liked it.

 

[Cacaman]

If not, take a paper towel, sanitize it, remove the air lock, place the paper towel over the fermentor where the air lock sits, clean and sanitize your air lock, refill with vodka, and reinstall onto the fermentor.

That's exactly what I did, it's now back to bubbling. Can't wait for Monday to keg this batch, and taste it hopefully soon after that

 

[NTOLERANCE]

That's exactly what I did, it's now back to bubbling. Can't wait for Monday to keg this batch, and taste it hopefully soon after that

Giv eit some time to carb. I cannot explain why, but it seems to take longer.

 

[Flomaster]

* subscribed*

maybe this will be my fist all grain brew

-=jason=-

 

[Caboose]

* subscribed*

maybe this will be my fist all grain brew

-=jason=-

It will be my first as well

 

[heyjaffy]

Giv eit some time to carb. I cannot explain why, but it seems to take longer.

I was drinking/testing mine, woefully undercarbed, after about 3 days in the keg (carbing at serving pressure, none of that high-pressure roll the keg around tricks) - it was tasty after only a few days and it was interesting to grab a sip every day or so to see how it was developing.

 

[Cacaman]

I was drinking/testing mine, woefully undercarbed, after about 3 days in the keg (carbing at serving pressure, none of that high-pressure roll the keg around tricks) - it was tasty after only a few days and it was interesting to grab a sip every day or so to see how it was developing.

I remember NTOLERANCE saying it took him about 3 weeks to get it to his liking a few pages back. How long did it take for it to carb to your taste?

 

[Jsmith82]

subscribed..

Looks great, thinking I may just have something to do now Sunday

Thanks for sharing

 

[ChandlerBang]

Lucky me, I'm going to the LHBS tomorrow........

 

[NTOLERANCE]

* subscribed*

maybe this will be my fist all grain brew

-=jason=-

It will be my first as well

Uhhh...hmmm...

This is almost all extract.

 

[NTOLERANCE]

I remember NTOLERANCE saying it took him about 3 weeks to get it to his liking a few pages back. How long did it take for it to carb to your taste?

Let me elaborate a bit on how I force carb.

First, It put the keg under pressure at about 50 psi. It will sit there for about three days, and then I will drop the regulator down to about 10 psi.

I dont drop the keg down that low, just let the keg sit at that psi for the rest of the week. It will drop some on its own as the beer absorbs the CO2..(if i dont have room in the kegerator, i pressurise it to about 30 psi, then let it set at 60 deg in my fermenting shelf for the rest of the week, youll be surprised at how much more psi the beer/yeast can make on its own sometimes)

After the first week, I drop the keg pressure and the reg pressure down to a serving PSI and start sampling. I serve this beer just below 10 psi.

 

[Cacaman]

Thanks NTOLERANCE. This batch should finish fermenting tomorrow, I'll transfer it to the keg and use your method for carbonating. I hope I don't finish the beer before it's done carbonating

 

[NTOLERANCE]

Thanks NTOLERANCE. This batch should finish fermenting tomorrow, I'll transfer it to the keg and use your method for carbonating. I hope I don't finish the beer before it's done carbonating

I dont claim to be the force carbing guru, but my system works for me. Allows me to sample and when I am satisfied, serve.

 

[Cacaman]

Lol I've followed your steps for this beer as exact as I could, why stop now. I kegged this beer today, and tasted one of the last drops of wort (or beer at this point), and all I can say is that I'm very excited. I was very surprised at the delicious taste, despite my freezer used for fermentation (at 62F) smelled like sh** during the week. It's sitting at 30psi at around 35F (my regulator only goes up to 30psi). I'll probably drop it to 10psi on thursday afternoon, and have my first sample on Friday or Saturday. The only thing I noticed, was that mine looked a lot lighter than yours. Yours looked almost completely brown... Mines a little more on the brown-yellow side. Oh well, we'll see how it turns out. Thanks again for the recipe and follow-through advice.

-Alex

 

[NTOLERANCE]

Lol I've followed your steps for this beer as exact as I could, why stop now. I kegged this beer today, and tasted one of the last drops of wort (or beer at this point), and all I can say is that I'm very excited. I was very surprised at the delicious taste, despite my freezer used for fermentation (at 62F) smelled like sh** during the week. It's sitting at 30psi at around 35F (my regulator only goes up to 30psi). I'll probably drop it to 10psi on thursday afternoon, and have my first sample on Friday or Saturday. The only thing I noticed, was that mine looked a lot lighter than yours. Yours looked almost completely brown... Mines a little more on the brown-yellow side. Oh well, we'll see how it turns out. Thanks again for the recipe and follow-through advice.

-Alex

Crappy pics on my end likely on this pic.

What brand of extract did you use?

Wheres your pics btw?

 

[NTOLERANCE]

Also, I usually have 2-3 kegs going at a time, with at least 2 carboys waiting for kegging. I can take my time with force carbing.

 

[MCasper]

I will be making this Sunday (Second Batch ever)

I dont have the kegging set up though. I will just be sticking it in bottles.

 

[Tiedye]

This weekend I'm making the move from kit to extract from recipe - eeek! This "easiest beer ever" thread has me excited, and I've now got all the ingredients and goodies ready to make this brew.

I do have one question about the recipe. It calls for RO water, and I've seen an awful lot of talk here about water for brewing. Can I just use tap water here? My tap water is really good. Does the combination of RO and tap being used here give you enough "stuff" in your water for success?

I'm happy to jump into experiments with water and water additives when I have a few successful batches under my liver, but for now "easiest ever" is what has my interest.

Thoughts from the crew?

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Justibone]

Tap water is fine. If it tastes good to drink, it will taste good in your beer.

HOWEVER...

Buying or filtering water will give you better results in the long run. Water is the #1 ingredient in beer, after all!

 

[Hoppus_Poppatopolis]

Water chemistry is more important when you start mashing grains. There is a lot more leeway when using extracts. If your water tastes good, you'll be fine.

 

[beerloaf]

Thank's for bringing this one back up. I was looking at an Amber for my next brew and I'm thinking about this one now.

beerloaf

 

[MimersMead]

Already made plans to make this my second brew, secured a ride to the LHBS for tomorrow. Way too excited about it.

 

[vanceromance]

I'm looking to make this can you clarify what you mean by this statement??

1.0 lbs of 2 Row
(carapils/dextrine in .5 lb would be a nice addition to increase foad/head rentention)

is it 1 lb of 2 row and .5lbs of carpils/dextrine??

Also I'm buying from Austin. will 3.5 lbs of each of the LME instead of 3.3lbs make much of a difference??

 

[heyjaffy]

I'm looking to make this can you clarify what you mean by this statement??

1.0 lbs of 2 Row
(carapils/dextrine in .5 lb would be a nice addition to increase foad/head rentention)

is it 1 lb of 2 row and .5lbs of carpils/dextrine??

Also I'm buying from Austin. will 3.5 lbs of each of the LME instead of 3.3lbs make much of a difference??

I bought from Austin and used 3.5 of each of the LME's - tastes great!

 

[vanceromance]

What did you steep??

 

[beninan]

Here it is in the carboy.

What size is your bung? :cross:

I have the same carboy but haven't used it because I don't have a bung for it.

 

[RugerRedhawk]

Subscribed to this thread, I'm going to brew this after i finish the kits I have in my garage waiting to be brewed

 

[NTOLERANCE]

What size is your bung? :cross:

I have the same carboy but haven't used it because I don't have a bung for it.

Ive got abrew in it right now, I can measure it when I rack. I got it with the carboy.....

 

[NTOLERANCE]

On water,

One of the reasons I used the RO water was simply to balance out my harsh tap water.
Another was to have the water in a container to chill it, so it becomes the wort chiller, so to speak.
Finally, There isnt anything in it to infect the beer, so you dont have to preboil it.

Chillers arent free, but if you can shill your "top up" water so to speak, you achieve nearly the same effect with little cost. RO water near me is .70 cents a gallon from the grocery stores. There isnt anything in it to infect the beer, so you dont have to preboil it.

 

[NTOLERANCE]

I'm looking to make this can you clarify what you mean by this statement??

1.0 lbs of 2 Row
(carapils/dextrine in .5 lb would be a nice addition to increase foad/head rentention)

is it 1 lb of 2 row and .5lbs of carpils/dextrine??

Also I'm buying from Austin. will 3.5 lbs of each of the LME instead of 3.3lbs make much of a difference??

If youre going to do a partial mash, then yes both ingredients.

I wouldnt sweat the 3.5 vs 3.3. If youre concerned, drop the LME down some. But really, its not going to affect it.