First brew attempt (brown ale)

[MAP710]

Hey guys. Thanks first of all for all the great information on this forum. I am a complete newb to homebrewing and this will be my first batch. I was hoping that you all could take a quick look at my recipe plan and let me know if I should make any adjustments.

I already ordered a starter kit which came with one of those canned liquid malt extracts (Black Rock Nut Brown Ale) so I'm trying to make a brew for which will be able to use that. The kit instructions say to add sugar to supplement the canned malt, but based on what I've read on this forum it's better to just add more malt.

I guess what I have in mind is a rich, full-bodied, malty brown ale with a moderately high alcohol content. I like hoppy beers, which I realize might clash with this style a bit and I also realize that the Black Rock kit will already contain hops, but I would still like to add just a bit of extra hops to help balance out the sweetness that will come from the additional hops that I will add in. I don't know -- I'm making all of this up. Please advise.

Anyway, here is what I am thinking for a 22 L batch:

Liquid Malt Extract:
1 can (1700 g) "Black Rock Nut Brown Ale" Hopped Brown Ale Extract
1 can (1500 g) "Morgans Caramalt"

Dry Malt Extract:
500 g "Muntons Medium Dry Malt Extract"

Hops:
50 g Nugget -- for adding bitterness and aroma, added during end of boil.

Yeast:
5 g of some premium ale yeast

Other:
Irish Moss -- for clarity


Questions:
1.) Does this looks okay to you guys?
2.) Is there any way for me to estimate the ABV?
3.) Should I add some honey or something to supplement?
4.) Should I add aromatic hops?
5.) Can I use my medium DME, or should I use light?


Thanks in advance!

 

[fuelish]

Hey guys. Thanks first of all for all the great information on this forum. I am a complete newb to homebrewing and this will be my first batch. I was hoping that you all could take a quick look at my recipe plan and let me know if I should make any adjustments.

I already ordered a starter kit which came with one of those canned liquid malt extracts (Black Rock Nut Brown Ale) so I'm trying to make a brew for which will be able to use that. The kit instructions say to add sugar to supplement the canned malt, but based on what I've read on this forum it's better to just add more malt.

I guess what I have in mind is a rich, full-bodied, malty brown ale with a moderately high alcohol content. I like hoppy beers, which I realize might clash with this style a bit and I also realize that the Black Rock kit will already contain hops, but I would still like to add just a bit of extra hops to help balance out the sweetness that will come from the additional hops that I will add in. I don't know -- I'm making all of this up. Please advise.

Anyway, here is what I am thinking for a 22 L batch:

Liquid Malt Extract:
1 can (1700 g) "Black Rock Nut Brown Ale" Hopped Brown Ale Extract
1 can (1500 g) "Morgans Caramalt"

Dry Malt Extract:
500 g "Muntons Medium Dry Malt Extract"

Hops:
50 g Nugget -- for adding bitterness and aroma, added during end of boil.

Yeast:
5 g of some premium ale yeast

Other:
Irish Moss -- for clarity


Questions:
1.) Does this looks okay to you guys?
2.) Is there any way for me to estimate the ABV?
3.) Should I add some honey or something to supplement?
4.) Should I add aromatic hops?
5.) Can I use my medium DME, or should I use light?


Thanks in advance!

You want/need a hydrometer before starting anything....trust me........this will give you a firm handle on the stage of your fermentation....you can calculate abv using original gravity and final gravity readings on the brew, and you can tell when fermentation is complete to help avoid bottle bombs....hydrometer is a must have

 

[MAP710]

Thanks for the reply.

I should have mentioned that I have a hydrometer. It came with the homebrew kit. As far as I know though I wont be able modify this once the fermentation process has begun other than dumping more sugar in, which sounds like a bad idea.

Based on the ingredients I posted, do you think this would make a decent beer?

 

[dhoyt714]

As the previous poster said you will need a hydrometer to estimate your abv, to do this you need to take a reading after the boil is complete and after your fermentation is complete, I use this site for my calculations:

http://www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/

Honey is good but I find it drys out the beer, but if that is what you want go for it, I wouldn't for a brown ale.

For you first brew I would really stay to the instructions, you will make great beer. If you go overboard you might get a product you really don't want.

 

[LovesIPA]

If you want a full-bodied brown, malty ale, definitely do not any sugar or honey to the beer at all. It will just dry the beer out.

I think you would be better served using non-hopped extract and add your own hops. That way you have more control over your brew. If you haven't checked out BeerSmith yet, try it. You can enter your recipe and equipment profile and it will calculate OG, IBU's, ABV, color, and estimate FG for you. If you're going to be mucking around with recipes (which is a good thing IMO) then software to help with the calculations really makes life easier.

 

[MAP710]

Thanks for the advice. I'm excited to get started.

I was going to add both of the extracts to the boil, but would this be too much? I am going for a rich, malty, full-bodied brown... but is there such a thing as too much malt?

Liquid Malt Extract:
1 can (1700 g) "Black Rock Nut Brown Ale" Hopped Brown Ale Extract
1 can (1500 g) "Morgans Caramalt"

I will avoid adding sugar or honey this time.

Thanks again.

 

[LovesIPA]

It depends entirely on your post-boil volume, or if you plan on topping off with water, your volume in the fermenter.

 

[SaucedBrews]

My advice: skip the irish moss. You're making a brown ale, not a kolsch or blonde or lager.

 

[MAP710]

Thanks for the advice.

LovesIPA,
I will be topping off with water to fill the maximum capacity of the fermenter, save some room foam, so that the post-boil volume will be 20 Liters (5.3 US Gallons). Considering that, do you think this might be an appropriate amount of malt extract?


SaucedBrews,
Okay. I didn't want too much of a yeasty taste which was what I thought the Irish Moss would help filter out, but maybe you are right and it is unnecessary.

 

[LovesIPA]

Liquid extract gives you roughly 36 points per pound per gallon of water.

So 36 * 7.04 lbs (3.2 kg converted to lbs) / 5.3 = 48

Your OG would be right around 1.048, which is right in the ballpark for the style you want.

I don't know how dark the beer is going to come out but in anything you can see through, I like to use Irish moss. It certainly isn't going to hurt anything. The only time I skip using it is when I'm doing a black-as-night stout or porter.

 

[SaucedBrews]

If you want to clarify your beer, I'd recommend using whirfloc instead of loose irish moss. It takes the guesswork out and mess things less error-prone. Trust me on this. I have about 30 bottles of dunkelweizen sitting in a fridge that have an unintended fishy aftertaste because I put waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much irish moss into a 5gal batch.

Speaking of fishy tastes... Your profile says you're in Tokyo. Still true? I have a friend who recently moved there and said it's difficult to homebrew in Japan due to laws that make it illegal to brew anything over 1% ABV at home.

 

[MAP710]

Thanks for the advice guys. It's really helpful.

This is good new about the volume. I'll use the recipe I posted and share the result in about a month!

I think I'll use the Irish Moss since I already have it, but I'll be sure to use a verrrry small amount. This isn't the first time I've heard of it imparting an unintended taste when overused.

Yes, I do live in Japan and it is indeed *technically* illegal to brew anything over 1% ABV but so long as you aren't selling, not only is it it's practically impossible for the police to catch you, they really just couldn't care less. There are plenty of stores that openly sell supplies... thankfully.

 

[JimRausch]

I use Irish Moss in the boil of every batch- from Pale ales to Stouts, and have never heard or read anything about it giving an off-taste(maybe I just haven't read the right posts?). 1 teaspoon per 5G batch is the usual recommended amount in the last 10 minutes of the boil.
One of the LMEs you have is a hopped extract. Since you have it, you might as well use it, but try to avoid those in the future. The quality of the hopping is variable and I've read several threads where the bitterness has been not as expected(usually more bitter). Good plan on using some actual hops to supplement, but I would add them as a flavoring charge(at 20-30 minutes left in the boil) or an aroma charge(at 0-10 left). I haven't used Nuggets, but I believe those are primarily used as bittering hops. Since it's a brown ale, might look for Fuggles or EKG. Or if you want some citrusy notes, Cascades.
Also a good plan to switch out the DME instead of sugar.
I think you'll be fine, because you're thinking about the process and recipe before just jumping in. Good luck!

 

[goodyx7]

Not sure if your planning on a 60 min boil but it's my understanding that you don't want to boil your hopped extract that long. My suggestion is to boil your other extracts with your hop edition then put the hopped extract in at the end.

Anyway you go about it you're going to make beer. Best of Luck.

 

[Jayslay]

Wait wait wait, your yeast! 5g of dry yeast only equates to about 100 billion cells at most. I'm thinking you will want more like about 190 billion cells for a sturdy brown ale with 8 lbs of extract.

You can master your recipe and hops all you want, but if you underpitch, you are inviting off-flavors and under attenuation.

 

[MAP710]

JimRausch

Yeah, the pre-hopped LME came with the kit so I figure I'll use it this time, but next time I'll avoid buying them because I'm finding it difficult to figure out how much additional hops I should be adding. It's impossible to know how bitter the can is already. I guess I'll go light on the additional hops and just have some on standby for possible dry hopping after the first week or so of fermenting. I realize this will add more aroma than bitterness, but honestly I prefer my beer that way anyway (within reason).

I picked up some Cascade hops to use instead of the Nugget, as you suggested. I think this will allow me to get more aroma without getting too bitter, again because I have no idea what's in the can.

I will use your measurements for the Irish Moss.


goodyx7,

I was planning on an hour boil. How far along should I add in the pre-hopped can? In the last 10 minutes or so?


Jayslay

5 g is what came with the kit, but you're right, that was not taking into account all this other stuff I'll be adding. What would be a more appropriate amount? 10 g? I also read somewhere on this forum that adding too much yeast will cause the brew to ferment too quickly, not giving enough time for the yeast to properly reproduce, and changing the end flavor of the beer. I have absolutely no idea ft that makes sense though. I guess an extra 5 g wouldn't cause this problem? Of course this means I'll have to go out and buy ale yeast. I assume it's not a good idea to mix the mystery "premium ale yeast" that came with the kit and the most likely different variety that I will buy from the store. I don't know if yeast has turf wars or not... or what that would even mean.


Thanks for all the mentoring everyone. I wish I were drinking the stuff already!

 

[JimRausch]

Wait wait wait, your yeast! 5g of dry yeast only equates to about 100 billion cells at most. I'm thinking you will want more like about 190 billion cells for a sturdy brown ale with 8 lbs of extract.

You can master your recipe and hops all you want, but if you underpitch, you are inviting off-flavors and under attenuation.

Good catch Jay!
I agree that 5G yeast packet will probably be too low. I'm guessing that packet is a Muntons(because that's the brand I've seen with 5 gram packets).
The other dry yeast companies typically have 11 gram packets. So, you can pick up another 5G packet and pitch both, or get one 11G packet of Fermentis or Safale or Danstar,(there's probably other brands).
Good dry yeast choices for a brown ale would be US-05, S-04, Nottingham, or even the Munton's premium Gold.
And Map710, yes you can mix two different yeast strains, and they won't kill each other off or anything. Worse case would be one being a much more vigorous grower than the other and take over. But not a big deal unless the two strains are wildly different like using a Belgian strain with a lager strain.

 

[MAP710]

Thanks! Looks like it's time for a trip to the store.

 

[Jayslay]

Good catch Jay!
I agree that 5G yeast packet will probably be too low. I'm guessing that packet is a Muntons(because that's the brand I've seen with 5 gram packets).
The other dry yeast companies typically have 11 gram packets. So, you can pick up another 5G packet and pitch both, or get one 11G packet of Fermentis or Safale or Danstar,(there's probably other brands).
Good dry yeast choices for a brown ale would be US-05, S-04, Nottingham, or even the Munton's premium Gold.
And Map710, yes you can mix two different yeast strains, and they won't kill each other off or anything. Worse case would be one being a much more vigorous grower than the other and take over. But not a big deal unless the two strains are wildly different like using a Belgian strain with a lager strain.

This is all good info. I've gone ahead and used Brewersfriend.com for you to figure out you will have an estimated gravity of 1.053 based on your LME and DME. With that gravity in 22L you will need 216 billion cells (@ 0.75 mill/ml/degree plato)(Also on brewersfriend). Average dry yeast has been called at 20 billion a gram, so you need 10.8 grams of yeast to be optimal.

 

[goodyx7]

You add the prehopped can right at flameout just stir it in real good.