New from Seattle

[JohnnyWash1]

Hello everybody--

I'm hailing from the Pacific Northwest, home to lots of wonderful brews. I'm a dedicated hophead, and have tried (unsuccessfully) to brew my own beer 3 times. First batch, I killed the yeast (pitched too early--had no idea what I was doing). Second batch was from a can and the yeast was TERRIBLE--very little activity and ended with a malt bomb that was probably around 1020-1025 FG. Third time I got the recipe alright, but because I was trying to boil a 3 gallon wort using a cheap stovetop burner, the boil ended up being 3 hours. It took almost 2 hours to get up to near boiling (approx 200*). That beer, with the crazy amounts of hops and the ridiculous boil ended up being incredibly bitter.

So, I have a new burner on the way (thanks to the suggestions on this forum, I went Bayou SQ14) and look forward to brewing success this time around!

 

[bradsul]

Welcome to HBT! Sounds like your early problems are going to make your success with your new burner all the better! I had the same problem as you, I had to go out and get a propane burner as well, I could barely boil 12L on my apartment stove.

What recipe are you going with? I assume something hoppy.

 

[Brewtopia]

From one NW hophead to another, welcome to HBT! You're sure to find a wealth of information on this site as well as some of the finest folks around.

 

[JohnnyWash1]

Welcome to HBT! Sounds like your early problems are going to make your success with your new burner all the better! I had the same problem as you, I had to go out and get a propane burner as well, I could barely boil 12L on my apartment stove.

What recipe are you going with? I assume something hoppy.

Thanks for the hearty welcome, guys.


As for which recipe, I don't know. It's going to be a hoppy IPA, for sure, but I just don't know what yet. The few batches I have done have been either following a recipe or using a can. I guess I am arrogant (or naive) enough to think I know better than them! A huge part of me wants to make up my own recipe. However, if anybody knows of a surefire IPA recipe that is relatively easy (since I desperately need a win in the brewing department) and very hoppy, I may use that. My current base hop standards are Stone IPA and Hale's Mongoose IPA.

 

[bradsul]

Have a look through the recipe database. Everything posted here is tried and true by the fine HBT folks. Otherwise definitely come up with a recipe yourself and you can post it and get some help with the formulation.

 

[JohnnyWash1]

Have a look through the recipe database. Everything posted here is tried and true by the fine HBT folks. Otherwise definitely come up with a recipe yourself and you can post it and get some help with the formulation.

Thanks, I think I will.

 

[the_bird]

Personally, I really like Walker-San's Kaduva IPA. I'm not sure if it's in the database or not, if not, it's in his profile. It's got a lot of Northern Brewer mixed in with Cascades. The NB can be a little harsh, but I like it .

It's got a lot of hop additions, but the recipe isn't too complicated.

 

[JohnnyWash1]

I'm not setup for all grain, so the recipe would have to be extract. The last recipe I did had extract and some grains in a bag during the boil. Is this called a partial mash?

 

[McKBrew]

I'm not setup for all grain, so the recipe would have to be extract. The last recipe I did had extract and some grains in a bag during the boil. Is this called a partial mash?

First of all Welcome to the Forum!

What you are describing above is basically an extract recipe with steeping grains. A partial mash is basically a half and half mix of AG and extract. The following links provide a ton of information.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=8805

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=19413

I'm not for sure if I am reading your post right, but it looks like you are boiling the grains for the full duration, vice steeping and removing before the boil. This could be a cause of some of your bitterness issues.

Good Luck