Total Beginner- Tweaked a Kit Recipe.. Any Watchouts?

[Dcioni]

Hey all, got a BrooklynBrewShop Beginner kit for Christmas and decided to finally give it a shot. It's a 1gal kit so should be good for my small NJ/NYC apartment. The kit makes a single-hop Chinook American pale ale, but I've been doing my reading and research and tried to adapt it to make a super hoppy, less bitter, hazy, juicy NE-style pale ale/IPA à la Kane, Other Half, Bissell, Tired Hands, Grimm, etc.

Since I'm a total newb here, I started w the kit recipe here
http://brooklynbrewshop.com/directions/Brooklyn_Brew_Shop_Totally_Hopped_Pale_Ale_Instructions.pdf

And want to add Citra and Cascade hops late in the boil and primary fermenting dry hop. I'm going for thick/hazy so no worries about trying to be clear. Are there any red flags w my adapted recipe below? Any inputs or advice before I make my inaugural batch would be appreciated! Very excited to start down this road

2 Quarts (1.9 L) Tap Water & 2 lbs Pale Ale 410710 Grain (Only Info on Bag) @ 160F
Cook for 60 Mins @ 144-152F, Stirring Every 10 Mins
After 60 Mins, Heat to 170F

Add Hot Grain Mash Over Strainer to Stockpot
Add 4 Quarts (3.8 L) Tap Water @ 170F Over Strainer to Stockpot
In Stockpot, Heat to Light Boil, Stir Occasionally (Hot Break)
60 Mins: Chinook Pellets (0.08 oz)
30 Mins: Chinook Pellets (0.08 oz)
10 Mins: Chinook Pellets (0.08 oz)
Flameout: Chinook Pellets (0.06 oz)
Flameout: Citra Pellets (0.5 oz)
Flameout: Cascade Pellets (0.5 oz)
Whirlpool 5 Mins, Let Sit for 25 Mins, Covered
Ice Bath Wort to Reduce to 70F (Cold Break)

Add Dry Hops to Primary Fermentor:
Citra Pellets (0.5 oz)
Cascade Pellets (0.5 oz)
Place Strainer Over Funnel & Transfer Wort to Primary Fermentor 1 Gal (3.8 L)
Pitch Yeast (Unfortunately no info on Dry Yeast Packet from Kit)
Shake Primary Fermentor to Aerate
Ferment w Dry Hops for 2 Weeks

Add 7 Teaspoons Cane Sugar & 1/2 Cup Tap Water to Stockpot for Priming
Rack (with Cheesecloth) from Primary Fermentor to Stockpot w Priming Sugar
Lightly Mix, Then Rack from Stockpot to Bottles
Let Bottles Sit for 2 Weeks

 

[AZBeer]

If it were me, I would mash in my total volume. I would bump up your volume to 7qts (run it through some sort of calculator to see what that does to the numbers...Brewersfriend.com. I get 1qt boil off/ 30 minutes, and I shoot for 1.25 gal or 6 qts in the fermentor. 1 gal gives you about 9 beers, 1.25 gal gives you 12-12 1/2 beers).

You want to dry hop after fermentation is complete. Ferment for 10-14 days, you want to see your SG stop going down over 2 or 3 days. Then dry hop for 5 or 7 days.

I wouldn't bother with the straining when you transfer to primary.

*Edit* for bottling, I would bring your sugar and water to a boil for a good 5 mins, then let it cool, then add your beer/ mix/ bottle.

 

[violinguy]

I agree. As long as you have a kettle big enough (you should if you're thinking about brewing beer) you should follow BBS instructions to boil the full volume. Also, if your stock put is big enough to handle one gallon, it's gonna be really tough to boil your sugar in only 1/2 cup of water. That will barely cover the bottom of the pot. I would do at least 1 cup if not 2 and boil for 5+ minutes. Let cool all the way before adding wort. Only use a siphon to transfer wort to the stock pot to avoid unnecessary oxygen. If you place the hose at the bottom of the pot, the act of siphoning the wort will mix the sugar evenly. Stirring must be very gentle to avoid O2 issues.

Good luck!

 

[Dcioni]

If it were me, I would mash in my total volume. I would bump up your volume to 7qts (run it through some sort of calculator to see what that does to the numbers...Brewersfriend.com. I get 1qt boil off/ 30 minutes, and I shoot for 1.25 gal or 6 qts in the fermentor. 1 gal gives you about 9 beers, 1.25 gal gives you 12-12 1/2 beers).

You want to dry hop after fermentation is complete. Ferment for 10-14 days, you want to see your SG stop going down over 2 or 3 days. Then dry hop for 5 or 7 days.

I wouldn't bother with the straining when you transfer to primary.

*Edit* for bottling, I would bring your sugar and water to a boil for a good 5 mins, then let it cool, then add your beer/ mix/ bottle.

Thanks this is really helpful! Couple follow up questions.

1) When you say Mash In your total volume, do you mean cook 2 lbs grains in approx 1 Gal of water for 60 mins? Rather than cook 2 lbs grains in smaller vol (ie 2 quarts) then transfer to stockpot and add more water? For me it's an equipment issue. I'll be purchasing an 8-10 quart stockpot, but other than that I only have about a 3-4 Quart/3 L Pot, so I might be stuck w the initial approach if I need to strain out the grains into a kettle/stockpot for the boil. Any pros/cons to either way? Or am I misunderstanding what your recommending since I'm so new to this and the terms?

2) Is there any risk starting the dry hopping immediately in the primary fermentor? I know it's not standard procedure, but I read a couple threads on the NE-Style IPA and they mentioned dry hopping right away in the primary to get that hazy look & feel.. do I run a large risk of screwing up my batch doing this? If so, maybe 10 days in primary w the wort, the add dry hops directly into the primary and let sit for another 7 days? Should I avoid light stirring at this point if I add them in?

3) Also any cause for concern w the Hop qtys/recipe from a glance? I know it's a decent chunk of hops for a 1 gal batch

Thanks so much! I have a million questions but very excited to start

 

[mongoose33]

I'm going to argue for a different tack.

I think it's a great idea for new brewers to brew a kit--that way, a lot of the decisions are made and thus the focus can be on the process, not the recipe.

IMO, you are best served by brewing the kit as presented to you, and not making additions the effect of which are not always completely apparent. Once you've demonstrated (to yourself!) that you can brew palatable beer, and you've mastered the process, then tweak as you will.

Brewing isn't rocket science, and while it isn't as simple as taking candy from a baby, it is in some ways, simple. In other ways, not so much.

The reason I suggest this--and you're your own man, so make your choices and own them--is that the more things you tweak and change, the more things there are that can go wrong--and if that does happen, to what will you trace the blame? Hop schedule? Boil? Sanitation?

Keeping it simple at the beginning is, IMO, the best approach. Either way, good luck, welcome, and brew on!

 

[AZBeer]

1) I don't know that there is a big negative for doing you mash in a partial volume. I have always just done a full volume mash with small batches.

2) Again, not sure. I have always dry hopped after fermentation. Maybe I am showing my inexperience here...never heard of dry hopping first, but that doesn't mean it can't be done.

3) Naw. I would stick with your current schedule, you can adjust up on future batches if you don't get the flavor that you are looking for.

 

[max384]

I think the biggest mistake new brewers make (besides sanitation issues) is to experiment and try to make the perfect beer their very first batch. Every time I log on here, another new brewer is doing the same thing. They want their first batch to be a cherry-infused double IPA with coriander, hibiscus, and three different dry hoppings, lactobacillus brettanomyces slice of perfection (or a super hoppy, less bitter, hazy, juicy NE-style pale ale/IPA).

When you're this new, you don't even know what you don't know. You don't know how to brew someone else's recipe, let alone how your changes will affect their recipe. My advice is always the same to new brewers: relax, follow an established recipe, and concentrate on the basics of homebrewing. Once you have that down, then start experimenting. If you start with a good base knowledge, you'll be able to develop actual good recipes much quicker than if you just start throwing things together and have no idea how the tweaks you are making are actually affecting your brew.

Now to be fair, your recipe tweaks don't sound over-the-top, but first see if you can successfully brew an established recipe.

 

[Dcioni]

Thanks everyone-- appreciate the responses. Will be sure to follow up w my results