Writing a recipe for a Christmas present (I know very little)

[dbarker]

Hi All,

In the past I've bought some starter kits for my Dad, and it's been fun brewing and tasting the end product, however I'd like to be able to brew something more similar to what he would usually drink. He usually drinks Peroni, and after talking to various brew shops, all suggestions have been mixing kits I've used previously with small additions such as elderflower or something similar.

Rather than using kits at all, I'd like to get together the ingredients and write up a recipe which we can follow in an attempt to make something at least vaguely similar to Peroni (or at least something drinkable).

After some googling a found a post where somebody had attempted to brew a Peroni clone with decent results (Peroni Clone) so I'd like to give that a go, however having never brewed without a kit before I need a bit of help/advice.

So I need help with the following:

1. The ingredients specified are:
By weight:

• Pilsner 75% (1.39 lbs/finished gal)
• Quick Grits 25%, cooked (0.46 lb/finished gal)

Q: So previously we've brewed in around 40 pint batches. I can convert the this to finished pints fine, but I just want to make sure I'm not missing something. E.g. If I were to use 1.37lb Pilsner and 0.46lb quick grits that would would end up with 8 pints (1 gallon), correct?
Q: By Pilsner this does just mean any old Pilsner malt?

2. A hop schedule is specified in the post:

• Magnum, 13%, 2.3 g/finished gal, 60 min
• Saaz, 3.2%, 1.9 g/finished gal, 15 min
• Saaz, 3.2%, 1.9 g/finished gal, 0 min

Q: What do the times mean here? Are they when to add them to the boil or how long they should be boiled?

Other than that I have googled the basics of brewing and it seems like it would be fine, however any suggestions for a first timer would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Welcome to HBT!
Be prepared that with any commercial lager clone, your beer will taste quite different. It's more 'in the style of' rather than 'will taste like'. For these beers, process is perhaps more important than ingredients, and brewing a lager is considered a semi-advanced brewing technique. More on that later.

To your recipe.....
Replace the quick grits with flaked corn. Flaked corn is already gelatinised so doesn't need cooking.
Add some rice hulls to the mash to help with lautering - corn is quite sticky. Pils malt can be any pils malt, I'd personally go with something German (Best or Weyermann).
There's no mention of mash temperatures or OG. I'd aim for a long, low temperature mash (64C/148F for 90 minutes), preferably with a higher temperature rest after (72C/162F for 20 minutes). This will give a very fermentable wort and a dry finish. Aim for an OG around 1.045.
The weights given per gallon of wort depend on the efficiency of your system. The recipe suggests a total of 1.85lbs of grain per gallon of wort. If we assume 36ppg, that's an OG of 1.0666 at 100% efficiency (which isn't achievable). 1.045 would be 67.5% efficiency, which is quite low. If I ran that recipe on my system I'd end up with an OG around 1.056, which is too high. I'd suggest you run the recipe as is, but check OG before you pitch yeast. If it's much over 1.045, water it down to 1.045. It takes a few brews to get to know your system!
The hop schedule looks good. The times listed are how long they're boiled for (i.e. a 60 minute addition is added at the start of a 60 minute boil, 0 min means hops are added right at the end of the boil when you start chilling).

Now to the most important bit, and what makes lagers a bit more difficult - the process. Temperature control for lagers is really important. Any off flavours from temperature swings during fermentation will be noticeable because there's not much other flavour to mask off flavours. You haven't mentioned yeast - are you planning to use a proper lager yeast, or use a clean ale yeast for a pseudo lager? Proper lager yeasts need a big pitch and lots of Oxygen. I'd suggest you start with dry yeast (W34/70 is a good option) so you don't need to worry about starters. W34/70 works well at warmer temperatures than most lager yeasts as well, so is a bit easier to use.

 

[IslandLizard]

Q: What do the times mean here? Are they when to add them to the boil or how long they should be boiled?

The times listed for hop additions is for time left in the boil, Flameout being 0 minutes.

The yeast used is important as it should be a Lager yeast. With that comes low temp fermentation (48-55F), and a Lagering period for 2-6 weeks at near 32F. IOW you need a dedicated temp controlled fridge or freezer.

Macro Light Lagers are incredibly difficult to brew, as any flaw in the various processes will likely show up, because there's not much to hide anything under. But it can be done...

I would not brew less than 2-3 gallons of such a beer, given the time involved, and potential aberrations inherent to smaller volumes.

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

Question 1. Yes
Question 2. Yes again any malt labeled as Pilsner malt will work.
question 3. Yes the times are when you would throw them in. 60min. Beginning of boil. Boil for 60 min. The 15min go inwith 15 minutes left in boil. The 0min. Go in when you turn the heat Off

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Sorry, I just read the recipe you linked (I didn't see the link at first). I think 1.056 is way too high for an OG for a beer like this. 1.056 down to 1.012 (as per the linked recipe) is 5.6%ABV. I think you'll get closer with something like 1.045 to 1.008.
Replace the listed liquid yeast with a packet or two or three of dry yeast (depending on how much you're brewing).

 

[PCABrewing]

Maybe a nice gift for Dad, or for yourself would be a license for Beersmith, Brewers Friend or other brewing program.
That would help you make sense of all the steps and help you see the effects of changing some items in or out of your recipe.
Of course it could enable/lead to a habit, er I mean hobby. But as you can see there is always helpful people on this site as well.

 

[cmac62]

I'd just go with about 5 lb pils and 2 lb Flaked corn (or use a calculator to get you into the OG you are looking for), some gulco enzyme at pitching and a nice clean ale yeast. The hops and schedule seems okay. I was looking for a "is Miller light really triple hopped" thread, but couldn't find it. (found it) Blonde Ale - Miller Lite (Really Triple Hopped) Enjoy the obsession.

Edit: Also the "Cream of Three Crops" is a good light beer thread. Cream Ale - Cream of Three Crops (Cream Ale)

 

[dbarker]

Thanks everyone for the replies!

Add some rice hulls to the mash to help with lautering - corn is quite sticky.

I'm planning on brewing 5gals so how much is some rice hulls for that?

Temperature control for lagers is really important. Any off flavours from temperature swings during fermentation will be noticeable because there's not much other flavour to mask off flavours. You haven't mentioned yeast - are you planning to use a proper lager yeast, or use a clean ale yeast for a pseudo lager? Proper lager yeasts need a big pitch and lots of Oxygen. I'd suggest you start with dry yeast (W34/70 is a good option) so you don't need to worry about starters. W34/70 works well at warmer temperatures than most lager yeasts as well, so is a bit easier to use.

I have some W34/70 - is this a proper lager yeast? And if so what is a big pitch?
Also when you say warmer temperatures, how warm can this go without producing any off flavours?

 

[marc1]

Thanks everyone for the replies!



I'm planning on brewing 5gals so how much is some rice hulls for that?



I have some W34/70 - is this a proper lager yeast? And if so what is a big pitch?
Also when you say warmer temperatures, how warm can this go without producing any off flavours?

I've fermented 34/70 at 60F (beer temperature) and had it tasted by people who judge beer, specifically asked them about fermentation character, and they did not detect off flavors.