First AG brew- Raspberry Ale

Decided to try my first all grain brew with a simple recipe that doesn't cost much in case I screw it up.

8lb 2 row Pale Malt
.5 lb Cara-Hell

1oz Liberty 45min
S-05 yeast

Gonna mash with 1.25 qts per lb and strike with 170 deg water in an igloo cooler. Will continue to post as we go. Any bugaboos to worry about as I go?

 

Mashed into a room temp tun and temp dropped to 140. Gonna add some boiling water to bring it up to 155.

 

Got the temp up to 156 with more water. Any harm by having more than 1.25 qt per lb?

 

Does 45 min mash sound right?

 

Mashed for 60 minutes. Did two batch sparges and ended up with 1.040 SG. Looks like 70% efficiency. Pitched at 78 deg. Let's see how it does!!

 

good efficiency for a first time run, no pictures?

 

If you are planning to use real raspberries in you ale you should come drink a couple of mine. It will tell you what not to do.

 

I'm planning on brewing a raspberry ale this summer, so any tips on what to do (or not to do) would be appreciated.

 

Not that I can tell. I usually mash at 1.75 qt per lb. More water = more sugars dissolving into solution.

 

I used 4 pounds of raspberries in the secondary and the yeast ate all the sugars (of course, that's what yeast do) and the beer came out so sour that I hate to drink it. Perhaps sweetening it with something that wouldn't ferment would have improved it but it's all in bottles now and it doesn't seem to be getting any better with time.

 

I made a raspberry blonde and racked into 40 oz of organic frozen raspberries for only a week. Initial bottle was quite sour. After second week in the bottle they were much better tasting. Patience after bottling is my downfall.

 

Very nice Loubrew. Looks like a delicious glass. I am only looking for a bit of color and a light tang from the raspberries. Maybe I will use a bit less than that in mine. Maybe 32 oz. Looking to have something like the McMenamins Ruby Ale.

 

Woke up this morning to lots of airlock activity.

 

Most organics came in 10 oz bags. Fwiw...good luck

 

So it was time to rack and had marionberries rather than raspberries. Looks awesome. We'll see...

 

Just kegged the beer. Sample tasted great. Still kind of sour, but lots of berry flavor and aroma, but can still tell its beer. How long should I let it sit after carbonation at room temp?

 

I did 32 oz of frozen raspberries in the secondary for 6 days in a wheat. It came out kind of tart but everyone seemed to dig it

 

I had a lot of compliments from mine. From the first bottle til the last it improved greatly(couple of months). I'm saving a couple for a few months to see how well it gets.

 

Lou that beer looks crazy good. mind posting your list of goods you threw into that!

 

It was a blonde recipe from adventures in homebrewing. Extract with grains. After primary I racked onto 40 oz of organic raspberries. Should've used about 30. You can contact them at homebrewing.org. Sorry but I didn't save the recipe.

 

What about adding boiling Raspberries instead of corn sugar or other bottling sugars? Using the raspberries to bottle and carbonate? Thinking of trying this.... what do you all think?

 

I would assume a lot of floaties.