1st batch recipe

[kontreren]

This really belongs in the Beginner forum but technically it is a recipe. I'll ask some questions about it in that forum.

Batch 1 (created from a combination of GF recipes for a 5 gallon batch)
Mash Date: 08/22/08
Ingredients: (5 gallon batch)
6 gallons Spring Water (some will be left over)
6 lbs. White Sorghum Malt – NORTHERN BREWER
1 lb. Corn Syrup – Karo, Harris Teeter
1 lb. Honey – Virginia Brand, Sam’s Club
½ cup Cane Sugar
1 oz. Ahtanum Pellet Hops #HP55 – NORTHERN BREWER
1 oz. Cascade Pellet Hops – City Beverage: Beer, Wine, Homebrew Supplies and More in Winston-Salem, NC
1 package Wyeast 2124 Bohemain Lager Yeast (for 5 gallons)
1 package Prestige WD Gert Strand AB, Krangatan 2 Home Distillation Supplies from Brewhaus America Real whiskey yeast with amyloglucosidase for whiskey distillation at home
Procedure: A 60 minute boil
Boil 2.5 gallons of water
Add Sorghum Syrup, Corn Syrup, Honey
Bring back to a boil
Add Ahtanum pellet hops and set timer for 60 minutes
Add ½ cup cane sugar 30 minutes into boil
Add Cascade pellet hops 50 minutes into boil
At the end of 60 minutes cool to 80 degrees fahrenheit as quickly as possible. (I, having no cooling method, put in sink with cold water and ice, adding ice as needed.)
Splash into fermenter and top to 5 gallons using Spring Water.
Add yeast (referred to as pitching yeast).
Close fermenter w/ air lock.

NOTES:
08/29/08 – Tested SG and tasted. Fairly clear appearance, good flavor, low (and I mean very low) SG @ 1.001.
I should have taken the specific gravity (SG) at beginning of fermentation to measure original gravity (OG) but didn’t. I’m not sure I should have used two packets of yeast but folks on the HomeBrewTalk.com - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Community. say its okay. After 1 week the SG is only 1.001 (water is 1.000) so the alcohol content is not going to be very high unless I get some divine intervention and find a way to increase it. Oh an up note it tastes good and is pretty clear after only 1 week.
I’ve also noticed that gluten free (GF) recipes tend to say ferment 1 week, bottle 1 week then use. But “regular” beer brewers say the longer the better, both in the fermenter and in the bottle. I’m thinking GF will not last as long as regular. That is true of bread making. No preservatives and what not.

 

[fat x nub]

I would add half of the honey with 5 minutes left in the boil and the other half at flame out. If you add it at he beginning u will get no taste of honey...thats just a personal preference

 

[eddie]

Given your fermentables, I'd estimate the OG using BeerSmith to be around 1.060. With a FG of 1.001, your ABV would be around 5.75%. As your beer ferments, the gravity will lower as the sugars (which are thick and heavy) are consumed by the yeast and converted to alcohol (which is thin and light.) This is why you need the OG as well as the FG to accurately calculate your ABV. Without both, any calculation of the actual ABV is little more than an approximation.

Also, I don't know anything about sorghum extract so I just based the estimate off light extract instead but it should give you a rough idea.

 

[kontreren]

Given your fermentables, I'd estimate the OG using BeerSmith to be around 1.060. With a FG of 1.001, your ABV would be around 5.75%. As your beer ferments, the gravity will lower as the sugars (which are thick and heavy) are consumed by the yeast and converted to alcohol (which is thin and light.) This is why you need the OG as well as the FG to accurately calculate your ABV. Without both, any calculation of the actual ABV is little more than an approximation.

Also, I don't know anything about sorghum extract so I just based the estimate off light extract instead but it should give you a rough idea.

Thankx, nice to know. Of course I'm biased but I think it tastes pretty good after only 2 weeks in the fermenter. If I had patience I might have left it there 3 weeks. I have it in the bottle now and I'm shooting for 2 to 3 weeks before sampling again. I'm pleased given the fact that it is my very first batch.

 

[Greenspey]

I calculated an ABV of 7.9% with a drop from an OG of 1.060 to 1.001. Am I doing this wrong?