All Grain Brown ALe - John Palmer Elevensees

[mgortel]

Brewing this tomorrow...it is a kit from Northern Brewer.

When I enter this into Beersmith I have the following differences from what the kit specifies:

1) O.G. for me with my efficiency is only 1.040 versus the 1.045 called for O.G. No issue, I can add a little light DME to get gravity where I want it if it is low after mash out.

2) There is no specified IBU value.....they supply German Northern Brewer hops and specify 0.60 oz for 60 minutes...which only gives me 12 IBU's (which is low for a Brown Ale). This is based on the hop package indicated 5.3% Alpha value (which is low compared to what Beersmith has as a standard value of 9.0% for German Northern Brewer hops).

Should I adjust my hop weight to get the IBU's up to about 20 ??

Thanks!

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

Brewing this tomorrow...it is a kit from Northern Brewer.

When I enter this into Beersmith I have the following differences from what the kit specifies:

1) O.G. for me with my efficiency is only 1.040 versus the 1.045 called for O.G. No issue, I can add a little light DME to get gravity where I want it if it is low after mash out.

2) There is no specified IBU value.....they supply German Northern Brewer hops and specify 0.60 oz for 60 minutes...which only gives me 12 IBU's (which is low for a Brown Ale). This is based on the hop package indicated 5.3% Alpha value (which is low compared to what Beersmith has as a standard value of 9.0% for German Northern Brewer hops).

Should I adjust my hop weight to get the IBU's up to about 20 ??

Thanks!

Absolutely. Remember each package of hops you buy can possibly vary in alpha acid content. Unlike the grain and yeast in your recipe, their values being constant, hop IBU values will change from grower to grower and year to year. Always update your recipes to use the hop alpha acid values marked on your current hop package.

 

[mgortel]

Thanks for quick response.

Does 20 IBU sound right for Brown Ale.....??

I looked up profile and range is 15-35...so i will go with 20 IBU since the 1.0 oz of hops they gave me is all I have and tha tis the max i will get for 60 min boil

 

[mabrungard]

20 IBU is OK for a Moose Drool (sweet) type of brown ale, but it is a bit low for a balanced beer. I prefer a Texas or American brown and that is into the 30's.

 

[MikeTodd]

I brewed this from the extract (with specialty grains/partial mash) kit. It turned out OK but not life changing. I feel like it is lacking some body and mouth feel. It just taste kind of thin. Would this be from lack of grains vs extract? I am newer to this.

 

[RM-MN]

I brewed this from the extract (with specialty grains/partial mash) kit. It turned out OK but not life changing. I feel like it is lacking some body and mouth feel. It just taste kind of thin. Would this be from lack of grains vs extract? I am newer to this.

When did you brew? Lots of beers benefit from some maturation time. I'd bottle an ale and ignore it for a month or more.

 

[MikeTodd]

I bottled Oct 10th after 10 days in primary. I followed the recipe to a T except for getting a FG because my hydrometer broke. After 10 days basically all airlock activity had stopped.