Beginner Brewere Recipe Query

[Enri911]

Dear homebrewtalk people,
I hope you are well.

It has been some time that I want to try to brew a homemade beer. Due to the place where I live I have a few restrictions on products.

While I was searching in the web i found in this forum a quite old recipe but it nearly matches the product i can find.

I need your help to understand if the process that i am going to do is correct or not:

ORIGINAL RECIPE:
3lbs Briess Light DME
1lb Briess Wheat DME
1lb Rice Syrup Solids
0.5oz Magnum @ 12.1%AA (or 6AAU of any other hops) @ 60min
1 packet Nottingham or Safeale US-05 dry yeast

MY RECIPE
3lbs Briess Golden Light DME
1lb Briess Bavarian Wheat DME
1lb Gluten Free Brown Rice Syrup
0.5oz German Magnum @ 14.1%AA @ 60min
1 pkt Safeale US-05 dry yeast

What I miss in this recipe is:
- are the quantities correct for the products i can get?
- how many liters of bottled water for the wort to be boiled?
- how many liters of water to be added to the wort before pitching the dry yeast?
- rice syrup to be added while boiling or after?
- 7 days of fermentation will be enough?
- are the products mentioned matching together or you suggest if can i find something else?

Sorry for all the question but I am finding quite difficult to find good and full recipe for home brew beer using DME only.

Once I correctly understand all the process I will proceed to order all the products online. So please help me to not to throw up everything

Thank you very much!

 

[camonick]

- how many liters of bottled water for the wort to be boiled?
- how many liters of water to be added to the wort before pitching the dry yeast?

Most recipes are formulated to produce 5 US gallons (19 liters) of packaged beer. I try to fill my fermenter with 5.5 gallons (21 liters) to account for about .5 gallon loss to yeast/ trub. The amount of water needed depends on the size of kettle you have. If you have a large enough vessel to boil everything at once, that’s the best way. If it’s not large enough, use as much water as you can plus your fermentables (DME and rice syrup) so you still have enough room to avoid a boil-over. Cool your wort and add to your fermenter. Add enough water then to achieve your desired final volume.

7 days of fermentation will be enough?

Try to plan on 14-21 days to ensure fermentation has completely finished.

- are the products mentioned matching together or you suggest if can i find something else?

The products you listed should be a very close match. The only thing is magnum hops with 14% AA compared to the same hops with 12% is going to produce a fair amount more bitterness. I can’t access my recipe program right now, so I can’t say how many more IBUs those will produce. Once we can figure that out, you’ll either have to add them later in the boil, use less, or possibly have a slightly more bitter beer. Hopefully someone else can find those figures quickly. What is your general location, just out of curiosity? Sometimes someone might have some better suggestions and/or experience.

 

[camonick]

rice syrup to be added while boiling or after?

Rice syrup can be added at the same time as the DME. Some people split the DME additions and add half or more towards the end of the boil if a lighter colored beer is desired (boiling darkens the wort).

 

[Enri911]

Thank you so much camonick for your prompt answers and explanations!

What is your general location, just out of curiosity?

I live in the middle-east so there is not a huge variety of products here, especially since i need to buy everything online.

The only thing is magnum hops with 14% AA compared to the same hops with 12% is going to produce a fair amount more bitterness

I am not a real fan of bitter beer. Would ypu suggest any other hops of the same brand that can work for the same recipe?

Anyway how long should the hops stay in the wort? There is a time or I jeep them until the fermentation is ended?

Edit: i found this one but is from 11% to 16%

Thank you so much once again

 

[camonick]

Thank you so much camonick for your prompt answers and explanations!

I live in the middle-east so there is not a huge variety of products here, especially since i need to buy everything online.

I am not a real fan of bitter beer. Would ypu suggest any other hops of the same brand that can work for the same recipe?

Anyway how long should the hops stay in the wort? There is a time or I jeep them until the fermentation is ended?

Thank you so much once again

Hops are added at different times during the boil. Early additions provide bitterness and later additions produce more flavoring and aroma. If we can get your recipe plugged into a software program, we can see what the bitterness level will be, I just don’t have access to my computer with that capability right now. Magnum hops work great for bittering, we just need to figure out the proper amount.
Is there a commercial beer you like the flavor of that we could possibly use as a model?

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

@camonick : from the recipe, and as a guess on the style, rice solids are often used in extract based light American lagers.

For a five gal batch, the recipe is roughly OG 44 and the IBUs (1/2 oz magnum) are roughly 25 (via Brewers Friend IBU calculator).

Pilsen DME or extra-light DME will be needed to get the color close.

---

FWIW: There is a 'published' number (1 SRM) with regard to how much extract actually darkens in a 45 min boil (BBR, Aug 25 / Nov 17 2005). A couple of us have confirmed this by measuring wort color just before and just after the boil.

 

[Enri911]

In the recipe that i got it is saying just to add them at the 60th minute so I assume that is once is finished the process of boiling the wort. So based on what you said should give aroma and less bitterness as it is the only timing written of when to add the hops.

 

[camonick]

For a five gal batch, the recipe is roughly OG 44 and the IBUs (1/2 oz magnum) are roughly 25 (via Brewers Friend IBU calculator).

That sounds like a pretty average beer near the upper limits of a Blonde Ale… should be a nice light beer.

 

[camonick]

In the recipe that i got it is saying just to add them at the 60th minute so I assume that is once is finished the process of boiling the wort. So based on what you said should give aroma and less bitterness as it is the only timing written of when to add the hops.

No, hop additions are listed with the time remaining in the boil.
These hops would be added when the boil begins.

 

[Enri911]

Is there a commercial beer you like the flavor of that we could possibly use as a model?

A noce lager beer as the most commons such as Heineken even if my favorite is the Buweiser.

Also would be interesting an Irish Stout.

 

[Enri911]

No, hop additions are listed with the time remaining in the boil.
These hops would be added when the boil begins.

Well noted. What would you suggest then? To add them later?

 

[camonick]

@BrewnWKopperKat , can you provide the difference in IBUs between the magnum additions of 12 AA vs. 14 AA?

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

https://www.brewersfriend.com/ibu-calculator/

 

[camonick]

Edit: i found this one but is from 11% to 16%

There are many factors that vary from different growing seasons and regions that affect the %AA in a hop crop. Most large online retailers just list a generic range that variety typically falls into. To formulate an accurate recipe, sometimes we have to wait until we receive the order to see what is stamped on the package we receive. It will have an exact number when you receive it.
The ingredients you listed will make a fine ale beer, but it won’t be quite the same as the Heineken or Budweiser you mentioned. It won’t be near as lightly colored, but a few shades darker and with a little more hop bitterness, but not as hoppy as a pale ale or IPA. It’s a notch above a blonde ale but not as hop pronounced as a pale ale. If you want a lighter colored beer, look for a Pilsen DME or extra light DME like @BrewnWKopperKat mentioned above. The fermentables listed using the estimated 1.044 OG should give you a beer in the 4.5% ABV range.

 

[Enri911]

There are many factors that vary from different growing seasons and regions that affect the %AA in a hop crop. Most large online retailers just list a generic range that variety typically falls into. To formulate an accurate recipe, sometimes we have to wait until we receive the order to see what is stamped on the package we receive. It will have an exact number when you receive it.
The ingredients you listed will make a fine ale beer, but it won’t be quite the same as the Heineken or Budweiser you mentioned. It won’t be near as lightly colored, but a few shades darker and with a little more hop bitterness, but not as hoppy as a pale ale or IPA. It’s a notch above a blonde ale but not as hop pronounced as a pale ale. If you want a lighter colored beer, look for a Pilsen DME or extra light DME like @BrewnWKopperKat mentioned above. The fermentables listed using the estimated 1.044 OG should give you a beer in the 4.5% ABV range.

Your help is so much appreciated! So I was checking an international IBU scale with the most common beers and 26-27 is not that bad at the end. Maybe i will try to buy both and see what will arrive.

Anyway would you suggest me where to look for these recipes you mentioned? May i find them in the "Recipes Section" in this website?

 

[camonick]

The recipe section on this forum is certainly a great resource to look at proven recipes. They often include ingredients lists for all grain brewing and/or extract versions. One thing I want to mention before we get too much further along, is a recommendation to buy a book with all the techniques, vocabulary, and processes and equipment. One that is highly recommended is this one if you can source a copy.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-John-Palmer-4th/dp/B07JMHV63C
The first edition is available for free online but is somewhat outdated compared to current practices. It’s still a good place to pick up on some of the main ideas.

 

[Enri911]

The recipe section on this forum is certainly a great resource to look at proven recipes. They often include ingredients lists for all grain brewing and/or extract versions. One thing I want to mention before we get too much further along, is a recommendation to buy a book with all the techniques, vocabulary, and processes and equipment. One that is highly recommended is this one if you can source a copy.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-John-Palmer-4th/dp/B07JMHV63C
The first edition is available for free online but is somewhat outdated compared to current practices. It’s still a good place to pick up on some of the main ideas.

Great advise. I will get it in order to better understand this world.

Thank you so much for your time!

 

[rburrelli]

In the recipe that i got it is saying just to add them at the 60th minute so I assume that is once is finished the process of boiling the wort. So based on what you said should give aroma and less bitterness as it is the only timing written of when to add the hops.

Adding at the 60th minute means at the beginning of the one hour boil. In brewing we count down to zero. Magnum will be very bitter at that point.

 

[camonick]

Have you made any progress in your homebrew journey? I hope I didn’t discourage you with all the information above.