Brew Your Own

[Schlenkerla]

I got my first copy today. I was happy to get it however I am disapointed that all the recipes are for AG Brewers.

I don't think I'm ready to make that jump yet. The website seems to cater to all levels of brewers. One would think the magazine would be the same.

Is it just this copy or are they always AG recipes?

 

[Schlenkerla]

OK - Most of the recipes are AG, some are extract. But very few.

 

[david_42]

You can always convert the recipes.

 

[Schlenkerla]

david_42,

How do you do that? Most of the recipes quote a OG. The standardization section has several malt extract potentials listed w/ OG's per 1 gal of water & 1 lb grain. They claim all the AG recipes are based on 65-68% mash efficiency.

Then derive a formula to get extract amounts somehow out of this?

 

[Schlenkerla]

Assume the following? (w/ 1 gal water)


1lb (2-row) = (1.037-1)*.65%eff
1lb (2-row) = .024

1lb LME = .033

.024/.033 = .72

.72 lb LME + 1 gal water = 1.024

An so on??? Is this right??

 

[Blender]

Just use the point system. From Ray Daniels book "Designing Great Beers". You will likely get 36 gravity points from LME and 46 or so from DME. If your recipe calls for an OG of 1.050 multiply the last 2 numbers by gallons of wort. Then divide by the gravity points of the extract that you are using. The other grains can just be steeped in 150 degree water for 30-40 minutes.
50*5=250/36= 6.9 pounds of LME.

 

[Blender]

Oh Yeah, one more thing. BYO a lot times gives conversions for either All grain or extract. They usually add that at the end of the recipe.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Awesome, I was thinking it was something like this. - Thanks!

 

[debtman7]

I usually just guestimate on extract amount and plug it into my brew software and tweak it to get the right OG. That's the simple case. You can get into more difficulty when you are dealing with recipes that have speciality grains that require mashing. Then you have to figure out if they have enough enzyme content to be able to mash on their own, or whether they need some two row to convert. Either way if you're not ready to mash you can usually get by just extending your steep to 60 minutes, keeping the water pretty close to 155 the whole time, and then rinsing the grains with 170 degree water in a strainer.

Anyway, not trying to deter you as most recipes don't use speciality grains that require mashing, but it's something you need to keep in mind as you convert all grain recipes to extract.

 

[Wolf]

I got my first copy today. I was happy to get it however I am disapointed that all the recipes are for AG Brewers.

I don't think I'm ready to make that jump yet. The website seems to cater to all levels of brewers. One would think the magazine would be the same.

Is it just this copy or are they always AG recipes?

I don't have the most recent issue but it seems to me that they always list all (or most) recipes with the AG version first followed by the extract recipe. If thats not the case in this issue then it is an exception, usually all recipes are given in both formats.

 

[zoebisch01]

While we're on the subject, you kind of get into some grey areas with DME, LME conversions because it isn't all about the points. The color and flavors might be a bit more challenging to home in on. Like if you look at Munton's (I bring up this example because I recently converted an extract recipe into an AG, which used this). Try to find what the SRM value is on Munton's Amber, it is not readily apparent. Even if you go to their site and try to find it (I even emailed them, and to date have had no response). Plus you'd really need a good reference to figure out what malt base will give you the same flavor and color. So it can be a little tricky, not impossible, but will require some experimentation or having good information about the exact product you are using.

The BYO 150 clone recipe copy I have gives (I am fairly certain of this) all of the recipes in both AG and Extract (or at least Extract + steeping instructions). I kind of wonder though, as some are first shown as AG and others are first shown as Extract, if they didn't develop by the first method listed and then converted to the second method.

 

[Rhoobarb]

The Jan.-Feb. 2007 issue did have an unusually high percentage of AG recipes with no extract option. I've been a subscriber for about a year and a half now. Normally, the majority of recipes have both options.

 

[Ol' Grog]

Ditto what Roobarb said....nice avatar by the way.....I saw a lot of AG's on this particular issue.

 

[Ol' Grog]

Just use the point system. From Ray Daniels book "Designing Great Beers". You will likely get 36 gravity points from LME and 46 or so from DME. If your recipe calls for an OG of 1.050 multiply the last 2 numbers by gallons of wort. Then divide by the gravity points of the extract that you are using. The other grains can just be steeped in 150 degree water for 30-40 minutes.
50*5=250/36= 6.9 pounds of LME.

Is it me or does ALL the extract recipes call for roughly between 6.6 and 7 pounds of LME? You'd usually use two tins, which are 3.3 LBS each. With DME, it's usually 3 pound bags because there is less water in it than LME. My personal rule of thumb is for an extract recipe would be 6.6 of LME or 6 pounds of LME. Or, you could do 3.3 of LME and 3 of DME. This is just an observation from doing kits but I've noticed this particular trend in the recipe sections. The major differences from there on out is just hops/grains/additives, etc. etc.