Before I next go to the LHBS, it looks like I'll have a window to make a 3 gallon batch with what I have on hand.
The problem is that it isn't much: 3lb golden DME (could go up to 4, maybe 4.5, by tweaking a big stout downwards a little), 1oz each of ekuanot, cascade and amarillo, 0.33oz of fuggles, and s-04 and us-05 yeasts. Also around the house I have corn and table sugar, maple syrup, rolled oats,... probably some other stuff that could plausibly be thrown in.
I'd like to do a 30min boil (or less?) as, much as I love a 5+hr brewing session, being able to use a smaller timeslot occasionally will be useful. (Indeed, possibly the main reason for doing this is to get a good sense for how long the method will take, so that if I /have/ to be done in a limited time in the future I'll know that I can be.)
Here's what I came up with:
4lb golden DME, 0.5oz Ekuanot (30mins), 1oz Cascade (10mins), 0.5oz Ekuanot (0min), with the us-05 yeast. 30min boil.
Beersmith says that'll be 1.054SG, 5.4% ABV, 48IBU, which are all numbers I'm happy with (but not set on). But there's more to beer than these numbers. In this case, the hop schedule is really a shot in the dark; I have very little understanding of which hops do what and which ones complement each other well.
So, any advice?
The problem is that it isn't much: 3lb golden DME (could go up to 4, maybe 4.5, by tweaking a big stout downwards a little), 1oz each of ekuanot, cascade and amarillo, 0.33oz of fuggles, and s-04 and us-05 yeasts. Also around the house I have corn and table sugar, maple syrup, rolled oats,... probably some other stuff that could plausibly be thrown in.
I'd like to do a 30min boil (or less?) as, much as I love a 5+hr brewing session, being able to use a smaller timeslot occasionally will be useful. (Indeed, possibly the main reason for doing this is to get a good sense for how long the method will take, so that if I /have/ to be done in a limited time in the future I'll know that I can be.)
Here's what I came up with:
4lb golden DME, 0.5oz Ekuanot (30mins), 1oz Cascade (10mins), 0.5oz Ekuanot (0min), with the us-05 yeast. 30min boil.
Beersmith says that'll be 1.054SG, 5.4% ABV, 48IBU, which are all numbers I'm happy with (but not set on). But there's more to beer than these numbers. In this case, the hop schedule is really a shot in the dark; I have very little understanding of which hops do what and which ones complement each other well.
So, any advice?