Dumb Recipe reading Question

[brewnoobie]

please delete

 

[Yooper]

Yep, you got it! The easiest thing to do is to bring the wort to a boil, and set a timer for 60 minutes. Add the ingredients when the clock reads the correct number. So, for an ingredient marked "45 minutes", add it when your timer says "45". When the timer says "10", you'd add the 10 minute additions like Irish moss. Turn off the flame when the timer hits 0.

 

[brewnoobie]

So then, in the recipe I posted for example, If there is no time specified, such as with the malts, those go in the boil for the entire time?

Also, in that and other recipes, the corn suger is for the bottling right? To be added later, not in the wort? Or is the bottling sugar just assumed outside of the recipe?

 

[DrDirt]

BTW, that's NOT the dumbest question ever. Stick around, you'll see.

 

[midfielder5]

BTW, that's NOT the dumbest question ever. Stick around, you'll see.

lol. also, wait around and you will see some pretty silly answers

yoop is correct here, as always.

 

[Myrdhyn]

So then, in the recipe I posted for example, If there is no time specified, such as with the malts, those go in the boil for the entire time?

Also, in that and other recipes, the corn suger is for the bottling right? To be added later, not in the wort? Or is the bottling sugar just assumed outside of the recipe?

Bottling sugar is usually assumed outside of the recipe, and half a lb would be too much I think. If you notice in that recipe there is a percentage out to the right of that entry. That means that the corn sugar is that percentage of the total fermentables and/or grain bill.

The grains do not go in the boil at all, they are mashed ahead of time. This is actually an all-grain recipe, and as such isn't your typical beginner's recipe. Look for an extract or extract with specialty grains recipe.

Edited To clarify for this recipe specifically: In this case, the 5lbs of grain would be mashed (mixed with a set amount of water at a set temperature) for an hour or more (I believe in this case the author used a 75min mash), then this water would be drained and the grainbed would be sparged (rinsed) with another set amount of water at a certain temperature. Then the water from the mash and sparge would be put in the boiling pot without any of the grains present. The liquid would be brought to a boil. As soon as a boil was reached a 60min timer would start. When 15mins had elapsed (or at the 45min mark) the hops would go in. When another 35mins had elapsed (or at the 10min mark) the Irish Moss would go in. When anothe 10mins passed (or the 0min mark) the liquid would be removed from the heat. The sugar could be added at just about any point in the process. I'd probably put it in after 45mins had elapsed (or the 15min mark) personally.

 

[DrDirt]

Yes, the corn sugar is added to the batch at the time you bottle it. The small amount of aditional sugar provides the yeast with sugar needed to carbonate the beer in the bottles.

Never boil the grains! Grains used in any recipe should never be heated above 170 degrees or you risk extracting tannins from the husks (bitter!)
The recipe you quoted looks like a really small all-grain batch. I'd recommend starting with an "extract and steeping grains" recipe (do a search for similar threads)

It should look something like this:

3 lbs malted grain (crystal 60 for example)- steep in 3 gals of 160 degree water for 30 mins. (then remove and discard)
6 lbs light dry malt extract - add to water, mix thoroughly and bring to boil.
set timer for 60 mins:
Add 1 oz hops
at 30 mins add .5 oz hops
at 10 mins add .5 oz hops.

cool and pour into fermentation vessel, topping off to make a total of 5 gals.
add yeast and wait...

 

[Myrdhyn]

The recipe he linked was from this thread:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/honey-biscut-ale-159298/

The author says it's a small batch. I have to assume in this case, especially since it is listed as a percentage of the fermentables and such a large amount of sugar, that the corn sugar is added as part of the primary fermentables in the case of this recipe. Typically you would use half that amount of corn sugar to bottle an entire 5g batch. If you used half a pound in a small batch, that's begging for bottle bombs.

 

[LexusChris]

I started out brewing kits from the local home-brew shop. They came with very simple step-by-step instructions, which I followed and yielded drinkable beer for many years!

That is a great way to get your feet wet. Learn as you go. You can find lots of mail-order stores to order kits from too. http://www.northernbrewer.com, http://www.williamsbrewing.com & http://www.austinhomebrew.com/ are just a few to get you started.

Good luck!
--lexuschris