First brew

[prankster1590]

This is gonna be my first brew. It's for about 20 liters of beer. Is this a feasible recipe. Any comments?

Home brew Lager recipe

Water preparation (50 L):

Tapwater (in mEq/L):

Ca = 2,2
Mg = 0,74
HCO3 = 2,62
SO4 = 1,02
Na = 3,2
Cl = 2,54

To 50 liters of tapwater is added 111 mL of a 10 times diluted mix of 88% lactid acid and tapwater.

Fermentables:

*All weighs include moisture content of the malts (percentages are for dry weight). Given weighs are for a batch of 20 liters beer. A brew efficiency of 75% is assumed. Goal is a SG of 1,0477 . Calculated pH is 5,43 (at 4 L water/kg grist).

77% Pilsener malt (The Swaen) = 3,791 kg
10% Chitmalt (Bestmalz) = 0,494 kg
10% Carahell (Weyermann) = 0,517 kg
3% Acidulated malt (Weyermann) = 0,157 kg

Total = 4,959 kg

Dough-in:

*Mashing is done at 4 L water/kg grist. Heating capacity of the brew vessel is approximately 2,09 and the heating capacity of the grist is about 1,8.
*19,84 L water is heated in the brew vessel to 54,36 degrees Celsius. To this is added 4,959 kg of grist at 19 degrees Celsius. This should result in a mixture of 51 degrees Celsius.

Mashing program:

30 minutes at 50 degrees Celsius (not a protein rest but for gelatinisation).
50 to 65 degrees Celsius (2 degree/min = 7,5 minutes)
20 minutes at 65 degrees Celsius
65 to 73 degrees Celsius (0,5 degree/min = 16 minutes)
20 minutes at 73 degrees Celsius
73 to 78 degrees Celsius (1 degree/min = 5 minutes)
5 minutes at 78 degrees Celsius

*17,563 Liters of water at 78 degrees Celsius is used to sparge into the boil kettle. This results in 25,463 liters of wort at the start of a 60 minute boil. The evaporation rate is about 10%/hour. After the boil (and cooling) there should be 22 liters of wort with an IBU of about 22/23.

*At 60 minutes before the end of the boil is added 13,92 grams of Magnum hops (12,6% alpha acids)
*At 15 minutes before the end of the boil is added 5,57 grams of Cascade hops (8,5% alpha acids)
*At 5 minutes before the end of the boil is added 4,87 grams of Cascade hops (8,5% alpha acids)

*The wort is rapidly cooled to 12 degrees Celsius
*From 22 liter of wort, 19,22 liter of wort is tapped into a fermentor leaving trub and hops debris in the brew kettle. Also 0,78 liter of wort is tapped off and stored in the fridge.
*To the 19,22 liter in the fermentor is added about 20 grams (2 packs) of White labs WLP830 lager yeast at 12 degrees celsius.
*79% attenuation is needed for a 5%ABV beer (1,0477 to 1,010)

After 3 weeks, fermentation is done.

*To every bottle (60 bottles of 0.33 L) is added about 13-14 mL of the stored wort (about 1.6 -1.7 gram sugar) and filled with beer.

The bottles are matured for 3 weeks at about 3 degrees celsius (If possible lower)

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Is this a feasible recipe?

Maybe.

Any comments?

If your goal is to try unusual things with your first batch, go for it (and I won't be offended if you stop reading at this point).

Some general observations (based on this being your first batch):

• The mash process could be simplified (single step mash).
• The bottling process could be simplified (use table sugar, not wort).
• With recipes, consider rounding amounts to the nearest 1 (or .1). This helps with readability.
• The use of both lactic acid and 3% acidulated malt seems unusual. I see that you are using tap water (I brew with RO water). Hopefully, someone with expertise brewing with tap water can review and comment on your approach.

 

[prankster1590]

Maybe.



If your goal is to try unusual things with your first batch, go for it (and I won't be offended if you stop reading at this point).

Some general observations (based on this being your first batch):

• The mash process could be simplified (single step mash).
• The bottling process could be simplified (use table sugar, not wort).
• With recipes, consider rounding amounts to the nearest 1 (or .1). This helps with readability.
• The use of both lactic acid and 3% acidulated malt seems unusual. I see that you are using tap water (I brew with RO water). Hopefully, someone with expertise brewing with tap water can review and comment on your approach.

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, im aware of the single step mash. But im convinced that if you wanna make something unique and good that you need to put some work into it. With a stepmash you can tweak the sugar composition of the wort a bit. So thats why I wanna do it like that.

About the bottling process. I dont know about table sugar. Wouldn't it change the taste a bit? Atleast the wort has the same sugar composition as the wort the beer is made from. Im only concerned if 1,6 grams of sugar was the amount for 0.33 L bottles or for 0,5 L bottles.

About the lactic acid. Im going to add it to counter the alkalinity (2,62 mEq/L of HCO3-) of the tapwater. The swaen pilsner malt has a distilled water pH of about 6 which is pretty high. 3% of acidulated malt just isn't enough for a pH of 5,4. Which is what im aiming for. Its only 111 mL (111 mL*1,18 mEq/mL of H+ = 50 L*2,62 mEq/L HCO3-) of an already diluted mix in 50 L of tapwater. Dont think you are going to taste it
And yeah. Tapwater already has all the minerals in it. Im only concerned about the slightly elevated Na and Cl. Dont want my beer become to salty. But we will see.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I dont know about table sugar. Wouldn't it change the taste a bit?

It's very common to use table sugar for priming bottles. It doesn't have a negative impact on flavors.

 

[RM-MN]

About the bottling process. I dont know about table sugar. Wouldn't it change the taste a bit?

If you are able to taste the difference table sugar for priming would make, you should be paid big bucks as a food chemist. It will be such a small amount the difference should be undetectable.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Tapwater already has all the minerals in it.

If this were true, would there be a need for "water chemistry" software?

 

[hotbeer]

Usually the entity that supplies your tap water will supply you with a analysis if you ask. It'll likely be the analysis from whenever the last required check was required by regulation. But that probably is close enough and better than an all out guess.

 

[prankster1590]

Usually the entity that supplies your tap water will supply you with a analysis if you ask. It'll likely be the analysis from whenever the last required check was required by regulation. But that probably is close enough and better than an all out guess.

Its not a guess. You see the HCO3 number? That is roughly the alkalinity.

Alkalinity = [HCO3-] + [B-] - [H+]

 

[prankster1590]

If this were true, would there be a need for "water chemistry" software?

I like calculating things by hand.

 

[D.B.Moody]

This is gonna be my first brew. . . . Any comments?

Your measurements are unbelievably precise and the math is unbelievable. Seriously.
But welcome to the hobby.

 

[Rish]

Prankster has been around a couple of years and posted things that seem to indicate that he has brewed before, not to mention the extremely specific measurements, details, etc. Methinks we may experiencing what got him his moniker. If so, well done, sir.

 

[hotbeer]

Its not a guess. You see the HCO3 number? That is roughly the alkalinity.

Alkalinity = [HCO3-] + [B-] - [H+]

I am talking about a full analysis that will let you know what and how much of each mineral and other significant thing that is in the water. Not just the alkalinity or something you can do with a dime store test kit.

So the numbers you supplied for the water is what it is, or the amounts you added to your water?

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

If so, well done, sir.

If OP didn't edit any of their replies, I might agree.

There's also an idea called "the benefit of the doubt". If it's not abused, we can have good discussions on how we brew beer.

 

[prankster1590]

I like to read. You people make less sense than the people on the cannabis cultivation fora. Im a bit precise for my first brew.

 

[prankster1590]

I am talking about a full analysis that will let you know what and how much of each mineral and other significant thing that is in the water. Not just the alkalinity or something you can do with a dime store test kit.

So the numbers you supplied for the water is what it is, or the amounts you added to your water?

The numbers is what comes out of the faucet.

These are the numbers in PPM

Ca =44
Mg = 9
HCO3 = 160
SO4 = 49
Na = 74
Cl = 90

This is the waterprofile for London brew water (in PPM)

Ca =52
Mg=32
HCO3=104
SO4=32
Na=86
Cl=34

I though: well that is not far off. Lets just try it. Don't know if it goes with a lager but we will see.

 

[hotbeer]

Did you imagine those numbers or did you make or did you get an actual analysis?

I guess I'm going to have to imagine that you must have gotten an analysis or did the testing yourself since you only seems to want to answer in a roundabout fashion.

 

[prankster1590]

Did you imagine those numbers or did you make or did you get an actual analysis?

I guess I'm going to have to imagine that you must have gotten an analysis or did the testing yourself since you only seems to want to answer in a roundabout fashion.

Those numbers are reported by the local watersupplier. I used tapwater. Did not make it myself. I drink it everyday. It tastes good. And I trust those numbers since the pH of the water was the same as what was reported.

 

[Pablo 54]

Do you know if your water has any Chloramines?

 

[prankster1590]

Do you know if your water has any Chloramines?

Yes. In NL we have the highest qualtity drinkingwater of the world. Its purified groundwater for a well maintained waternet. No need for for chloramines or fluorides.

 

[prankster1590]

Mashing program:

30 minutes at 50 degrees Celsius (not a protein rest but for gelatinisation).

50 to 65 degrees Celsius (2 degree/min = 7,5 minutes)
20 minutes at 65 degrees Celsius
65 to 73 degrees Celsius (0,5 degree/min = 16 minutes)
20 minutes at 73 degrees Celsius
73 to 78 degrees Celsius (1 degree/min = 5 minutes)
5 minutes at 78 degrees Celsius

Im using a rest at 50 degrees celsius for 30 minutes. I do this to gelatinise the starch. Is it better to do this for less than 30 minutes? Like 15 minutes. And maybe at 55 degrees celsius? Since I dont wanna loose my foam head. It's the whole reason why i am adding chitmalt. or a nice mouthfeel and foam since it is high in protein content.

 

[prankster1590]

Do you think its necessary to do a double mash whith Chitmalt, like how you would do with for example other cereals adjuncts?