70% pale malt
30% flaked maize or "Minute rice"
I prefer 6-row and maize. See
here. Target OG = 12P or 1.048.
Step mash - FIX 50/60/70C. 15 minutes at first two temperatures, 30-60 minutes at saccharification rest. Mash thickly, raise temperatures with infusions of boiling liquor. It sounds complicated, but it's easy. And if you do this, you don't need to add specialty grains like CaraPils to enhance mouthfeel and foam retention.
Sparge with 175F liquor to collect pre-boil amount appropriate to your brewhouse.
90-minute boil to drive off DMS precursors.
Bitter to ~25-30 IBU with a neutral bittering variety such as Cluster or Target. Finish with a hint of something you like, but don't overdo it.
Ferment as cool as you can with a neutral yeast such as Nottingham.
Carbonate to 2.5 volumes, serve cold.
Edited to add: Some thoughts on saving money:
1. Harvest yeast or use dry
2. Buy neutral, high-alpha bittering hops in bulk (Warrior, Zeus, Target, Magnum, Pacific Gem) and use less hops per IBU.
3. Buy base domestic 2-row malt in bulk. There's nothing that Maris Otter can do that Rahr 2-row can't (at half the price), unless it's a SMaSH. Even then you can home-toast some Rahr 2-row and get damn close. If you insist on a more expensive imported pale malt, still buy it in bulk.
4. Simplify your recipes so you can keep the bare minimum of ingredients in inventory and don't run out to the LHBS to buy a pound of this and a half pound of that at a ridiculous markup.
When you're buying by the pallet, you
have to brew smart in order to keep expenses to a minimum.
For example, I just put together a grain order for seven different beers, all different styles, from Blonde to Porter, which require seven grains. I know some of you require seven grains for one grist! Here's what I keep in the grain locker:
2-row pale
Munich light
Roasted Barley
Chocolate Malt
Crystal 60L
Caramalt/Crystal 10L
White wheat
That's it. There's not a lot you can't brew with those ingredients. None of my grists have more than 4 ingredients. And that one recipe only has four because I use a little roasted barley to get a deep red color without an excess of Crystal.
It's a challenge to see how many different beers you can get out of a relatively small stable of ingredients. Try it!
