Recipe Check

[rcreveli]

I am going to be brewing my first batch this Thursday and plan on brewing a a cherry wheat ale. There was no kit available at either local store so below is the recipe that was hand written for me. I am transcribing it here in hopes that if I misunderstood anything it can be nipped in the bud.

Start with 2 Gals of hot water.
Add 4 oz of Honey Malt & 4 oz of Flaked oats in a grain sock. Steep for approx 20 minutes as the water gets to a strong simmer.

Remove sock before the water comes to a boil.

After removing the sock add
1 can 4.4 pounds of Liquid Wheat Malt Extract
2 1 Pound bags of Dried Wheat Malt Extract

Stir constantly until liquid is back to a boil

add 1oz pellet hops

Boil for 30 minutes

During the last 5 minutes of boiling add an additional 1/2 oz of pellet hops.

When cooled add supplied Yeast Safale US-05 to Wort

Add Cherry concentrate to flavor. Up to 4oz for a 5 gallon batch.

Transfer liquid to Carboy via siphon and ferment for approximately 14 days

After Primary Fermentation transfer liquid to bottling bucket

Heat 1 cup of water and dissolve 2.5 oz of priming sugar into it.

Add syrup and stir.

Bottle as per instructions.

Hope I got that all right.

TIA
Ray

 

[phishfood]

Generally, you put the priming sugar mix into the bottling bucket, and then siphon the beer onto that, so as to thoroughly mix the two. This assures a more even carbonation from bottle to bottle.

Also, I imagine you already know this, but to be on the safe side, you do know to sanitize all of your fermenting and bottling equipment?

 

[android]

ray, you're pretty much there, but i think it would be wise for you to read through a few pages of 'how to brew' (http://howtobrew.com/section1/chapter1.html) just to reiterate things and lay them out neatly so you can be sure you're doing everything you should be. for the most part, those instructions are fine, but the specialty grain steeping as well as the boil/hop additions are vague. so, reading how to brew's crash course will really get you started on the right foot.

 

[Challenger440]

I have never used pellet hops but it might be a good idea to empty your grain sock when you pull it out and put your pellet hops in that throughout your boil. Just thinking that might make it way easier to separate the hops when it comes time to siphon to the carboy

 

[rcreveli]

Thank you for the suggestions. I'll read the how to brew page and the other precautions. FYI I did by the Joy of brewing before starting the little adveture and that's been a big help.

 

[Richabt]

I agree with Challenger, but you can use the pellet hops out of the grain sock as well with little problem, the hop residue would settle out in your trub.

 

[JiveTurkey]

I have never used pellet hops but it might be a good idea to empty your grain sock when you pull it out and put your pellet hops in that throughout your boil. Just thinking that might make it way easier to separate the hops when it comes time to siphon to the carboy

Perhaps semantics, but no need to siphon from boil pot to fermenter (carboy).

It's better to pour, as at this stage you want to aerate the wort as much as possible to introduce oxygen to help the yeast multiply. You can use an ordinary (sanitized) strainer to keep the hops out of the carboy.

At all other stages of transferring, a siphon is essential because you want to minimize aeration after yeast is pitched and fermentation has begun/completed.

 

[rcreveli]

So I read the first 4 chapters of how to brew then I had to work.

Also I downloaded BeerTools Pro for the mac.

Here's a link to the pdf. I know the bitterness is wrong because I forgot which hops I have at home all other info should be correct.

Ray

http://public.me.com/rcreveli/cherrywheatale.pdf

Username public
Password barlow1

 

[torque2k]

If you like a lot of cherry flavor, 4oz. should be OK. If you just want a hint of cherry, try it with only 2-3oz. Better to have a good beer with a slight cherry flavor, than to have a good beer being pummeled with a cherry bat.

 

[rcreveli]

Yeah, I agree. I would rather no cherry than to much.

Ray