second batch ever, ideas for the beer?

[daum]

Going to most likely make my second batch of beer today. Any suggestions for what I should make? Would prefer it to be tasty and something with a high ABV, also the cheaper the ingredients the better. I did come across a 1.5 pound container of wild honey(one part of that name that I'm missing but dont' have jar with me at the moment), perhaps I could add that and make a honey flavored brew? Oh also, if you don't have to wait too long for it to ferment/ready to bottle/to drink, that'd be a plus.

Anyways, all and any suggestions will be appreciated.
Daum

 

[BrewDey]

Seems like the higher ABV you want, the longer you'd have to wait before you drink it. I've used beertools.com lately for the basis of recent batches...it has a good library, and you can search by type of brew (extract/pm/ag) and ingredients (you could find something that uses honey). Have fun!

 

[daum]

neat site, tons of different recipes, like how it includes the prices. I was hoping for more of some suggestions that anyone might have here as I am more than happy to try anything.
Daum

 

[pfranco81]

Wheats tend to ferment hard and relatively fast. If you wanna make a honey beer, how about a honey wheat, that's what I've got brewing and it smells delicious.

 

[FlyingHorse]

Honey is more fermentable than malt sugars, so that'll boost your ABV. BUT... it generally takes longer to ferment, especially as the overall SG gets high. So you might have to choose alittle bit between ABV and speed.

 

[daum]

Was thinking of maybe an ABV around 7-10%? I am fine with if I have to wait for a while I guess. Just looking for a fun, but stronger, beer that isn't expensive to brew.


Daum

 

[DeathBrewer]

i'm brewing a honey rye right now and it smells delicious!!! it's going strong...pretty much a wheat beer so it should finish quickly, within 10 days.

i would suggest a wheat beer if you want it done fast, plus you don't need to use a secondary, so that saves some time.

 

[BierMuncher]

Going to most likely make my second batch of beer today. Any suggestions for what I should make? Would prefer it to be tasty and something with a high ABV, also the cheaper the ingredients the better. I did come across a 1.5 pound container of wild honey(one part of that name that I'm missing but dont' have jar with me at the moment), perhaps I could add that and make a honey flavored brew? Oh also, if you don't have to wait too long for it to ferment/ready to bottle/to drink, that'd be a plus.

Anyways, all and any suggestions will be appreciated.
Daum

If you want something on the less bitter side, the Orange Kolsch I did (10-gallons) was comlpetely gone in two weeks...drunk completely by the girls. Only had a 5%, but a 1/2 pound of corn sugar would push that up.

Honey takes a long time to ferment. This was done, kegged and drinkable in 2 weeks.

 

[daum]

Hrm what ingredients/approx cost would you say that was? Looks really good.

Edit: This is the brew you are talking about i assume https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30918&highlight=orange .

Just a couple questions- How much would those ingredients cost? Suggested techniques for the making/conditioning of the brew? Also, could the orange peel be not dried?


Daum

 

[cheezydemon]

I recently used 4 lbs of brown sugar to seriously boost the abv on a stout, you can't get any cheaper, AND IT IS DELICIOUS! Dry Malt extract(dme) is preferable to me over liquid and is always cheaper. Hops also are cheap.(per batch, not necessarily per pound)
I recommend you use White labs Irish ale yeast which is relatively high in alcohol tolerance and can motor through a fermentation. I would use the honey but keep the fermentation temp around 72 if possible. It may take a little longer but the higher temp really motivates that yeast strain. The yeast is not cheap but you can re-use it for 5 or 6 batches and it is awesome! Good luck

 

[DeathBrewer]

It may take a little longer but the higher temp really motivates that yeast strain.

Not sure what you really meant by this, so just to clarify...higher temps will make fermentation be more vigroous and thus go faster. i prefer lower temps because higher temps will sometimes give off flavors, but 72 is not abnormally high...should probably be fine for that strain.

 

[cheezydemon]

Yes, I meant that the honey might take a little longer, but that if you keep the wort a little on the warmer side(and make a starter) the yeast will more than make up for it. I have an incredible yeast cake I would let you have, but I'm afraid we are probably not too close to one another geographically. I hope it turns out well and I was not kidding about the brown sugar! Good luck.

 

[Yooper]

Also, keep in mind as just a general guideline- the higher the ABV, the longer the time; to ferment and to condition. If you want a 10% ABV, that might be a great beer but will take longer and be great for fall/winter. If you want a 4-6% ABV, it'll be great in 6 weeks. Of course, this is a general principle so might not ALWAYS be that way. And it's already been mentioned, but honey is pretty slow to ferment out.

I say make what you like- IPAs, cream ales, brown ales, ESBs, etc. will all be ready to drink about the same time. I'm drinking an IPA now that I brewed on 5/23. It will get better with a little conditioning, but it's good right now! Find a style that you want to make and get cracking!

 

[PT Ray]

The best I can think of is a some what Belgian style ale. Just some pale malt extract, cane suger and Safale S-33 dried Belgian style yeast. Does not require alot of hops and different grains for flavor as this is coming from the yeast. For 5 gallons:

9.35# Pale LME
1.65# Cane Sugar
1/2 oz of a 5-7% alpha acid hop for bittering
O.G. 1.084
IBUs 10-14

You can sub honey for the cane sugar but really just a waste of money in this case. Light brown or better yet some demerara/raw sugar would be a good choice for some subtle additional flavor at a minimal cost. I haven't quite been able to define the flavor of light brown sugar but demerara comes off as kind of a perfumey tasting addition in lighter beers.

Boiling hops can be a half ounce of anything in the 5-7% alpha acid range. I would use something like Mt. Hood or Willamette.

My personal feelings are to skip the high abv, it is just too easy making something that is difficult to drink. I also understand it is something you have to do when starting out.

 

[BierMuncher]

Hrm what ingredients/approx cost would you say that was? Looks really good.

Edit: This is the brew you are talking about i assume https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30918&highlight=orange .

Just a couple questions- How much would those ingredients cost? Suggested techniques for the making/conditioning of the brew? Also, could the orange peel be not dried?


Daum

For a 5 gallon batch, I'd figure about $21 plus shipping from Midwest.

My 10-gallon batch was about $28 plus shipping.

The five-gallon batch doesn't drop in price as much as you'd think because you're still buying 1lb increments of certain grains, even though you're only using half.

People have used fresh orange peel with levels of success, but I can't speak from personal experience.

Dried orange peel is about $2.40 for a 1oz package and you could just by the sweet and leave out the bitter.