too much malt?

[drvodka]

I brewed my first batch and its in the primary now, bubbling away. I think I may have gone a little overboard on malt though - I thought I'd be adventurous and learn through experience rather than following a set recipe.....
I used 6lbs light liquid malt extract and 2lbs of amber DME, plus 0.5lbs of crushed, steeped CaraPils Specialy Grain in the boil. overkill? am I likely to have a really sweet beer at the end of this?
cheers

 

[Rhoobarb]

I brewed my first batch and its in the primary now, bubbling away. I think I may have gone a little overboard on malt though - I thought I'd be adventurous and learn through experience rather than following a set recipe.....

I used 6lbs light liquid malt extract and 2lbs of amber DME, plus 0.5lbs of crushed, steeped CaraPils Specialy Grain in the boil. overkill? am I likely to have a really sweet beer at the end of this?
cheers

On the contrary; I admire your experimental way of thinking and say, "You done good, boy!"

Sounds like a nice, malty beer - perfect for Fall! Are you doing a secondary fermentation - in other words, will you transfser to a secondary (possibly glass carboy) fermenter? If so, taste the brew at that time and see if it is too sweet for your liking. If so, add some 'dry hops'.

If you're not doing a secondary fermentation, then I'd suggest sampling it after your initial fermentation looks complete. Then, if too sweet, add 'dry hops' for 2-3 days.

Dry hopping is simply adding hops 'after the fact'. Some folks steam the hops for a few minutes before adding them. Me - I just throw them into the fermenter.

Keep in mind, dry hopping is by no means warranted. You probably won't need it at all - depending on the recipe or style you are brewing! That said, please feel free post your recipe or at least the beer 'style' for us! That way, we have an idea of what you are trying to achieve!

Good luck!

 

[drvodka]

Are you doing a secondary fermentation ?
......
Dry hopping is simply adding hops 'after the fact'. Some folks steam the hops for a few minutes before adding them. Me - I just throw them into the fermenter.

Keep in mind, dry hopping is by no means warranted. You probably won't need it at all - depending on the recipe or style you are brewing! That said, please feel free post your recipe or at least the beer 'style' for us! That way, we have an idea of what you are trying to achieve!

Good luck!

Thanks mate - yes I am going to be racking over to a secondary any day now. The target was a nice english pale ale. So to add to recipe I mentioned earlier:
6lbs LME (light)
2lbs DME (amber)
0.5lbs steeped CaraPils grain
bittering hops: fuggles (3.4 AAU, 1oz)
flavoring hops: perle (5.9 AAU, 1oz)
aromatic hops: kent goldings (5.3 AAU, 1oz)
yeast: WL british ale
primary: 7 days, 70F
secondary: 14 days, 70F, with gelatin added
bottle condition: 14 days, 70F, with corn sugar and head retention powder added

no dry hopping was intended, but I think I'll follow your advice regarding this and sample it when racking to see if it's very sweet, if so, will dry hop. do you generally leave the hop sock in the secondary for the entire duration of the secondary fermentation?

I was planning on using this as my base beer and expanding my options from here - tweaking things to get the desired taste and also experimenting with other additives eg toasted oak chips etc.

cheers!

what a great hobby!

 

[Rhoobarb]

... do you generally leave the hop sock in the secondary for the entire duration of the secondary fermentation?...

Yes, in fact, I don't use a hop sock. I just dump the hops in and let them sit in the beer. When I rack to the bottling bucket, the hops are left behind, for the most part.

Sounds like a nice recipe!

 

[drvodka]

Yes, in fact, I don't use a hop sock. I just dump the hops in and let them sit in the beer. When I rack to the bottling bucket, the hops are left behind, for the most part.

Sounds like a nice recipe!

cheers for the advice! i'll let you know how it turns out. it was a slow starter as I didnt activate the yeast prior to pitching, just dumped my liquid yeast in after the wort had cooled. took almost 48hrs to get bubbling and now I'm worried it'll never stop!
i'm finding it hard to just set my mind on making a regular, run of the mill ale first off and then experiment around with it in future brews. there's so many things I want to try that I'm scared by the end of this I'll have added oak chips, dry hops, orange peel, blackcurrant liquor, corriander, cloves, garlic, car tyres, oil etc etc. it's hard not to go over-board on the flavouring!