Will this make anything drinkable?

[kgx2]

I have the following and would like to make a 5gal batch of beer that is drinkable. I don't have any software to try to make a recipe and I've never tried making anything that wasn't on a recipe sheet. Can anyone help me make something from this list please?

Malts
3lbs extra light DME
1lb pilsner DME

Hops
1oz peel
1/2oz fuggle
1/2oz UK east Kent golding
1/2oz Willamette
1/4oz cent.

Extras
1/4oz coriander seed
1lb raw honey

Yeast
Danstar dry ale yeast

I don't mind picking up a couple of small needed items to make something but would like to use up as much of this as I can. I appreciate any assistance!

 

[JordanKnudson]

Kind of an odd little collection there. Sounds like the leftovers from a couple of previous recipes, no? I'd save the peel (I assume you are referring to orange peel) and coriander for a wheat beer in the future, or for culinary use.

For a 5 gallon batch, you could maybe do a blonde ale. You could come in on the low end of the gravity and ibu spectrum for that with what you have. It wouldn't have much maltiness to it, but maybe you won't mind that. It would look something like this:

3 lbs extra light DME
1 lb pilsner DME
1 lb honey

0.5 oz Fuggles - 90 minutes (this is to try to squeeze every last ibu out of them, and also to account for the DMS issue with the pilsner malt)
0.5 oz East Kent Golding - 10 minutes
0.5 oz Willamette - 10 minutes
0.25 oz Centennial - 10 minutes

Danstar dry ale yeast (I'm assuming this is Nottingham?) - rehydrate and ferment at the temperature that suits your desires. Nottingham does well at lower temps than some other standard ale yeasts, like US-05.

A few comments on this recipe, though:
-The goal is to use up what you have
-The malt bill is really light. 20% by weight is honey, which doesn't add much in the way of flavor (mostly alcohol), and actually lightens the body, which will already not be too hefty. You might consider getting another pound of DME to beef it up a bit.
-The hop schedule will bring you in around 18-19 ibus (assuming you don't add more DME, which will diminish the hop utilization a bit). This will be fine for this beer, I think. I don't know what the combination of EKG, Willamette, and Centennial will taste like. I can't imagine it would be bad, but it might not be as complex as a more carefully planned beer. I suggested using Fuggles for bittering because I think they would be the most out of place as a flavor addition, based on what else you have. Also, I just don't like them.

Good luck! Let me know what you end up actually doing.

 

[CastleHollow]

If you drop your volume to a 3 gallon batch, you might be more satisfied with the result. Jordan's recipe would still work.

 

[JordanKnudson]

Agreed, unless all you have is 6/6.5 gallon fermentors, in which case, do the 5 gal recipe. Dropping the batch size would leave a lot of headspace and you'd get some pretty oxidized beer in the end (I say this because, genius that I was when I started brewing, I learned this lesson the hard way). But if you can accomodate a 3 gallon batch, he's right, it will have a bit more substance to it.

 

[rmyurick]

I think it's fine for a summer ale. If you want it a little stronger, go with a 4 gallon batch. If you don't do a secondary, you don't have to worry about oxidation, since the headspace will be filled with co2..

 

[WileECoyote]

Hello, If you add the honey at the last 5 min of the boil you will retain more honey flavor from it!

Cheers

 

[Bob]

Also note that DMS is not a concern with Pilsner malt extract, which has already been boiled to drive off DMS precursors.

I think you can brew 5 US gallons of a nice light ale with those ingredients. Carbonate relatively high (2.5-3 volumes) and serve well chilled.

There are online recipe calculators out the wazoo. I've used the HBD Recipator will good results:

http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator

I plugged your ingredients into the Recipator and came up with this:

Brewer: - Email: -
Beer: - Style: Cream Ale
Type: Extract Size: 5 gallons
Color:
6 HCU (~5 SRM)
Bitterness: 20 IBU
OG: 1.044 FG: 1.012
Alcohol: 4.2% v/v (3.3% w/w)
Boil: minutes SG 1.044 5 gallons
4 lb. Light dry malt extract
1 lb. Honey
Hops: .25 oz. Centennial (10.5% AA, 60 min.)
.5 oz. Fuggles (4.75% AA, 60 min.)
.5 oz. Kent Goldings (aroma)
.5 oz. Willamette (aroma)

Good luck!

Bob

 

[Rivenin]

You can always use brewtoad.com to make recipes, just FYI. it's free and online

 

[RonPopeil]

Not sure if you're opposed to purchasing more stuff but if you add a pound of LME and some C20 or C40 you could come up with a nice amber ale. Bitter with EKG and the fuggles and then use the willamette around 15min.

 

[JordanKnudson]

Also note that DMS is not a concern with Pilsner malt extract, which has already been boiled to drive off DMS precursors.

Ah, good point! I wasn't even thinking about that fact! Whoops

 

[kgx2]

Thanks everyone for all the feedback! Trying to use all this up as my last extract brew so I can start some brew in a bag or a full brew setup.

Going to try that recipe this Sunday. I'll let you know how turns out. I'll do the honey in the last 5min.

 

[kgx2]

So I brewed this about a week ago @ 5gal. I used the suggested recipe above with these small changes. I added 1lb extra light dme. Used 1oz fuggle at 60 min. 1oz golding at 30 min. Finally the 1/2 oz Willamette at 5 min. I put the honey in at flame out as suggested. Took about 2 days for it to start fermenting but since has been fine. Should be ready to move to a secondary fermentor in a day or so. Ill keep you posted on how it turns out and thanks for all the feedback!

 

[pricelessbrewing]

2 days to start seems a little long. What was the pitch rate, OG, and how old was the yeast? Pitch temp, yeast temp?

 

[kgx2]

My last batch took about the same amount of time to start and that was using a white labs yeast. Pitch rate was umm 1 pack of dry yeast rehydrated. I've never checked the OG/FG on any of my batches. I need to get a refractometer as I'm not a big fan of the hydrometers. Yeast was about 6 months old I'm guessing. Pitch temp was about 80°. Yeast temp was about the same but during rehydration I lost some over the sides of the container as I didn't expect it to increase that much in volume. Was my first use of dry yeast.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Pitch temp was a little high, could easily lengthen the time to krausen. If you intend to pitch warm, I would not go above the highest end of the fermentation temp. Should definitely start recording og/fg.

 

[kgx2]

Just wanted to give an update on this since I just popped the first bottle last night. Overall color good, head retention good, fragrance a little hopy and taste... Well it's not bad but it's not real good either. I think different hops would have complemented this much better. Then again this was a use up the supplies I had on hand brew so I can't be disappointed. I'm calling her " Summer Swill".

 

[kgx2]

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