1st biab.help with tweeking.

[davereal]

all went really well , i think. bar a sticky floor, a malty air still lingering round the kitchen.think i,m being sent outside next time. oh and dropping my glasses in post mash , pre boil. ouch.other than that, i think all went well.done a dog fish head 60min i p a.clone. after a few days head scratching over biabrewer volume and gravity calcs. all my pre boil post mash measurements were spot on except final o.g. which should have been 1.060/ 64 . i came in at 1.052 and 2 extra litres .so next brew should i boil longer, say 90 mins not 60,after a few more brews work out my cals to suit my kettle or have i done something wrong. did turn 1 of the elements off during boil as i thought it was too vigorous. could that be it? the recipes f.g. is 1.017 which would make it 6% ish.will i end up with that or can i look to be getting it down to 1.010/12 ish which would give me 5% . smells lovely, hopefully get a nice pint at the end .ah, another error was ordering 7kg of uncrushed grain, which mean't 2 hours batch smashing in a sports direct bag with a camping mallet, rolling pin ind fence post.did consider driving over it.doh. any tips most welcome .thanks

 

[clibit]

You might get lower than 1017, depends on the yeast used and how the fermentation goes.

Increase the grain you use next tome to hit target OG. Are you using brewing software? You could add some DME to this brew to get the gravity to 1060.

 

[davereal]

did think about d. m. e.. 1st time using my 56 litre kettle so probably take a couple of brews to work out volumes.the recipe was for a californian ale yeast which i didn't have . was going to use safale 05 which i think would have been better than the 04 i used by mistake. what do you think? eyeing up a summer lightning next or along those lines. a nice zingy blondish , sitting in the garden pint. suggestions most welcome. cheers

 

[clibit]

Your beer will turn out fine, just not quite as clean yeast-wise as using West Coast/US05. Bit more estery. It's a perfectly fine option, which many prefer. Keep the fermentation temp low (18C ish) and it will be cleaner tasting.

For a zingy blonde, you just want to stay simple - either 100% pale malt, or add a bit of caramalt or pale crystal, is what i do. 5% of the total grain is about right. Then use a zingy hop and a clean yeast. Lots of hop options, depends exactly what you want flavour and intensity-wise from the hops.

 

[davereal]

did use the biabrewer calculator mainly for volumes,water required/ losses , grain bill etc and temps. most of their estimates were spot on for my kettle size.going to get my head round the hop page next. if using pellets,would you use more?recipe was for amarillo, simco and warrior leaf, i think. thou i used warrior pellets. the recipe was for extract with a substitute for all grain of 6kg pale malt and 150g of amber and crystal each.using 1/2of the recipes bittering hops for all grain 14g of warrior instead of 28 then lots of 5 min additions of 7g each of all three. smells great. not sure if the misses would agree tho

 

[davereal]

Your beer will turn out fine, just not quite as clean yeast-wise as using West Coast/US05. Bit more estery. It's a perfectly fine option, which many prefer. Keep the fermentation temp low (18C ish) and it will be cleaner tasting.

For a zingy blonde, you just want to stay simple - either 100% pale malt, or add a bit of caramalt or pale crystal, is what i do. 5% of the total grain is about right. Then use a zingy hop and a clean yeast. Lots of hop options, depends exactly what you want flavour and intensity-wise from the hops.

did set the fish tank heater at 18 by mistake. usually do at 20c . so all good. yep looking at some english hops really as the last few extract brews i've done
have been mostly american style i.p.a's. cheers

 

[clibit]

You are meant to use slightly less pellets, but I don't think the difference is huge. Most brewing calculators ask whether you are using leaf or pellet hops and make an adjustment.

You won't get big zing from English hops but they are great for a refreshing blonde ale. I'd go for Goldings and Goldings variants, like First Gold and Challenger.

 

[davereal]

You are meant to use slightly less pellets, but I don't think the difference is huge. Most brewing calculators ask whether you are using leaf or pellet hops and make an adjustment.

You won't get big zing from English hops but they are great for a refreshing blonde ale. I'd go for Goldings and Goldings variants, like First Gold and Challenger.

thats the style i'm after. refreshing. haven't had a summer lightning for awhile but do remember it be really hoppy. lovely. one of the few beers that tastes pretty much the same on draft and in bottles. will investigate. got goldings, syrian and east kent and challenger.if something catches my eye ,i'll post on here. cheers

 

[clibit]

Summer Lightning uses Goldings and Challenger, I think. Styrian Goldings are a good idea too, though they are actually Fuggles grown in a different climate. There's a popular recipe called Styrian Stunner, just Styrian Goldings, I've never made it though. Bobek is another Styrian hop that I really love and would be ideal for late additions in a refreshing blonde ale.

Styrian Stunner 23 L:

4.76 Kg Maris Otter

Aim for about 35 IBUs:
50ish Grams (adjust for IBUs) of Styrian Golding or Bobek 90 min
25 Grams of Styrian Golding or Bobek 15 min
12 Grams of Stryian Golding or Bobek 7 min
Irish Moss 15 minutes

Wyeast 1469

You could probably use Challenger for the 90 Min addition and halve the hops, approximately.

 

[davereal]

Summer Lightning uses Goldings and Challenger, I think. Styrian Goldings are a good idea too, though they are actually Fuggles grown in a different climate. There's a popular recipe called Styrian Stunner, just Styrian Goldings, I've never made it though. Bobek is another Styrian hop that I really love and would be ideal for late additions in a refreshing blonde ale.

Styrian Stunner 23 L:

4.76 Kg Maris Otter

Aim for about 35 IBUs:
50ish Grams (adjust for IBUs) of Styrian Golding or Bobek 90 min
25 Grams of Styrian Golding or Bobek 15 min
12 Grams of Stryian Golding or Bobek 7 min
Irish Moss 15 minutes

Wyeast 1469

You could probably use Challenger for the 90 Min addition and halve the hops, approximately.

cheers. may do the stunner then lightning later to compare.mostly done hop combos to date except an amarillo. so a good shout to see what styrian's like on its own and get a feel for different hops.

 

[clibit]

Here's a Summer Lightning recipe...

http://www.brew.x10.mx/Recipes.html

There's a few other clones on the same page, London Pride and ESB, Sara Carter's Bombay IPA, and Thornbridge Jaipur.

 

[davereal]

Here's a Summer Lightning recipe...

http://www.brew.x10.mx/Recipes.html

excellent. cheers.sort of on topic. i had a hobgoblin gold yesterday.nice slightly chilled, very floral. not sure i'd want 40pints of it.checked the net to try and suss what hops give it that flavour. anyway, pilgrim,sauvin, citra and summit. any clue which one's the floral. haven't used any of these before. shame english brewers don't tend to put ingredients on bottle. a lot of the american craft ales do. tescos had a blinder in awhile back. pacific ice, i think.thanks.

 

[clibit]

Citra and Nelson Sauvin are both fragrant when used as aroma hops - end of boil and dry hop. Especially Citra.

 

[davereal]

all went really well , i think. bar a sticky floor, a malty air still lingering round the kitchen.think i,m being sent outside next time. oh and dropping my glasses in post mash , pre boil. ouch.other than that, i think all went well.done a dog fish head 60min i p a.clone. after a few days head scratching over biabrewer volume and gravity calcs. all my pre boil post mash measurements were spot on except final o.g. which should have been 1.060/ 64 . i came in at 1.052 and 2 extra litres .so next brew should i boil longer, say 90 mins not 60,after a few more brews work out my cals to suit my kettle or have i done something wrong. did turn 1 of the elements off during boil as i thought it was too vigorous. could that be it? the recipes f.g. is 1.017 which would make it 6% ish.will i end up with that or can i look to be getting it down to 1.010/12 ish which would give me 5% . smells lovely, hopefully get a nice pint at the end .ah, another error was ordering 7kg of uncrushed grain, which mean't 2 hours batch smashing in a sports direct bag with a camping mallet, rolling pin ind fence post.did consider driving over it.doh. any tips most welcome .thanks

update. found my mistake . boiled for 60min instead of 90. So that'll explain the extra litre's and the gravity. Got down to 1.011 which should be 5.2% ish so all good.