Forum so good I bought a corny

[Andyroo Brew]

New to site after returning to home brew (the old Boots kits from the dark ages gave me gut rot and put me off) but so impressed with the American IPA kit brewed that I wanted to set this up as a hobby. The site is so informative and so made a kegerator and bought a corny to do a lager which isn’t bad at all. Want to go away from kits but don’t want to go to AG. Is mini mash / extract worth moving to? Would love to do something similar to a Birra Moretti....

 

[MyQul]

Welcome to the forum

Both mini mash and extract are great if you don't want to go full AG. The disadvantage with kits is you dont have the freedom to brew whatever you want. So extract and mini mash are definitely worth it if you want a bit more creative freedom. Mini-mash give you more freedom than extract as some grains require mashing rather than steeping so are 'not available' to the extract brewer. Whereas a mini mash brewer has all the freedom of a full AG brewer but gets some of the advantages of extract brewing (time savings mainly)

 

[fury_tea]

I found this on another forum:

"Birra Moretti
Brewery: Heineken Italia in Milano, Italy
Style: Pale Lager
OG: 1045
ABV: 4.6%
Grainbill: 70% Pale, 30% Flaked Maize
Hops: Hallertau
IBU: 21
Colour: clear straw
Yeast: probably Heineken A-yeast, Dr Elion's 1886 pure yeast culture"

You could swap out some of the pale malt for light DME, maybe around 50%. If I was you and making a partial mash recipe, I'd start with trying to create it on Brewer's Friend and try to get somewhere near to the numbers above. For reference, 2KG of grain is equal to 1.2kg of DME, and that should be somewhere near to 50% of the grain bill.

Flaked maize shouldn't be used as more than around 30% of the grain bill, so take that into account when you are making your recipe. If you need any help or want anyone to point you in the right direction just ask, I'm sure someone will pitch in to help.

I haven't checked the numbers but the grain bill for around 20L should look something like:

1.2kg light DME
1.4kg pale malt
0.6kg flaked maize

If I was aiming for 21 IBUs I'd try something around 30g of Hallertau around 60 mins then maybe 20g-30g at 15 mins.

It's not exactly the same as the moretti recipe but won't be a million miles away. But don't take this as a finished recipe it's just a starting point to get you in the ballpark. Inputting those numbers into Brewers friend should tell you how close it is.

Good luck!

 

[fury_tea]

Also, for yeast I'd just go with a standard lager yeast like 34/70. It can ferment quite cleanly at higher temps as well, which could be good depending on the temperature in your fermentation area.

 

[Andyroo Brew]

Thanks Guys really useful. I’ve got a fermentation chamber built as well (again thanks to forum info) so could do a lower primary.

 

[dwhite60]

If you want to do partial mash do it BIAB (Brew in a bag). No need for a mash tun or lautering. I do all grain for the most part but BIAB takes a good hour off my brew day.

Welcome back to the hobby!

 

[Galena]

If you want to do partial mash do it BIAB (Brew in a bag). No need for a mash tun or lautering. I do all grain for the most part but BIAB takes a good hour off my brew day.

Welcome back to the hobby!

I will soon be doing my first AG BIAB, do you use fine crushed or just crushed? I do intend to sparge though by dropping the wort into a bucket, sparging and then putting back in bucket for the boil

 

[dwhite60]

I will soon be doing my first AG BIAB, do you use fine crushed or just crushed? I do intend to sparge though by dropping the wort into a bucket, sparging and then putting back in bucket for the boil

I crush pretty fine. My mill is set to about 0.65mm.

I also do 12 liter batches. Suits my needs. Doesn't require a huge pot. Can do it stovetop.

 

[Gerryjo]

Hi and welcome to the forum...