Small beer recipes

[Tony1951]

The Ace looks good and a good price with the proper tap and strainer. Double wall will mean you don't have to mess about with blankets or anything to mash in it (I BIAB mash in my burco and just put a jumper over the top as there is always a small gap round the lid).

I think the price is good and the quality looks fine. It is CE marked so it should be sound electrically. Hope so anyway :-o

I have looked again at the calculations and by chance, if I use the remaining half of the kit and brew to 23 litres it will come out right in the middle of the style for a mild (3% ABV and about 20 IBU). I might add some extra citra at the end of the boil just to add flavour. I reckon 20g at flame out and then let it cool slowly will probably work. I don't have a cooler. I could run the hot wort into my 12 litre pan and cool in the sink and do it twice over. Not sure how essential a rapid cooling is.... In an insulated boiler it would take a long time to cool down. I guess I would be well advised to cool in the sink over about an hour for the whole batch.

 

[peebee]

Little warning... but this might only apply to a drunken bum like me!
I went down this route (just to confuse more people with medical TLAs; suffered a T.B.I. a couple of years ago horse riding - the confused can just think "Michael Schumacher") and successfully produced a low-alcohol Mild. I did mash, but at high temperature (68degC) to encourage a high dextrin content for more body (I'll try 69degC next time) and used 15 IBUs of Fuggles. I aimed for 3% alcohol (could have picked less), used about 20% of dark crystal to up the flavour (hitting the published limit, but it was fine) and 1% of black malt. Dispensed at very low carbonation (about 7psi of CO2). The result is most quaffable! And there is the problem:
Produce something quaffable at 3% alcohol and the brakes get dispensed with. I'm probably drinking more alcohol now than when I was turning out 5%+ headbangers (I don't have to worry about medication, but staying upright after a pint is a challenge!).
So my point is: If you brew beer at "normal" (i.e. high) alcohol levels you might have more respect for it - or that might just be me.
BTW, I was thinking of playing around with small additions of smoked malt next time, but do I really want to come up with something even more quaffable?
Paul

 

[LarryF]

Enjoy Larry.... Only eight or ten hours to wait now. :)

Cheers Tony, just cracked a Coopers Stout that I bottled in mid Feb this year. I've since done one with hops and coffee added and the difference between the two is quite pronounced. Funnily enough I'm doing another Coopers Stout tomorrow, I've got the hops and the coffee ready to go, they really give a depth of flavour. Before that though, it's been a long time since my last beer last Saturday so down to business.

 

[clibit]

So my point is: If you brew beer at "normal" (i.e. high) alcohol levels you might have more respect for it - or that might just be me.

I think that's a good point, which also applies to me. I rarely drop below 4.5% and usually do 5 to 6%, and I just don't drink that much volume. I have to keep my alcohol intake down for medical reasons. So it's a few 330ml bottles a week, unfortunately.

 

[DerekofPriory]

Hi again,
I've made a couple of small(ish) beers based on mild recipes since my TIA but following the trend here am continuing to make 4.5 to 5.5% beers and reducing intake volumes by tasting it and thinking about what I'm tasting out of a half pint tankard. I've even been using the small beer mixed with the good stuff if the good stuff gets close to 6%.
Cheers Derek B.