1st Partial: Amber Ale

[DoctorBob]

Well after 12 months of kits, and a bit of lurking and reading, I finally did a partial tonight.

First impressions.......The house smells great. Reminds me of driving past the Tetley brewery in Leeds, in the UK, where I used to live.

Worth the effort just for the smell. Makes the hole process much more sensual.

Any comments?...this is what I did:

3kg Thomas Coopers Amber Malt Extract
250g Medium Crystal grain (Med EBC 140-160)
50g Gold Cluster Hops (7.2%)
Safale US-05

250g grain steeped in 2L hot water, starting at 68C for 30 mins (temp dropped a bit to below 60C)
Strained, and grain washed with 1L water at 68C.
Strained again.
Added 1/3 can amber malt, and 37g Gold Cluster Hops, and topped up to approx 6L.
Brought to rolling boil for 58mins
13g Gold Cluster Hops added.
2 mins more rolling boil.
Cooled in sink to approx 45C.
Transferred to primary, topped up to 23L, at 22C, pitched yeast dry (Safale US-05).
Transferred to fridge with temp control set to 20C.
OG 1040.

?? Normally I prime with cane sugar and use the little red plastic measure you can get from the HB shop.
Could I use the same size scoop of dextrose?
Could I use the same size scoop of Dry malt extract?
I feel sugar gives a course bubble in my beer. A bit like lemonade. Better beers have a finer carbonation - how do I achieve this?

Love the site

 

[MarkBastard]

Gee mate 250kg of crystal is a fair bit!! Hehehehe.

But seriously you can use pale extract and use a bit more crystal and a touch of chocolate to make a nice amber malt profile. 300g crystal, 30g chocolate, plus the 3L of pale extract.

 

[black_labb]

sounds like a good day

dextrose can be supplemented for sugar. malt extract isnt as fermentable as dextrose/sugar, so you wouldnt get as much carbonation. can also take a bit longer to prime as there are some longer sugar chains that take a bit more time.

as far as i know, the type of bubbles in the beer is related to the beer itself as opposed to the type of sugar used to prime it. the priming sugars create co2 in the beer. once its in there it doesnt really matter where it came from. the type of sugars only really effect the makeup of the fermentables but at a very small level (say 140g of sugar for a batch where you have another 3kg of sugar. the 140g is a small amount and wont make much of a difference.

some malts will have more proteins (short chain proteins from memory) in them which will give the beer smaller bubbles. using specialty grains like the 250g (i assume you didnt really put 250kg of crystal in a 23L batch ) of crystal should impriove alot over an all extract/kit beer.

edit: mark beat me to it

 

[manticle]

Well after 12 months of kits, and a bit of lurking and reading, I finally did a partial tonight.

First impressions.......The house smells great. Reminds me of driving past the Tetley brewery in Leeds, in the UK, where I used to live.

Worth the effort just for the smell. Makes the hole process much more sensual.

Any comments?...this is what I did:

3kg Thomas Coopers Amber Malt Extract
250g Medium Crystal grain (Med EBC 140-160)
50g Gold Cluster Hops (7.2%)
Safale US-05

250g grain steeped in 2L hot water, starting at 68C for 30 mins (temp dropped a bit to below 60C)
Strained, and grain washed with 1L water at 68C.
Strained again.
Added 1/3 can amber malt, and 37g Gold Cluster Hops, and topped up to approx 6L.
Brought to rolling boil for 58mins
13g Gold Cluster Hops added.
2 mins more rolling boil.
Cooled in sink to approx 45C.
Transferred to primary, topped up to 23L, at 22C, pitched yeast dry (Safale US-05).
Transferred to fridge with temp control set to 20C.
OG 1040.

?? Normally I prime with cane sugar and use the little red plastic measure you can get from the HB shop.
Could I use the same size scoop of dextrose?
Could I use the same size scoop of Dry malt extract?
I feel sugar gives a course bubble in my beer. A bit like lemonade. Better beers have a finer carbonation - how do I achieve this?

Love the site

Partial mash involves mashing some base grains. Steeping grains is steeping grains, not mashing or partial mashing.

Not wanting to be an anal nerdy type or prick your balloon - using grains adds a whole new dimension to a beer and it's good you did.

There just seems to be a lot of confusion as to what constitutes a partial mash brew and it's worth noting that there are different processes at work in either.

Process sounds fine. I'm assuming you calculated the hop amounts to give you the bittering you want?

Sugar and dex will be pretty much interchangeable but you will probably need about 25% more DME for the same fermentability. Malt will also add a tiny bit of extra sweetness (probably not massively perceptible).


As mentioned above - things like proteins and hop oils in beer help a lot with nice fine heads. You may also want to try something like cara-pils or wheat malt in your next brew. Bulk priming is also worth a shot.

 

[DoctorBob]

Thanks for the advice so far. Obviously it was only 250g of crystal, and obviously you have all worked out by the time I finished making my brew I had had a few!! hahaha I usually have a few while doing a brew!

I am interested to try some wheat malt. Is this a common addition to ales? I have made a few kit + bit wheats and they are a definate favourite. (Hefes and Hogaarden clones). Can you add wheat malts to amber and other ales? Sorry if my questions are a bit beginner, but I am! I have ordered a few books on amazon to do some more reading, and am trying to get to grips with Palmer.

 

[DoctorBob]

Thanks for the advice so far. Obviously it was only 250g of crystal, and obviously you have all worked out by the time I finished making my brew I had had a few!! hahaha I usually have a few while doing a brew!

I am interested to try some wheat malt. Is this a common addition to ales? I have made a few kit + bit wheats and they are a definate favourite. (Hefes and Hogaarden clones). Can you add wheat malts to amber and other ales? Sorry if my questions are a bit beginner, but I am! I have ordered a few books on amazon to do some more reading, and am trying to get to grips with Palmer.

I didn't calculate the HOP additions, I just copied them from a suggested recipe. I have heard of beersmith. Should I be subscribing?

 

[Siborg]

Manticle hit the nail right on the head. Next time use a bit of base malt. Pilsner or tradition pale ale by Joe white maltings are a good start. It's not too different to what you did. You'd want to mash a little colder at around 65 degrees and a little longer at 60 mins.

Still, welcome to the world of grains... Bigger and better things will come from here now you have started.

 

[Siborg]

I didn't calculate the HOP additions, I just copied them from a suggested recipe. I have heard of beersmith. Should I be subscribing?

In a word: yes. B)

 

[black_labb]

i would give brewmate a try. its a fairly new program but seems to be have all you need. its free so you cans try it and not be dissapointed if you dont like it. as a fairly new brewer i was very happy with the ease of use and the tools it provides. just search it on google and download the small file. seems great imo.

 

[DoctorBob]

Thanks for that tip. I'll get a google on and check it out.

 

[Siborg]

on that note... beersmith is pretty good too. You can download a free 21day trial to see if its worth the $20 (it is)

 

[manticle]

Thanks for that tip. I'll get a google on and check it out.

Also beer recipator.org (free, online spreadsheet, carbonation calculator, hydrometer correction and other stuff.

 

[DoctorBob]

Thanks again....downloaded brewmate, but every time I opened it it "encountered a problem" and had to close. Hmmm.

Beersmith looks good, will have a play with that, as does beer recipator.org .

I also found a good article on HOPS on the grape & grain site, along with an IBU calculator, which will help me.

I can see that IBU is essentially a measure of alpha acid concentrationin beer, so for a larger volume you need more hops. The calculator reflects this. Also it seems at higher SG the alpha acid extraction efficiency is reduced and the calculators account for that, as well as longer boil times increasing extraction.

What I can't see at present is what effect does using a small boil volume have. I can only boil about 6 litres..

Also does boiling hops in water have the same end result as boiling hops in wort / a portion of the wort? eg could I boil my hops in 1L water, then add to the wort?

 

[manticle]

Boil gravity is the main factor. Water has basically no gravity so utilisation is highest but there are potentially some issues with extracting a harsh bitterness (so I've heard) if gravity is too low. 1040 (really a range of 1030-1050) is usually touted as optimum - good extraction, smooth bitterness. No idea how exact this rule of thumb is and whether it holds true for every hop. 100g of dried malt extract in 1 litre of water will give you 1040. Obviously final volume will have an impact - boiling up 35 IBU in 6 L of water then diluting with 18 L will drop it down but most recipe software for extracts should account for boil volume and final volume.

The guy who is in the throes of designing brewmate is on this forum and is very responsive to feedback so if someone kindly lets you know who it is (I forget but I have a hunch it's username randyrob) you could get in touch and sort out the issue.

 

[thesunsettree]

Boil gravity is the main factor. Water has basically no gravity so utilisation is highest but there are potentially some issues with extracting a harsh bitterness (so I've heard) if gravity is too low. 1040 (really a range of 1030-1050) is usually touted as optimum - good extraction, smooth bitterness. No idea how exact this rule of thumb is and whether it holds true for every hop. 100g of dried malt extract in 1 litre of water will give you 1040. Obviously final volume will have an impact - boiling up 35 IBU in 6 L of water then diluting with 18 L will drop it down but most recipe software for extracts should account for boil volume and final volume.

The guy who is in the throes of designing brewmate is on this forum and is very responsive to feedback so if someone kindly lets you know who it is (I forget but I have a hunch it's username randyrob) you could get in touch and sort out the issue.

yep, its randyrob

matt

 

[DoctorBob]

Boil gravity is the main factor. Water has basically no gravity so utilisation is highest but there are potentially some issues with extracting a harsh bitterness (so I've heard) if gravity is too low. 1040 (really a range of 1030-1050) is usually touted as optimum - good extraction, smooth bitterness. No idea how exact this rule of thumb is and whether it holds true for every hop. 100g of dried malt extract in 1 litre of water will give you 1040. Obviously final volume will have an impact - boiling up 35 IBU in 6 L of water then diluting with 18 L will drop it down but most recipe software for extracts should account for boil volume and final volume.

The guy who is in the throes of designing brewmate is on this forum and is very responsive to feedback so if someone kindly lets you know who it is (I forget but I have a hunch it's username randyrob) you could get in touch and sort out the issue.

I just had a play with the grape & grain calculator and it shows that for a 6L boil, using 45g of 5% hops, a 60min boil, with SG 1040 will give 80IBU. Diluting this to 24L would give 20IBU in the finished beer. The calculator shows that a 24L boil, again using 45g of 5% hops, a 60min boil, with SG 1040 will also give an IBU of 20. Same result.

I did hear a rule of thumb that for a 6L boil you should add about 1/3 of a can of malt extract to get the SG about right for the boil. This seems to agree with your SG range of 1030 - 1050.

 

[manticle]

I just had a play with the grape & grain calculator and it shows that for a 6L boil, using 45g of 5% hops, a 60min boil, with SG 1040 will give 80IBU. Diluting this to 24L would give 20IBU in the finished beer. The calculator shows that a 24L boil, again using 45g of 5% hops, a 60min boil, with SG 1040 will also give an IBU of 20. Same result.

Exactly. Basically both calculations are 45g of same aa hops in same gravity liquid with same final volume.

 

[DoctorBob]

Did some calculations on this beer using the grape and grain hop calculator, and reckoned it would be around 47IBU, which seemed alot from recent reading, and got me worried.

Anyway after 8 days SG is now 1012 and obviously not wanting to waste the sample I had a taste. Gooood. Definately hoppy, and bitter but good. Think I might carbonate this with less than the usual red scoop for a tallie. It reminds me of english bitter. Wonder if the small side of the red scoop would be about right. Prehaps an experiment is in order with a few bottles.