DrSmurto's Golden Ale full extract help for a newbie

[ronnieipa]

I'm relatively new to home brewing, but im keen to have a shot at my first full extract rather than stay with the kit and kilo method.
after reading the posts relating to DrSmurto's Golden Ale i thought this would be the recipe to take the plunge with.I have bought and read some of "how to brew" as a reference and think i have come up with the method of how to go about it, but im not naive enough to think there could be steps i have missed or just got plain wrong.
So here are my list of ingredients and intended method.

1 can thomas coopers light malt extract
1 can Thomas coopers wheat malt extract
250g weyermann caramunich 1
20g Amarillo @ 60 min
15 g Amarillo @ 15 and 5 min
yeast us05

steep 250g weyermann caramunich 1 in 3 liters of boiled water for 30 minutes
strain the resulting mixture into a brew pot
add half can of Thomas coopers wheat malt extract and half can of Thomas coopers light malt extract. top up with water to 10 litres and mix
bring to the boil
add 20 grams of Amarillo for 60 minutes of boil, 15 grams for last 15 minutes of boil and 15 grams for last 5 minutes of boil
at flame out add remaining half can of Thomas coopers light malt extract, and remaining half can of Thomas coopers wheat malt extract and mix
cool brew pot in iced water in sink to around 18 to 22 degrees
add mix to fermentor and top up to 20 liter mark aiming for a 18 degree batch
pitch yeast and ferment as normal at 18 degrees

do you guys think this is the way to go for the extract method??
one of my questions as im used to just adding coopers brew enhancer etc is where does the sugar come from? of do i need to add some sort of brewing sugar to this?
would to 10 liter boil with a half can each of extracts( 1 full can in total) give a good gravity for extracting the hops?
sorry if any of the steps or question are amateur, just really want to make sure i get this one right as its my first crack at something a little more complicated, and i want to enjoy this beer everyone is loving :beerdrink:
thanks for any help guys

 

[SrPrize]

I really cant help much about the extract part, looking to get into extract myself so im really keen on seeing what other people have to add to this! But im pretty sure that the brew enhancer is basically a mixture of dextrose, multi-dextrin and DME. So you would obviously get some fermentable sugars from that, also majority of fermantables would come from your 2 cans of LME! Hope this helps a bit dont really have to much to offer!

 

[Rocker1986]

Process all looks fine to me.

I'd use a bit less of the malt extract in the boil though, maybe 2/3 to 3/4 of a tin, I'd think a whole tin in 10L will go over a 1040 gravity (considered the ideal gravity for boiling hops) especially with 250g caramunich already in there. You can just use one tin or the other, no need to get a bit from both.

As for your question about where the sugars come from - they are in the tins of malt extract. No need to add any brew enhancers. If you wanted to bump up the ABV you could add 200 or 300g of dex but if ABV isn't a concern then no need to add anything extra to it.

Other than that, sounds like you've got it pretty well worked out.

 

[ronnieipa]

Thanks for the feedback guys.
Rocker1986, especially about not needing to use some of both cans of extract during the boil, I work night shift so I had a lot of time to think it over last night and I began to wonder if it was necessary.
Maybe I shoul increase the boil volume slightly so I can dump a full can of extract in.

 

[Rocker1986]

Maybe I shoul increase the boil volume slightly so I can dump a full can of extract in.

That's another option yes. This is where IanH's spreadsheet comes in really handy because it works out for you how much malt extract to add to the boil based on boil volume and any other grain 'juice' that may be present, in this case the caramunich. Putting this recipe into it with a 10 litre boil suggests to add 1153g LME (about 3/4 of a tin) and in order to add the whole tin, the boil volume needs to be brought up to around 13 litres. That's to achieve approx boil SG of 1040.

A good rule of thumb for achieving that is 100g dry malt per litre of water to get around 1040. It'll be a bit more for liquid malt because it's already 20% water. And then it'll be varied depending on whether you've steeped any grains and added that liquid as well so if you haven't got that spreadsheet, grab it because it's great for this and also playing around with different ingredients etc.

 

[Dogshampoo]

I'm about to attempt this the kit version, sparkling ale,coopers lme, Amarillo hops, caramalt

I understand the rest of the process ,

Just a question with dry hops ,


Do I wait for the krausen to settle then chuck in, or day 6 ? I'm unsure I'm reading different things different places,

Thanks guys,

 

[manticle]

That's because people have different ideas. CO2 production will drive off some of the volatile aromatics you get from dry hopping which is why it is often recommended to wait until active fermentation has subsided.

Dry hopping for too long can also extract unpleasant flavours while doing nothing to get any more of the good stuff.

My personal take is 2-3 days out from packaging (bottling or kegging) preferably in the cold.

 

[Alex.Tas]

I'm looking at doing the extract version of this too, this weekend.
Is 18 degrees the recommended temp for fermentation?

 

[RobboMC]

A quote from a respected science teacher " Every batch of home brew is in effect a fresh experiment "

Others here may argue, but don't get too hung up on getting an exact gravity for your boil,
yes you want to aim for 1040, but the 100g/litre rule is good enough I believe ( 120g/l for LME )

So don't stress out, boil up 8 to 10 litres hot water, chuck in 3/4 of a can of LME and start making your beer. If the gravity is a bit high or low the hop utilisation may vary, but that's the art of home brew, as opposed to the science. In the end it will be an enjoyable beer.

Also, once you get the hang of steeping grain, try also using some pale or munich grain as well and start a bit of a mini-mash. Make sure that steeping water is not too hot, aim for 75 deg C, not boiling. The easy way to get close is 1 part tap water and 2 parts boiling water, add the grain to the tap water first!

As for fermenting temperature, I made my last batch of this at 24 deg C when my fridge sort of stopped and it turned out fine, don't sweat about the exact temperature, but 18 deg C should be quite good.

 

[Alex.Tas]

Thanks Robbo. Good tips there.

 

[Dogshampoo]

Hey guys , about to give this one ago below , can u check my instrusions I've made from copy and pasting countless posts,
Thanks in advance

Ds


KIT VERSION
1 can Thomas Coopers Sparkling Ale
1 can Coopers Wheat Malt
250g Caramalt (or other light crystal)
15g Amarillo @ 15, 5 and dry hop.
Yeast - US05

Use 1L of water to steep your 250g Caramalt for 30mins (I prefer ~65°C) strain this liquid into your big pot, then pour another 1L of 65°C water over the strained grain to get last bit out.

*** To get water right temp to steep , mix 2 parts boiling water to 1 part tap water ***

Fill your big pot up with 6L of boiling water-
Add the can of coopers wheat malt and bring to the boil.
Add 15g of amarillo and boil for 10 mins.
Then Add another 15g of amarillo and boil for a further 5 mins.
Turn off the heat. Add the can of sparkling ale and mix thoroughly.
Cool the resulting wort, by sitting the pot in the sink filled with cold water & ice
Strain into fermenter and top up to 20L (not 23L). Once the temp is below 22C add the yeast.
Try to keep the temp between 18-20C ideally, up to 22C is OK.
Dry Hop last 15g of armarillo in stocking on day 3-4 Or when fermentation has slowed and Krausen is very low and starting to clear.
Leave it in the fermenter for at least 7 days .

 

[Alex.Tas]

Looks good to me. But don't use the entire can of wheat malt for your boil. Use around 1Kg. Maybe a touch less. You are aiming to boil your hops in a solution with a gravity of 1040

 

[Dogshampoo]

Thanks mate

 

[mattyg8]

Just laid down the kit version of this yesterday and am doing my first try hop...I have a bag already...my usual procedure is to let is sit for a week then take a reading then give it another 5 days and take a reading for the next 2 days to check its finished...then usually cold crash it for 1 days then keg, so usally 2 - 2 1/2 weeks...So my question is when would be best to dry hop?

 

[danestead]

Just laid down the kit version of this yesterday and am doing my first try hop...I have a bag already...my usual procedure is to let is sit for a week then take a reading then give it another 5 days and take a reading for the next 2 days to check its finished...then usually cold crash it for 1 days then keg, so usally 2 - 2 1/2 weeks...So my question is when would be best to dry hop?

Although opinions and technique vary, generally dry hop 2 or 3 days prior to reaching FG. That way the yeastcan chew any oxygen up that may have been inadvertantly added when throwing in the hops and also the ferment has slowed down somewhat so that little dry hop aroma is driven off with co2 produced by the yeast.

 

[mattyg8]

Thanks I think I will try 3 days prior

 

[Nizmoose]

A quote from a respected science teacher " Every batch of home brew is in effect a fresh experiment "

Others here may argue, but don't get too hung up on getting an exact gravity for your boil,
yes you want to aim for 1040, but the 100g/litre rule is good enough I believe ( 120g/l for LME )

So don't stress out, boil up 8 to 10 litres hot water, chuck in 3/4 of a can of LME and start making your beer. If the gravity is a bit high or low the hop utilisation may vary, but that's the art of home brew, as opposed to the science. In the end it will be an enjoyable beer.

I agree with this approach for sure and from what I've been reading even the science says that anywhere near 1040 is going to get you hop utilisation that is not detactably different to say 1030 or 1050

 

[RobboMC]

For those new to this recipe I recommend that you be careful NOT to boil the hops for too long.

The 1st time I did this recipe turned out the best when I followed the boil times exactly.
With other batches I have either got carried away with more hops and/or longer boil times. The extra bitterness
detracts from the overall result IMHO. Very drinkable beer and it's always all gone is a few months, but that 1st batch
with the malty backbone behind the Amarillo flavour and aroma was still the best.

The Coopers Sparkling Ale can comes with plenty of bitterness. The original kit recipe I found included
1kg of dry malt extract as well as the kit and full can of wheat malt.

You can then use the about 600-700g of the dme for the boil and add the liquid wheat malt straight to the fermenter.