First And Last Extract.... Recipe And Process Questions

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potof4x

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Hello,

Have got myself together a biab bag system. I would like to give it a practice run making an extract brew using the ingredients I have on hand, before going all grain in a few weeks.

I have - can of coopers lager goo
- 2 kg ldme
- 90 grams each of POR and cluster hops
- dextrose
- us-05, s-04, swiss lager and coopers kit yeast.
-2 kg carapils
I am not at all scared of 'big' beers. Is there a good recipe lurking among those ingredients? Otherwise I can get hops on my way to the gold coast tomorrow, and brew monday. But of course the brew bug has bitten Today!

Also some questions on process. I want to fill a 19L keg into the fridge. I usually lose bout 1L to trub after ferment, and expect to lose about 2L in my keggle. What is the go for a starting boil volume? I guess I will be doing a 60 minute boil.


Appreciate your help!
 
I start with about 29L at mash in temps. It really depends on your setup though.

29L allows me about 20L of cooled wort.

Hot water expands.
 
Cheers Mark. So will start with 29 L of water. I was thinkin the Recipe might go thus then.

Steep 500 grams carapils for 1/2 hour in the 29L at 67C mashing temp (for practice)
Up the heat and add Coopers tin and 2kg LDME. Boil.
Maybe 20 g POR at 60 min
20g cluster at 15min
15g cluster dry hop
S-04 yeast
3 weeks in primary 18 c.
How would this turn out? I have lager yeast and temp control, would this be more suitable?
My biggest concern is the hops. Should I hold out and chase up something different?
 
Cheers Mark. So will start with 29 L of water. I was thinkin the Recipe might go thus then.

Steep 500 grams carapils for 1/2 hour in the 29L at 67C mashing temp (for practice)
Up the heat and add Coopers tin and 2kg LDME. Boil.
Maybe 20 g POR at 60 min
20g cluster at 15min
15g cluster dry hop
S-04 yeast
3 weeks in primary 18 c.
How would this turn out? I have lager yeast and temp control, would this be more suitable?
My biggest concern is the hops. Should I hold out and chase up something different?


I would boil the goo and DME for the last 15 minutes only, otherwise it will darken considerably. so all you are boiling to start with is your water, hops and carapils, then add your extract and 15 min hops.

However you can boil the extract for an hour, it will caramelise and darken so it wont look like a light (colour) lager. I would use some better hops although I have used POR as a flavour hop.

That recipe could turn out a quite nice lager with some saaz or halatauer and a lager yeast, or a just a commercial aussie knock off with either POR or Cluster as bittering only and ale yeast.

Paul
 
+1 to what Paul said re adding the extract late.

29L may be too much. I think Mark assumed this was for your first AG, which will have more loss to grain absorption. Maybe try 25L. You can always top up at the end but harder to take out water!

The Coopers tin is pre-bittered, so you may wish to drop the POR@60, and just rely on the cluster@15 to bring up the bitterness a little. Or chuck in some POR@15 if you're interested in seeing what it contributes. (If you do drop the @60, then it's pointless boiling a small amount of spec grain liquor by itself for 60mins, when a 20min boil would be sufficient.)

Yeast - for this style of beer, the US-05 would be better than the S-04, or if you want to go lager, the swiss yeast is great.
 
Ok will lose a little water. Under way right now ... for better of for worse.
The comment that boiling the LDME will darken it gave me an idea...
Had a meddle with the kit and extract spreadsheet and came up with a recipe something like an IPA. (?)
Am keen to do a 60 min boil, just to see how it all works!

Am going to run this recipe now
1KG carapils steeped for 1/2 hr at 67C in 25L
60 min 2kg LDME 10g POR
30 min 15 g por
15min coopers tin
0min 10 por

2 x 12 g s-04 yeast @ 18C for 3 wks

Thanks .wish me luck and Ill let youse know how it drinks!


Cheers Rob

EDIT will post some pics later!
 
Why 3 weeks in primary for SO4 @ 18 degrees C?


Can you see a drama? I work a two on / two off roster away from home. Will be at least 2 1/2 weeks from now before I am back...
 
Can you see a drama? I work a two on / two off roster away from home. Will be at least 2 1/2 weeks from now before I am back...


No drama as far as I can see, I leave mine for two without drama. It would be nice if you could set a timer to cold crash it for a few days before you got back but I guess it could stall on you. At three weeks it will probably be settled out nicely anyway.
 
The wort if cooling in the fridge. Was a fairly sucessful effort I think.... 29 L (forgot to drop to 25L) finished up to 23L in the fermentor. OG of 1056.

Pickup tube didn't suck right to bottom, but made it below tap level; must be a vacum leak around the olive?

Added grain at 68.4C wrapped in doona for 1/2 hr. Temp only dropped 0.6c.

Two ring burner took 40 min to reach steeping temp then another 40min odd to boil.

Bring on All grain in a couple weeks!

EDIT compression nut needed to be ground back about 3mm to make room for backnut and o-ring. O-ring worked OK today. Next time will run the square ring off a fermentor tap.

DSCF1044v2.jpg


DSCF1046v2.jpg


DSCF1048v2.jpg


DSCF1050v2.jpg
 
The wort if cooling in the fridge. Was a fairly sucessful effort I think.... 29 L (forgot to drop to 25L) finished up to 23L in the fermentor. OG of 1056.

Pickup tube didn't suck right to bottom, but made it below tap level; must be a vacum leak around the olive?

Added grain at 68.4C wrapped in doona for 1/2 hr. Temp only dropped 0.6c.

Two ring burner took 40 min to reach steeping temp then another 40min odd to boil.

Bring on All grain in a couple weeks!

EDIT compression nut needed to be ground back about 3mm to make room for backnut and o-ring. O-ring worked OK today. Next time will run the square ring off a fermentor tap.


Sounds just about perfect, nice shiney keg too... glad you had a good day... and final recipe sounds nice, might be a little on the bitter side but the proof is in the beer holder......or some shit
 
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