First Brew..recipe Ideas?

[floody_lager]

ok so maybe something more like 700g dex and 400g ldme. would the saaz tea bag be the best to use. i am hoping to get something like a grolsch style. i know it wont taste like it but thats the style im aiming for

 

[floody_lager]

If i use the hop bag, does that mean i have to go to a sedondary fermenter?
i found a thread somewhere on here about the euro lager and some people were using the hallertau hop bags and 1kg on ldme.
how would that turn out?

 

[flattop]

I've never used SAAZ, i have used Hersbrucker but not for a Grolsch style so i can't help with that. It doesn't need to go into a secondary, it's fine in the primary but you really need to wait until the fermentation slows right down, take a few SG readings to get a handle on that, wait until the sweetness has gone out in the taste, then it's time to add your teabag.
My suspicion is that 1k ldme may be sweet, the hallertau is to combat that, but tea bags do not bitter as much as adding hops when boiling grain. The acids or oils in hops are released under higher temperatures (around 60-70* i think). They will bitter with dry hopping but much less.
Basically dry hopping adds a little bitterness, more body and aroma and assists a little with head retention.
Remember though that if the brew ferments well then most of the sugars will be eaten by the yeast anyhow.

 

[0M39A]

2 things are really standing out to me here:

1) why is everyone talking about dry hopping adding more bitterness? it doesnt. to extract bitterness, you need to boil the hops to isomerise the alpha acids in the hops. dry hopping adds mainly aroma, and some taste.

2) what you are looking at making will give you an alright beer, but dont expect anything close to grolsch. for a start grolsch is a lager, not an ale. it doesnt make a scrap of difference whats written on the tin, if you want to make a lager, you need a lager yeast (pretty much all kits come with ale yeast, exception being euro lager and pilsener, which have real lager yeasts, and mexican cervesa which has a blend of lager and ale).

not sure what hops used in grolsch, but the last time i remember tasting it was a few years back, and it was pretty bland, watery and boring.

a standard coopers kit, say lager, draught, pale ale, canadian blond... whichever one, with 300-400g ldme and 600-700g of dextrose, a short boil (or dry hop if you really cant be bothered) of some nice euro hops (saaz, hallertau, saphire, tettnang etc) and mainly a decent ale yeast (s-05 is best for this) fermented nice and cool (16-18) will give you something fairly decent (and imo, far better than grolsch)

 

[3G]

Just worry about fermenting at a decent temperature and using a decent yeast.

 

[floody_lager]

2 things are really standing out to me here:

1) why is everyone talking about dry hopping adding more bitterness? it doesnt. to extract bitterness, you need to boil the hops to isomerise the alpha acids in the hops. dry hopping adds mainly aroma, and some taste.

2) what you are looking at making will give you an alright beer, but dont expect anything close to grolsch. for a start grolsch is a lager, not an ale. it doesnt make a scrap of difference whats written on the tin, if you want to make a lager, you need a lager yeast (pretty much all kits come with ale yeast, exception being euro lager and pilsener, which have real lager yeasts, and mexican cervesa which has a blend of lager and ale).

not sure what hops used in grolsch, but the last time i remember tasting it was a few years back, and it was pretty bland, watery and boring.

a standard coopers kit, say lager, draught, pale ale, canadian blond... whichever one, with 300-400g ldme and 600-700g of dextrose, a short boil (or dry hop if you really cant be bothered) of some nice euro hops (saaz, hallertau, saphire, tettnang etc) and mainly a decent ale yeast (s-05 is best for this) fermented nice and cool (16-18) will give you something fairly decent (and imo, far better than grolsch)

the can im using is a coopers euro lager kit which ive been told has a lager yeast. i just wanted to check if 400g of ldme and 700g of dex will be a good mix. im really not sure as this will be my first brew. I think i will dry hop as its my first brew, just not to sure how to do it and which hops to use. im more after aroma and taste then bitterness

 

[flattop]

i stand corrected according to Wiki dry hopping does not add bitterness however i have found my experience to be slightly different...

 

[0M39A]

the can im using is a coopers euro lager kit which ive been told has a lager yeast. i just wanted to check if 400g of ldme and 700g of dex will be a good mix. im really not sure as this will be my first brew. I think i will dry hop as its my first brew, just not to sure how to do it and which hops to use. im more after aroma and taste then bitterness

Thats a fine mix imo.

go for it, see how it turns out, and adjust accordingly next time if its too sweet or not malty enough.


remember, that particular kit comes with a lager yeast, so i hope you have some means of getting the temperature down to 10-12C, and then you need to give it a diacetyl rest at the end of fermentation for a couple days at around 18-20 to clean up the butterscotch flavours, then you need to lager at as close to 0C as possible for as long as possible to clean up the sulphur byprodudcts the yeast make.

oh yeah, real lagers are not a good choice as a first brew...

do yourself a favour and use a neutral ale yeast, such as safale s-05 and ferment nice and cool.

 

[floody_lager]

so i would be best to use an ale yeast with it seems its my first brew? Ive got a fridge and have ordered a fridge mate but dont know when i can get it installed. prob not soon enough as i wanna start the ferment asap.
so the s05 would be best? at about 17-18?

 

[Gavo]

so i would be best to use an ale yeast with it seems its my first brew? Ive got a fridge and have ordered a fridge mate but dont know when i can get it installed. prob not soon enough as i wanna start the ferment asap.
so the s05 would be best? at about 17-18?

Floody, go with the US 05 yeast as IMHO it gives a good neutral clean ferment, Keep it at around 18 C it tends to slow down at a lower temp, 18C is good. 400gr LDME + 700 Dex should be ok without adding any hops for bitterness. A teabag would be good for some aroma and flavour. I have done a coopers Australian Pale Ale with the same LDME and dex ratio and it worked out fine, if done again I would add 15 grams of hops to the fermenter with the other ingredients to add a little more flavour and balance the malt a little.

Cheers
Gavo.

 

[0M39A]

so i would be best to use an ale yeast with it seems its my first brew? Ive got a fridge and have ordered a fridge mate but dont know when i can get it installed. prob not soon enough as i wanna start the ferment asap.
so the s05 would be best? at about 17-18?

IMO, yes.

there is a fair bit more effort involved in lagers, as i briefly went over in my previous post.

ales are simple. pitch yeast, wait till it ferments, bottle/keg and you're done.

kudos on getting a fridgemate so soon. wish i had done earlier. invaluable, especially as we are now into summer temperatures.

 

[floody_lager]

yea i got given a big fridge for free and after seeing how cheap the fridgemate was, i snapped it up.
now i cant wait to get brewing!

 

[buttersd70]

0m39a gives excellent advice.....he expanded on my thoughts re the yeast. (which is why I said use US05, but keep the Euro yeast in the fridge for later...when you have a couple under your belt, and can concentrate on a true lager)

just looked at the brewcraft calculator. it said with 750g dex and 300g ldme the alc % would be about 5.7%.
i was shooting for about 5 so would 600g dex and 300g ldme make a decent brew with the saaz hop bag

One of the most dodgy calculators available, imho. I don't see how 750 dex/300 ldme could give that kind of alc....I make it to about 4.8% post ferment (depending on the actual fg), with about another 0.4-0.5% formed in the bottle during carbonation, so 5.2-5.3% total. For 400g ldme, 650 dex would give about the same result.

 

[floody_lager]

yea thats about wat im aiming for. ill prob go the 400 ldme for the extra malty flavour

 

[floody_lager]

Received my fridgemate today so should knock it up and get the brew going on sunday!!!

 

[lastdrinks]

Thought i'd jump in and second or third some of the last comments. 400gm of extra malt and 600gm of dex will be too sweet by itself. So a boil for 10 minutes of 10-20gm of noble hops will add some spiciness and a few IBU of bitterness to balance it out. The end product has more body, hop flavour and tastes like beer not cordial. Also Safale 05 or nottingham are good yeasts and worth using.

 

[buttersd70]

Thought i'd jump in and second or third some of the last comments. 400gm of extra malt and 600gm of dex will be too sweet by itself. So a boil for 10 minutes of 10-20gm of noble hops will add some spiciness and a few IBU of bitterness to balance it out. The end product has more body, hop flavour and tastes like beer not cordial. Also Safale 05 or nottingham are good yeasts and worth using.

agree on the hopping, but OP stated that doesn't want to hop boil at this point....
The kit itself is designed for 250g malt...300 is OK...400 is starting to stretch the friendship a little, but with a high attenuating yeast like US05, it should still be OK, given that it will be dry hopped....whilst it adds no actual bitterness, it adds hop aroma and flavour, which lends an impression of bitterness, and should (hopefully) be just enough to counteract the extra 100g of malt......but personally, I would be sticking with the 300g as I stated in my first post, if it were mine.

 

[lastdrinks]

Yep, i'd agree with buttersd70. With no hop boil, 300gm of malt will do nicely.

 

[Gavo]

but personally, I would be sticking with the 300g as I stated in my first post, if it were mine.

+ 1 here. As I mentioned before I had done the Coopers Australian PA with 400 Malt and 600 Dex and if done again would add hops.
If not doing hops go 300 malt and the rest Dextrose particularly with a Coopers Lager.

Cheers
Gavo

 

[floody_lager]

Thanks for the advice guys. Seems as though i know nothing, ill just do as im told and go 300 malt lol.
I dont expect it to be a super beer being my first, but would like somthing ill enjoy.
Hoping to get it going on sunday.