First Extract brew, very excited.

[menoetes]

Hey Guys,

I've just mixed my first full extract brew and I'm very excited about it as it actually represents a couple of firsts for me, it is also my first time steeping spec. grains and using hops!

I wanted to make my first clone (another first) of my much loved Little Creatures Pale Ale and it seemed like using extract was going to be the best way for me to do so. I found what looked like a good recipe on my LHBS website: http://brewerschoice.com.au/extract-a-little-cheaper-pale-ale/ and got the bits together.

Brewing with hops was great. The smell of them boiling away in the pot, the way the wort roils as you add the additions, my whole house smelled great! I couldn't get the temp down to 20'c straight away so I popped the top on the FV and popped it in the fridge for 2 hours until it was just below 25'c, then I had to go to work so I pitched the yeast (rehydrated) set the brewfridge thermostat to 19'c and left it to do what it does best.

it's been 48 hours now and it is bubbling away nicely and every time I open that brew fridge the smell is awesome. I can't wait to bottle this and the waiting is going to be hard.

 

[Bax]

Fantastic work, it feels good knowing you're drinking something that you've made yourself.

Try to enjoy the waiting, it'll be worth it.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Glad to hear it is going well! You have just taken my next step so is there anything you would do different with the benefit of hind sight?

Also so this how you steeped the grains?

1. Steep CaraMunich grains for 10mins with 1 litre of hot tap water (not boiling), adding strained liquid (no grains) to a large saucepan

Seems pretty unscientific. Is this how everyone does it ?

JJJ

 

[menoetes]

Hey JJJ, thanks for responding.

I did a bit of reading on steeping grains so what I did was bring just over a litre of water up to 70'c on the stove (I use a milk thermometer I bought from a kitchenware store for $10), mixed the grain in, took it off the heat and left it covered to soak for 20 minutes. Then I strained it through a fine sieve. Like I said it was my first time using grains but I think that was pretty close to the right way of doing it.

However, a few weeks back I did go to a beginners home brewing demo at the LHBS and Tony (the shopkeeper and an avid brewer) made up an easy kit and bits using that steeping method and he reckons that it imparts heaps of flavour. He even had a similar Kit & Bits brew he made earlier on tap and it tasted pretty damn nice. So I guess it's just a matter of how much effort you want to make for a better result,

Tony's method is all about minimum effort for maximum results. I'm sure if you put in the extra effort you'll get an even finer outcome. That's what I'm hoping for.

...and some of those recipes they have on their site look bloody nice! I want to try that Pacificale next, I love that beer.

 

[roverfj1200]

Hooked.................................

 

[Rocker1986]

Not really sure why they'd tell you to add 1kg of malt extract to 4 litres of water for a hop boil. That would send the gravity way over the recommended approx. 1040. :unsure: Either way, sounds like a pretty nice recipe though!

 

[Diggs]

How good is the smell of a boil? Gives me a semi robo chubby every time.

 

[menoetes]

Rover; no doubt I'm hooked I'm discovering rcipes I desperately want to try much faster than I can brew with only two fermenters and one brew fridge. It's kinda annoying.

Rocker, I interpretted the recipe as asking me to add 1 kilo of the total 3 kilos of malt ot the boil, then add the other two after the boil. So my recipe still only has 3 kg of unhopped malt all totalled and reached a FG of around 1040.

Diggs; the smell was incredible, I wish my house smelled like that all the time. The smell of the cascade and chinook in the malt did things in my nethers I do not care to share on a public forum

 

[Rocker1986]

Yes, but adding 1kg of malt to 4 litres of water is going to give you a gravity much higher than 1040, (250g per litre as opposed to around 100g/L or a bit more for liquid malt, which is what you want for achieving that gravity), which was my point.
I probably would have added about 500g of the malt into that size boil, since you've got the steeped grain liquid in there as well. IanH's spreadsheet is really good for working out amounts of malt to add to different sized boils too.

 

[mattdean4130]

Brewing with hops was great. The smell of them boiling away in the pot, the way the wort roils as you add the additions, my whole house smelled great!

I LOVE having a house smelling like hops! POR & chinook hops are the standout for me... I've contemplated boiling hops just for the smell over winter when there was no brewing..... haha

 

[menoetes]

Hey guys, just a quick update...

I just cracked the first bottle exactly one month after bottling, and it's bloody excellent! Definitely my best brew yet and I've set aside a bunch for Xmas to impress my family. The aroma is spot on for a Little Creatures Pale Ale, the taste is pretty close too though I think the original is a smidge more bitter. The color is fantastic light golden hue and the head is perfect IMHO.

I used cold crashing and secondary fermentation so there is very little sediment and the beer is clear enough to read through (with careful pouring). All in all I am very impressed and will definitely be brewing this one again!

Oh and I have the Kit + bits Pacific Ale I mentioned earlier in the FV now, it'll be my last brew that I'll be serving to guests at Xmas, it smells great.

 

[maxim0200]

Sounds great mate!
Youl be kegging before you know it!

 

[rick1111082]

I love the first brew posts inspiring stuff mate before you know it you will have an urn an a bag churning out some of the best beers you have ever tasted!!

But it also goes to show you don't have to go all grain to make excellent beer good on ya mate and keep at it