Were the Saaz T 45 or T 90 pellets?
T 45 are generally twice the IBU of the T 90.
Also, how old were the hops? As hops age their bitterness level can drop off a bit.
I wouldnt tip it, it may be a ripper.
That ebay seller doesn't tell you much at all from his ebay site at least.
Maybe when you got your hops the exact AA was marked on the packaging. If it wasn't then I wouldn't be buying off them.
Your recipe above has very little description in the way of malt colouring to be able to achieve an amber lager.
You may very well end up with a pale lager.
Dark malt will assist in taking up some of the hop bitterness in that style.
If you use brewing software you will more accurately calculate the ingredients and bitterness to suit the style.
Brew Mate is free and works well.
Thanks guys your input it is much appreciated.I have a look at Ian's spreadsheet when I was even more of a noob and got a little confused. When I get a bit more exp and knowledge under my belt I will look at that or brew mate
I'd venture to say that even at the top end of the IBU range mentioned by GrumpyPaul, your brew will be fine. The recipe is basically all malt, so there is a solid base to support the hops. I'm with all the others who want you to go for it. Enjoy the beer!
Heres the recipe
0.5 lbs CaraHell
5.0 lbs of dry light malt extract
1.0 oz. Saaz hop pellets (60m)
0.5 oz. Saaz hop pellets (15m)
0.5 oz. Saaz hop pellets
(1m)1 tablet Whirlfloc (15m)
Saflager S-23 dry yeast (Genuine Lager)
I said light crystal but that was a mistake i used caramalt cause that's what I had left over
I stuffed it because I only have a 10l ferm and I forgot to halve the amount above in the 20l recipe.
The recipe also calls for 2 days at 21 degrees for diacetyl rest. Is it that necessary and if so does it have to be around 21? Can only get to room temp of 18 at night and 20 during the day
If your batch size was only 10 litres - that's a whole different story.
That much malt in a 10l batch puts your OG at 1.088.
I single sachet of yeast is probably going to struggle in a beer that big. Someone more experienced than me can shed some light on that for you.
Still - I would NOT tip it.....wait and see. When its all done if it taste crap then tip it. You've done all the work already you've got nothing to lose by waiting
edited because I left the key word NOT out originally
If the whole lot is twice as much in half the water, buy a 20 L, half fill with clean, cold water and make the full batch. Add 1 more yeast pack and run the 10L batch through the tap and a clean silicon hose.