Using what I have for first run.

[livo]

My brew room has benches built and is plumbed in with water, so I'm nearly ready to have a bash.

When I picked up some AG gear recently, I was gifted the guy's remaining grain. Half a bag of Gladfield Ale Malt, some Special B, a few roasted varieties as well as 3 bags of frozen hop pellets. Hallertau Mittelfruh (3.0), CZ Saaz (4.3) and Nelson Sauvin (2.2). I already have 2 packs of US-05, or I could use Cooper's Lager (actual Lager) yeast.

I played around a bit with Brewer's Friend and came up with this as a very basic starting point. I'm still learning how the calculators etc work and I have not yet entered a gear profile, so it's telling me my kettle volume is exceeded. Also, I'm not sure about sparge temperature and mash out etc, but I intend using Batch Sparge for now.

Any thoughts to improve or suggestions for a first batch using what I've got here. At first, I only entered Hallertau hops but then read the bag and it says they are Aroma Hops. I'm just after a very simple, no fuss brew to get me started filling 2 kegs at 43 litres to the FV.

 

[Coalface]

Just having a quick look at your recipe, do you have more hops? you may want to increase the bittering, it is currently at 18 IBU, for reference a VB or Melbourne Bitter is about 25 IBU.

 

[TwoCrows]

Sounds like a nice Kolsch, should be good. The hops sound good.
The Mittelfruh won't do much at .7 %AA
I dont think US05 will get you to 1.006 with a mash @66 C it will probably get you to 1.009
As this is your first brew day, you will need to establish your efficiency for future brews. 70 % is a good start.
Look at other people recipes in the same style to help you tweek yours.




I have had success with these numbers.

Gravity: 1.048
Final Gravity: 1.011
IBU (Tinseth): 25
BU/GU: 0.45
Color: 3.5 SRM

63-40mins
70- 10mins
Mashout 75 -10mins

14 IBU— Hallertauer Mittelfruh 4% — Boil — 90 min
8 IBU — Tettnang 4.5% — Boil — 15 min
3 IBU — Tettnang 4.5% — Boil — 5 min

Water Profile
Ca2+ 34
Mg2+6
Na+20
Cl-40
SO42-60
HCO3-16

 

[livo]

Just having a quick look at your recipe, do you have more hops? you may want to increase the bittering, it is currently at 18 IBU, for reference a VB or Melbourne Bitter is about 25 IBU.

Yes, I have more. About 100g of each and I just bought 100 POR.

Edit: I was reading a recipe for a Summer Lager that was supposedly at 20 IBU, but I'd be happy with VB / Melbourne bitterness. We used to drink loads of it.

 

[livo]

Sounds like a nice Kolsch, should be good. The hops sound good.
The Mittelfruh won't do much at .7 %AA
I dont think US05 will get you to 1.006 with a mash @66 C it will probably get you to 1.009
As this is your first brew day, you will need to establish your efficiency for future brews. 70 % is a good start.
Look at other people recipes in the same style to help you tweek yours.




I have had success with these numbers.

Gravity: 1.048
Final Gravity: 1.011
IBU (Tinseth): 25
BU/GU: 0.45
Color: 3.5 SRM

63-40mins
70- 10mins
Mashout 75 -10mins

14 IBU— Hallertauer Mittelfruh 4% — Boil — 90 min
8 IBU — Tettnang 4.5% — Boil — 15 min
3 IBU — Tettnang 4.5% — Boil — 5 min

Water Profile
Ca2+ 34
Mg2+6
Na+20
Cl-40
SO42-60
HCO3-16

I have to work out how to get my water tested. Rainwater. I know the pH is acidic at 5.8. I can test hardness and I know there is no chlorine. I can measure TDS but that doesn't tell me what levels I have.

Edit: The Hallertau Mittelfrau I have is 3.0%AA but provides 0.77 IBU. Which figure are you looking at?

 

[livo]

Learning to drive Brewer's Friend so go easy on me.

Any reason to, or not to include some Special B grain in the mix?

 

[TwoCrows]

Ibu is what I meant, got it wrong in the wording.

I have only used Special B in a Belgian Dark Strong and only at 3% of the grain bill. Heavy caramel and raisin flavours. Can be used in a Vienna lager. I would not add it to your recipe.

 

[livo]

Yeah, the guy who gave it to me said he liked beer you could eat with a fork.

Edit: I'm not sure how useful it is but water test strips put my rainwater at;
Hardness, <100 ppm
Chlorine or free chlorine is zero
pH < 6.8, measured using a meter at 5.8
Total Alkalinity of 40 < TA < 80 so probably around 60 ppm.

I asked a the LHBS yesterday if they knew of any testing available, but they didn't. I'll measure my TDS shortly, but none of this really gives me any numbers to allow target additions.

TDS meters both reading less than 30 ppm. There isn't much in my water.

 

[Hangover68]

Depends how you like it, i had a commercial brew a few weeks ago that was 10 IBU and it was really nice.
I just did a clone with a similar low IBU of 15 and its delicious.

 

[livo]

This will be controversial, an so it should be. I've been doing loads of reading here and elsewhere. When I go into something, I want to know about it.

The thing that annoys me is the reference to Australian "Mega Swill" beers, and anyone asking about them is often derided or ignored. Mind you many of these posts are years or decades old and I understand that. The mega swill beers are the most commonly available Australian beers (favourite) that millions of people enjoy and consume in large amounts daily. Why is it surprising that people want to reproduce them at home?

Over the years I have tried many Australian Mega Swill brews and inevitably enjoy, or tolerate, most of them, but not all. This is far more than I can say about horrible "Craft Beer" and stupidly ridiculous hoppy flower tasting rubbish that remind me more of potpourri or incense. I'd rather walk away and leave a near full glass. However, to each his own hey?

20 IBU is fine by me. Thin cold lager or Cerveza on a hot summer day. Love it. Dark or brown Ale is fine. Even an occasional Stout is OK, and I thoroughly enjoyed the Dark Mode Schwarzbier I made last winter, but don't try to sell me on hoppy flowery rubbish. I can't stand it.

Here is a thread on this forum where a new member asked a simple question about how to make Toohey's Old, a beer that I enjoy and try to replicate for my mate. The new members first post, and his last as well. Not a single reply about how to reproduce one of Australia's favourite over-the-bar beers. https://aussiehomebrewer.com/threads/old-brew.100108/

 

[MHB]

There is an element of truth in what you are saying, get a couple of brews under your belt and come back and talk about Tooheys Old.

A first brew on a new system is always going to be a bit of a hit and miss affair. Take this opportunity to record everything, calibrate all your vessels (volume), how fast they heat, your kettle boil off rate, losses...
All this will be very helpful in future.

I would do as basic a beer as possible, just base malt and bittering hops (probably closer to what you like anyway). Target an OG of around 1.048 and a bitterness if 15-20 IBU. Good to see how close you get, but at that point there is plenty of room either side of your target to get an acceptable beer.

Don’t be afraid to take pictures of your system and to ask questions. Lots of people will help you, even if it’s to make neo-mega swill, piss yellow pale imitation of what we like drinking.
Mark