Hi guys im new to home brewing ive done a few batches for myself and wondering one what i can brew for a friend as this be his first time drinking home brew beer. Im thinking of a Pale ale with good hops flavor better yeast and high in Alcohol, or either a Stout with added extra choc malt and dark malt extract and hops with it and a good yeast, any ideas what i can do for him. P.S.... i hate using coopers yeast as it leaves a apple flavor and smell.
What to use for a first timer person to drink it.
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Lord Raja Goomba I
Prisoner of Sobriety
Generally a good American Pale Ale that isn't too over the top does the trick.
Something along the lines of a coopers canadian blonde, with US05 yeast fermented at about 18-20 degrees.
DME/LME of a light-medium variety with some steeped medium crystal and boil some american hops (citra is a good'un) in the resultant liquor for 10 minutes to around 15 IBU.
Look for and grab the kits n bits spreadsheet on the forum (somewhere) to work out the numbers - use these as the basis for quantities of how much of each you put in. But you are aiming for around:
OG: 1.050
FG:1.010 (or so)
IBU (including the kit): 35 IBU
US05 yeast - as it's clean, neutral and leaves the hops in place.
Something along the lines of a coopers canadian blonde, with US05 yeast fermented at about 18-20 degrees.
DME/LME of a light-medium variety with some steeped medium crystal and boil some american hops (citra is a good'un) in the resultant liquor for 10 minutes to around 15 IBU.
Look for and grab the kits n bits spreadsheet on the forum (somewhere) to work out the numbers - use these as the basis for quantities of how much of each you put in. But you are aiming for around:
OG: 1.050
FG:1.010 (or so)
IBU (including the kit): 35 IBU
US05 yeast - as it's clean, neutral and leaves the hops in place.
Generally, what I do when making a beer for (or to share with) someone, I find out what style of beer they enjoy. I know some of my friends really enjoy pale ales, and some enjoy porters. You can also find out what their favourite beers are, and try to find a clone recipe, or something with similar flavours.
ED: And don't make something high in alcohol for the hell of it. You want the alcohol flavour balanced with the other flavours. And as LRG points out, US-05 is a fantastic yeast to use in pale ales, etc. Cheap, easy to use, and good flavour profile.
ED: And don't make something high in alcohol for the hell of it. You want the alcohol flavour balanced with the other flavours. And as LRG points out, US-05 is a fantastic yeast to use in pale ales, etc. Cheap, easy to use, and good flavour profile.
A good lager is hard to get right without temperature control. And lager yeast. Lots of it. Also remember that honey is fermentable - when it's added to beer, you might not get the flavours you expect - it's the honey taste, after all the sweetness is removed. Good quality honey, I'm told, is the key (never used it, myself).
I think a great place to start for a beginner is a good old American Pale Ale. Use US-05, and throw plenty of cascade hops at it. Play around with the Kit & Extract spreadsheet LRG mentioned here.
I think a great place to start for a beginner is a good old American Pale Ale. Use US-05, and throw plenty of cascade hops at it. Play around with the Kit & Extract spreadsheet LRG mentioned here.
Lord Raja Goomba I
Prisoner of Sobriety
Honey tends to leave no discernible "honey" flavour.Gerva said:
If you are thinking about European brewer lager "honey" - funnily enough, that's aging and poor handling that does it. Yet we think of it as key to the styles.
Good idea to ask what they like. The idea I gave above was a Little Creatures Pale style of beer. I find that a fairly standard American Pale Ale (non palate wrecking variety) is fairly universally liked or at least tolerated and difficult to stuff up, as long as you "brew by numbers" with it.
If he's a carlton draught drinker - your issues maybe a little bigger than you realise.
Edit: partly beaten by MCHammo. Good find with the excel too.
lukiferj
Self Made Alehouse
However it's pretty easy to make a fake lager using Nottingham yeast fermented at around 17 degrees. I have made a bunch of these using 100% pils malt with bittering to around 25 IBU and they are great. I haven't tried it but suspect it would work well with a fresh kit, kilo of DME and some notto.
Temperature control is definitely very important in making good, clean beer regardless of the style.
Temperature control is definitely very important in making good, clean beer regardless of the style.
Lord Raja Goomba I
Prisoner of Sobriety
This is correct.lukiferj said:
I get Notto down to 14 and can enter it as a lager (heck I did it with a slow US05 at 15 degrees and won 2nd on a lager entry).
The canadian blonde is a good neutral kit that allows you to build from there.
Good yeast and temperature control is important, as stated.
lukiferj
Self Made Alehouse
Plenty of info on people using ice baths to keep their fermenters temps down. I have a ferm fridge but also use an ice bath when I need to up prodcution 
A big plastic ice tub filled with water and a frozen coke bottle in the morning and night, covered with a towel will keep the temp fairly stable. The difference in the quality of your beer with good temp control is massive and has been one of the biggest learnings for me, regardless of the way you make beer be it AG, Knk or Extract.
A big plastic ice tub filled with water and a frozen coke bottle in the morning and night, covered with a towel will keep the temp fairly stable. The difference in the quality of your beer with good temp control is massive and has been one of the biggest learnings for me, regardless of the way you make beer be it AG, Knk or Extract.
DU99
Well-Known Member
DSGA..easy to make..Get spreadsheet in kit/extract...
Droopy Brew
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I think you will find most honey is 100% honey. Out of interest how much does he charge for the" 100% honey"? Sounds like a marketing ploy to charge more to me.
Anyway, if your mate only drinks spirits and you havent seen him with a beer, your problems may run deeper than that of an avid CUB drinker even :unsure:
Anyway, if your mate only drinks spirits and you havent seen him with a beer, your problems may run deeper than that of an avid CUB drinker even :unsure:
Droopy Brew
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A quick look on the back of a bottle will tell you. For example my Woolworths select honey is 100% honey. It may not be the same honey- they often mix the cheap imported stuff ( not necessarily worse honey but cheaper as the big boys love to screw the Aussie farmers) with a certain % of Australian honey so they can market it as Australian honey but it is still 100% honey. Next time you're shopping grab 5 different honey bottles, look at the ingredients and let me know if you find any that are not pure honey.
That said there are definitely some types of honey better suited to brewing than others. Eucalyptus for example is not well suited.
That said there are definitely some types of honey better suited to brewing than others. Eucalyptus for example is not well suited.
