Extract recipes website

[Shanna]

Hi there,

As I am still waiting on getting the electricity sorted out in my shed I have got my hands on a large stock pot and I am going to start doing extract brews before i move on to all grain. I found the following website with tons of extract recipes - http://olybrew.com/

Was wondering if anybody else has seen this site before? I am hoping to do the ESB, the cream stout recipes and also the following bodingtons clone recipe. Was wondering what exactly the gypsum does and whether or not it is absolutely necessary?

Bodingtons Clone Recipe
Ingredients: (for 5 gallons)

* 5 pounds (2270 g) of amber dry malt extract
* 1 oz. (28 g) black patent malt
* 3 ozs. (85 g) Cane (white table) Sugar
* 3/8 Cup (packed) soft dark brown sugar for priming
* 1 oz. (28 g) Fuggles hop pellets (4.5 alpha acid)
* 1 1/8 ozs. (38 1/2 g) E.K. Goldings hop pellets (4.6 alpha acid)
* 1/8 oz. (3.5 g) Northern Brewer hop pellets (7.6 alpha acid)
* 1 tsp gypsum added to mash water
* 1 tsp gypsum added to sparge water
* 1/4 tsp Epsom Salts added to kettle
* Wyeast #1968 Special London Ale (or other suitable ale yeast) made up to a 1 quart (1 litre) starter

Procedure:
No grains are needed. Bring 2 gallons (8 litres) of brewing water to a full boil.
As soon as the water boils, remove it from the heat and add sugar and DME. Stir until they are completely dissolved.
Only then can you return the wort to the heat.
Bring the wort to a boil along with the Fuggles hops and 3/4 ounce (21 g) of the E.K. Goldings hops.
Boil 1 1/2 hours, adding the cane sugar during the boil.
Add the balance of the hops for the last 15 minutes of the boil.
If you use Irish moss, add 1 1/2 tsp. for the last 20 minutes of the boil.

Force chill and make up to the full 5 gallons (19 litres) with brewing water, aerate well and follow the directions for all grain for fermentation and bottling.

Make up the dark brown sugar with a pint of water for priming, and bottle the brew. Sample after two weeks.

[Kevco5]

It's to add hardness to the water, I'm sure someone who's treated water prior to brewing will be able to tell you more but as far as I know it's added to match the water in the region where the original is brewed. Depending on your own hardness levels it might not be needed.

[Shanna]

Thanks I am not sure what the hardness of the water in Blackrock.is so I will leave it. As it's also a calcium sulphate source I won't be adding it as sulphates from.other products gives me heartburn. I had visions of adding dry wall plaster to my home brew for a minute.

Declan

[rukkus]

I thought that kind of stuff only helps if your are doing a mash.....

[DEMPSEY]

The primary reason you treat the water is to adjust it for mashing. The reason is you are extracting starch from the grain and also enzyme's from the base malt,i.e. pale malt. You want to create the best conditions for the enzymes to work on converting the starch into fermentable sugar. After mashing of malt grains are done you are moving on to your boil stage. When using extract or kits,the mashing stage has already being done for you,so except for a little calcium to help with good yeast activity,your good to go.

[Partridge9]

I'd second that -
extract and kit brewing really doesnt require water treatment - the mash is done.
Now the slight caveat here is that your water isnt completely manky taste wise !

[DoWn2DiE]

https://sites.google.com/site/brunwater/water-knowledge
is a great resource for learning more about water profiles for brewing.
for anyone else interested, here's the content pertinent:
4.6 Extract Brewing Considerations
Brewers using Malt Extract for their brewing can still benefit from Water Adjustments. Most particularly when using either highly mineralized or alkaline water or when using RO or Distilled Water.
When using highly mineralized or alkaline water, the water can impart poor flavor to the beer. If the brewing water has excessive ion concentrations, they may impact flavor as noted in Section 2 above. Using highly alkaline water may increase the pH of the resulting wort and create a coarser and rougher flavored beer. If the tap water has high ion concentrations, dilution with RO or Distilled Water is appropriate. A brewer should know what their tap water contains before contemplating mineral additions. If the water has high alkalinity, the sparging water alkalinity should still be reduced to under 50 ppm to avoid tannin extraction from any steeped grains and to help the wort in the kettle reach a desirable pH. Acidification of tap water may be suitable to reduce excessive alkalinity.
When brewing with RO or Distilled Water and Malt Extracts, the Extract should provide most of the minerals needed for proper fermentation performance. Additional ions may not be needed, but the ion content in the Malt Extract is typically low to moderate. If the Brewer desires a specific flavor profile, additional Sodium, Sulfate or Chloride containing minerals can be added to the RO or Distilled brewing water to create desired taste impacts.

[Partridge9]

Its a good site, loads of great water info

On Extract brews -
tannin extraction for steeping grains ?? pH in the boil ??
Seriously ?

The only valid point regards excessive alkalinity imparting taste on the beer - I'd agree

- which in laymans terms is -
if yo water tastes manky - yo beer will taste manky.