Michelle's 2nd All Grain Bramling X

[Brew_Diva]

Hi guys, just preparing for my second all grain brew hopefully the first of many as I commence going it alone. Mash Tun and Chiller and some US 05 Ale Yeast on the way I should be all set for brewing as soon as they arrive. Exciting stuff...

Just wanted to see if anyone has any specific enough ideas for adding times and quantities with the ingredients Grain, Hops and yeast that I am using.

Grains will be Marris Otter Pale Malt 5kg and some Crystal Malt 250 (ECB?) think I have about 750g of this left but probably wouldn't use it all?? I think we only put about 250g of that in the "MichAle" (my other beer) as it would get very dark I think at that ECB? I have a bag of Bramling X sourced from Hopbomb when he was up at a brewday in summer. Its 100g. Do I use all of that?
Then the yeast is the US 05, so obviously that goes in at the end...

I was thinking to probably do something Very similar the MichAle, just with the Bramling X instead of the Citra and Cascade I used last time. Probably not as adventurous as I could be but at this stage I think I need the practise... it has been a while 

I remember there are three Stages for the adding of the Hops, and I think that is the trickiest part.... Bittering was at about 45 mins I think, and then Aroma 15mins, with also some Last minute Hop addition when its off the boil... Are they okay timings?
I guess what I need to find out is quantities of Hops for the Bittering and Aroma and Last minute stages or is this something that I can play around with? <This is the Big Question>

Also, is 250g of the Dark Crystal malt okay for an Amber Pale Ale...maybe a little bit darker for a Christmas Brew?? Would more of this also dramatically affect the flavour. I'll use all of the Marris Otter so that will be 5kg for about 27Litre brew. All the grain goes in at the beginning as far as I remember, and its all ground already so happy days... Am expecting it to be a little higher than 5%ABV, this is down to the amount of grain added, right?

Okay so I know there's a lot of questions here, hopefully not too many silly ones.
If anyone has any suggestions re hop quantities/ timing esp,

please post below and I'll be very grateful... which I will demonstrate with lots of beer to taste.. hopefully nice beer 

[Brew_Diva]

Hi guys, just preparing for my second all grain brew hopefully the first of many as I commence going it alone. Mash Tun and Chiller and some US 05 Ale Yeast on the way I should be all set for brewing as soon as they arrive. Exciting stuff...

Just wanted to see if anyone has any specific enough ideas for adding times and quantities with the ingredients Grain, Hops and yeast that I am using.

Grains will be Marris Otter Pale Malt 5kg and some Crystal Malt 250 (ECB?) think I have about 750g of this left but probably wouldn't use it all?? I think we only put about 250g of that in the "MichAle" (my other beer) as it would get very dark I think at that ECB? I have a bag of Bramling X sourced from HopHead when he was up at a brewday in summer. Its 100g. Do I use all of that?
Then the yeast is the US 05, so obviously that goes in at the end...

I was thinking to probably do something Very similar the MichAle, just with the Bramling X instead of the Citra and Cascade I used last time. Probably not as adventurous as I could be but at this stage I think I need the practise... it has been a while 

I remember there are three Stages for the adding of the Hops, and I think that is the trickiest part.... Bittering was at about 45 mins I think, and then Aroma 15mins, with also some Last minute Hop addition when its off the boil... Are they okay timings?
I guess what I need to find out is quantities of Hops for the Bittering and Aroma and Last minute stages or is this something that I can play around with? <This is the Big Question>

Also, is 250g of the Dark Crystal malt okay for an Amber Pale Ale...maybe a little bit darker for a Christmas Brew?? Would more of this also dramatically affect the flavour. I'll use all of the Marris Otter so that will be 5kg for about 27Litre brew. All the grain goes in at the beginning as far as I remember, and its all ground already so happy days... Am expecting it to be a little higher than 5%ABV, this is down to the amount of grain added, right?

Okay so I know there's a lot of questions here, hopefully not too many silly ones.
If anyone has any suggestions re hop quantities/ timing esp,

please post below and I'll be very grateful... which I will demonstrate with lots of beer to taste.. hopefully nice beer 

[Dr Jacoby]

Grains will be Marris Otter Pale Malt 5kg and some Crystal Malt 250 (ECB?) think I have about 750g of this left but probably wouldn't use it all??

I wouldn't use it all! It's a very dark crystal malt - it would totally overwhelm everything else. A small amount (maybe less than 4 or 5%) would be ok. 

I have a bag of Bramling X sourced from HopHead when he was up at a brewday in summer. Its 100g. Do I use all of that?

Is that the only hop you have in stock? If so, I'd say yes, use it all, but use it wisely. Work out how bitter you want the beer to be and then choose your additions accordingly. If you want a fairly bitter beer add more at the 60 minute mark. If you want a light beer with lots of fresh hop flavour and aroma, add more towards the end of the boil.

Then the yeast is the US 05, so obviously that goes in at the end...

Correct  After you chill the beer down to the 18-21C range.

I remember there are three Stages for the adding of the Hops, and I think that is the trickiest part.... Bittering was at about 45 mins I think, and then Aroma 15mins, with also some Last minute Hop addition when its off the boil... Are they okay timings?

I'd go 60 minutes, 10 minutes, flameout. But your times are fine.

I guess what I need to find out is quantities of Hops for the Bittering and Aroma and Last minute stages or is this something that I can play around with? <This is the Big Question>

This is the big question  Most people use some kind of brewing software to help with these decisions. Hops at the start of the boil contribute mostly bitterness, so the amount depends on how bitter you want the beer to be. That depends in turn on how strong the beer is going to be alcohol wise (that's not a strict rule; more a rule of thumb). The bigger the beer the bitterer it should be to balance the sweetness of the malt. If you're brewing an English style ale (which it looks like you're doing) I'd aim for an OG of 1.030 - 1.045 and a bitterness level of 25 - 35 IBU. 

Am expecting it to be a little higher than 5%ABV, this is down to the amount of grain added, right?

Yes!

Best of luck with it 

[brenmurph]

michelle we will put above into beersmith later and give you some ballpark figures to help balance the beer for you.
When / where are you brewing?

[brenmurph]

as I mentioned on your South Kildare post ill input ur ingredients and help balance the beer re colour, bitterness and alc for you, after that you can play around a little as its your brew so u decide

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

Go through google and find websites that list recipes with your ingredients.

For instance Bramling Cross / Maris Otter amber etc. that dark crystal will add a lot of colour at 250 ebc. So your beer will be an interesting red colour.

Most hop additions are in the form of <weight> @ 60, <weight> @ 30, <weight> @10, <weight> @ 0.

The more you boil hops, the volatile flavour and aroma characteristics get boiled away, but more of the hops get isomerised which gives them the bittering characteristics that are desirable. The higher the alpha acids in the hops, the more bittering you get from early additions (can be very sharp). The later you add your hops, you get less bitterness from them, but you preserve the flavour and aroma.

In general I would favour less bitterness. If I was to put together a recipe, it would look like this:

5Kg Maris Otter
200 Dark Crystal

14g Bramling Cross @ 60 mins
28g Bramling Cross @ 20 mins
14g Bramling Cross @ 5 mins

I dont tend to do 0 min additions. Bramling Cross is a really interesting hop, and that US-05 will bring it out.
That will also leave you enough hops to have another go at the recipe, and vary it a bit.

[brenmurph]

using beersmith tool to make american amber ale

5kg maris to make 23 litres
light to med body 66c mash
500g dark crystal gives optimum colour. You could reduce this and use molasses or treacle or a tiny bit of chocolate malt

bramling

60 minute  x 40gram
30 minute x 20 gram
5 minute x 10gram#

result

alc 5.1%

So consider above from beersmith and add to your other advice / ideas

[brenmurph]

@ Tube & Diva

its a tricky one cos beersmith / bjcp style says dark crystal and pale malt as ingredients, unlike other recipes there may be a dozen malts and adjuncts.  The crystal '250' needed is 500gram to bring colour to the middle of the range but as tube says its crystalised to an english bitter territory re flavour, however: according to bjcp.....

"Medium body, less malty with noticable caramel/crystal malt flavor.  Medium to high hop rate with corresponding aroma.  Light copper to brown in color.  Fruity and estery with low diacetyl.  Moderate carbonation."

Apart from darkening through boiling, crystal malt, choc, mollasses, treacle act as other darkening agents, whether they are wanted in ur brew is up to you

You could boil for 30 minutes before hop additions this longer boil might darken for you, or a powerfull element would kettle caramelise as well.

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

Just to chip in on this (i have added to the other thread as well),

Bramling Cross, plus mostly pale malt, and Us-05, you will end up with an american style pale ale. B/X has a lot of fruity flavours that are highly desired by american fruity hop heads, and is highly desired as a result, despite it being an english hop.

Unless you really like bitter beers, take it really easy on the early hop additions.

Try and calibrate where your bitterness thresholds are. For instance, Metalman Pale Ale is a great US style pale ale, with a really strong bitterness. Its a good place to decide how bitter you want your beer to be.

From my experience, home brewers have a higher tolerance/appreciation for bitterness than most of the people they share their beers with. If you want to feel proud of your beer and impress your friends, dial back on the bitterness levels, as it is very easy to overdo. You have the ingredients to make a great beer.

[brenmurph]

+1

[Brew_Diva]

Thanks for all the help guys. I definitely feel better prepared to take a stab at it now, taking all the advice into account...

What do you think if I make my own mind up from of Brendan(beersmith) and TheSumOfAllBeers specific recipe suggestions for weight of Crystal Malt 250 to add, Hop quantities and timing. I know it won't be an exact scientifically calibrated beer, but it sounds like there's a bit of a range of what would be suitable for my ingredients, so it looks like there is some room for experimentation 

If I understand correctly the Crystal 250 is what will deepen the colour considerably, the beersmith recipe is great to have, thanks Brendan, but might go a bit less than 500g possibly 250-300g, to have a slightly lighter beer.
Tube, would 3% make for a much lighter Pale Ale or would this affect the taste a lot too?... more specifically does a fair bit of bitterness also come from the grain as well as the bittering hops?

I'm going to be brewing at home in my apartment, Brendan, and thought it would be Saturday but it looks like it will be next week now before I have all my equipment together. Going to do it as soon as I can though to be ready for the festive season beerwise :-)
Still need to go to Chadwicks for my tap adaptor and a bit of hosepipe (hopefully they'll do a short piece for me as I think I only need around a meter of it.) So I might pick your brains some more on Saturday if that's cool... Will pop into Farringtons in the afternoon... What time will you all be finished up with the beer judging training??

and finally, Re boiler: I do need a massive container with an element in it right?? I heard from Shiny that he uses the kettle to get the water boiled, and was thinking this is great to save money etc, but don't I need to leave it on the boil for the 60mins... 

Thanks again peeps.

[Brew_Diva]

This is great. Thanks a lot people 

[Kellie]

Great to see your back in action Michelle.....

Looking forward to tasting your 2nd brew 

As far as I know we are finished early this week at 12..........but we will be up in Dublin later than that, so will defo meet up!

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

It is easy to fall into the temptation to go all 'chef-ey' when you are making beer. For your first go, keep it nice and simple, you will already be worrying over a lot of other things.

It takes quite a few brews to get an understanding of what specialty malts, hops and yeasts do to your beer. But dont lose sight of the fact that basic ingredients, fermented well, will make good beer.

On its own, your Maris Otter, Your Bramling Cross hops (on a basic boil schedule) and your US-05 will combine into a really nice beer. Not a passable beer, or a decent first attempt beer, but something that you will be genuinely impressed by. The recipe doesn't need complication to taste good, just decent execution. Beer doesn't need 'seasoning' to bring out its best.

If you wish to use your Dark Crystal, use it sparingly. It will add a lot of colour, and body to the beer. It will not add any bitterness, as it has not been roasted. I would encourage you to simplify, and get the basics right: mash well, boil, chill and pitch properly.

Lastly, learn and have fun! It was a bit stressful when I started to make beer from grain, and in full batch sizes, but I have always ended up with drinkable beer.

[beerfly]

if you still have a list of what you used for your last beer use that as a guide since you know what that was like.
more grain will mean more beer at the same % or the same amount of beer at a higher %
if the crystal is a higher number then the same amount you used before will make a darker beer

if you did not have brambling cross last time then thats a bit harder to judge since hops are so different
i would probably go with sumofallbeers hop additions over bren's; use double what you use at 60min at 15-20mins.   

i think shiny was talking about using the kettle to heat the water for the mash.  you still need a boiler (pot/bucket) big enough to boil everything for an hour