Crystal Malt & Cascade Questions

[PhilNotts]

What is the EBC number on crystal malt and what exactly is the acid on cascade?

And while people are answering,does anybody use www.homebrewcompany.ie?

Its a few quid cheaper then other sites,saying that its only a few quid cheaper then my two local homebrew shops so I'm tempted to use them instead and do my bit in helping them out in staying open?

Also you get the items there and then although choice isn't as big

[PhilNotts]

Also what is the most used on "normal" crystal malt and cascade to use ?

obviously i know this can differ from person to person but generally speaking

[poo hed]

hello, the ebc on crystal malt varies considerably (25 for pale ales - 400 for stouts etc) , you just choose the one based on your beer style, the ebc is only "colour" not "taste".

cascade AA will be around what is quoted on that site (7.6%), although deteriorates quickly based on storage and can vary based on each years crops, so it's very hard to say for definite.

my last order was from http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/ (same website) and i only have positive things to say about them.

the ingredients you receive are not brupaks or youngs etc named brands which may explain the price, but the quality seems perfect.

are you using beer engine 1.09? - http://www.practicalbrewing.co.uk/calcu ... eerengine/

it's great because you can add your kit as 1.7kg of LME as your base, and then tinker around and it does all the sums for hop acid etc for you

i made a recipe on beer engine (coopers APA made 5.2%) which calls for 260g crystal malt and about 50g hops done for various amounts of time, mostly cascade (not including dry hopping), no fv space at the moment, that ones up next.

just put a coopers pilsner on with 62g of mostly saaz and 90g of crystal malt, as i don't want too much colour or malt but about 40 IBU (5.2% est), absolutely stinks of hops.

if you use beer engine, then reference the IBU, EBC of a style you are aiming for, then tinker your recipe to suit. also bare in mind you have to know the bitterness of the kit to start with and include this in what you are aiming for.

don't know what they will taste like yet, going to have to wait until march to start drinking, can't wait !

regards,

[PhilNotts]

hello,thanks for that reply. was really helpful and answered my questions about both ingredients.

i didn't know of the brew engine website but will definitely have a look when i get home as I'd like to try different things.

glad to hear about the reviews for that website. i don't find it makes a difference if things like that are branded or not so doesnt bother me.,what was the delivery time like? still in two minds if its worth ordering or just paying a couple of quid extra and pick everything up there and than and support my local homebrew but its good to know its a good website if there is something i can't find in store

[PhilNotts]

sorry,what exactly does the AA on the cascade do then?i guess it gives it a more bitter taste?

[poo hed]

delivery was very quick, like 3 days IIRC, the guy was really good and friendly too,

i ordered about 12kg of things (check out the 3kg spraymalt!) too, from the packaging, which was very safe (about 100 random mashed up cardboard boxes, like they used to lay out at supermarkets), and the generic striped bags, i'd say that it is just someone with their own "local" homebrew shop, somewhere else, with a good website.

yes the AA is just bitterness BUT it has to be extracted from the hops by boiling in a mild sugar soloution, the longer you boil the more you extract, but boiling for a long time kills the flavour.

beer engine worked it all out for me, but for my pilsner i had to boil some hops for 35 minutes, some for 15 minutes (less AA but more flavour) and then i steeped some for 15 minutes (for no AA but flavour).

[PhilNotts]

excellent,thank you very much for the quick response. i think I'll be placing an order then today. should have it by Saturday morning,get the earache till about 12 from her indoors and then i can enjoy the rest of my day brewing

[poo hed]

hehe, make sure you use a big pan because the hops will absorb ALOT of water, and order some muslin bags for the crystal malt.

i steeped the malt in a muslin bag, then squeezed that out, added the leafed hops to the liquid without bag, because you need the boil to move them about, then strained them with a fine sieve into the fv, then put the remaining wet hops in another muslin bag and squeezed the liquid from them into the fv also.

i only have about a 6l pan, and that was 2/3 full of wet hops by the time i had finished, it did take about 2 hours whole before i pitched the yeast.

i am assuming it will be worth it !

[PhilNotts]

I'm looking to do that recipe which Geezah has posted about the coopers Apa which if further down if I'm honest so will follow his picture instructions. it sounds really nice and pictures look great as well so even a novice like me should be able to do it...... i hope.

i really appreciate all your help,thank you

[Spud395]

And while people are answering,does anybody use http://www.homebrewcompany.ie?

All the time, great company! Brewers themselves as well

i'd say that it is just someone with their own "local" homebrew shop, somewhere else, with a good website

They have an industrial unit in an industrial estate, you can call into the front office for pick up supplies, but most of their business is online.

[PhilNotts]

does it make a difference if its spraymalt or spray-dried malt?

also does it make a difference if its 5.7% AA or 7.6%AA with cascade hops??

[Monkeybrew]

does it make a difference if its spraymalt or spray-dried malt?

also does it make a difference if its 5.7% AA or 7.6%AA with cascade hops??

I think the dried malts are the same thing.

Hop Alpha Acid is only really important if you are using them as a bittering hop in a long 60 or 90min boil.

If you are only using the hops in a short 10-15 boil or just steeping them, then the %AA is not too important.

[PhilNotts]

According to Geezahs recipe its only 10 minute boil and then 10 minutes with the flames off so thats answered my question. and from what I can see he uses full grain crystal malt so full steam ahead, i'm off to purchase the ingredients, hopefully in time for saturday but i doubt it now i've left it too late.