Devising Recipes

Try some of these great recipes out, or share your favourite brew with other forumees!
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Reg
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Devising Recipes

Post by Reg » Tue May 24, 2005 9:59 am

Do you tweak other people's or do you think well I want something about 'x' strong and then start getting the malts together from there?

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Post by Jim » Tue May 24, 2005 10:17 am

The recipe I use developed from a recipe in David Line's Big Book of Brewing which just had pale malt and crystal malt in the grist.

I use the quantity of pale malt to give the strength I want plus a small amount (500g) of crystal malt, which I know from experience will get the mash pH about right.

I vary the hop schedule with almost every brew; I find that's what really distinguishes between beers of similar style (e.g. between different bitters).

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Post by Reg » Tue May 24, 2005 10:19 am

QUOTE (jim @ May 24 2005, 09:17 AM) The recipe I use developed from a recipe in David Line's Big Book of Brewing which just had pale malt and crystal malt in the grist.

I use the quantity of pale malt to give the strength I want plus a small amount (500g) of crystal malt, which I know from experience will get the mash pH about right.

I vary the hop schedule with almost every brew; I find that's what really distinguishes between beers of similar style (e.g. between different bitters).
So how do you calculate the strength?

Which malts are good for the pH balance?

I guess the hop choice is just trial and error?

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Post by Jim » Tue May 24, 2005 10:24 am

Strength:

Each lb of pale malt contributes about 30 degrees of gravity to 1 gal of wort. We make 5Gal, so the total gravity needed for a starting gravity of 50 is 5x50 = 250. So you would need 250/30 = 8.3lbs of malt (plus a bit more to cover losses).

Dark malts lower the pH.

Hop choice; yeah, experiment. I'm experimenting with adding the hops at 3 points during the boil at the moment (inspired by the Porchester Brewery methods).

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Post by Reg » Tue May 24, 2005 10:28 am

QUOTE (jim @ May 24 2005, 09:24 AM) Strength:

Each lb of pale malt contributes about 30 degrees of gravity to 1 gal of wort. We make 5Gal, so the total gravity needed for a starting gravity of 50 is 5x50 = 250. So you would need 250/30 = 8.3lbs of malt (plus a bit more to cover losses).

Dark malts lower the pH.

Hop choice; yeah, experiment. I'm experimenting with adding the hops at 3 points during the boil at the moment (inspired by the Porchester Brewery methods).
Sorry... and a starter gravity is...? :P ;)

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Post by Jim » Tue May 24, 2005 10:29 am

Staring gravity; Specific Gravity of the wort before you add the yeast. ;)

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Post by Reg » Tue May 24, 2005 10:31 am

QUOTE (jim @ May 24 2005, 09:29 AM) Staring gravity; Specific Gravity of the wort before you add the yeast. ;)
This could make a good reader's article Jim... ;) You know you want to!

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Post by Jaytee » Mon Jul 04, 2005 11:47 pm

Hop choice; yeah, experiment. I'm experimenting with adding the hops at 3 points during the boil at the moment (inspired by the Porchester Brewery methods).

Hi Jim, what are the Porchester Brewery methods you mentioned ?

If I'm brewing a real hop-fest I add hops at 60, 30, 15 and 5 minutes in the boil.

Reg, I started with John Palmers ESB recipe on How To Brew and then a recipe from Grain & Grape in Australia (I'm sure you can find their website)
I found their recipes for a bitter style much tastier than John Palmer and I've refined recipes from that to suit my tastes .. which probably don't show any resemblence to the original recipe by now !

Also used the recipes at nzhops.co.nz for some inspiration and have just brewed their Honey Brown Ale (with the Nelson Sauvin hops ... mmmm, the most delicious hop I've found)

All the best, jaytee

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Post by Jim » Tue Jul 05, 2005 7:48 am

Hi Jaytee,

The Porchester brewery is a small commercial brewery which originally operated from the owners' garage (I mean the one attached to their house, not a car repair centre!).

Their website (there's a link on my main website- click the yellow graphic at the top of this page and go to 'links') has all their recipes on and mentions that they add their hops in several stages; that's where I got the idea. Prior to that, I just used to add a few late hops 15 minutes from the end.

I'm at work at the moment, but I'll have a look at the sites you mentioned from home. I've not seen the Nelson Sauvin hops before; where do you get yours from?

Jim

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Post by Jaytee » Thu Jul 07, 2005 9:03 pm

Hi Jim,

Cheers, I'll check out the links

Nelson Sauvin - I get them from my local shop - Wellington, New Zealand.

Had the first tasting of the New Zealand Hops 'Irish Red' last night from the keg - fine drop, had three instead of the one I was going to have !

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Post by Reg » Thu Jul 07, 2005 10:49 pm

QUOTE (Jaytee @ Jul 4 2005, 10:47 PM) Reg, I started with John Palmers ESB recipe on How To Brew and then a recipe from Grain & Grape in Australia (I'm sure you can find their website)
I found their recipes for a bitter style much tastier than John Palmer and I've refined recipes from that to suit my tastes .. which probably don't show any resemblence to the original recipe by now !

Also used the recipes at nzhops.co.nz for some inspiration and have just brewed their Honey Brown Ale (with the Nelson Sauvin hops ... mmmm, the most delicious hop I've found)

All the best, jaytee
Good tips there Jaytee... I've tended to you Graham Wheeler recipes simply because that's what I have to hand. Some good tips there...

Been a bit of a day, today!!!

Nice to see you on the forum! :D

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Post by Guest_jaytee » Thu Jul 07, 2005 11:21 pm

Hi Chaps,

I don't get by here often.

Haven't read Wheeler. My brother lent me a Charlie Papzian book, Recipes from the 1996 Beer World Cup.
Brewed his take on the Ruddles Bitter a couple of times, slightly highly bittered for my taste - OG 1.038 and 35 IBU.

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Post by Reg » Thu Jul 07, 2005 11:25 pm

CP does excellent recipes. Wheeler is now out of print unfortunately but has done some great recipes too... ;)

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Post by Jim » Fri Jul 08, 2005 2:48 pm

Yeah, I often find the published homebrew recipes a bit too bitter. I tend to go for an IBU of between 20 and 25.

I've seen recipes that use 40 or 50!

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Post by Jim » Sat Sep 03, 2005 3:44 pm

QUOTE (Reg @ May 24 2005, 10:31 AM) QUOTE (jim @ May 24 2005, 09:29 AM) Staring gravity; Specific Gravity of the wort before you add the yeast.  ;)
This could make a good reader's article Jim... ;) You know you want to!
And quick as flash, ;) http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jim.dunlea ... lation.htm


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