Recommendations for next brew

[stevo1957]

I finally have my fist brew happening - Craft beer kit with the Mr Beer Bewitched Amber that came with it.

I'm looking at what I should try next. I enjoy 150 Lashes but have trouble finding a small batch recipe for this and don't want to go the larger recipe and scale down as I think too much hassle and wastage.

I enjoy the fruitiness of the 150 Lashes so was wondering if anyone has a similar recipe, with the Mr Beer 1.3 kg extracts as the base, for a small batch brew.

I'm also looking at the recipes around here and have my eye on the Pavlova Pale Ale.

Anything fruity, citrus, or sweet would be ok.

So what are your recommendations for recipes?

[Classic Brewing Co]

19 minutes ago, stevo1957 said:

I finally have my fist brew happening - Craft beer kit with the Mr Beer Bewitched Amber that came with it.

I'm looking at what I should try next. I enjoy 150 Lashes but have trouble finding a small batch recipe for this and don't want to go the larger recipe and scale down as I think too much hassle and wastage.

I enjoy the fruitiness of the 150 Lashes so was wondering if anyone has a similar recipe, with the Mr Beer 1.3 kg extracts as the base, for a small batch brew.

I'm also looking at the recipes around here and have my eye on the Pavlova Pale Ale.

Anything fruity, citrus, or sweet would be ok.

So what are your recommendations for recipes?

Hi @stevo1957 Good luck with your first brew, I have done many of the Mr Beer brews & enjoyed them all, I bought the small Craft Kit on clearance sale years ago purely for the novelty of it but find myself using it regularly for quick brews & especially experimental batches. 

I am not into adding fruit & dislike anything too citrusy or sweet, so I think @Shamus O'Sean & maybe a few others can help you with that.

Personally, I get enough citrus, aromatic etc flavours from my beers with different hops & yeasts.

Cheers

Phil

[Shamus O'Sean]

6 hours ago, stevo1957 said:

I finally have my fist brew happening - Craft beer kit with the Mr Beer Bewitched Amber that came with it.

I'm looking at what I should try next. I enjoy 150 Lashes but have trouble finding a small batch recipe for this and don't want to go the larger recipe and scale down as I think too much hassle and wastage.

I enjoy the fruitiness of the 150 Lashes so was wondering if anyone has a similar recipe, with the Mr Beer 1.3 kg extracts as the base, for a small batch brew.

I'm also looking at the recipes around here and have my eye on the Pavlova Pale Ale.

Anything fruity, citrus, or sweet would be ok.

So what are your recommendations for recipes?

Hi Stevo, I did a double batch version of the Pavlova Pale Ale a few years ago.  I called it Bootful O' Pav Pale Ale because I used the Boot Maker Pale Ale as the base can.  I liked it, but mine was a bit too sweet because I accidently used twice as much Lactose as I should have.

Across my brewing journey I have done:

• Challenger Brown IPA (no recipe on-line because the Churchill Nut Brown Ale can is discontinued)
• School Of Hops - Cascade
• Shiner Black IPA
• Bock in Black (no recipe on-line because the Winter Dark Ale can is discontinued)
• Bird Of Prey American Lager
• Yellowfin IPA
• Jitter Juice (no recipe on-line because the Winter Dark Ale can is discontinued)
• Great Lakes IPA
• Bilby Chocolate Porter (no recipe on-line because the Winter Dark Ale can is discontinued)
• Abbey Dubbel
• California Riptide Pale Ale

They were all good beers.  Of those Shiner, Yellowfin, Great Lakes and the Abbey Dubbel were the stand-out brews.

Yellowfin and Great Lakes reminded me a bit of 150 Lashes.  I did a 150 Lashes clone a few days ago.  My recipe is here.  To do this using Mr Beer products, you could go with this recipe, which is scaled down from my 23 litre version:

• 1.3kg Mr Beer Golden Ale
• 100g Light Crystal Malt (20 minute hot steep 65°C)
• 15g each: Amarillo, Cascade & Nelson Sauvin 20 minute hot steep @ 75°C
• 1 pkt US-05 Yeast
• Make up to 9.5 litres to get around 4.7% ABV after bottle priming (or 10 L for 4.2%)

The above version does not have the hop boil that mine had because the Golden Ale can already has enough bitterness in it.  If you cannot get Light Crystal Malt, you could use 100g of Dry Wheat Malt.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[stevo1957]

Great info thanks Shamus. I'll definitely give that 150 Lashes clone recipe a go soon.

[DavidM]

13 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Hi Stevo, I did a double batch version of the Pavlova Pale Ale a few years ago.  I called it Bootful O' Pav Pale Ale because I used the Boot Maker Pale Ale as the base can.  I liked it, but mine was a bit too sweet because I accidently used twice as much Lactose as I should have.

Across my brewing journey I have done:

• Challenger Brown IPA (no recipe on-line because the Churchill Nut Brown Ale can is discontinued)
• School Of Hops - Cascade
• Shiner Black IPA
• Bock in Black (no recipe on-line because the Winter Dark Ale can is discontinued)
• Bird Of Prey American Lager
• Yellowfin IPA
• Jitter Juice (no recipe on-line because the Winter Dark Ale can is discontinued)
• Great Lakes IPA
• Bilby Chocolate Porter (no recipe on-line because the Winter Dark Ale can is discontinued)
• Abbey Dubbel
• California Riptide Pale Ale

They were all good beers.  Of those Shiner, Yellowfin, Great Lakes and the Abbey Dubbel were the stand-out brews.

Yellowfin and Great Lakes reminded me a bit of 150 Lashes.  I did a 150 Lashes clone a few days ago.  My recipe is here.  To do this using Mr Beer products, you could go with this recipe, which is scaled down from my 23 litre version:

• 1.3kg Mr Beer Golden Ale
• 100g Light Crystal Malt (20 minute hot steep 65°C)
• 15g each: Amarillo, Cascade & Nelson Sauvin 20 minute hot steep @ 75°C
• 1 pkt US-05 Yeast
• Make up to 9.5 litres to get around 4.7% ABV after bottle priming (or 10 L for 4.2%)

The above version does not have the hop boil that mine had because the Golden Ale can already has enough bitterness in it.  If you cannot get Light Crystal Malt, you could use 100g of Dry Wheat Malt.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Once again I must thank you for the Detail that you offer, so helpful for brews looking to expand on the Extract can.

? How do you put the "beer title" in the line without the full address showing up?

Thanks

[Malter White]

@stevo1957 If you venture over to the Recipes page you can find numerous recipes with characteristics you want. Use the filter to screen through what you want to achieve ie. 7-10 litre batches + citrus or fruity flavour + ale and you'll get a selection of options to try.

https://www.diybeer.com/au/recipes?page=0&fR[flavour_profile][0]=Fruity&fR[flavour_profile][1]=Citrus&fR[volume_range][0]=7-10L&is_v=1

[iBooz2]

4 hours ago, DavidM said:

Once again I must thank you for the Detail that you offer, so helpful for brews looking to expand on the Extract can.

? How do you put the "beer title" in the line without the full address showing up?

Thanks

@DavidM Simply copy the full address of the page you want the beer title to link to using a control C shortcut (in windows) then select the word or words in your post such as beer little or whatever then click on the chain tool (link tool) on the menu bar (between font and smiley face) then past your address into the URL field a control V shortcut (in windows).  You can do it with any words you want to point them to, an internal or external web page.

@Classic Brewing Co are you paying attention ha ha

For example in Muzz's reply directly above he could had done this "options to try." instead of pasting the whole address link.

Cheers - AL

Edited September 25, 2022 by iBooz2

[DavidM]

2 hours ago, iBooz2 said:

@DavidM Simply copy the full address of the page you want the beer title to link to using a control C shortcut (in windows) then select the word or words in your post such as beer little or whatever then click on the chain tool (link tool) on the menu bar (between font and smiley face) then past your address into the URL field a control V shortcut (in windows).  You can do it with any words you want to point them to, an internal or external web page.

@Classic Brewing Co are you paying attention ha ha

For example in Muzz's reply directly above he could had done this "options to try." instead of pasting the whole address link.

Cheers - AL

Thanks Al, well explained.

Love the help

[stevo1957]

On 9/24/2022 at 7:38 PM, Shamus O'Sean said:

My recipe is here.  To do this using Mr Beer products, you could go with this recipe, which is scaled down from my 23 litre version:

• 1.3kg Mr Beer Golden Ale
• 100g Light Crystal Malt (20 minute hot steep 65°C)
• 15g each: Amarillo, Cascade & Nelson Sauvin 20 minute hot steep @ 75°C
• 1 pkt US-05 Yeast
• Make up to 9.5 litres to get around 4.7% ABV after bottle priming (or 10 L for 4.2%)

The above version does not have the hop boil that mine had because the Golden Ale can already has enough bitterness in it.  If you cannot get Light Crystal Malt, you could use 100g of Dry Wheat Malt.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Shamus  would you be kind enough to provide further detail on the hot steep process you  use please?

Searching returns lots of different methods and I am a bit confused. 

[Shamus O'Sean]

7 hours ago, stevo1957 said:

Shamus  would you be kind enough to provide further detail on the hot steep process you  use please?

Searching returns lots of different methods and I am a bit confused. 

I am glad you asked, Stevo.  It also gives me a chance to clarify a couple of things.  Although I am not sure if you are asking about the grain hot steep or the hop hot steep?  So I will explain both.

Grain hot steep

1. First put the grain in a plastic zip lock bag and crack the grain with a rolling pin. It does not have to pulverised, just broken into 2-3 pieces.
2. Grab a Chux cloth, or a hop sock
3. Pour the grain into the cloth/sock and tie up so that the grain cannot escape.  I use a Chux cloth and an elastic band to secure the cloth closed.
4. Put a pot with 2 litres of water onto the stove to heat to around 70°C.  I always go a bit higher because when you add the grains the temperature will drop.
5. Keep an eye on the temperature.  I have lost count of the number of times, I was not paying enough attention and before I knew it the water was boiling.
6. Once up to temperature, turn off the heat.
7. Drop the grain filled cloth into the water and give it a swirl around.  You want to make sure all the grain gets wet, so the sugary, grainy goodness can steep out like a teabag.
8. I have a temperature probe in the water and if it drops under 60°C, I turn the heat back on to get the water back up to 65°C then turn off the heat again.  It is not a big deal if it goes over 65°C.
9. After 20 minutes or so (the time can go over 20 minutes without any issues) remove the bag and place on a sieve. 
10. I give the grains a quick rinse with about 1 litre of not quite boiling water.
11. Discard the grain bag (clean and reuse the hop sock, but I do not bother with Chux cloths, they just get chucked)

Although the recipe I suggest does not have a hop boil, you still have to boil the strained wort after the grain steep.  Five minutes is enough.

Hop hot steep

I use an online calculator https://rechneronline.de/chemie-rechner/mix-temperatures.php to figure out how much tap water to add to my just boiled wort to quickly get the wort down to 75°C.  For example, 2 litres of wort at 100°C needs 0.88 litres of 18°C tap water to make 2.88 litres of 75°C wort.  You could also leave the wort to naturally cool down or use a cold water bath in the sink to speed up the cooling.  Which ever way you go:

1. Weigh and prepare your hops while your boil is underway.
2. I use a couple of stainless steel hop balls (from ebay) to contain the hops.  You could go commando with them and strain the hopped wort afterward if you want.
3. Add the hops (contained or commando) to the 75°C wort
4. Leave to stand for the hop steep time with the pot lid on.  You can wrap the pot in towels or something similar to keep the heat in.
5. Add a dash of boiling water if the temperature drops below 70°C, taking care to keep the wort below 80°C, tops.
6. Try to stick with the hop steep time.  Too long can extract more flavour than you might want and too short, less flavour.
7. Either pull the hops from the wort or strain the wort into another pot. 
8. Start to cool the wort.  Usually a cold water bath in the sink to speed up the cooling.  Some folks, including me, have a pre-prepared volume of refrigerated water and add some to the hot wort to cool it quickly.
9. The aim is to end up with your boiled, steeped and cooled wort into your fermenter around the desired fermentation temperature.

For a Craft sized batch I would always have about 6-8 litres of refrigerated water ready to add to the fermenter.  A couple of coke bottles in the fridge the night before will be enough.  It is easier to warm up a slightly cooler FV with a litre of boiling water than it is to cool down 7 litres of 30°C wort.

There are lots of YouTube videos out there.  Most are pretty reasonable.  They might do some things different to me.  It does not mean either of us is wrong.  As at least one of the Forum members says:  There is often more than one way to the top of the mountain.  Once you have done a few of these steeps, you will figure out what works best for you.

PS - Sorry for the detail.  I am a detail kind of bloke.

[Tone boy]

Shamus @Shamus O'Sean SOS, mate if there was an award in home brewing for best on ground, you would be a shoe in

[Tricky Micky]

11 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

I am glad you asked, Stevo.  It also gives me a chance to clarify a couple of things.  Although I am not sure if you are asking about the grain hot steep or the hop hot steep?  So I will explain both.

Grain hot steep

1. First put the grain in a plastic zip lock bag and crack the grain with a rolling pin. It does not have to pulverised, just broken into 2-3 pieces.
2. Grab a Chux cloth, or a hop sock
3. Pour the grain into the cloth/sock and tie up so that the grain cannot escape.  I use a Chux cloth and an elastic band to secure the cloth closed.
4. Put a pot with 2 litres of water onto the stove to heat to around 70°C.  I always go a bit higher because when you add the grains the temperature will drop.
5. Keep an eye on the temperature.  I have lost count of the number of times, I was not paying enough attention and before I knew it the water was boiling.
6. Once up to temperature, turn off the heat.
7. Drop the grain filled cloth into the water and give it a swirl around.  You want to make sure all the grain gets wet, so the sugary, grainy goodness can steep out like a teabag.
8. I have a temperature probe in the water and if it drops under 60°C, I turn the heat back on to get the water back up to 65°C then turn off the heat again.  It is not a big deal if it goes over 65°C.
9. After 20 minutes or so (the time can go over 20 minutes without any issues) remove the bag and place on a sieve. 
10. I give the grains a quick rinse with about 1 litre of not quite boiling water.
11. Discard the grain bag (clean and reuse the hop sock, but I do not bother with Chux cloths, they just get chucked)

Although the recipe I suggest does not have a hop boil, you still have to boil the strained wort after the grain steep.  Five minutes is enough.

Hop hot steep

I use an online calculator https://rechneronline.de/chemie-rechner/mix-temperatures.php to figure out how much tap water to add to my just boiled wort to quickly get the wort down to 75°C.  For example, 2 litres of wort at 100°C needs 0.88 litres of 18°C tap water to make 2.88 litres of 75°C wort.  You could also leave the wort to naturally cool down or use a cold water bath in the sink to speed up the cooling.  Which ever way you go:

1. Weigh and prepare your hops while your boil is underway.
2. I use a couple of stainless steel hop balls (from ebay) to contain the hops.  You could go commando with them and strain the hopped wort afterward if you want.
3. Add the hops (contained or commando) to the 75°C wort
4. Leave to stand for the hop steep time with the pot lid on.  You can wrap the pot in towels or something similar to keep the heat in.
5. Add a dash of boiling water if the temperature drops below 70°C, taking care to keep the wort below 80°C, tops.
6. Try to stick with the hop steep time.  Too long can extract more flavour than you might want and too short, less flavour.
7. Either pull the hops from the wort or strain the wort into another pot. 
8. Start to cool the wort.  Usually a cold water bath in the sink to speed up the cooling.  Some folks, including me, have a pre-prepared volume of refrigerated water and add some to the hot wort to cool it quickly.
9. The aim is to end up with your boiled, steeped and cooled wort into your fermenter around the desired fermentation temperature.

For a Craft sized batch I would always have about 6-8 litres of refrigerated water ready to add to the fermenter.  A couple of coke bottles in the fridge the night before will be enough.  It is easier to warm up a slightly cooler FV with a litre of boiling water than it is to cool down 7 litres of 30°C wort.

There are lots of YouTube videos out there.  Most are pretty reasonable.  They might do some things different to me.  It does not mean either of us is wrong.  As at least one of the Forum members says:  There is often more than one way to the top of the mountain.  Once you have done a few of these steeps, you will figure out what works best for you.

PS - Sorry for the detail.  I am a detail kind of bloke.

One word! GURU!

[Malter White]

5 hours ago, Tone boy said:

Shamus @Shamus O'Sean SOS, mate if there was an award in home brewing for best on ground, you would be a shoe in

 

[stevo1957]

16 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

I am glad you asked, Stevo.  It also gives me a chance to clarify a couple of things.  Although I am not sure if you are asking about the grain hot steep or the hop hot steep?  So I will explain both.

Grain hot steep

1. First put the grain in a plastic zip lock bag and crack the grain with a rolling pin. It does not have to pulverised, just broken into 2-3 pieces.
2. Grab a Chux cloth, or a hop sock
3. Pour the grain into the cloth/sock and tie up so that the grain cannot escape.  I use a Chux cloth and an elastic band to secure the cloth closed.
4. Put a pot with 2 litres of water onto the stove to heat to around 70°C.  I always go a bit higher because when you add the grains the temperature will drop.
5. Keep an eye on the temperature.  I have lost count of the number of times, I was not paying enough attention and before I knew it the water was boiling.
6. Once up to temperature, turn off the heat.
7. Drop the grain filled cloth into the water and give it a swirl around.  You want to make sure all the grain gets wet, so the sugary, grainy goodness can steep out like a teabag.
8. I have a temperature probe in the water and if it drops under 60°C, I turn the heat back on to get the water back up to 65°C then turn off the heat again.  It is not a big deal if it goes over 65°C.
9. After 20 minutes or so (the time can go over 20 minutes without any issues) remove the bag and place on a sieve. 
10. I give the grains a quick rinse with about 1 litre of not quite boiling water.
11. Discard the grain bag (clean and reuse the hop sock, but I do not bother with Chux cloths, they just get chucked)

Although the recipe I suggest does not have a hop boil, you still have to boil the strained wort after the grain steep.  Five minutes is enough.

Hop hot steep

I use an online calculator https://rechneronline.de/chemie-rechner/mix-temperatures.php to figure out how much tap water to add to my just boiled wort to quickly get the wort down to 75°C.  For example, 2 litres of wort at 100°C needs 0.88 litres of 18°C tap water to make 2.88 litres of 75°C wort.  You could also leave the wort to naturally cool down or use a cold water bath in the sink to speed up the cooling.  Which ever way you go:

1. Weigh and prepare your hops while your boil is underway.
2. I use a couple of stainless steel hop balls (from ebay) to contain the hops.  You could go commando with them and strain the hopped wort afterward if you want.
3. Add the hops (contained or commando) to the 75°C wort
4. Leave to stand for the hop steep time with the pot lid on.  You can wrap the pot in towels or something similar to keep the heat in.
5. Add a dash of boiling water if the temperature drops below 70°C, taking care to keep the wort below 80°C, tops.
6. Try to stick with the hop steep time.  Too long can extract more flavour than you might want and too short, less flavour.
7. Either pull the hops from the wort or strain the wort into another pot. 
8. Start to cool the wort.  Usually a cold water bath in the sink to speed up the cooling.  Some folks, including me, have a pre-prepared volume of refrigerated water and add some to the hot wort to cool it quickly.
9. The aim is to end up with your boiled, steeped and cooled wort into your fermenter around the desired fermentation temperature.

For a Craft sized batch I would always have about 6-8 litres of refrigerated water ready to add to the fermenter.  A couple of coke bottles in the fridge the night before will be enough.  It is easier to warm up a slightly cooler FV with a litre of boiling water than it is to cool down 7 litres of 30°C wort.

There are lots of YouTube videos out there.  Most are pretty reasonable.  They might do some things different to me.  It does not mean either of us is wrong.  As at least one of the Forum members says:  There is often more than one way to the top of the mountain.  Once you have done a few of these steeps, you will figure out what works best for you.

PS - Sorry for the detail.  I am a detail kind of bloke.

@Shamus O'Sean .... love the detail mate...can't get enough of it.....appreciate the trouble you have gone to in documenting this.

Some questions (probably silly ones at that):

10.  in the grain hot steep.... assume the rinse water goes in with the wort and ends up going in the FV?

And to clarify, grain hot steep ends with the wort being boiled for 5 minutes - no boiling required for the hops? 

And lastly, all hop varieties can go together for the hot steep, or are required to be done separately?

[stevo1957]

@Shamus O'Sean...add another question to my list please  ...

Checking out ingredient suppliers, I can get 12 gr hops already in tea bags. I'm assuming 12 gr would be ok against the 15 gr that you suggest for your scaled down recipe for my small craft kit?

Thanks, Steve

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 hour ago, Malter White said:

 

He looks like a Pirate, but our Shamus would be one of the most organised members offering a wealth of information detailed to perfection & happy to share it with all & sundry.

I have to say this " Take the rest of the day off Shamus "

Dodgy looking medal there Malter ...

[Shamus O'Sean]

6 hours ago, stevo1957 said:

@Shamus O'Sean .... love the detail mate...can't get enough of it.....appreciate the trouble you have gone to in documenting this.

Some questions (probably silly ones at that):

10.  in the grain hot steep.... assume the rinse water goes in with the wort and ends up going in the FV?  Yep, sure does

And to clarify, grain hot steep ends with the wort being boiled for 5 minutes - no boiling required for the hops?  Yep, that's it.

And lastly, all hop varieties can go together for the hot steep, or are required to be done separately?  Yep, they can be done in the same bag.

See my comments in blue text above.  Your thoughts are all correct.

[Shamus O'Sean]

6 hours ago, stevo1957 said:

@Shamus O'Sean...add another question to my list please  ...

Checking out ingredient suppliers, I can get 12 gr hops already in tea bags. I'm assuming 12 gr would be ok against the 15 gr that you suggest for your scaled down recipe for my small craft kit?

Thanks, Steve

Yes 12g bags will be fine.

[JoeB7]

Doing a ginger beer for 'Saturnalia' & have cased out past discussions in the forums but wanted some advice re: yeasts.

Some say an ale yeast ( have a kviek & a Safale -04), but some interweb info says champagne yeast.

Want to do a 20ltr brew & using fresh ginger, ginger powder & spices, et al.

Also will use some LDM and would like direction on whether yeast nutrient is a must. Cheers in advance for advice.

[iBooz2]

23 hours ago, JoeB7 said:

Doing a ginger beer for 'Saturnalia' & have cased out past discussions in the forums but wanted some advice re: yeasts.

Some say an ale yeast ( have a kviek & a Safale -04), but some interweb info says champagne yeast.

Want to do a 20ltr brew & using fresh ginger, ginger powder & spices, et al.

Also will use some LDM and would like direction on whether yeast nutrient is a must. Cheers in advance for advice.

@JoeB7 I remember @beach_life recommended to someone a fair while back to use champagne yeast.  I have never tried it with my GB so cannot comment on it.

[JoeB7]

So what have you used in your GB @iBooz2 ?

I'm probably going with the Safale-04 because I have it & it needs using. Looking it up online tells me it is a good all-rounder (maybe why I bought it ages ago). Also it's a dry ale yeast that I can comfortably ferment in 4-5 days at 20°C with a good sedimentation action apparently. 

My plan is; 1 x kg fresh ginger chopped/grated, 500grm LDM, 1 x kg mix white/brown sugar, 50grm ginger powder & the usual suspects of lemon peel, cinnamon, clove nutmeg & what's in the bottom of my work pants pockets. Boil up the ginger & spices then strain into FV with fermentables & kick it to the kerb, suck it and see.

But looking up champagne yeast says it adds fruitiness so will plan some experimenting for the next one

Edited October 5, 2022 by JoeB7