Extract brew

Rodcx500z · Jan 28, 2020

never done an extract so with a load of bits and bats thought I would give one ag, another reason is I have an hernia and need to go easy on the lifting, this is what I came up with
Bits & Bats ale
Specialty Beer
Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (L): 21.0
Total Grain (kg): 3.225
Total Hops (g): 55.00
Original Gravity (OG): 1.044 (°P): 11.0
Final Gravity (FG): 1.007 (°P): 1.8
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 4.81 %
Colour (SRM): 11.1 (EBC): 21.9
Bitterness (IBU): 33.7 (Tinseth)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes): 60
Grain Bill
----------------
1.500 kg Dry Malt Extract - Amber (46.51%)
1.000 kg United Kingdom - Pale 2-Row (31.01%)
0.375 kg Corn Syrup (11.63%)
0.100 kg United Kingdom - Amber (3.1%)
0.100 kg United Kingdom - Crystal 45L (3.1%)
0.100 kg United Kingdom - Munich (3.1%)
0.050 kg United Kingdom - Chocolate (1.55%)
Hop Bill
----------------
25.0 g Challenger Leaf (8.5% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (1.2 g/L)
15.0 g Challenger Leaf (8.5% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil) (0.7 g/L)
15.0 g Motueka Pellet (7% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Boil) (0.7 g/L)
Misc Bill
----------------
Single step Infusion at 66°C for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at 20°C with Safale - American Ale Yeast US-05
So come on extract experts I need help with this

Dutto · Jan 29, 2020

Looks okay but not sure how this will help your hernia!

The 21 litre brew weighs just as much as a normal brew, plus with all those hops and doing a 60 minute boil the amount of time will be the same!

Why not:

Using a one-can kit (already hopped), add the DME and then add a Hop Tea after fermentation. (Less than two hours from start to ferment with everything washed, sanitised and tidied away.)
Use more DME and Corn Syrup (to get the OG you need), do the 60 minute boil with hops and then ferment.
Use the same DME and Corn Syrup with a reduced amount of water (to get the OG you need), do a normal 60 minute boil with reduced hops. (This will help the hernia situation.)

Alternatively, rig a small lifting system. I have one of these ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hardware-B...r_1_19?keywords=pulley&qid=1580258301&sr=8-19

... screwed into a wooden roof truss above the fridge and one of these ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heavy-Duty...r_1_23?keywords=pulley&qid=1580258301&sr=8-23

... attached to a small bridle that fits the fermenter handle. The whole lot (including the rope from Lidl) cost about £6 and it saves a lot of back ache. The finished article looks like this ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eduplay-15...r_1_18?keywords=pulley&qid=1580258301&sr=8-18

... but cost a lot less!

Enjoy!

Rodcx500z · Jan 29, 2020

Cheers Dutto appreciate this and will certainly look into it, its the grain bag that's gets me, I think the only way is smaller batches acheers.

ClownPrince · Jan 29, 2020

Rodcx500z said:
Cheers Dutto appreciate this and will certainly look into it, its the grain bag that's gets me, I think the only way is smaller batches

Could you use several smaller grain bags rather than a single big one? It's a bit more hassle, but less strain in one go.

terrym · Jan 29, 2020

Remember that for full extract and also partial mash brewing there is no need for a full volume boil since some the malt extract can go straight into the FV.
I now only do partial mash brews based on 1kg Pale Malt plus smaller quantities of grains requiring mashing or steeping. Basically I do a BIAB mash and then a 9 litre boil using the mash liquor and about 500g DME in an 11 litre stockpot, with final cooling in the sink. Then 1.0kg DME goes into the FV, and I make the wort up to 20 litres or so according to what I'm looking for in the recipe. So the biggest single lift is the full FV from one area to another.
However if you are trying to restrict your lifting why not simply brew less at a time, say half volume. I recently brewed a trial 9 litre low ABV batch and that was done in a 25 litre FV, and that too was based on a 1kg Pale malt mash in the 11 litre stockpot

PS If you want to go the full extract route try this.
A Simple Guide to Extract Brewing

Cheshire Cat · Jan 29, 2020

I would cut out the infusion mash so just use extract with steeping grains. I boil The bittering hops for 30 minutes with some DME, steep the grain for 45 minutes at 68C. Add these to FV and then add extract then top up to final volume no further boil. You can dry hop once the fermentation is complete.

Rodcx500z · Jan 29, 2020

Thanks for replies, a few options there, I will read your link Terry acheers.

Extract brew

Help Support The Homebrew Forum:

Rodcx500z

Landlord.

Dutto

Landlord.

Rodcx500z

Landlord.

ClownPrince

Regular.

terrym

Member

Cheshire Cat

Landlord.

Rodcx500z

Landlord.

Similar threads

Latest posts

Extract brew

Help Support The Homebrew Forum:

Landlord.

Landlord.

Landlord.

Regular.

Member

Landlord.

Landlord.

Similar threads

Join the conversation!

Join today and get all the highlights of this community direct to your inbox. It's FREE!