Another First AG BIAB (Clibit Special)

[Paydoogs]

After seeing the feedback yesterday on another brewer's recipe - I began to worry as I thought I was playing it safe, but not too sure now. I was hoping to doing my first AG this weekend.
Anyway, the recipe:
750g Maris Otter
100g Crystal 80
150g Barley Flakes

5g fuggles for 60 mins
10g fuggles for 5 or 10mins?

3g of Muntons Premium Gold Yeast.

I used the free 'BrewMate' to input ingedients etc, but as a noob I only understood the ABV at 4.22% which suits my alcohol level.

Should I cut down on the Barley Flakes and /or bump up the Maris Otter or just go for it and see?

Thanks.

 

[GlentoranMark]

Looks like a nice simple Stout recipe. I haven't inputted your numbers so I don't know about the bitterness but stouts should be in the range of 30-45 IBU's. Hop choice isn't as important but Fuggles sounds good.

 

[Paydoogs]

Thanks for the reply.
Program says the IBU's come out at 23.4 but if that looks okay - then it's a goer.
I've just put a Cooper's lager Kit on now too, so it's going to be a superbrew weekend :thumb:

 

[Dads_Ale]

Good luck with your brew.
AG is all about experimentation, otherwise it would be boring...:smile:

 

[MyQul]

Looks like a nice simple Stout recipe. I haven't inputted your numbers so I don't know about the bitterness but stouts should be in the range of 30-45 IBU's. Hop choice isn't as important but Fuggles sounds good.

That wont make a stout as he only has flaked barley. He'll need some roasted barley too, to make a stout (but I know you know that and skim read the OP, mistaking flaked for roasted )

 

[Paydoogs]

Well, that's done then. A lager kit and a small BIAB all snuggly in their wee bath. Can't wait to find out how it turns out.
One thing though, it was quite a lot of work to do a small batch but then again as it's my first go and I have some more hops and crystal malts to play with - it's just as well.



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[cheapbrew]

glad to hear it all went well, but sounds like a busy day with the lager kit too :thumb:

 

[Paydoogs]

Yip, busy but it was a rubbish day outside anyway.
It was good to brew from scratch - feels more creative but risky?
I also had to reassure the wife that I'm not spending all my spare time doing this. :whistle:

 

[clibit]

Good to see!,it's a lot of work for 5 litres but it's a good test run. You can make bigger batches when you're more confident. Maybe more risk, but not loads, and my first AG attempt produced better beer than anything I made before.

 

[Paydoogs]

Cheers Clibit and thanks for the original AG recipe and method in the first place.
It was pretty straight forward and now the painful bit - the wait.
In the meantime, when a FV is freed up I've still got plenty of grain and a couple of other hops (Goldings and Progress) to play with.
Also, you're right about batch size. I'll have an experiment and gain a bit more confidence and do larger batch sizes of the ones I really like. :drink:

 

[Tony1951]

To be honest, I don't think there is much risk unless you make up some mad recipe and it turns out to taste funny. If you stick with tried and tested recipes, you are unlikely to come unstuck and the chances of getting a vastly better beer than a one can kit are VERY good. There is really no comparison in teh quality of beer you can achieve and once you have a nice recipe, you can tinker and make it different and maybe better on subsequent brews.

Good to start small because if you are anything like me, I was bewildered on my first couple of brews, but after that, the whole process and temperatures to be achieved were all in my head and it is just a matter of timing and keeping things right.

In the end, it will be no more work to do a five gallon brew than a one gallon one - just bigger vessels and more malt and hops and water.

You are on your way. Good luck. I doubt you will go back to canned kits after doing a couple of AG brews. I wouldn't. There is something primal about opening your 25 kilo sack of malt and ladling it out into a bucket to take to the mash tun. Marvellous smells and sensations and you own the whole process from start to finish so when you give people your beer, you can truly say, 'I made this.' :)