Cheapest all grain recipe?

[Monkhouse]

Hey guys, I was wondering what recipe you could recommend with the lowest possible price tag- preferably something over 5%. Could be any style at all as long as it’s cheap!
Im on a really tight budget this month but still want to be able to brew so fire away!
Dave

 

[RichardM]

A SMASH with dry yeast

SMASH

These posts have been copied here from the full thread (link below) as a member posted this in it - Just re-discovered this truly fantastic post - is there any way to get this one perma-linked in some way @Chippy_Tea ?? https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/smash.95659/ Northern_Brewer...

www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk

 

[Monkhouse]

A SMASH with dry yeast

That’s a really good call! Weirdly hadn’t considered this,could you recommend any particular combination? To make around 25L?

 

[Oneflewover]

What, if anything, have you got in stock already? Hops are probably the ingredient where most can be spent or saved, so something not terribly hop forward, using cheaper hop varieties

 

[An Ankoù]

A SMASH with dry yeast

Agreed. Get a 5Kg bag of pale ale malt. Unspecified malt rather than MO or GP or any of the other named varieties. I don't think there's any "bad" malt on the market nowadays, and then get 100g of EKGs or Fuggles. You could either make something like a Summer Lightning Clone with the EKGs or a Lovibond Pale with regular additions of the Fuggles.
Simple is often best and you might find yourself not going back to the complicated recipes as frequently as before.

 

[samale]

Have you got any stock in or do you have to order supplies. If you have to order I would consider a all grain kit from CML. Comes with everything you need

 

[Monkhouse]

I’ve got nothing in stock at all, apart from 2x mangrove jacks dry saison yeast but tbh I’ll probably be just buying a sachet of s-05.
So 100g of hops to 5kg of malt? Would this be around 5%abv? A summer ale does sound perfect, something quick to ferment and drink is always a win!
I’ll be ordering from malt miller but didn’t fancy just going for one of their ready made kits this time.

 

[Tanglefoot]

Maris Otter, EKG and English ale yeast or extra pale MO, Cascade and US-05.
Did both early on when I started all grain. Simple, cheap but among the best I've brewed.

Edit :Try Brewfather of similar software to work out recipe to required ABV

 

[samale]

Online Store | brewstore

www.crossmyloofbrew.co.uk

21 litres of Sierra Nevada for 24 pounds delivered

 

[tigertim]

If you're looking for some more tropical flavours associated traditionally with expensive American hops, you might like to take a look at Harlequin, a British hop with many of those qualities at around half the price. I did a SMASH with it a month or so ago and utterly loved it.

 

[An Ankoù]

If you're looking for some more tropical flavours associated traditionally with expensive American hops, you might like to take a look at Harlequin, a British hop with many of those qualities at around half the price. I did a SMASH with it a month or so ago and utterly loved it.

Me too. I was surprised that in spite of the descriptors, the dominant flavour was grapefruit- and a very intense grapoefruit. Love the hop, but it needs toning down in my opinion.

 

[An Ankoù]

I’ve got nothing in stock at all, apart from 2x mangrove jacks dry saison yeast but tbh I’ll probably be just buying a sachet of s-05.
So 100g of hops to 5kg of malt? Would this be around 5%abv? A summer ale does sound perfect, something quick to ferment and drink is always a win!
I’ll be ordering from malt miller but didn’t fancy just going for one of their ready made kits this time.

Malt Miller has got very expensive. Try Geterbrewed:

Crisp Best Ale Malt (EBC 5.0-7.0) - Get Er Brewed

Buy Crisp Best Ale Malt (EBC 5.0-7.0) Online at Get Er Brewed! Buy from a family-run passionate brewery shop, with delivery across the UK!

www.geterbrewed.com

The same is £9.16 at MM.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

As @An Ankoù said, 5Kgs of any pale malt will do the job, then…

Bitter
A pack of cheap yeast like SO4 and a pack of cheap flavoursome hops like Fuggles

Pale Ale
A pack of cheap yeast like SO4 and a pack of cheap flavoursome hops like East Kent Goldings

Saison
You already have the yeast so just need a pack of cheap flavoursome hops like Styrian Goldings

Pilsner
For this one you want 5Kgs of cheap lager malt, a couple of packs of lager yeast (use Mangrove Jacks M54 if you don’t have good temperature control) and a pack of cheap flavoursome hops like Saaz.

There’s loads you can do with very little but that will probably suffice as examples.

Also remember if you want a bit more strength you can add a little sugar. 500g of table sugar will add around 1.5%.

 

[Agentgonzo]

If you have a local brewery, wander down to them and ask if you can buy some of the malt from them. Some are happy to do it, some aren't so it's the luck of the draw. Wholesale prices are far cheaper than homebrew stores. Check whether it's crushed or uncrushed first!

 

[obscure]

One big advantage with Saison is the very high attenuation rate so you will likely hit your 5% ABV target with less grain throw in that you can use fairly small amounts of comparatively cheap hops like Styrian Golding and it makes for a great easy to make cheap beer.

 

[Monkhouse]

Wow so many replies I’ve hit the jackpot with this thread

 

[Monkhouse]

As @An Ankoù said, 5Kgs of any pale malt will do the job, then…

Bitter
A pack of cheap yeast like SO4 and a pack of cheap flavoursome hops like Fuggles

Pale Ale
A pack of cheap yeast like SO4 and a pack of cheap flavoursome hops like East Kent Goldings

Saison
You already have the yeast so just need a pack of cheap flavoursome hops like Styrian Goldings

Pilsner
For this one you want 5Kgs of cheap lager malt, a couple of packs of lager yeast (use Mangrove Jacks M54 if you don’t have good temperature control) and a pack of cheap flavoursome hops like Saaz.

There’s loads you can do with very little but that will probably suffice as examples.

Also remember if you want a bit more strength you can add a little sugar. 500g of table sugar will add around 1.5%.

How much malt would I need to get a stronger abv like 6.5% for 25l if I didn’t fancy using sugar?

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

How much malt would I need to get a stronger abv like 6.5% for 25l if I didn’t fancy using sugar?

This depends on your efficiency, mash temperature, and the attenuation of the yeast - do you know what your efficiency is? Even with fairly moderate efficiency, commonly used mash temperature, and a pretty average attenuation you should get at least 1% per Kg of grain.

 

[Monkhouse]

That does make sense. I did try and work out my efficiency once upon a time but found it a bit confusing tbh I’m still really new at this but learning allot from every brew.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I would say just use 5Kg of grain and if the OG is less than 1.060 add some sugar to the wort at a rate of 500g for 9 points.