My first partial

[Guru]

Been looking at doing my first partial brew in the next week or so and found a nice easy recipe on here (http://homebrewandbeer.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1966&start=120#p86903) that looked ok.

I put this into Brewmate (see below) but the bitterness seems to be really low. Is this because Brewmate isn't taking into account the bitterness of the kit?
I was also undecided as to whether I should boil all the fermentables or just a portion. I am assuming that if I boiled all the fermentables, this will reduce the bitterness of the kit.
Any help and guidance (or possible improvements) appreciated.

Adaire Ale (Australian Pale Ale)

Original Gravity (OG): 1.044 (°P): 11.0
Final Gravity (FG): 1.010 (°P): 2.6
Alcohol (ABV): 4.50 %
Colour (SRM): 6.6 (EBC): 13.0
Bitterness (IBU): 6.7 (Average)

57.63% Coopers Real Ale
33.9% Dry Malt Extract - Light
8.47% Crystal 10

0.7 g/L Willamette (7.1% Alpha) @ 20 Minutes (Boil)
0.5 g/L Willamette (7.1% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Aroma)

Single step Infusion at 65°C for 30 Minutes. Boil for 60 Minutes

Fermented at 20°C with Safale US-05

[weizgei]

Guru, not that it changes much, but this isn't actually a 'partial'. Partial mash brews are where you 'mash' part of your grain bill, much like an all grain brewer does with their entire grain bill. Partials are really good for brewers that don't have boil kettles big enough to boil the full batch volume....instead you can mash say 60% of your grain bill, then at the very end of the boil, add extract and water to get to your desired batch volume and original gravity.

What you have above is a kits 'n bits recipe, where you're using a combo of a kit, extract and specialty grain. All that being said, it looks like it'll come out pretty tasty to me. The only problem is you are showing percentages for the ingredients, without an actual volume, so it's hard to work out exactly how much of each ingredient you're using. Can you repost with the weight of the ingredients instead, as well as your total batch size (e.g. 20 litres)?

I'm guessing it's about 21 litres, with a 1.7kg can of Real Ale, 1kg of light DME, and 250gm of Crystal. If that's close, then you're right about your IBU, something's gone wrong with your calcs...with those ingredients in 21 litres, you should be up around 41 IBU, which is pretty big for an Aussie Pale Ale style. If you want it big and hoppy, then you've got a winner already...

[Guru]

Yep, your right about the quantities, 1.7kg can plus 1kg of ldme.
Never done a partial as I say so I am just guessing that what I was doing was something like that. Doesn't seem to be a huge difference between steeping your grain for half an hour or mashing it, maybe just the quantities and the fact you don't sparge. Anyways, it looks like I'm on the right track to make good beer and that is my aim.

[weizgei]

Yeah, basically the difference is how specific you need to be with mashing grain. The duration and temperature plays a big part in how the beer will end up. Generally, AG brewers will try and keep their mash temp constant throughout the whole time of the mash (60-90 mins). Whereas with specialty/steeping grains, you can just fill a 2l pot up with hot water from your tap, and let 'em soak for 30 minutes. The exact temp and any variance won't make a difference.

What I used to do with steeping grain was steep them in a separate pot of hot water, while bringing water in my main pot to the boil. Once the steep was done, I'd strain the grain through a strainer into the main pot. Then return the steeped grain to the 2nd pot, add another litre of hot tap water, give it a good stir, then strain again into the main pot (which is basically a sparge). Then I'd make dog biscuits with the spent grain....my golden retriever loves 'em!

[Guru]

Mmm, malted barley biscuits, I reckon our Beagle would love that too.