Nice mid strength (extract & specialty grain) - take one

Ash · Post by **Ash** » Friday Jan 19, 2007 5:41 pm

1.5kg Morgan's Pale liquid malt
500gm LDME
250gm 145ebc Crystal malt grain
16gm PoR for 60min
10g Amarillo for 15min

Brewing notes: Steep grain for 30min in 3l water, rinse with 1.5l boiled & cooled water into pot. Stir in 500gm LDME & bring back to rolling boil, add 16g PoR for 60min & 10gm Amarillo for 15min. Stir in 1.5kg malt tin at flameout.

Using chilled water to get down to pitching temp.

Calulated out to end up at approx 3.5% alc & 21.5 IBU, so a hoppy little low gravity beer (est starting grav ~1.035).

I just put in the Amarillo 5 min ago, will report back as I go.

This is my first attempt with specialty grain & boiling hops, will report back with progress. A very helpful HBS owner (Greg @ Homebrewer's Warehouse) helped me piece this one together so due credit to him, though it was made up on the spot! (he picked the Amarillo & did the calcs for the boil, which matched my online calcs to within 2/10ths of stuff all).

Hope it works out, meant to be a summer quaffer. just using an ale yeast, lagers are a PITB

Edit: OG 1.030, final volume is 20l

Cheers
Ash

morgs · Post by **morgs** » Friday Jan 19, 2007 6:11 pm

Sounds good i might try something similar with my first real extract brew. Maybe with the addition of some wheat malt. Might come out similar to a J.S golden ale that which i am enjoying a few right now.

SpillsMostOfIt · Post by **SpillsMostOfIt** » Friday Jan 19, 2007 9:08 pm

I'm about to steep some carapils in an extract brew (once the weather improves a little) and am 'convinced' that adding some wheat malt will help with head retention, so will be adding a slurp.

Ash · Post by **Ash** » Saturday Jan 20, 2007 8:53 am

Actually morgs, I tasted the wort after taking the gravity reading & then happened to have some JS golden for the first time at a mate's place last night - same basic flavor strangely enough.

HBS guy did say the head retention would be a little lacking with this one, should have grabbed some wheat malt.

Ash · Post by **Ash** » Friday Feb 02, 2007 2:35 pm

OK this one is kegged & Gassed now.

I let it get too hot during fermentation unfortunately but it's still totally drinkable, infact I think it's one of my best to date.
Considering the damn thing will only be 2 weeks old total tonight it should only improve (I hope) with a bit more time, kicking myself about the temp control.

Changes I think I'd use some wheat malt & also add another 10g of Amarillo at flameout, along with better temp control of course to hopefully make it more like Squire Golden Ale clone.

Suitably impressed with this more involved process, I don't know if I'll be using kits much anymore.

SpillsMostOfIt · Post by **SpillsMostOfIt** » Friday Feb 02, 2007 2:48 pm

Ash wrote:OK this one is kegged & Gassed now.
Suitably impressed with this more involved process, I don't know if I'll be using kits much anymore.

Careful - you are at the top of a very slippery slope!

Ash · Post by **Ash** » Friday Feb 02, 2007 2:55 pm

I know it's going to lead to AG eventually, but I think I'll find my feet doing this for at least 6 months first - I mean it took me 6 months to get this far

Pale_Ale · Post by **Pale_Ale** » Friday Feb 02, 2007 4:02 pm

Ash, if you or anyone else has a good JS Golden Ale clone, let me know please!

I did a clone recently using Amarillo hops, but overdid it with them. Am going to do an extract next time maybe something like this:

3Kg LME
100g Crystal malt
6g Amarillo @ 60mins
10g Amarillo @ 15mins
15g Amarillo dry hopped

Be interested in anyones recipes

blandy · Post by **blandy** » Saturday Feb 03, 2007 7:52 am

Um... what sort of yeast did you use?

Pale_Ale · Post by **Pale_Ale** » Saturday Feb 03, 2007 9:41 am

Recipe above is planned so haven't used it....first go at JSGA I used a Sparkling Ale kit with 1.5Kg LME and 3 generous additions of Amarillo. Too much Amarillo. Used Coopers dried yeast.

Next go I will probably be using a nottingham ale yeast or something similar or maybe a CPA starter...

Ash · Post by **Ash** » Wednesday Feb 07, 2007 10:57 pm

Did a back to back test of this with JS golden ale today, it's not too far off/closer than I thought. The amarillo is about right but the aftertaste bitterness on the tounge from the PoR in my brew is different to that in the JS.

Next time I think I'll try 500g of wheat malt instead of the LDME & maybe a different bittering hop - any suggestions?

I used a Morgans 514 ale yeast BTW

Pale_Ale · Post by **Pale_Ale** » Thursday Feb 08, 2007 8:18 am

Anyone know what hop is used by JS to bitter the Golden Ale? It's not very bitter...Amarillo would be fine but I find the Golden Ale has a very smooth bittering.

Ash · Post by **Ash** » Thursday Feb 08, 2007 11:45 am

Hey Pale_Ale, found a thread on Google about someone else making something similar, appears AG though I guess you could adapt it - however they discussed using PoR for bittering anyway?

edit: Also another link --> click me

Pale_Ale · Post by **Pale_Ale** » Thursday Feb 08, 2007 11:54 am

Interesting thread...PoR is an interesting choice. What about a nice smooth hop like Simcoe, used sparingly could give that smooth taste...

Ash · Post by **Ash** » Friday Mar 23, 2007 8:17 pm

Finally did take#2 today, alterations in bold

1.5kg Morgan's Extra Pale liquid malt (a) - added at flame out to keep the boil gravity down in my little 5l boil
500gm LDME (in the boil with the crystal)
250gm medium Crystal malt grain (b)
8gm PoR (9.1%aa) for ~60min (c)
2gm Amarillo (8.9%aa) for ~60 min (d)
10g Amarillo for ~20min
10g Amarillo for ~8min (e)
SafAle US56 (f)

Idea being add much more Amarillo goodness but keep a little PoR in there for some complexity, have a bottle of the original version aged sufficently to back to back test against (obviously bottle conditioned vs kegged to throw it out a little, but anyway)

a) only went extra pale 'cause they were out of pale at my local HBS
b) got the grain & yeast from Craftbrewer, unsure of exact EBC of the crystal, close enough - tops service, Ross actually posted it before I paid cause my web banking was offline unexpectedly, how good is that?
c) reduced amount to keep the IBU ballpark with last time
d) I'd planned 10gm of PoR but the 10g packet I bought locally didn't have 10 gm in it! so I substituted 2g of Amarillo to make it up
e) Last time I did 10g of Amarillo for 15min splitting the difference between flavor & aroma - this time I did 10g for both individually.
f) US56 instead of the 514 temp tolerant stuff I used last time, seeing as I have better temp control now