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Post #1 made 9 years ago
by MargateNoob
So i recently had my first brew day and am just waiting for the fermentation to finish.

My question... I am looking to do my next brew asap and am looking for a nice light session ale not too alcoholic

I have a 32 litre peco boiler so as you know what kind of quantities i am looking for

Thank You and look forward to hearing suggestions ;)

Post #2 made 9 years ago
by Scott
How light in ABV?

What kind of beers do you like? What is a range of those you like...? How hoppy?

How simple of a brew (lager vs ale, step mash vs infusion, etc.)?
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Post #3 made 9 years ago
by MargateNoob
Well...my first brew is an APA turning out to be about 6.5abv

I am really quite open to what kind of beer.... Between 3.5 and 4.5 i suppose

The main thing to bare in mind is that it will be my second stab at BIAB so nothing too complx unless it has very clear and concise instructions.

That cover it?

Post #5 made 9 years ago
by Scott
6.5% ABV seems too big for an APA. Did you have too much evaporation? If so, you easily fix that in the fermenter (add water...basically). Let us know if you need help with that.

MS had a good idea if you want same recipe as existing APA but want it lighter. My guess is you are looking for something different.

My guess is you are looking for something a bit different. One I really like in that category is a Dry Irish Stout. Normally about 4.2% ABV but easy to tweak one way or the other in the BIABacus, as MS alluded to. Besides that, on the really light side are British Bitters... Or could do some sort of Golden Ale or if you can lager - a Pilsner, and adjust OG for the ABV you are looking for.

Make sure to let us know what you ended up doing. Best of luck. :luck:
Last edited by Scott on 14 Sep 2016, 09:26, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #6 made 9 years ago
by MargateNoob
Thank You for the really quick reply guys :)

I have dipped my toe into the Biabicus but really need to get familiar with it... Would it be a case of starting with more boil water? or calculating and adding more water to the ferment liquor before adding the yeast to bring down the OG?

As far as the ABV goes...i used this recipe kit that came with my equipment and it is quoted at being 6.4%...so i am pretty pleased with my first try so far :)
http://www.geterbrewed.com/hoppy-americ ... dient-kit/

I actually really like the service and they were really helpful, they have some interesting looking recipes too but none with the ABV i am looking for...would it be a case of just adjusting water volume to get what i want for all the recipes?

Thank You once again :)

Post #7 made 9 years ago
by Lumpy5oh
To adjust with the biabacus you would enter the recipe as is on one side and then enter in what you would like the starting gravity to be. The biabacus will then scale down the grain bill and give you water volumes needed.
You can post a recipe and an attempt at the biabacus and we can help you sort it out.

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Post #8 made 9 years ago
by Scott
You're currently brewing with a KIT - not a recipe.

If you used BIABacus and put recipe one one side, like Lumpy is saying, and then dial in a lower desired OG - it will tell you to use less grain and hops. Similar water. And it will show a lower estimated ABV.

I would recommend purchasing the Brewing Classic Styles book. A great source for recipes. And would use that instead of a kit. Their kit may make a tasty brew, but you can easily do as well or likely better using a BCS recipe. And it's easy. And like has been noted, it is super easy to scale actual recipe up or down.

One note: Your recipe uses Maris Otter for malt base... That is a great malt and would be good in a British style ale. American Pale Ale should have American 2-row malt, I would think... Hops looks okay. Don't worry about it, I'm sure it will taste big, but good...just maybe more of a British APA. :scratch: ;) And ABV is more like a lighter IPA, 6.5% is very high for an APA.

You'll have to purchase materials from somebody... Most of use a Local Homebrew Shop, if well stocked. But if you want to - your kit supplier might have raw materials.
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Post #9 made 9 years ago
by MargateNoob
Scott wrote:You're currently brewing with a KIT - not a recipe.

If you used BIABacus and put recipe one one side, like Lumpy is saying, and then dial in a lower desired OG - it will tell you to use less grain and hops. Similar water. And it will show a lower estimated ABV.

I would recommend purchasing the Brewing Classic Styles book. A great source for recipes. And would use that instead of a kit. Their kit may make a tasty brew, but you can easily do as well or likely better using a BCS recipe. And it's easy. And like has been noted, it is super easy to scale actual recipe up or down.

One note: Your recipe uses Maris Otter for malt base... That is a great malt and would be good in a British style ale. American Pale Ale should have American 2-row malt, I would think... Hops looks okay. Don't worry about it, I'm sure it will taste big, but good...just maybe more of a British APA. :scratch: ;) And ABV is more like a lighter IPA, 6.5% is very high for an APA.

You'll have to purchase materials from somebody... Most of use a Local Homebrew Shop, if well stocked. But if you want to - your kit supplier might have raw materials.
When you say materials do you mean ingredients?

I have just looked at this book and it talks of using extracts??? Do i have the right book by jamil zainasheff?
Last edited by MargateNoob on 14 Sep 2016, 22:55, edited 1 time in total.

Post #10 made 9 years ago
by Scott
Yes, I was thinking "raw materials" for the brew, or ingredients.

The BCS book shows extract amount in the main recipe section and below that shows what the changes if whole grain. (Example: instead of 7 lbs. pale malt extract, use 8.5 lbs. of American 2-Row Malt). We use Whole Grain with BIAB, and can easily convert the BCS recipes to the BIABacus most of us use. I believe there is a link to the BCS book at the bottom of this page.

Are you comfortable using an Excel spreadsheet? I'll attach my BIABacus file for Dry Irish Stout from last April (similar to Guinness...). Open it up and play with it, change desired OG, etc. I've brewed it as low as 3.75% ABV and as much as...think this one turned out around 4.3%.

You'll want to go into the BIAB for New Members page and read some of the info there. Lots of posts there, if you review should help. Clear Brewing Terminology... On the BIABacus don't let the large size of the opening page frighten you...just take it section by section and you'll get it soon enough. The Terminology page will help understanding what the file is talking about... Let us know if questions.
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Post #11 made 9 years ago
by MargateNoob
Scott wrote:Yes, I was thinking "raw materials" for the brew, or ingredients.

The BCS book shows extract amount in the main recipe section and below that shows what the changes if whole grain. (Example: instead of 7 lbs. pale malt extract, use 8.5 lbs. of American 2-Row Malt). We use Whole Grain with BIAB, and can easily convert the BCS recipes to the BIABacus most of us use. I believe there is a link to the BCS book at the bottom of this page.

Are you comfortable using an Excel spreadsheet? I'll attach my BIABacus file for Dry Irish Stout from last April (similar to Guinness...). Open it up and play with it, change desired OG, etc. I've brewed it as low as 3.75% ABV and as much as...think this one turned out around 4.3%.

You'll want to go into the BIAB for New Members page and read some of the info there. Lots of posts there, if you review should help. Clear Brewing Terminology... On the BIABacus don't let the large size of the opening page frighten you...just take it section by section and you'll get it soon enough. The Terminology page will help understanding what the file is talking about... Let us know if questions.
Thank You so much...i obviously didnt look properly and can now see the substitute suggestions

I have been having a tinker with biabicus like you said...I have put in the dimensions of my kettle...Am i correct in thinking that the only way i can alter the Volume into Boil on the biabicus is to change the desired volume into fermentor?....the reason i ask is because in the book recipe for the dark irish stout that you used it only shows me pre boil volume of 26.5l
Last edited by MargateNoob on 15 Sep 2016, 02:31, edited 1 time in total.

Post #12 made 9 years ago
by Lumpy5oh
The volume in the bcs book is based on their equipment. Everyone will have different volumes and weights based on individuals equipment. The biggest problem with trying to copy recipes is trying to figure out the volumes the author is referring to and exact numbers. We call these low integrity recipes. Luckily the bcs book gives us a lot of information we need and as Scott has written many brewers have had great success making the recipes. And of course we can help you take a recipe and tweak it to your desires.


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Post #13 made 9 years ago
by Scott
Yes, you change the desired VIF (Volume Into Fermentor) and it calculates how much water you use for your equipment to make that happen. And if you try to dial in too much volume (more than your equipment can handle), the BIABacus file will alert you.

It's like if you must be at a location at a particular time, but have many stops to do, you should start at the end destination and start subtracting the different times for the different stops - and end up with the time you must leave by to make that happen. The BIABacus works that way too!
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Post #14 made 9 years ago
by MargateNoob
So...I have put in the dimensions to the excel spreadsheet and saved it...find a copy attached.

If it all looks cool to you i am going to crack on and order the ingredients.

One thing...i have only used dry yeast...i had a quick look at the Wyeast 1084 and read that you can either smack the packet and leave for 3 hours or shake and add to wort as is....what did you do and whats the diff?
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Post #15 made 9 years ago
by Lumpy5oh
I've only used one smack pack. I cracked it at the start of my brewday and pitched it that day. It worked out well.

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Post #16 made 9 years ago
by Scott
Yeah Lumpy's right. For sure smack the smack pack at start of the brew day and let it provides starter for the yeast. That's its purpose.
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