Hi
I've brewed some basic kit/extract brews over the last 12 months which taste pretty good but I''m now ready to try BIAB.
I've a few questions hopefully the more experienced members can help me with.
1. What books would people recommend as a basic primer for brewing?
2. Is there a decent book for recipes, starting at the basics and explaining the styles and allowing you to work your through different and more complex ones? (recipes on this site all seem to use half-a-dozen grains and hops, something simpler whilst I'm learning would be good and build up to that).
3. If I order grain that is milled ready for BIAB, how long can I store the remainder and how should I store it? (and likewise for hops)?
4. Some of the recipes on this site have 4 or 5 hops in them and different IBU/AA values (I assume this is the bitterness) - if I look at Oz online place to buy these hops they typically seem to have a different AA % value - does this matter? If so, what can I do about it?
That's all for now! Thanks.
Post #2 made 10 years ago
1) We all started here, and it's free: http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html
2) Start with SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hop) brews. Very simple way to get started using a base malt (2 row pale, Maris Otter, Vienna, etc.) and a single hop. This allows you to learn the flavor of each individual component as well as play with how different mash temps, hop addition schedules, etc, affect your beer. Once you learn this you can add one specialty grain (crystal, roasted, etc) to learn what each brings to the table. If you have the patience to go through this process you will soon become a master recipe maker and brewer. I started by making a ton of 1 gallon SMaSH brews and keeping copious notes.
3) Grain should be stored cool and dry, not sure how long it will stay fresh (brew often and use it up?). Hops keep well in vacuum packed bags in the freezer for upwards of a year.
4) AA% does matter, you need to compensate for variances between what the recipe calls for and what you have in hand through the use of quality brewing software: BIABacus!!!
---Todd
2) Start with SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hop) brews. Very simple way to get started using a base malt (2 row pale, Maris Otter, Vienna, etc.) and a single hop. This allows you to learn the flavor of each individual component as well as play with how different mash temps, hop addition schedules, etc, affect your beer. Once you learn this you can add one specialty grain (crystal, roasted, etc) to learn what each brings to the table. If you have the patience to go through this process you will soon become a master recipe maker and brewer. I started by making a ton of 1 gallon SMaSH brews and keeping copious notes.
3) Grain should be stored cool and dry, not sure how long it will stay fresh (brew often and use it up?). Hops keep well in vacuum packed bags in the freezer for upwards of a year.
4) AA% does matter, you need to compensate for variances between what the recipe calls for and what you have in hand through the use of quality brewing software: BIABacus!!!
---Todd
WWBBD?
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- SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America
-
Post #3 made 10 years ago
Thanks for the response.
I've seen the term SMaSH used on this site but didn't know what it meant until now!
Would like to do mini-BIAB so I can do many different brews quicker in order to learn.
Ideally, there would be a book out there that would take me through this process, ie,
brew number 1, use this grain and this hop, here's the sorts of flavours you should be getting
brew number 2, use this grain and change to this hop, this will change the flavour by ....blah blah
brew number 3, use this grain and some of this grain and this hop, this will result in....blah blah
I'd like to be led by the hand through it a bit, does such a book exist?
I've seen the term SMaSH used on this site but didn't know what it meant until now!
Would like to do mini-BIAB so I can do many different brews quicker in order to learn.
Ideally, there would be a book out there that would take me through this process, ie,
brew number 1, use this grain and this hop, here's the sorts of flavours you should be getting
brew number 2, use this grain and change to this hop, this will change the flavour by ....blah blah
brew number 3, use this grain and some of this grain and this hop, this will result in....blah blah
I'd like to be led by the hand through it a bit, does such a book exist?
Post #4 made 10 years ago
chesl don't think there are any books like that. As Todd said, How to Brew is great.. Look up old Brewing Techniques magazine articles online.They are a great resource also.
Recipes... The best ones with integrity are posted on this site.
Think of grains as coffee.... Cool, Dry , and Dark place. Use as soon as possible.. Unmilled will last longer than milled grains.
Hops... Store in either vacuum pack or as I do..freezer bags with as much air rolledout as possible. I store them in sandwich bags then put them in a larger freezer bag. But , mine are used up within 2 months.
AA % a=affects the bitterness of the beer ...You can try the lower IBUs to see if you like the bitterness. Then use on online calculator to adjust up or down to your preference.
J
Recipes... The best ones with integrity are posted on this site.
Think of grains as coffee.... Cool, Dry , and Dark place. Use as soon as possible.. Unmilled will last longer than milled grains.
Hops... Store in either vacuum pack or as I do..freezer bags with as much air rolledout as possible. I store them in sandwich bags then put them in a larger freezer bag. But , mine are used up within 2 months.
AA % a=affects the bitterness of the beer ...You can try the lower IBUs to see if you like the bitterness. Then use on online calculator to adjust up or down to your preference.
J
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- SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America
-
Post #5 made 10 years ago
I, and this site, recommend Brewing Classic Styles, as a recipe book. There are instructions here to convert them into BIABicus recipes. Some of the recipes there are pretty simple. Base malt a couple specialty grains and a single hop. However some styles simply require more ingredients.
I love the SMASH recipes as well. You could literally spend a lifetime doing SMASH beers and never do the same one twice.
You aren't gonna find a book like the one you describe. Too much seasonal varience and subjective perception in brewing ingredients to make a book like that possible, imo.
Happy brewing!
Jeff
I love the SMASH recipes as well. You could literally spend a lifetime doing SMASH beers and never do the same one twice.
You aren't gonna find a book like the one you describe. Too much seasonal varience and subjective perception in brewing ingredients to make a book like that possible, imo.
Happy brewing!
Jeff
Post #6 made 10 years ago
Thanks guys. One final question.
If Maris Otter is a good option for starting the SMaSH beers, what would be a good hops to go with it as a base one to use? Does the hops come as pellets?
And what about yeast? Dry, liquid, does it keep?
If Maris Otter is a good option for starting the SMaSH beers, what would be a good hops to go with it as a base one to use? Does the hops come as pellets?
And what about yeast? Dry, liquid, does it keep?
Post #7 made 10 years ago
Maris Otter is an excellent choice as a base malt. It lends a bit more "bready/cracker" type flavor than the standard 2 row pale malt and is THE choice for most Engligh style ales. That said, I would probably choose a hop that lends itself to English style beer (Fuggles, Kent Goldings) https://www.hopunion.com/hop-varieties/
Hops come as pellets (easiest to use in my opinion), whole flowers (a bit messier to use), and plugs (just a bunch of flowers pressed together in a cake). "Hops is hops" though, use whatever form you can get.
Keep it simple with the yeast. Dry yeast is cheap, convenient, and stores well. Follow the manufacturer's directions for use (rehydrating it -vs- using it dry has been the source of many a holy war but honestly it works well either way).
- Safale Ale S-04 is a excellent choice for English styles
- Safale Ale S-05 is an excellent choice for American styles
- Danstar Nottingham or Windsor are my "go to" yeast for English ales (Nottingham in particular....it's a beast that will rip through your wort in no time and is very forgiving about fermentation temperature)
---Todd
Hops come as pellets (easiest to use in my opinion), whole flowers (a bit messier to use), and plugs (just a bunch of flowers pressed together in a cake). "Hops is hops" though, use whatever form you can get.
Keep it simple with the yeast. Dry yeast is cheap, convenient, and stores well. Follow the manufacturer's directions for use (rehydrating it -vs- using it dry has been the source of many a holy war but honestly it works well either way).
- Safale Ale S-04 is a excellent choice for English styles
- Safale Ale S-05 is an excellent choice for American styles
- Danstar Nottingham or Windsor are my "go to" yeast for English ales (Nottingham in particular....it's a beast that will rip through your wort in no time and is very forgiving about fermentation temperature)
---Todd
WWBBD?
-
- SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America
-
Post #8 made 10 years ago
Thanks for the info, very helpful.
Will pick up a couple of base grains and a couple of types of yeast and hops and try some variations.
Will look at the recipes section here for details.
Will pick up a couple of base grains and a couple of types of yeast and hops and try some variations.
Will look at the recipes section here for details.
Post #9 made 10 years ago
Chesl73 - one more plug on the Brewing Classic Styles book, from my perspective, there are a bunch of different recipes along with info about the beer and / or style. I would read through and pinpoint some recipes that most interest you, and bookmark them. Read through it enough each time another recipe or two might pop out as being interesting and on the list for a future brew...
The AA (Alpha Acids / bitterness) value on hops is pretty much a linear equation. So a hop with an AA of 8.0 you only have to use half the amount of a hop with 4.0% AA to get the same bitterness (and inversely you have to use 2 times 4 to get 8). Even the same hop variety grown the same year in a different field can have a slightly different AA content.
So based on that one might think "just brew with high AA hops", less expensive. But many of the finest Aroma or finishing hops tend to have low IBUs. So most recipes would have a higher AA hop in the boil for Bitterness and then normally lower AA hops toward the end of the boil for Aroma. Some can be good for both uses. Todd's link above from Palmer's "How To Brew" book has a chapter that deals with hops (and chapters that deal with almost everything else, except BIAB). Another good book to have.
The AA (Alpha Acids / bitterness) value on hops is pretty much a linear equation. So a hop with an AA of 8.0 you only have to use half the amount of a hop with 4.0% AA to get the same bitterness (and inversely you have to use 2 times 4 to get 8). Even the same hop variety grown the same year in a different field can have a slightly different AA content.
So based on that one might think "just brew with high AA hops", less expensive. But many of the finest Aroma or finishing hops tend to have low IBUs. So most recipes would have a higher AA hop in the boil for Bitterness and then normally lower AA hops toward the end of the boil for Aroma. Some can be good for both uses. Todd's link above from Palmer's "How To Brew" book has a chapter that deals with hops (and chapters that deal with almost everything else, except BIAB). Another good book to have.
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- SVA Brewer With Over 50 Brews From United States of America
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