Finally, a batch of homebrew. I used to do this a lot, but not for maybe 7 or 8 years now. I decided to get back in with an extract batch, and I found we have an excellent homebrew store right here in Hilo --Brew Hawaii.
Not liking the flat Macbook keyboard.
I started getting stuff out about 9:00am. I bought a new 10gal alum pot yesterday so that's today's brewpot.
Here's my recipe:
Beginning of boil--3gal water (flame on at 9:50am, boiling at 10:10am--big propane burner):
2 cans of Cooper Amber malt syrup (1.5kg ea)
0.5 oz Columbus hops 16.8 alpha
note: don't add the syrup to very hot water. or make sure to stir like crazy while adding. The syrup sank and burned on the bottom while I was scraping out the can. I can tell because the bottom of the pot feels 'crusty' while stirring.
Later in boil (at 45 minutes):
4 oz fresh thinly sliced ginger
2oz Cascade hops
chiller in pot
Flame off and chiller started at about 11am
by 11:15 the pot is touchable.
A plate chiller might be nice.
Transferred the wort to the 6gal carboy, and brought to what looks like the 5gal level with tap water.
Added yeast--Fermentis Safale s-04, which is English Ale Yeast. I mixed it up, and took the gravity.
1.047. Not bad, but I was hoping for over 1.050.
It turns out I could have (and should have) predicted this OG, using this simple calculation (lifted from the Homebrew Zone):
"dry malt extract also contributes more points per gallon (ppg). DME has about 44 ppg (this will vary between manufacturers), while LME has about 37 (again will vary with manufacturer). For example, one pound of dry malt extract in one gallon of water will yield an approximate original gravity of 1.044. Therefore, a 5 gallon recipe with 6 pounds of DME will yield an original gravity of approximately 1.052 (6 lbs. DME X 44 ppg=264 points, 264 points/5 gallons=52=1.052)." Plugging my numbers in, I used 6.6 lb LME, which times 37 and divided by 5 gives 48.
I put an airlock on it, brought it in the house, and covered it with a black plastic bag (real thick contractor's grade).
Done with everything including cleanup by 12:30. Nice.
On to coloring eggs with the kids
