Help with basic recipe

[bpgreen]

I think i mentioned here that I was riding my bicycle and got hit by a truck last year.

I'm still suffering some cognitive issues, which brings me here.

I'm easing back into brewing both in terms of process and batch size. I just can't move 5 gallons yet.

I actually bought a couple of 1.5 gallon pinter batches. My next step is a Mr beer batch (i may brew it extra strong as a 1.5 gallon batch in the pinter).

My next step will be an extract with hop boil.

It used to be pretty automatic to switch between extract and all grain and different batch sizes, but now i just get confused. I fired up BeerSmith but still have questions.

If i want to do a mr beer sized batch, I'm thinking 2-3 lbs lme depending on how strong i want it. But the hop schedule throws me for a loop. I've got some home grown hops and some pellet hops.

I seem to recall throwing hops in for 60, 20, 7 minutes of boiling. Then some at flameout and some a week or so before bottle/keg.

But how much at each stage? An ounce for 60 and a half ounce for the other additions? I'm not sure why that sounds right to me. I'm guessing I've used that in the past and it's in my subconscious. Does that sound about right or is it way off? And if it's off, is it too much or not enough?

[FrozenInTime]

Depends on your ingredients and what your going for. Fire up one of the programs and input your ingredients. An ounce in a small batch just might make it too bitter to enjoy. I mostly do first wort, 30 for taste and 7 or flame-out for aroma but everyone is different. Are you going for a session brew (low alky), mid range taste/aroma or a strong (bitter and/or high alky) brew?

I now use the Grainfather app to put together my grains/hops to get a good brewski. I use to use Beersmith but no longer have that on my computer. Is Qbrew still out there? I've used that lot too in the past.

[bpgreen]

I'm probably going for something along the lines of an APA or IPA (maybe even a DIPA). I think i still have BeerSmith on one of my computers (long story, but for some reason, i have several windows 10 computers, a windows 11 computer, and a couple of mac minis). But I'm currently pretty much only using my tablet and phone for everything. I tried using one of the online recipe programs, but got bogged down and couldn't create a good recipe.
I'm not looking for absolute answers. Just something that will be a ballpark i can use as a starting point.

[FrozenInTime]

I have Grainfather app on my phone, works good for me. Your times are good. I hesitate to suggest the hops weight as there is way too many ways to under/over bitter a brew or ruin a batch. I also hesitate to say one way or another using LME or DME, I haven't used those for probably 10 years. Well, except for a kit I miss-ordered and was an LME kit.... don't like how that one came out and will make sure I don't do that again.

I like making IPAs and make those fairly bitter/strong doing all grain only. I've tried throwing hops in the carboy a few days before bottling but honestly, never thought it made much difference. It's a individual choice. Most my IPAs I make, I keg/bottle and start drinking withing a couple weeks so the aroma is still there. Well, the batches I make 8-9% or higher I let sit a year, it's much smoother going down but yes, the hops aroma is mostly gone by then.

I have a few computers too, windows 10 and 11. Either one works/runs brewing software. I haven't tried running any on my tablet, I use it mostly for astronomy.

Honestly, if you have a Me Beer kit, I'd just follow what's in the kit/directions and go from there. Your 1.5 gallon pinter, I have no idea. You could probably search the internet for some easy recopies with the ingredients you have.

[FrozenInTime]

If you have any of your old recipes using DME and/or LME, you can input them into almost any program. Save that one then re-load it. Most programs will let you re-size your batch. An example, I have several all grain recipes saved from previous batches. I have used the sizing option on grainfather to make 2.5 gallon batches. It would also work for 1 or 1.5 gallon batches, it will tell you exactly what weights of each item to use as well as needed water for mash then fermenting.

If you want, you can send me a list of what ingredients/weights you have and when I get time next couple days I can input them into my program to come out with a recipe for 1.5 gallons if you wish. I could work up a middle of the road IPA if that's what you desire but no guarantee on how it comes out, I don't know your personal taste. Freshness of extracts and hops makes a big difference also.

How old are your hops? I find if I don't keep them frozen, after a few months they start losing flavor/strength of how the affect a brew. Even in the freezer, after a couple years, I throw them away.

[bpgreen]

My hops are all more than a year old because i haven't brewed since sometime before November 2023 when the truck hit me. But they've been in the freezer since i bought them, so they should still be good. I switched to all grain a couple of years ago, too, and can't make the adjustment in my head the way i used to, even if i could pull up some old recipes in BeerSmith.

I've got a bunch of 2 row and i think some c60, but I'm not up for that yet. I'm starting with mr beer and pinter prehopped extract batches, so my first extract with hop boil is probably a month off. All grain is probably still close to a year away.

For now, I'm just thinking ahead to my first extract with hop boil. I just got 32 lbs of LME today. Pro tip: if you're switching to small batches because 5 gallons is too much to lift, buying a 32 lb container of lme isn't very bright.

I've got a bunch of 1 oz packages of homegrown hops vacuum sealed and frozen since they were picked in fall 2023. I think they're all hallertauer. There's no teling what the aa% is for those. I used to just pick hallertauer leaf hops from the list and use the default values for aa.

I've also got a pound of 6.1% aa cascade hops. They are probably also from sometime in fall 2023. The package is unopened and has been in the freezer since i got them. I think i have some more hops in my chest freezer. I don't know what they are. I'm not entirely sure I have more. By the time I'm able to dig around in my chest freezer (and to use up my cascades) i should be back to being able to use BeerSmith again.

I'm probably looking at doing 8.5 qt lbk batches and 1.5 gallon pinter fermenter batches for a while.

To make it easy on you, why not just forget the home grown hops and just come up with 1.5 gallon and 8.5 qt batches with pellet cascade.

FWIW, I bought 32 lbs Briess Munich (which i think was described as 50% Munich and 50% base malt) and 32 lbs Briess Golden Light LME.

Even though I've got c60, I'm not yet able to mill and steep. So I'm doing plain extract+cascade boil.

I'll use a kitchen scale set to grams for the hops. I'll either use the same scale or go by volume for the lme. I think estimating weight by volume will be fine if i have to do that. That's probably easier than trying to pour and weigh from a 32 lb container.

[bpgreen]

I think 1/2 gallon of LME is about 6 lbs (i found a container i used to fill at my lhbs for a discount). And the container has markings for 2 and 4 cups (so 1.5 and 3 lbs).

I think/hope I can lift the 32 lb container and pour/measure it. If not, I'll adjust my plans and stop by the lhbs for some 6 lb containers for batches until i can manage pouring the big container into smaller ones.

Don't get hit by a truck. It's not as much fun as it sounds.