ive read the damned homebrew for dummies twice over and gonna take the plunge with a friend this weekend. looking for a decent SIMPLE recipe for a pale ale. any extra tips for a first timer would be greatly appreciated.

my handle at hotmail

Yeah. Prolly should ping HOMEBREW or andytv.

I googled and found this site with a bunch of pale ale recipes.

http://www.realbeer.com/spencer/cats-meow/chap1.html 

First off, extract or full mash?

A great pale that i've brewed probably 30 or so gallons is this>>>

10 lbs 2 row pale malt

1 lb caramunich crushed (i think like 20L)

2 ounces magnum hops at sixty minute boil (whole or pellet)(if you cant find magnum, any high alpha bitter will do)

1 ounce cascade @30

1 ounce cascade @5

.5 ounce cascade at flame out

Mash with 3 gallons h20 @150 for light body, but anywhere in the 145 to 158 will work

sparge with 4.5 gallons 170 h20 for about thirty minutes

use any ale yeast (wyeast american or northwest pale are great)

if you are using extracts, use about 8 lbs pale extract, steep some crystal malts (carmunich still) forget about all that mashing crap, and still keep the hops the same and on schedual.

Have fun and DONT GET WORKED UP ABOUT IT!!!!!!! brewing is supposed to be fun.

And last but not least, I never use bleach, only STAR*SAN. Kinda pricy but it works and i've never had any contamination with it.

keep posted on how it turns out

And here is a great site for recipes

http://beerrecipes.org/ 

thanks gents, that recipe looks great, ill be headed to the beverage people sat morning and away we shall go.

#3: i _think_ i understand whats going on but will have to do some research on some of the terms. thank you.

I have to disagree with the above recipe just a little bit. 3 gal of mash water is not only going to give you a thick mash, but you'll probably get a stuck mash and your efficiency is going to suffer. Your best bet is to go with 1.25 - 1.5 qt per lb of grain. For your sparge, figure your mash is going to absorb about a pint of water per pound. You need to figure deadspace in your mashtun, boil off (about a gal) and then deadspace after you whirlpool and cool. I usually try to reach 7 gallons from my mash to account for all loss to reach a final of 5 1/2 gallons. (I also have a little deadspace in my conical fermenter and the dry hopping absorbs a bit too but you're probably using a carboy and you'll still have some left over in the bottom that you need to account for.) There's a couple programs out there like Promash or Beersmith that will help you figure all of this out.

I like to add up to a lb of 60l munich for body and maybe .5 - 1 lb of cara vienna. Magnum is a nice smooth bittering hop. Personally 2 oz at 60min is too much for me, but it all depends on your preference.

I do 10 and 5 min additions now to decrease the aroma and flavor loss that you 'll still get at 30 min and more often than not, I'll dry hop anymore. If you really wanna get serious about your IPA, build yourself a Randall. Cascade is nice. Give Crystal a try as well. It mixes extremely well with a light addition of Fuggles.

Go slow ith your sparge. super slow. your efficiency will thank you for it. Too many people ruch the sparge to get their brew cooking faster. slow is your friend.

One other thing. You don't see it mentioned much but consider using yeast nutrient. And if you do, use a blow off tube because your yeasties are going to go crazy.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/  good people and god info.

Kimon, take your ass up to Piner Rd in Santa Rosa and go see Beverage People. Off 101, onto Piner, maybe the 2nd small industrial park, in the back left corner

Byron Burch is the owner, and has been Homebrewer-of-the-Year before. The store is VERY knowledgeable about all things brewing, and can answer any question you have.

You have one of the best resources in America in your own backyard. Go visit them.

Pat

jumping into all grain or extract?

if starting with extract I recommend googling naked sunday brown ale

I got the fever myself.

HockeyDad is outraged.

going to go all grain on this run...

I assume extract if your just starting out. Your homebrew supply shop will have some great recipes as well. Yes a pale ale, or IPA is a great first beer cause they are pretty easy and hard to mess up. Check out tastybrew.com for a board with some great info and nice recipes. There is even one in the recipe section for Zippy IPA, extract or all grain that has been a award winner for me here in competitions.

If extract, do a little research on late addition of the extract. It works well, and helps to end up with the right color in your finished beer. Just one word of advice if you do.....shut off burner when adding rest of extract or you will scorch the pot. Don't ask me how I know!!

If your interest in all grain, do a search on "cheap and easy" batch sparging. Denny Conn has a great article and it really is very cheap and easy!

Good luck, and as they say.....relax...have a homebrew!

Zippy IPA? If I'm ever out your way Zippy, you better have one waiting for me to try.

Bucky, with a fridge with 6 taps......I'd better!! LOL

Next time I'm making up a batch I'll send you a couple bottles Craig.

Better make sure you have the correct address this time. 🙂

Cheers, Dave. Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend.

#4........why the hell would you suggest an all grain recipe for a beginner??????

kp........ask your supplier or grab a homebrew recipe book.

All-grain really isn't that much harder than extract.

^ true.

^of course it is harder.........and it requires more knowledge, experience, and equipment (grain mill, mash tun, thermometers, MORE pots to heat sparging water, etc.).

I'd have to agree with Andy and Dave. For a beginner I'd suggest an extract. Nothing can turn you off a new hobby faster than screwing up the first batch or two. Start simple then expand as you learn more.

You can find simple kits that have all the ingredients in one box. Usually the brew stores will have their own kits assembled for you too.

When in doubt, relax and have a home brew. Have fun with it. It is an awesome hobby.