Gonna make my own recipe for my first brew.

[ChrisG]

Hi everyone,

Just getting the last few things together and with all these different recipes, I just cant decide so I'm going to make my own.

Its a variation of a few on the site, but pretty basic.

Haven't a clue how it'll come out but should be drinkable.

So here we go....

4400g Pale Malt
540g Crystal Malt
60g Challenger Hops at boil (@ 90mins)
15g Goldings Hops (last 15mins with irish moss)
5g Goldings (@ boil off)

I just could resist opening the foil hop packs and the smell was amazing. Funny thing is I had a bottle of my Admirals Reserve and could distinguish the hop aroma and flavour much better.

[Duncndisorderly]

let us know how this turns out buddy, including piccies if possible, we all love a bit o brewing porn

[ChrisG]

let us know how this turns out buddy, including piccies if possible, we all love a bit o brewing porn

Dont worry, I have a knack for always providing loads of photos

[maxashton]

Sounds good. A nice bitter to get you started.
If you have any wheat malt, you might want to stick 200gms or so of wheat in there to improve head retention.

Will you be using irish moss or whirlfloc or some other copper finings?

[ChrisG]

Sounds good. A nice bitter to get you started.
If you have any wheat malt, you might want to stick 200gms or so of wheat in there to improve head retention.

Will you be using irish moss or whirlfloc or some other copper finings?

Left my Irish moss at the Home brew shop, so I need to go back for it.

I'll get some wheat malt while there, thanks for the advice.

[andyp]

Recipe looks good.

Just my personal preference but I'd probably have a little less crystal and more than 5gms of those lovely Goldings hops at flame out, and wait till it's around 80 degrees before you put them in.

The yeast will play a part as well, Enjoy

[Grahame]

I would definitely add the wheat malt, it makes a big difference to the head retention, and I would also up the steep hops to around 15g to get a lovely hop aroma and as andyp says, add them at 80C for about 20-30 mins before continuing the cooling. This will also make for a much clearer wort as it gives all the crap in the boiler time to settle and make a good filter bed.

G.

[delboy]

If your challenger are anything like mine (7 %) you are going to end up with a beer about 50 IBU, nothing wrong with that but just thought i'd give you a heads up in case you were looking for something a bit more pedestrian

[ChrisG]

If your challenger are anything like mine (7 %) you are going to end up with a beer about 50 IBU, nothing wrong with that but just thought i'd give you a heads up in case you were looking for something a bit more pedestrian

hmm what would you suggest?

[delboy]

If your challenger are anything like mine (7 %) you are going to end up with a beer about 50 IBU, nothing wrong with that but just thought i'd give you a heads up in case you were looking for something a bit more pedestrian

hmm what would you suggest?

The usual advice on a first time brew is to go for a recipe with relatively few IBUs 25-30 ish with not too many late hops, something that matures quickly (you'll be busting to try it) and then as soon as thats in the fermenter knock out a more robust beer that is going to need that bit extra time.
But at the end of the day you are brewing for yourself so i'd say have a think about what beers you like, have a quick gander on the web or ask on here about there relative IBUs and maybe you should get an idea for what you prefer, then make a recipe to suit. It could be virtually the same as the one you have posted above or it could end a badger like 20 IBU beer either way you know you'll enjoy it.

[Barley Water]

The thing about your first brew is that you have no idea what kind of efficiency you are going to get on your equipment. What that means is that if you end up on the low side the first time (and that is what happened to me) you will end up with a very hop oriented beer. Make sure you measure your gravity before the boil starts and if it looks like you are going to miss your gravity, adjust your hoping rate accordingly. Just to give you an idea (and each setup is unique), in my case with a 1 1/2 hour boil, I can multiply my preboil gravity by 1.33 to estimate my original gravity in the fermenter. When you finalize your formulation, calculate the ratio of bittering units to starting gravity. If it looks like you are going to miss your planned gravity, just adjust your hop load to the actual gravity you are going to get to keep the beer in balance. Anyhow, don't stress about it, have fun, you will learn a ton. By the way, try not to drink too much during the process, you are messing with a large volume of boilling liquid which hurts like hell if applied to a body part.

[the red devil]

Hi Chris.
Just finished a brew very similar to the one your suggesting. Check my post '1st AG...' The only real difference is i added 540g of golden syrup.

[coatesg]

Good luck Chris - hope it all goes well

[Matt]

Looks like it will be a nice one. I agree with del and I'd pull the challenger back to 40g.

Matt

[GlossopTiger]

Chris
The important thing to remember is that it is a hobby - not a science
When did you last have a bad bear
Well on the second taste at least
We will ignore the dirty glass that we plead to SWMBO
Enjoy & go with the force - I do enjoy every brew sad as it may seem
its more of a way of life than any thing else
Pictures yes please the more the merry, i do like to see some one elses set up