Sod it, I'm going to brew right now

[spearmint-wino]

Its a beautiful (if cold) day, I'm not at work, the missus is away for a few days, what do you do?

The mash liquor is heating up now, I'm either going to do the Styrian Stunner recipe from this forum, or my own I've been messing with. Does this recipe look ok? I'm wondering whether the bitterness is right for the gravity?

Mad March Blonde
6-B Blonde Ale



Size: 23.0 L
Efficiency: 75%
Attenuation: 77.2%
Calories: 195.04 per 1 pt

Original Gravity: 1.044 (1.038 - 1.054)
|==============#=================|
Terminal Gravity: 1.010 (1.008 - 1.013)
|==============#=================|
Color: 6.8 (3.0 - 6.0)
|============================#===|
Alcohol: 4.47% (3.8% - 5.5%)
|==============#=================|
Bitterness: 32.08 (15.0 - 28.0)
|=============================#==|

Ingredients:
3000 g Optic Pale Ale Malt
1.2 kg Maris Otter Pale
0.3 kg Torrified Wheat
76.0 g Styrian Goldings (3.1%) - added during boil, boiled 90 min
40 g Styrian Goldings (3.1%) - added during boil, boiled 15 min
15 g Cascade (5.5%) - steeped after boil
1.0 tsp Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 15 min
11 g Fermentis S-04 Safale S-04

[spearmint-wino]

Basically its what I've got!
Would there be a better combo from the grains I have at the mo?

3kg Optic
2.2kg Maris Otter
3kg Lager Malt
0.5kg Torrefied Wheat
0.7kg Crystal Malt
0.9kg Black Malt

Plus loadsa different hops:
Styrians, Fuggles, Goldings, Northdown, Willamette, Cascade

[SteveD]

Most of my brews are spur of the moment.

The recpie looks good, any reason for mixing Optic and Marris Otter?

I think you answered the question yourself Daab. Spur of the moment = what's in the store cupboard

Does this recipe look ok? I'm wondering whether the bitterness is right for the gravity?

Recipe looks fine. What do you mean by right? Depends on how bitter you like it. for a 1044 pale ale that bitterness level is right in the middle of the park. Anything between 25 and 40 EBU would be resonable. 25 would be restrained bitterness, and 40 would be fairly emphatic.

[bitter_dave]

Spur of the moment brews are the best
The bitterness looks fine for the gravity to me, but then obviously It's down to personal taste at the end of the day.

Anyway, have fun

[spearmint-wino]

Thanks all, mash is underway...

[Garth]

spur of the mo brewdays are the best, hope your's turned out great s.w

[spearmint-wino]

Spur of the moment brews are the best
The bitterness looks fine for the gravity to me, but then obviously It's down to personal taste at the end of the day.

I'm into the light-coloured, quite bitter, hoppy and aromatic b*stards at the moment!
A friend who likes her ales suggested I go for something a little more 'malty' next time... tough!

EDIT - having said that, the Broadside I just got from the shop is going down very nicely on a cold night like tonight

[spearmint-wino]

It was a later than usual finish (10pm) but I've got 22.5 litres at 1044 fermenting away nicely.

This is the first time I've rehydrated Safale yeast and OMG its going like a beauty - after 12 hours about 3 inches of fluffy wispy yeast head and airlock bubbling every 6 seconds, as opposed to sprinkling into wort, wait 24 hrs, dirty pancake forms, airlock bubbles now and again

[spearmint-wino]

I racked this to a corni yesterday after 10 days in the primary. The gravity had dropped to 1012 so I thought I'd try and keep a bit of sweetness in there and shift it over. It wasn't bright at all, but only a little hazy (I forgot to add irish moss to the boil ) but the taste was excellent straight from the fermenter - the smoothest beer I've brewed so far, fruity with a great cascade bitterness at the end. Its the first time I've used campden tabs to remove chlorine so maybe that has something to do with taking a bit of the harshness out?

Looking forward to this one being ready to drink