First brew - simple recipe needed

[gnasher]

Hi all,

I'm getting ready to brew my first ale (all-grain) and I want a simple recipe, with minimum ingredients. I'm looking to do a hoppy, light/pale ale.

Can I get away with just pale malt and one type of hop, or will that be too dull?

I was planning to recover my yeast from a bottle of White Shield, but a post on this forum explains that this uses a secondary conditioning yeast, so is not suitable. Could I use yeast from a bottle of Kernel IPA, or should I look to use dried or liquid yeast (the liquid isn't available from my local brew shop, so I'd prefer to avoid mail order at the moment).

Thanks in advance.

[Shadowknight]

One malt, one hop doesn't have to be dull.
SMaSH - Single Malt, and Single Hop is a winner. It also works with the Keep It SimpleS theory.

While I'd hate to tell someone how to do their own beers, as I am still only in single digit brews myself - maybe put the first couple down to learning your gear. Sachet of dry yeast might not get the same results as a reclaimed yeast - but it IS simpler and will make beer.

[gnasher]

Thanks shadowknight, I'm off the homebrew shop this afternoon, so I'll grab some dried yeast and maybe make up two starters and see how they look.

What would be a good hop to use - Goldings? (I'm in E. Kent, so I like the local connection)

[Shadowknight]

Fuggles, or East Kent Goldings. - Carbon footprint and all that.


Plenty of more experienced chaps on here could suggest a good hop to use though, but think Fuggles is versatile enough?

[Yosh]

I trying my first grain brew soon to. Have a look at the worcester hops shop, they have recipe kits. I just bought the contents of the kit.

[Dennis King]

Pale malt and EK goldings will make a great beer. A small amount of crystal malt will always help. Although I`m not a fan of dried yeast its probably the best way to start. Good luck with your brew day.

[MAF]

Hi all,

I'm getting ready to brew my first ale (all-grain) and I want a simple recipe, with minimum ingredients. I'm looking to do a hoppy, light/pale ale.

Can I get away with just pale malt and one type of hop, or will that be too dull?

I was planning to recover my yeast from a bottle of White Shield, but a post on this forum explains that this uses a secondary conditioning yeast, so is not suitable. Could I use yeast from a bottle of Kernel IPA, or should I look to use dried or liquid yeast (the liquid isn't available from my local brew shop, so I'd prefer to avoid mail order at the moment).

Thanks in advance.

Not sure if you've aleady experimented with ingredients in Extract brews or not.... but if not, then I would advise doin a simple recipe with pale + a bit of crystal, a bittering hop and a single late hop (flavour & aroma) - that way you get to grips with what that hop brings to the table. This is what I've been doin for a while - tryin to work a recipe so that I learn a bit more about a particular malt/hop/yeast/whatever.

[gnasher]

Kinda what I had in mind. Use a few ingredients, so that by having a tweak we can work out what effect it has on the brew. I've got some crystal, but I might leave it out as it adds another factor into the equation.

I've got 200g EK Goldings - would it be ok to put the whole lot in? With, say, 135g for 90 mins + the rest when I turn the heat off?

[Spud395]

Download beer engine, its hosted on the site here somewhere.
Stick your ingredients in there and see what it throws out.
200g of hops is a lot in a brew, putting those figures into BE gives a figure of 100IBU's which is suposed to be the limit of bitterness human tastebuds can register. Look up online the beers you like and see can you get bitterness figures on those, then aim for something similar.

[weiht]

Brew something u like and will drink. I don't think there is alot of. Difference in methods with recipes, mash then sparge then throw in the hops at different timing. Enjoy