First use of crystal

[melykabeer]

Hi

Ive got 2kg of cracked pale crystal grain burning to be used. Ive never used it before. Im right with the methods there is tons of info out there. My question is about my recipe as im unsure what this will be like.

I only have 1 can left atm so i was thinking

Coopers Draught
either 500gm or 1kg of LDME
250gm of crystal
15gm citra hops 20min
15gm citra hops 1min
kit yeast, altho i do have safeale us-5
filled to 21l

Citra is aparently some new american hops, i got them from craftbrewer. I do have a few other common type hops in the freezer but thought i would crack open the pack of citra and see how it goes. Im not trying to make to any style just something nice.

any suggestions? I plan to throw this together on the weekend.

[Bum]

The recipe looks fine to me - the amount of LDME you'd end up using would depend on your desired BU:GU ratio but either would seem fine to me (I'd almost always go the full KG for myself and increase the bitterness to suit, maybe a little dex on top to dry out a touch if you're that way inclined). The amount of crystal looks ok to me, might be a little high for some palates but I'd think it'd be great with your extra hopping.

Since you're using one of the new wave of US APA hops I'd suggest you break out that US05 you've got sitting about. I think your beer will thank you (so long as you can keep your temps below 20degC, if not the kits yeast will be fine).

Let us know what you end up making and how it turns out.

[melykabeer]

Cheers Bum

Im using that much because i want a definite flavor coming through so I know what it does. Ok will use the us-5, temp control is no prob ive got a dedicated fridge and a fridge mate, will ferment @ 18. I live in north qld, Townsville so dont have to worry about warming it lol. I might go the full kg of malt and boil a bit longer as the draught kit is a bit light from what i remember.

[melykabeer]

steeping the grain atm
FYI slow cooker seems perfect for steeping the grain
i put in 1.5l of water left it for an hour or so on low with the lid on temp was at 69 after that.
added the grain its dropped to 60, takes a while for the temp to come back up. once its back over 66 ill leave it for 30min.

[melykabeer]

mmmmm came out pretty good. Drinking my first one now reminds me a bit like a JSAA but with alot more hops aroma. I ended up using a coopers real ale can. Im really impressed with the results! Will definitely be using it regularly now and will experiment with other spec grains. This is probably the first brew that made me think shit i brewed this awesome beer.

[Bum]

That's what we love to see! Awesome result there, bloke.

[earle]

Glad it turned out well. Steeping some spec grain really makes a good improvement for kit/extract beers doesn't it. I see you buy from craftbrewer, I like the way Ross lists whether the grains need to be mashed or steeped. There is quite a range of steep grains now.

[speedie]

hay earl how steep are they?
speedie

[Bum]

Is this how you're going to assist in improving people's beers? By mocking them?

Possibly more than anyone else here I understand the desire to fire off a cheap quip at someone's expense but the fact is the environment doesn't really support that attitude. Please moderate your tone or post elsewhere.

[speedie]

earl seems to have a better sense of humour than most we must be off the egg shells now?

[melykabeer]

Im now drinking some of my ale which has lots of Amarillo dare i say i think i prefer Citra!

[Bum]

Amarillo is a very nice hop but I can't say I've ever enjoyed it on its own. Amazing aroma though.

I've only got my second citra beer in the cube now so I don't have any firm opinions on it yet but I did find that early on it lent something of a minty/mentholy character to the beer. That faded quickly and ended up up being my best beer yet (but this was in combination with 3 other hops so I can't give all the credit to citra).

[bullfrog]

I love both Citra and Amarillo as flavour additions but I'm not a fan of 0 minute/dry hop Amarillo additions. I like to be able to drink my beer as quickly as it's kegged (read: impatient idiot) and I find that Amarillo leaves a grassy, vegetal flavour in the brew that takes weeks and weeks to mellow out if it's not boiled for anything say more than about 10 minutes or so.