Beginner wanting to brew Epic Pale Ale with home brew kit

[Michael van Wijk]

I found the following ingredients on the Epic website: Malt - English Pale Ale, Crystal, Hops - US Cascade. Is there anyway of replicating this? What are Crystal's? What kit would be an English Pale Ale base to start with? Any other ideas or suggestions appreciated.  

[Darrin Smith]

I agree Denim maybe dryhop the 100grams as used in the recipee as those kits arent hoppy at all. also Reviled's step by step guide is really good.

[Michael van Wijk]

Is there a reason to dry hop and not boil up a pot, adding the hops to it and letting it stand for some time? Would I use finishing cascade hops?

[denimglen]

When you boil wort the hops at the beginning of the boil give bitterness, the middle flavour, the end aroma.  Although you get aroma compounds from the hops late in the boil a bit tends to boil off during the last minutes and chilling, you'll also loose some during fermentation.  Adding dry hops is a way to get those compounds in with loosing the least amount possible.  It also gives you a different aroma, a lot fresher and greener.

 

Revs guide is very good but that might be jumping in the deep end a little.  I'd really suggest reading the first chapter over at howtobrew.com ('Crash course in brewing' - about 10 pages), it will teach you enough to brew a great beer.  You could use the recipe given there with some more Cascade to get something a little closer to Epic.  If you like that I'd suggest buying the hardcopy - a lot more up to date info.

[Michael van Wijk]

Thanks, I'll start reading.

[Druid]

I'm just about to brew my third round of JoKing's Epic clone recipe.  To date, none of them are spot on (yet) but they both tasted awesome and taught me a lot about dry hopping and adding hops for flavouring. 

 

I highly recommend you go for the US Cascade as they really are part of the characteristic Epic PA taste. I got mine from libertybrewing.co.nz - a bit pricier but worth it IMO.

[Michael van Wijk]

Just checked out libertybrewing and looks good. I was looking at the malts on their site. Are they the same as grains? Do the malts need to be boiled for a certain period which has the hops added to it? Is that what makes up the wort? I hope this makes sense... cheers

[James P]

Hi Micheal, most grains (malt) needs to be crushed and mashed (not boiled) to extract the sugars and make the wort. Kits, are the end result basically.

 

If you are keen for a read check out howtobrew.com for HEAPS of information about making kits, partials and all grain beers, otherwise check out the newbie thread or the library, or ask away!

[Matt Cox]

Hey Michael.

While you could go straight to mashing grains (partial mash or all grain), I'd personally recommend you start out with an extract only brew (Unhopped malt extract plus some hops added to the boil).  

Then for your next brew, try steeping some specialty grains in the brew water for 30 mins before starting the boil (at around 70C). Then add your extract and hops as per your first brew.

If things are going well after those first few brews and you're still into it, you could try doing a stove top partial mash.

This is how I've progressed in my home brewing (1 year into my apprenticeship) and it means you're not trying to understand too many concepts all at once. Howtobrew was my main reference, along with reading forums like this one.

[Reviled]

"1 year into my apprenticeship"

 

Must be about time to take a leap of faith into AG Matt? ;o)

[Matt Cox]

If I had the equipment, the space, and the time I would. Partial mash is a happy middle ground for me for now. In fact, my next batch will be a small 10 litre all grain (no extract), still using my two pot BIAB method. Does that qualify? :)

[Reviled]

It absolutely qualifies!! Will be interesting to see if you notice much of a difference.

[Michael van Wijk]

Im quite keen to steep the grains. I guess I have to crush them in a mortar & pestle then stick them in some sort of bag and into the water. What quantity of grain would I need? I was thinking of starting with some Golden Promise 95% & Crystal 5%. Does the grain stay in the boil or is it removed before adding the unhopped malt extract and boiling the hops?

 

I've put my first brew down but have only steeped some cascade finishing hops. It's a start but not where I want to go.