First Partial Grain/Extract - Does this seem OK?

[weevaa]

Hi All,

Am looking to move from my first couple of batches which were just plain kits beers - which while good, I know that going to the next step will net better results. The next step I think is partial grain with extract. I found the following recipe http://byo.com/recipe/1655.html for the Hop Monster Double IPA which I like the look of and have come up with a recipe based on what I can order from Hauraki Homebrew. Can someone look this over and tell me if it will work, am I missing something etc etc? The one thing I am concerned with - The dried malt is $9.99 for 500g, and I need 1.5KG. Could I use more LME and maybe only 500g DME? Also Nugget Hops are not available in NZ, what should I use there?

As for what I have substituted in regards to the hops:
Amarillo for Cascade (Amarillo is sold out ATM)
Centennial for Cascade
Nugget for ?? Not sure? Recommendations?
Columbus for Sticklebract

Hop Monster Double IPA (Reworked for NZ:-))

2.7KG Black Rock Light Malt Extract
1.5KG Muntons Light Spraymalt
340g Crushed Crystal
230g Crushed Carapils

28g Nugget hops - Not avail in NZ. What should I use?
28g Cascade hops (60 mins.)
28g Sticklebract hops (60 mins.)

22.6g Cascade hops (30 mins.)
11.3g Sticklebract hops (30 mins.)

28g Cascade hops (end of boil)
28g Cascade hops (end of boil)
28 Sticklebract hops (end of boil)

56g Cascade hops (dry hop)
28g Sticklebract hops (dry hop)

1/2 tsp. Irish Moss (last 15 min. of boil)
Yeast: Saf-Afl US-05

Well, thats about it I think! Hoping to brew this up on Thursday as my mate who is doing this with me is away for a week Friday. Any help much appreciated, hope I am not making a fool of myself with this attempt!

[Soren]

Promash is really easy once you get into it, which will probably only take a couple of hours. Well worth the money.

[HerrSchnapps]

LME is generally 20% water, so you need about 20% more than DME for the same points.

[Barry]

Screenshot looks good, see it doesn't take long to get the hang of it eh.
I'd at some 5 minute or flameout additions for aroma. Cascade only. Maybe as much as 40gm. That will contribute to flavour too.

[weevaa]

Yea, really simplifies things. Think I might go with that, and your suggestion of 5 minute cascade.

Grain bags - where can I get one of those from/what is best to use?

[weevaa]

Wow, just priced it all up. $71!

[jt]

Yep, but you'll still have a 100gm of hops and plenty of grains left for the next batch !

[HerrSchnapps]

Repco, cotton polishing cloths (courtesy of Mike from Brewers Co-op).

[weevaa]

Thanks for that advice, got some from supercheap for $4 for 2m.

Brewed it up last night, went with 15g of Cascade and Sticklebract each at 60mins, 30mins and 15mins. Irish Moss at 15mins. Strained into fermenter, shook it up a bit, pitched (already proofed) yeast (USO5) and took a gravity reading. Promash said it would be 1.076 and that was bang on. Brew is already bubbling away after 12 hours.

Will keep this post updated as we go along for anyone who is interested.

The weird thing that I havn't seen before is the bottom 2-3 inches of the fermenter are white and the rest is dark brown like the brew. Is that just a whole lotta sediment settled on the bottom?

[Jared Phipps]

Sooooooooooooo.... how did the APA turn out weevaa? Bit late I know, but hey i'm curious. You still brewing extract? If you've gone AG or BIAB what's the cost difference? I've thrown a fair bit of coin at high gravity extract brews like this. Looking for alternatives.

Cheers

[Glynn Foster]

Anyone tried BeerToolsPro? It seems a nice application, but slightly worried about their time-expiring license key, and the need to constantly renew their membership to be able to run the app. Any alternative free/open source recommendations?

[bj]

I use the online spreedsheet at
http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator
Its dosnt have the advanced features such as water profiler etc that promash has, buts its easy to use and best of all its free.

[denimglen]

Not free but I have beersmith. Cheap at $40 or so, they have a free trial version at their website if you haven't tried it already. Definately worth the money IMO.