Screwed up and bought out of control BIG recipe. PLEASE HELP !!!

[Slikybump]

OK so I screwed up and ended up spending roughly 150 on a single recipe for an imperial red ale. I went to Ballast point's home brew mart with a recipe for a simple red ale but the website I had for the recipe was trying to sell a kit and the measurements were not clear enough for the guy at the brew store. He said he had a recipe book. Looking through it, there was a recipe for an imperial red that he said was similar to tongue buckler. Like an idiot I said give me that one without asking the price. 150 dollars later I have like 11oz of hops and 12 lbs of dme and a regular looking bag of steeping grains. My first question is does this sound right? Second is if they wont let me return it can I just cut everything in half and brew two batches ? I tried finding a similar recipe with that much dme and it said something about letting it ferment for like 6 months and I'm not hot on that idea. This will be my third time brewing with the first tasting like garbage and every bottle being overcarbed when I open it and the second is still fermenting. I'm not about to spend 150 on a learning experience.

 

[wilconrad]

Whoa, sounds like you got overcharged.

Tongue Buckler is a big beer (10% ABV), so 12lb of DME for a 5 gal batch sounds about right.
It's also a seriously hopped up bitter beer (108 IBU) so I could believe using 11oz of hops if you're going to do some big late additions and do some dry-hopping.

That said, the 12lb of DME should run you about $40-50, the crystal should be no more than $3/lb so lets say $6 for 2lb of that, and the hops should be about $30-35 so that puts you at $91, add $10 for the yeast and that still only gets you up to $101 (and that's at very high prices).

I would storm back in there and tell them to give me my money back. That's ridiculous. You could get all those ingredients from Northern Brewer for less than $85, yeast and shipping included.

This is an expensive/big beer to brew with lots of malt and hops, but even so, $150 is way too much to pay here.

 

[BryceL]

The numbers sound about right for an Imperial Red. 12 punds of DME should get you in the 11% range, depending on where it finishes, and 11 ounces sounds reasonable.

What doesn't sound reasonable is the price. I could see maybe $80-$90, but $150 seems pretty dang steep.

You could cut the recipe in half, but then you wouldn't have an Imperial Red...probably something in the 6% abv range...

 

[k1ngl1ves]

Hey!

I've got some lakefront property you might be interested in...

 

[poptarts]

if im spending 150$ it better be for 15 gallons of 10+%

 

[Yooper]

If you want to do two batches of 6% beer with what you have, you probably could do that instead and not have to worry about bottle carbonation with such a huge beer.

Can you type out what you have, or what you think you have, and we can help you with that? Include yeast, too!

You can also make the recipe you bought- but you'd have to make a starter for the yeast and maybe repitch later for bottle carbonation as a 10%+ beer can be tricky to make for inexperienced brewers.

 

[jakenbacon]

Hey!

I've got some lakefront property you might be interested in...

In Arizona ???

 

[Slikybump]

Im going to go back there tonight and Ill update you guys. Thanks for all the replies. I saw on the receipt they charged me for an extra 3 pounds of dme I didn't get. Im going to ask If I can return the dme and the hops and downgrade the beer and if thats not possible and they only let me return the dme then Ill buy a mash tun and just get the grain to do it that way. How long do you guys think a beer like this would take ?

 

[pablosbrewing]

This will be my third time brewing with the first tasting like garbage and every bottle being overcarbed when I open it and the second is still fermenting. I'm not about to spend 150 on a learning experience.

I try to steer new brewers to more moderate beers (<6%ABV) when they are just figuring stuff out. If you are successful early on you will be hooked for life

+ 1 Yooper's suggestion:

If you want to do two batches of 6% beer with what you have, you probably could do that instead and not have to worry about bottle carbonation with such a huge beer.

If you do decide to brew big - post the details here and people here will help you be successful.

 

[Slikybump]

I decided to go with yoopers suggestion and split it in two. After I went to the brew shop they refunded 20 off my order and gave me some free steeping grain for the second batch. So this is what I have now...


1st: A hoppy red ale

Fermentables...4.5 lbs light dme + steeping grains (same exact steeping grains from the imperial red)
Hop additions...@60min magnum 1oz @30min galena .5oz @flame out galena .5oz+ columbus 1oz Then dry hop columbus 1oz + cenntenial 1oz
Yeast...white labs burton ale yeast wlp023
Additives... whirfloc and yeast nutrient

2nd: Hoppy pale ale

Fermentables...4.5 lbs light dme + l lb casapils for steeping
Hop additions...@60min magnum 1oz @30min Magnum .5oz @10min galena .5oz @5min columbus .5oz @flame out Columbus .5 oz Then dry hop with 1oz of centennial and 1oz columbus
Yeast...haven't decided. I have the Burton ale yeast in the starter right now but I dont know how to make it work for both batches. Might just buy some more unless you guys can tell me how to go about it.
Additives...yeast nutrients and whirfloc


Any recommendations you guys have would be very much appreciated. Since this beer was projected at 10%abv in the beginning will these beers be around 5% ?

 

[Slikybump]

Oh I found a list of the steeping grains for the red. Its...

1 lb crystal malt 120l
.5 lb caramunich
.5 lb dark carastan
.5 crystal malt 60l


Again any advise on these recipes you gurus can give me is much appreciated.

 

[agrazela]

Slikybump,

Much as I love Ballast Point's beer, their Home Brew Mart is va$tly overpriced, to the tune of 50% to 100% more for everything, as you found out. And I have found their service to be 50% to 100% less good than other brew marts.

F**k that place, in the future go to this place in North Park instead:
http://www.thehomebrewersd.com/

 

[Slikybump]

@agrazela....I actually went there for my last batch. Thats why I was so taken aback by the price. I was like wtf, every beer ive done up until now was like 20-40 and this one is 150. My mind was blown. Ill never go there again. Good lookin out.

 

[agrazela]

On the hoppy red, I'd steep only 0.5lb C120L and 0.5lb dark carastan; any more crystal than that and you'll be way too sweet tasting IMO. I'd also cut the 60 min hops to 0.5oz magnum, and skip the flameout galena. The rest looks OK. That'll make a maybe 4.3-4.5% ABV beer, with about 35-40 IBU. That'd basically be a slightly over-bittered Irish Red.

On the hoppy pale, I'd steep the 1lb carapils, and only 0.25lb to 0.5lb of either the C60L or the dark carastan, whichever looks lighter in color. I'd also cut the 60 min hops to 0.5oz magnum. The rest looks OK. That'll make maybe a 4.5-4.8% ABV beer with about 50-55 IBU. That'd basically be a slightly over-bittered American Pale.

Just save the leftover bits for future brews.

Either brew could be upped about 0.5% ABV (and dried out a bit) with about 0.5lb addition of dextrose (corn sugar), or really any kind of sugar. Wouldn't go higher than that on the sugar, though. Hop suggestions are up to you, maybe you like super-bitter-bombs?

(I am assuming 5 gal batches?)

Still not clear on what yeast(s) you're planning to use for which batch. The Burton's Ale yeast might work with your red, but for your pale you probably want something cleaner / plainer, like a good old American / West Coast Ale yeast.

(oh, and kudos for having the guts to go with liquid yeasts and starters on only like your third or fourth brew, I've been at this about 8 months and about 20 batches now and I still haven't moved beyond the safety of dry yeasts...and I work in a damned fermentation lab a 5 min drive from White Labs! I'm such a pu**y.)

 

[Slikybump]

@agrrazela...Thanks for all the info. Theres just one problem. On the steeping grains for the red, he grinded them all up in one bag. Would you suggest just using half ? If I left the hops wouldnt the bitterness compliment the sweetness ? Honestly I do like hop bombs. Stone brewery is what got me in to craft beer and thats sort of their thing.

 

[pablosbrewing]

@agrrazela...Thanks for all the info. Theres just one problem. On the steeping grains for the red, he grinded them all up in one bag. Would you suggest just using half ? If I left the hops wouldnt the bitterness compliment the sweetness ? Honestly I do like hop bombs. Stone brewery is what got me in to craft beer and thats sort of their thing.

Get an idea of Stone's hop schedules
http://www.stonebrew.com/news/081201/

 

[agrazela]

@agrrazela...Thanks for all the info. Theres just one problem. On the steeping grains for the red, he grinded them all up in one bag. Would you suggest just using half ? If I left the hops wouldnt the bitterness compliment the sweetness ? Honestly I do like hop bombs. Stone brewery is what got me in to craft beer and thats sort of their thing.

At this point maybe it would be simplest to just split everything exactly in half and brew the same brew twice, changing only the yeast to get a feel for the differences in the character of those yeasts.

 

[Slikybump]

Ok so I had a couple beers while brewing and decided I would do 6lbs of the light DME instead of 4.5 but kept everything else the same. Bad idea ?

Also my brother was brewing a stout and while it was fermenting in the Carboy the whole thing exploded on him and now he has 5 gallons of stout all over his garage floor. Sucks. I remember him pressing hard on the plug at the top when he was putting in the bubbler but have any of you ever heard of a Carboy just plain exploding like that ? His wife is super bugged out and doesn't want him brewing anymore.


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[surffisher2a]

Ok so I had a couple beers while brewing and decided I would do 6lbs of the light DME instead of 4.5 but kept everything else the same. Bad idea ?

Also my brother was brewing a stout and while it was fermenting in the Carboy the whole thing exploded on him and now he has 5 gallons of stout all over his garage floor. Sucks. I remember him pressing hard on the plug at the top when he was putting in the bubbler but have any of you ever heard of a Carboy just plain exploding like that ? His wife is super bugged out and doesn't want him brewing anymore.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

Did the glass break or did it just blow the stopper out of the carboy and spray beer everywhere?

The blowing the stopper is common if you don't have a big enough carboy or really strong fermentation. You can alleviate this problem by using a blowoff tube instead of a air lock. I use a blowoff tube on all my brews until fermentation settles down, then I switch to an airlock.

 

[Slikybump]

It actually blew up the Carboy. We THINK it might of had a fracture somewhere but we're guessing. Do you think upping the dme to 6 pounds was a good/bad idea with those steeping grains and that hop schedule ?


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[agrazela]

It actually blew up the Carboy. We THINK it might of had a fracture somewhere but we're guessing. Do you think upping the dme to 6 pounds was a good/bad idea with those steeping grains and that hop schedule ?


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Wow, yeah I'd think that in order for the glass carboy to break (instead of the stopper to blow out), there'd have to have been some defect or damage in the glass somewhere. There are plastic options for fermenters, whether a Better Bottle, the new Big Mouth Bubbler, or simply plastic buckets, that are much safer in that respect.

As to your recipe, how about posting the current recipe in full so we know exactly what you're planning now. (or did, if you've already started)

 

[Slikybump]

Already made it. Created a yeast starter and added nutrient. It was a California ale yeast. The steeping grains were...

1 lb crystal malt 120l

.5 lb caramunich

.5 lb dark carastan

.5 crystal malt 60l

And I used 6 pounds of light dme. I used the hop schedule the shop recommended that I posted earlier. Pretty much everything is the same except I did 6 pounds of the dme instead of 4.5.


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[Conman13]

Ballast Points home brew mart is notoriously expensive. You are much better off going to The Homebrewer in North Park - their prices are 25-50% less on most items.

 

[agrazela]

Ballast Points home brew mart is notoriously expensive. You are much better off going to The Homebrewer in North Park - their prices are 25-50% less on most items.

Covered on pg 2 of thread :rockin:


OP, you've posted two hop schedules, maybe three if you count the one that came with the original kit.

 

[Slikybump]

Covered on pg 2 of thread :rockin:





OP, you've posted two hop schedules, maybe three if you count the one that came with the original kit.

Hop additions...@60min magnum 1oz @30min galena .5oz @flame out galena .5oz+ columbus 1oz Then dry hop columbus 1oz + cenntenial 1oz



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[Slikybump]

Obviously haven't dry hopped yet.


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