Hello. I've done a few extract kits in the past and I'm wanting to soon try my first small batch (1.25 gallon) of BIAB using my own recipe. Wanted to do a Belgian low ABV, fairly hoppy pale ale, that I'd like to get as dry as possible. Will ferment with Orval dregs, using a starter. Here's what I came up with. I'm a total newbie at designing recipes so I would greatly appreciate feedback regarding potential problems, anything I forgot, shortcomings, etc. Thanks! Amt Name Type %/IBU 1 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) Bel (3.0 SRM) Grain 55.6 % 1 lbs Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 37.0 % 3.2 oz Candi Sugar, Amber (75.0 SRM) Sugar 7.4 % 0.33 oz Hallertauer [4.80 %] - Boil 60 min Hop 19.3 IBUs 0.50 oz Styrian Goldings [5.4 %] - Boil 15 min Hop 16.3 IBUs 0.50 oz Styrian Goldings - Dry Hop 7 Days Hop 0.0 IBUs Beer Profile Est Original Gravity: 1.053 SG Measured Original Gravity: 1.046 SG Est Final Gravity: 1.010 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.7 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.7 % Bitterness: 35.5 IBUs Calories: 151.6 kcal/12oz Est Color: 8.3 SRM Name Description Step Temperature Step Time Saccharification Add 11.05 qt of water at 156.0 F 152.1 F 75 min Mash Out Heat to 168.0 F over 7 min 168.0 F 10 min
I'm curious how you know the measured final gravity already? I think your recipe should get you a nice, dry beer. You might want to bump your boil time up to 90 minutes and adjust your hops accordingly when working with Pilsner malt. Hope it turns out well.
Thanks for the feedback. Beersmith automatically calculates an estimated final gravity. If I increase boil time to 90 minutes, should I still add the hallertauer hops at the beginning of the boil?
If you wanted to keep your Ibus the same you can continue to add them in @ 60 minutes. Beersmith could tell you the effect of putting them in @ 90. I'm guessing you could just multiply your ibus from your 60 addition by 1.5 so 28.95 IBUs, giving you a total of 45.25.
I think your biggest issue is culturing the orval dregs. If you've got that under control, you should be fine. You're only making a small batch anyway, so go for it! I've made my own recipes and just taken my chances with 5 gallons. Most of them turn out fine, sometimes they've been less than perfect but they've all got drank!
Thanks to both of you for the additional info. It will be my first time doing a yeast starter from dregs as well, but I feel pretty confident that this should go ok. Will do a 1500 ml starter, let it ferment for a couple of days, cold crash overnight and decant down to about 200 ml. I'll be using yeast nutrients for both the starter and the main boil, so I'm pretty confident I should have plenty of healthy yeast for such a small batch.
I have a 3 gallon better bottle and a Mr Beer fermenter. They're nice for experimenting with secondaries, particularly.
