Simple All Grain Brewing Recipe
Someone asked me last week to brew a beer for a group of 14 people, and could I please deliver it in 4-5 weeks. With some personal time constraints for when I can brew, that leave me 3-4 weeks to make and finish my beer. If you’re new to home brewing, you know that that making a 5 gallon batch of beer in that amount of time is difficult unless you brew something that ferments fast. If you’ve been bottling beer for a while, you also know that the best way to keep the flavor of your beer is to direct carbonate through kegging, thought priming sugar is a good substitute. Again, I don’t have the 1-2 weeks to properly bottle condition, so I’m going to have to keg and then transfer to a pair of growlers or bottle from there.
I always plan new recipes, but this time I went very simple. If you’re looking to try all grain brewing for the first time, this is an easy mash to make. I’d suggest having an extra set of hands to help. I’ve found that most people who are willing to make beer with you, are also happy to drink beer as payment for their help.
I’ll update with what my IBU levels will be once I purchase the hops, as without the alpha-acid levels I can’t make the calculation. Based on my hops selection it should be between 28 and 35 IBUs.
Belgian Single (4.3%-4.5% ABV)
Grain bill:
6 lbs pilsner
3 lbs pale ale malt
0.5 lbs biscuit malt
Hops: (60 min boil)
1 oz challenger @ 60 mins
0.5 oz challenger @ 30 min
0.5 oz challenger @ 5 min
Yeast: Belgian Abbey (or Ale) Yeast (2 packets for 5 gal batch to speed fermentation start)
I’ll post clips from my brewing day, as well as results of my recently made American Wheat Ale in the coming weeks. Follow my IG for more frequent food and beverage updates @whosurfoodndrinkguy
