Steve/Aus wrote:
>
> "James" <post_master@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> news:K25ak.12797$uE5.6733@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> I just made my first batch with a recipe instead of a kit. See below*
>> I had a couple of questions. What is the purpose of gypsum and does
>> it make a huge difference? From my brewing books, it gives the water
>> some minerals making it heavier and changing the PH levels. I use
>> city tap, but it still has a little "flavor" to it.
>>
>> Second, for priming, is corn sugar the best or are there other options?
>>
>> 3 lbs dark malt
>> 1 lb Belgium candy
>> 2.5-3lbs Honey
>> 1 oz Cascade
>> 1 oz Fuggles
>> 1 tsp Irish moss
>> 1 package Muntons
>
> Well over half your fermentables are sugar which are 100% fermentable.
> It's almost not beer. From the description of what you are trying to
> achieve, I think you went the opposite of where you should have gone. I
> don't think you're going to end up with a mellow dark beer, but a thin
> dark beer with a light body and little or no head.
> The hops could well get in the way, making it taste very bitter. Fuggles
> is also a much more mellow hop than cascade and I think the strong
> citrus, grapefruity flavour of cascade will drown out the fuggles. My
> opinion only but I don't think it's a very good combination.
> How would I have gone about it? Use 100% malt, maybe 50/50 dark and
> light malt extract then steeped some crystal and dropped the cascade
> altogether - cascade is better in IPA's not dark beers IMO. Then, if you
> want a bit of honey flavor, add it to the secondary.
> As far as corn sugar for bottling goes, plain white table sugar is just
> as good and a fs cheaper.
> To answer another question, it's not so much the gravity you're looking
> for but try to judge when primary fermentation is nearly finished and
> then rack to the secondary - don't do it when fermentation is totally
> complete.
> Good luck, I don't mean to be critical but I'm sure others will have
> similar thoughts.
> Keep up the good hobby. Steve W (in Aus)
No worries. The better part of learning is making mistakes. If this
turns our bad, then that is just one less mistake I'll make in the future.
--
Just James
"There never was a good war or a bad peace." ~ Benjamin Franklin
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