15 replies to this topic

[SchwanzBrewer]

Well, I was propositioned to brew 10 gallons of MLPA for charity and I accepted. My dad told me the event was in May, so I figured I could get in a a couple more batches so I knew my equipment was good and ready for it and the beer would be good. He told me last night its on April 9th! That's in a little under 6 weeks. I have to brew tomorrow to be able to make that schedule and on top of that, I've never done 10 gallons and its only the second time I'll have brewed AG. Now I don't know what to do, I've brewed some fine MLPA with extract and have that down, but I have no idea how the beer will turn out AG.The good news is that I have all the ingredients except the yeast, so I can do it, but should I?Feeling nervous here.Cheers,Rich

[ncbeerbrewer]

Well, I was propositioned to brew 10 gallons of MLPA for charity and I accepted. My dad told me the event was in May, so I figured I could get in a a couple more batches so I knew my equipment was good and ready for it and the beer would be good. He told me last night its on April 9th! That's in a little under 6 weeks. I have to brew tomorrow to be able to make that schedule and on top of that, I've never done 10 gallons and its only the second time I'll have brewed AG. Now I don't know what to do, I've brewed some fine MLPA with extract and have that down, but I have no idea how the beer will turn out AG.The good news is that I have all the ingredients except the yeast, so I can do it, but should I?Feeling nervous here.Cheers,Rich

Hey Rich,Well that sucks that its closer than you thought but I think you will be alright. 6 Weeks is plenty of time to brew a Pale Ale. I understand that it seems daunting to be brewing 10 gallons with your second All Grain but I think you can pull it off. If u brew the full 10 gallons once then just take your time and I think you will make it through. If the volume is what seems daunting to you, you could always brew 5 gallons then brew 5 gallons more. Yes I know you are brewing twice instead of once but at least then it won't seem as much. $0.02. I have brewed this beer only once and it was 10 gallons I just doubled Ken's 5 gallon recipe and it turned out awesome. If you hit the SG and control the fermentation at a good temperature I don't think you can go wrong. Keep everything clean and you are good to go. If you can build the brewing setup that you have you can handle this task, RDWHAHB per Papazian. Cheers and update us too,Mike

[RommelMagic]

JUST BREW IT!!!

[Big Nake]

You'll be fine. The biggest issue with that recipe is that it could be out of balance on the malty side (depending on many variables). If you're concerned, add a bit more 60-minute hops to the beer and all will be fine. Otherwise, it's a simple and quick beer to make. If you use US05, you know that it will attenuate well and it will also be quick. Go with maybe 6AAU of hops at 60 (or would that be 12AAU because it's 10 gallons?) and go. Don't be scared... it's only beer.

[Big Nake]

I know you're probably brewing this as I type... but I plan to make MLPA next week sometime. In another thread, I mentioned that I picked up some Maris Otter as opposed to the standard domestic 2-row I normally get. It sounds like I might get a little more maltiness from this base malt so I decided to just add some extra hops at 60 minutes to boost the AAUs from about 5.2 (which is where my Mt. Hoods are) to about 5.8 (adding about 1/8th oz of Hallertau Mittelfruh). The worst thing that could happen would be that it was just a smidge hoppier than the normal recipe. Cheers.

[SchwanzBrewer]

Well, I've screwed up. I just realized I only ordered 1 lb of Crystal 60 instead of 2 and 12 oz of wheat instead of 1.5. So its not gonna be exactly right and I'm gonna have scale down to about 9.3 gallons instead of 10 to get the OG right. It will be beer, but its not gonna be quite the same.Crap! Now I'm pissed off that I had to rush this. I wanted this beer to be perfect for the charity event.Lets hope it turns out well.Cheers,Rich

[Big Nake]

Well, I've screwed up. I just realized I only ordered 1 lb of Crystal 60 instead of 2 and 12 oz of wheat instead of 1.5. So its not gonna be exactly right and I'm gonna have scale down to about 9.3 gallons instead of 10 to get the OG right. It will be beer, but its not gonna be quite the same.Crap! Now I'm pissed off that I had to rush this. I wanted this beer to be perfect for the charity event.Lets hope it turns out well.Cheers,Rich

Who says it won't be perfect? Do you think the people attending this event will say, You know, this is fine but it doesn't taste like Memory Lapse Pale Ale to me! I'm sure it will be awesome. Good luck Rich and let us know how it comes out!

[chadm75]

You can always add of DME to hit your OG....

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Well, I've screwed up. I just realized I only ordered 1 lb of Crystal 60 instead of 2 and 12 oz of wheat instead of 1.5. So its not gonna be exactly right and I'm gonna have scale down to about 9.3 gallons instead of 10 to get the OG right. It will be beer, but its not gonna be quite the same.Crap! Now I'm pissed off that I had to rush this. I wanted this beer to be perfect for the charity event.Lets hope it turns out well.Cheers,Rich

do you have a maltier beer you could blend it with later to make up the difference?

[SchwanzBrewer]

do you have a maltier beer you could blend it with later to make up the difference?

I have some MLPA in the fridge, but not that much.I have some DME too, but I'll just serve 9 gallons instead of 10.Cheers,Rich

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I have some MLPA in the fridge, but not that much.I have some DME too, but I'll just serve 9 gallons instead of 10.Cheers,Rich

What about the red beer you've got conditioning? Maybe a touch of that blended in would be nice?

[SchwanzBrewer]

What about the red beer you've got conditioning? Maybe a touch of that blended in would be nice?

Meh, having 9 gallons instead of 10 isn't a big deal. I have the red carbonating at the moment. Cheers,Rich

[ncbeerbrewer]

I would not worry about it. I second that anyone at this event will even know the difference. The point is it sounds like you made it through. Congrats and let us know what a hit the beer turns out to be. Hope the fermentation goes smoothly.

[SchwanzBrewer]

This has been such a crap brew day. The hose going to the chiller swelled up and started leaking. I was cleaning the other carboy and didn't notice. I think I lost about 1-1.5 gal of wort. I'm so pissed. This whole thing has me stabby. -Rich

[Big Nake]

Sorry Rich. You know, I had a brewday like that about 2 weeks ago and I can't tell you how monkey-fighting stabby I was the entire day. Sometimes it feels like you forgot how to brew. You try doing 4 things at once and you lose it. So now you're down to 7½ or 8 gallons of beer? Hmm, I'd bet that it'll still be good. Cheers.

[SchwanzBrewer]

Sorry Rich. You know, I had a brewday like that about 2 weeks ago and I can't tell you how monkey-fighting stabby I was the entire day. Sometimes it feels like you forgot how to brew. You try doing 4 things at once and you lose it. So now you're down to 7½ or 8 gallons of beer? Hmm, I'd bet that it'll still be good. Cheers.

Problem is that its for charity and an extra gallon or two of beer would have raised that much more money. Granted we are not selling the beer. We are giving it away with a certain package that entitles you to a beer ticket so we know who we are serving. But now there's only 8 gallons in primary so a max of 80 12oz beers if Im super efficient with racking.I'm so friggin tired. I got hurt at my soccer game last night and I have been gimping around all day on a bad leg lifting heavy crap.Thank god its over.On the positive side, i managed to fit the big cooler in the closet with a little coaxing so I wont have to use separate swamp cooler (both carboys are in it).Cheers,Rich