School Of Hops - Bravo Recipe

Apr 26, 2017

School Of Hops - Bravo (8.5 Litres)

Break’s over… Luckily, this extracurricular class is here to keep you sane. Welcome to the first in a series that will take you through the wide world of hops. Many brewers profess a knowledge of beer’s magic ingredient, but these lessons will separate the pros from the pretenders. Attention class! Known as Bravo, our introductory hop is, ironically, a super-alpha variety. Excellent for bittering, when added late it presents sweet floral aroma characteristics. In this golden coloured ale look out for how Bravo brings out hints of orange and vanilla with a strong, but not overbearing, bitterness. Happy studying!

Ingredients

1 x 1.3kg Mr Beer North West Pale Ale
1 x 250g Mr Beer Unhopped Malt Extract - Pale
2 x 25g Bravo Hop Pellets
1 x 11.5g Safale US-05 Dry Yeast
1 x 72g Mr Beer Carbonation Drops

Features:

Colour: Gold
Body: Medium
Bitterness: Medium
Approx. Alcohol Level: 6.5% ABV
Naturally Carbonated: Natural

Instructions:

Step 1 : Mix

Clean and sanitise all equipment that will come in contact with the brew. Bring the 250g Malt Extract to the boil in 1.5 litres of water. Add about half of a 25g pack of Bravo Hop Pellets and boil for 10mins. Remove from the heat, add the rest of the pack of Bravo Hop Pellets, fit the lid and steep for 30mins. Set the pot in a cold/ice water bath to cool (about 15 mins). Strain the malt/hop liquid into the Fermenting Vessel (FV). Add the North West Pale Ale to the FV (no need to stir). Fill the FV with cold water to the 8.5 litre mark. Sprinkle the US-05 yeast and fit the lid.

Step 2 : Brew

Place the FV in a location out of direct sunlight and try to ferment at 18 - 20C. Fermentation should take 7 to 12 days. At around day 7, add the second 25g pack of Bravo Hop Pellets to the brew by wrapping them in a mesh cleaning cloth (pulled straight from the pack) and place directly on top of the brew then re-fit the lid. After a couple of days, check the Specific Gravity (SG) Check the SG again the following day and so on

Step 3 : Bottle

The brew is ready once the SG has stabilised over a couple of days, expect about 1008 to 1012. Gently fill clean PET bottles to about 3cm from the top. Add 2 carbonation drops per bottle and secure the caps (only one drop per bottle may be preferred). Store the bottles upright in a location out of direct sunlight at or above 18C.

Step 4 : Enjoy

After at least two weeks, check for sufficient carbonation by squeezing the bottles. Bottles kept unrefrigerated should improve in the short term. When ready to drink, chill the bottles upright. The chilled beer may be poured into clean glassware, leaving the sediment behind. Expect the alcohol content to be approximately 6.5% ABV.