Tropical Cyclone Alfred - Beer Recipe - Brewer's Friend

Brewer's Friend

Print

Tropical Cyclone Alfred

202 calories 18 g 500 ml
brewer logo
Beer Stats
Method: All Grain
Style: Best Bitter
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 26 liters (fermentor volume)
Pre Boil Size: 30 liters
Post Boil Size: 27 liters
Pre Boil Gravity: 1.039 (recipe based estimate)
Post Boil Gravity: 1.044 (recipe based estimate)
Efficiency: 72% (brew house)
Source: Andrew Dalley
No Chill: 5 minute extended hop boil time
Calories: 202 calories (Per 500ml)
Carbs: 18 g (Per 500ml)
Created: Friday February 28th 2025
Similar Recipes

Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter

by Endre

OG: 1.043 FG: 1.012 ABV: 4.1% IBU: 39

1.044
1.008
4.8%
42.1
8.2
5.5
11.01
 
Fermentables
Amount Fermentable Cost PPG °L Bill %
1.36 kg Voyager Craft Malt - Pale Compass1.36 kg Pale Compass 38.1 2.79 26.2%
0.05 kg Voyager Craft Malt - Chit Malt (Latrobe)0.048 kg Chit Malt (Latrobe) $ 5.50 / kg
$ 0.26 		32.2 1.31 0.9%
0.65 kg Weyermann - Melanoidin0.65 kg Melanoidin $ 6.20 / kg
$ 4.03 		34.5 27 12.5%
2.45 kg Gladfield - American Ale Malt2.45 kg American Ale Malt $ 2.60 / kg
$ 6.37 		37.3 2.54 47.2%
0.10 kg Barrett Burston - Wheat Malt0.1 kg Wheat Malt $ 0.01 / kg
$ 0.00 		35.4 1.8 1.9%
0.05 kg Gladfield - Shepherds Delight Malt0.05 kg Shepherds Delight Malt - (late mash tun addition) $ 6.90 / kg
$ 0.35 		35 120 1%
0.54 kg Voyager Craft Malt - Vienna Schooner0.538 kg Vienna Schooner 36 6.09 10.4%
5.20 kg / $ 11.01
 
Hops
Amount Variety Cost Type AA Use Time IBU Bill %
40 g Dr. Rudi40 g Dr. Rudi Hops Pellet 10 Boil 35 min 37.69 53.3%
10 g Dr. Rudi10 g Dr. Rudi Hops Pellet 10 Whirlpool at 95 °C 5 min 1.42 13.3%
25 g Mandarina Bavaria25 g Mandarina Bavaria Hops Pellet 8.5 Whirlpool at 95 °C 5 min 3.02 33.3%
75 g / $ 0.00
 
Yeast
Fermentis - Safale - American Ale Yeast US-05
Amount:
1 Each
Cost:
Attenuation (avg):
81%
Flocculation:
Medium
Optimum Temp:
12 - 25 °C
Starter:
No
Fermentation Temp:
-
Pitch Rate:
0.35 (M cells / ml / ° P) 100 B cells required
$ 0.00 Yeast Pitch Rate and Starter Calculator
Priming
CO2 Level: 1.02 Volumes
 
Target Water Profile
RO water
Ca+2 Mg+2 Na+ Cl- SO4-2 HCO3-
0 0 0 0 0 0
Mash Chemistry and Brewing Water Calculator
 
Mash Guidelines
Amount Description Type Start Temp Target Temp Time
18 L Rain water Infusion 66 °C 66 °C 75 min
15 L Rain water Sparge 70 °C 70 °C 15 min
Starting Mash Thickness: 3.65 L/kg
Starting Grain Temp: 66 °C
Quick Water Requirements
Water Liters
Strike water volume at mash thickness of 3.7 L/kg 19
Mash volume with grains 22.4
Grain absorption losses -5.2
Remaining sparge water volume (equipment estimates 19.2 L) 17.1
Mash Lauter Tun losses -0.9
Pre boil volume (equipment estimates 32.1 L) 30
Boil off losses -5.7
Hops absorption losses (first wort, boil, aroma) -0.2
Post boil Volume (equipment estimates 26.2 L) 27
Hops absorption losses (whirlpool, hop stand) -0.2
WARNING: Exceeded batch size - reduce boil size  
Going into fermentor (equipment estimates 26.8 L) 26
Total: 36.1  
Equipment Profile Used: System Default
 
Notes

Gambling that I’d get this brew-day completed before we lost power and water, I brewed this beer to make use of the copious rain and as a distraction from the howling winds during Tropical Cyclone Alfred (Brisbane, May 2025).

It produced an awesome beer. My favourite part is the colour which is best described as “Burnished Copper”. I’d recommend this (overly complicated) grain bill to put with any hops you like.

Importantly, the Shepherds Delight malt is only added for the very last 5 minutes of the mash.

As described here, the beer is very well balanced with sufficient malt sweetness to carry some pronounced bitterness. This was my first use of Mandarina Bavaria hops.

Overall, this beer is eminently drinkable. It is also really good to look at with the light casting a copper sheen as it passes through the crystal-clear beer.

I do routinely use Gelatin clearing (less than 5g Gelatin dissolved in 200mL in boiled water at 66 degrees C dripped onto the chilled beer surface after it has been sitting at -2 degrees C for 48 hours to induce a chill haze).

Extra detail: I used 1.6kg HoppyDays Superblend in this recipe. This contributed 1.36kg Pale malt, 0.192kg Vienna malt and 48g Chit malt) (Leaving only the 2.45 Kg American Ale malt, 0.346kg Vienna malt, 100g Wheat malt, 0.65kg Melanoidin malt and 50g Shephards Delight). Voyager Planet Vienna malt was used rather than the Schooner as listed here.

It’s a shame I’m likely to have to wait another 50 years until I can brew this beer again. Tropical cyclones don’t come this far south very regularly (for which I am grateful).

Last Updated and Sharing
 
75
Views
0
Brews
Recipe QR Code
  • Public: Yup, Shared
  • Last Updated: 2025-03-29 12:59 UTC