18 replies to this topic

[beach]

So, I've got some friends coming down form Chi-town this weekend and they are interested in home brewing. We've been trying to get together for some time so they can go through a brew day with me & get an idea of what goes on & why. Let's call it a private "teach a friend to brew day."I have a number of nearly empty hop packages and an empty debit card but I think I may be able to put a fair APA together. Does it look like this would make a decent PA? American Pale Ale Type: All GrainBatch Size: 6.00 galBoil Size: 7.65 gal Boil Time: 60 min Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 Ingredients 11 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 83.02 % 1 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine (1.5 SRM) Grain 7.55 % 10.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 4.72 % 10.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 4.72 % 0.45 oz Magnum [13.10 %] (60 min) Hops 16.7 IBU 0.55 oz Cascade [6.30 %] (60 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 10.7 IBU 0.40 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [12.20 %] (30 min) Hops 10.5 IBU 0.45 oz Centennial [8.50 %] (10 min) Hops 3.9 IBU 0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.00 %] (0 min) Hops - 1 Pkgs California Ale (WLP001) [Starter 1500 ml] [Cultured] Yeast-Ale Beer Profile Est Original Gravity: 1.062 SGEst Final Gravity: 1.014 SG Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.24 % Bitterness: 41.8 IBU Est Color: 10.1 SRM Mash Profile60 min Mash at 152.0 F Thanks for the help. Beach

[ncbeerbrewer]

So, I've got some friends coming down form Chi-town this weekend and they are interested in home brewing. We've been trying to get together for some time so they can go through a brew day with me & get an idea of what goes on & why. Let's call it a private "teach a friend to brew day." I have a number of nearly empty hop packages and an empty debit card but I think I may be able to put a fair APA together. Does it look like this would make a decent PA? American Pale Ale Type: All Grain Batch Size: 6.00 gal Boil Size: 7.65 gal Boil Time: 60 min Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 Ingredients 11 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 83.02 % 1 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine (1.5 SRM) Grain 7.55 % 10.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 4.72 % 10.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 4.72 % 0.45 oz Magnum [13.10 %] (60 min) Hops 16.7 IBU 0.55 oz Cascade [6.30 %] (60 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 10.7 IBU 0.40 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [12.20 %] (30 min) Hops 10.5 IBU 0.45 oz Centennial [8.50 %] (10 min) Hops 3.9 IBU 0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.00 %] (0 min) Hops - 1 Pkgs California Ale (WLP001) [Starter 1500 ml] [Cultured] Yeast-Ale Beer Profile Est Original Gravity: 1.062 SG Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.24 % Bitterness: 41.8 IBU Est Color: 10.1 SRM Mash Profile 60 min Mash at 152.0 F Thanks for the help. Beach

Beach, I would suggest this for your recipe. Cut the Carapils to 0.5 lbs and also cut the crystal back to a 0.5lbs of each malt at a minimum as well. Make up the difference in base malt. I have seen many grain bills for PA and IPA that is just 2 Row and Crystal malt. I don't think you need as much Carapils in yours and the same goes for the Crystal malt. You want the Crystal for body but in a PA you don't need as much and I think a half pd to a pound is sufficient as well. Otherwise I think your recipe looks good. Enjoy the day. I love teaching people how to brew. Its a lot of fun especially if you have interested friends and participants.

[BarelyBrews]

Beach, I would suggest this for your recipe. Cut the Carapils to 0.5 lbs and also cut the crystal back to a 0.5lbs of each malt at a minimum as well. Make up the difference in base malt. I have seen many grain bills for PA and IPA that is just 2 Row and Crystal malt. I don't think you need as much Carapils in yours and the same goes for the Crystal malt. You want the Crystal for body but in a PA you don't need as much and I think a half pd to a pound is sufficient as well. Otherwise I think your recipe looks good. Enjoy the day. I love teaching people how to brew. Its a lot of fun especially if you have interested friends and participants.

Excellent Critique of this recipe. I see that its almost 42 IBU's i think that is just starting into the IPA category. Not that it matters that much, brew it as ncbeerbrewer suggested and it should be fine.

Edited by Kegdude, 07 October 2009 - 04:58 PM.

[Jimmy James]

I would drop the carapils. 001 attenuates nicely, so you won't have any problems going as high as 15% (I sometimes go even higher) on the xtal malts. I would go with either the 10 oz of each you spec'd or if it were me I'd even boost to 12 oz each.The OG is on the higher end - not a bad thing but I'd consider moving the Columbus up to 60 min and the Cents to 20-30 min. That would bring up the IBU and still leave plenty of flavor.

[cavman]

I would drop the carapils. 001 attenuates nicely, so you won't have any problems going as high as 15% (I sometimes go even higher) on the xtal malts. I would go with either the 10 oz of each you spec'd or if it were me I'd even boost to 12 oz each. The OG is on the higher end - not a bad thing but I'd consider moving the Columbus up to 60 min and the Cents to 20-30 min. That would bring up the IBU and still leave plenty of flavor.

I agree on dropping the Carapils, but i have to disagree on the crystals, max for me is .75# per 5 gallon usually less. I like maltiness not sweetness, but I hfind that seems to be a personal choice.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

cut the carapils back to 0.5lbsreduce the total crystal to 1lbsadd in another 1lb of 2-row (if you have it)carry on.

[beach]

Thanks everyone. This is why I love this board, I asked for help and that's exactly what I got; No one suggesting that I add things that aren't listed, and since I'm broke this week, buying something else. I'll make the cuts to the Cara and crystals and add more MO. I do have .75 oz of Simcoe around as well. Any additional tips?Thanks again for the great advice.Beach

[ANUSTART]

Given the name of the beer, you should work in a wooden barrel somewhere. Either age it in a barrel or wear nothing but a barrel while brewing.

[beach]

Given the name of the beer, you should work in a wooden barrel somewhere. Either age it in a barrel or wear nothing but a barrel while brewing.

I definitely won't be wearing pants, does that help?

[earthtone]

I definitely won't be wearing pants, does that help?

haha watch for splashes!! you don't want a boil over pantsless in front of friends!!! Sound advice above, less carapils is good for this I think also. I've made APAs with only carapils as a specialty grain or only crystal 40/60/80 but usually wouldn't put both in. I don't think you'll have any trouble getting some good body into this brew regardless! Brew on!

[Deerslyr]

Excellent Critique of this recipe. I see that its almost 42 IBU's i think that is just starting into the IPA category. Not that it matters that much, brew it as ncbeerbrewer suggested and it should be fine.

I was thinking the same thing. This is practically an IPA. But I defer to the rest. Just glad to know I wasn't alone in my initial assessment.

[Jimmy James]

Yes, it's definitely a personal preference thing, but sometimes I also get the impression that keeping xtal malt additions very low is conventional wisdom. If you made beers with >10% xtal and they turned out sweet then fine. I've made beers with >15% xtal malt that were malty but not sweet at all. One example is the Dale's Pale Ale homebrew recipe that the commercial beer was based on. Over 17% xtal malt. Dale's is not sweet - it's malty. FWIW, I think the APA in this thread will be good either way, but I personally think it'll be better with the higher amount of xtal malt. Again, just my preference.

I agree on dropping the Carapils, but i have to disagree on the crystals, max for me is .75# per 5 gallon usually less. I like maltiness not sweetness, but I hfind that seems to be a personal choice.

[wertydc]

Here is a thought for the later hop boil additions, since I am not too keen on a 30min. addition for a pale ale. Blend teh columbus, cent., and amarillo together in a bowl and add them in even amounts at 15min, 10min, and flameout.I typically follow the thought of using no more than 1lb. of crystal malts in 5gal. of APA. I would say limit your crystal to 1lb, in any combination that will give you the color you want.

[beach]

Again, so much good input. After some organizing in the brewery in prep for Saturday's brew and Sunday's bottling sessions I saw how much room I have to ferment. So, I came back inside and sat down with BeerSmith and the BrewBrothers and decided to do this: Unemployment PA American Pale Ale Type: All GrainDate: 10/10/2009 Batch Size: 7.50 galBoil Size: 9.49 galBoil Time: 60 min Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU Grain Bill:14 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 90.17 % 12.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 4.66 % 8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 3.11 % 5.3 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 2.05 % Hop Schedule:0.55 oz Cascade [6.30 %] (60 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 8.7 IBU 0.25 oz Simcoe [11.90 %] (60 min) Hops 6.8 IBU 0.45 oz Magnum [13.10 %] (60 min) Hops 13.4 IBU 0.15 oz Centennial [8.50 %] (15 min) Hops 1.4 IBU 0.13 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [12.20 %] (15 min) Hops 1.8 IBU 0.16 oz Amarillo Gold [8.00 %] (15 min) Hops 1.4 IBU 0.16 oz Amarillo Gold [8.00 %] (10 min) Hops 1.1 IBU 0.15 oz Centennial [8.50 %] (10 min) Hops 1.1 IBU 0.13 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [12.20 %] (10 min) Hops 1.3 IBU 0.15 oz Centennial [8.50 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops - 0.13 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [12.20 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops - 0.16 oz Amarillo Gold [8.00 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops - 1 Pkgs California Ale (Beachy #WLP001) [Starter 1500 ml] [Cultured] Yeast-Ale Beer Profile: Est Original Gravity: 1.060 SGEst Final Gravity: 1.014 SG Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.11 % Bitterness: 37.0 Est Color: 9.2 SRM Mash Profile:Total Grain Weight: 16.08 lb 60 min at 152.0 F I wanted to use up partial packages of Crystals and hops so that's why quantities are kind of weird. Given the advice recieved I:1) Dropped the CaraPils2) Set to crystals at 10% of the grist3) Reduced the overall IBU's (by increasing batch size) so it wasn't quite as close to an IPA (I've already got ~12 gallons of IPA in the pipeline )4) Dropped the 30 min hop add and went 15, 10, F/O and mixed those hops (wertydc)Thanks again Beach

[ncbeerbrewer]

Again, so much good input. After some organizing in the brewery in prep for Saturday's brew and Sunday's bottling sessions I saw how much room I have to ferment. So, I came back inside and sat down with BeerSmith and the BrewBrothers and decided to do this: Unemployment PA American Pale Ale Type: All Grain Date: 10/10/2009 Batch Size: 7.50 gal Boil Size: 9.49 gal Boil Time: 60 min Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU Grain Bill: 14 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 90.17 % 12.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 4.66 % 8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 3.11 % 5.3 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 2.05 % Hop Schedule: 0.55 oz Cascade [6.30 %] (60 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 8.7 IBU 0.25 oz Simcoe [11.90 %] (60 min) Hops 6.8 IBU 0.45 oz Magnum [13.10 %] (60 min) Hops 13.4 IBU 0.15 oz Centennial [8.50 %] (15 min) Hops 1.4 IBU 0.13 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [12.20 %] (15 min) Hops 1.8 IBU 0.16 oz Amarillo Gold [8.00 %] (15 min) Hops 1.4 IBU 0.16 oz Amarillo Gold [8.00 %] (10 min) Hops 1.1 IBU 0.15 oz Centennial [8.50 %] (10 min) Hops 1.1 IBU 0.13 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [12.20 %] (10 min) Hops 1.3 IBU 0.15 oz Centennial [8.50 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops - 0.13 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [12.20 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops - 0.16 oz Amarillo Gold [8.00 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops - 1 Pkgs California Ale (Beachy #WLP001) [Starter 1500 ml] [Cultured] Yeast-Ale Beer Profile: Est Original Gravity: 1.060 SG Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.11 % Bitterness: 37.0 Est Color: 9.2 SRM Mash Profile: Total Grain Weight: 16.08 lb 60 min at 152.0 F I wanted to use up partial packages of Crystals and hops so that's why quantities are kind of weird. Given the advice recieved I: 1) Dropped the CaraPils 2) Set to crystals at 10% of the grist 3) Reduced the overall IBU's (by increasing batch size) so it wasn't quite as close to an IPA (I've already got ~12 gallons of IPA in the pipeline ) 4) Dropped the 30 min hop add and went 15, 10, F/O and mixed those hops (wertydc) Thanks again Beach

Looks good to me Beach. Nice call on following the stout advice on doing a hop mix for aroma and flavor. I have followed that and it makes an awesome brew, great hop combination your have too. I think you are looking good and should let her rip on this brew. One question if your finished batch size is 7.5 gallons, how big is your fermenter? I only ask as the most I can ferment in a batch is 6 gallons for the most part. If you are going to dump a gallon or so instead put the extra volume into a one gallon fermenter and ferment with some US-05 or dry yeast and see the taste difference. Just a thought. Nice recipe hope your brew session goes well.

[beach]

One question if your finished batch size is 7.5 gallons, how big is your fermenter? I only ask as the most I can ferment in a batch is 6 gallons for the most part.

I'll put ~5.5 gal in a 7 gal bucket & ~2 gal in a 3 gal BB and into the chest freezer/ferment chamber it will go for 4 weeks at 68^oF

Beach

[wertydc]

Looking good. You even have room increase the 15, 10, and 0 minute hop mix additions to bump the hop aroma/flavor a little. But that's a personal taste thing.Don't forget that the first thing your 'helpers' learn is how to clean and stir!

[beach]

Looking good. You even have room increase the 15, 10, and 0 minute hop mix additions to bump the hop aroma/flavor a little. But that's a personal taste thing. Don't forget that the first thing your 'helpers' learn is how to clean and stir!

Thanks, At this point all I have left in the hops inventory is 1/2 oz of Simcoe (11.9% AA). I guess I could spread these out over the 15, 10, F/O but I've not had these as a late addition and I'm unsure how they'd go. What say you brewbrothers? And yes, plenty of slirring, cleaning, and watching the boil. Beach

[ncbeerbrewer]

Thanks, At this point all I have left in the hops inventory is 1/2 oz of Simcoe (11.9% AA). I guess I could spread these out over the 15, 10, F/O but I've not had these as a late addition and I'm unsure how they'd go. What say you brewbrothers? And yes, plenty of slirring, cleaning, and watching the boil. Beach

I think your hop combination for flavor and aroma is a nice combination but if you were going to use the Simcoe I would either toss them in at flameout or just leave them out. There is no reason to split up only a half ounce over 3 additions. I doubt you would notice a difference with that. You could use them to dry hop but a half again is too small to have a great effect also.