483 replies to this topic

[Augie1991]

Ken, I'm thinking about giving this a whirl in a few weeks. I am a bit of a hophead, but am wanting to try a more "subdued" beer!Here's the recipe as I'd order it from Midwest:Ken’s Pale Ale Recipe - Memory Lapse Pale Ale5 lbs. Light DME (Munton’s)1 lb Crystal 60°L (Breiss)12 oz White Wheat (Rahr)1.33 oz of Mt. Hood pellets (Alpha Acid avg =4) 5.32 AAUWhite Labs 01 California Ale yeastOG: 1.048, FG: 1.012, IBU: 24, SRM: 10, ABV: 4.8%A few questions:1) Does the recipe look correct, are white Wheat and Malted Wheat the same thing? Does my Mt. Hood calculation look right?2) I'm not familiar with Mt Hood, should I consider something I'm familiar with like Cascade or just shut up and stick with the recipe?!3) When I brew I just dump everything from the kettle into the carboy, I've had good results. Opinions??

[Big Nake]

Ken, I'm thinking about giving this a whirl in a few weeks. I am a bit of a hophead, but am wanting to try a more "subdued" beer!

Here's the recipe as I'd order it from Midwest:

Ken’s Pale Ale Recipe - Memory Lapse Pale Ale
5 lbs. Light DME (Munton’s)
1 lb Crystal 60°L (Breiss)
12 oz White Wheat (Rahr)
1.33 oz of Mt. Hood pellets (Alpha Acid avg =4) 5.32 AAU
White Labs 01 California Ale yeast

OG: 1.048, FG: 1.012, IBU: 24, SRM: 10, ABV: 4.8%


A few questions:

1) Does the recipe look correct, are white Wheat and Malted Wheat the same thing? Does my Mt. Hood calculation look right?
2) I'm not familiar with Mt Hood, should I consider something I'm familiar with like Cascade or just shut up and stick with the recipe?!
3) When I brew I just dump everything from the kettle into the carboy, I've had good results. Opinions??

Augie: It looks nice. As far as I know, there is white wheat and red wheat and they both contribute the same thing(s) for this purpose... some head stability and a bit of a softer flavor. If the recipe called for 50% wheat, you may notice a difference and I don't know what the difference would be. I would stick with the Mt. Hood for the sole purpose of seeing what they're like. They are really clean, mildly spicy but generally neutral. See how you like them and don't be afraid to throw some in late too. Your calcs look right to me. You can dump everything in, but I like to use WHirfloc, chill and then let the brewpot settle so I can rack everything out of there and leave most of the schputz behind. Your call. Have fun with it & let me know how you like it. If you're a hophead, you may not appreciate it like I do, but pass some of it around so your friends, family & neighbors can try it. Cheers!

Ever try 830 on memory lapse? Oh by the way I found Victoria beer at our local specs last night... It's in the fridge now.

Daryl: I haven't but I bet the 830/MLPA would make a nice amber lager. I may try that sometime! Yes, I got your email about the Victoria. I have about a case in my fridge but I notice it goes much better with warm weather, sunshine, grilling, etc. Nice beer though. Cheers Amigo.

[chadm75]

Ken - Hope things are well and you all have a great holiday up in the Windy City! BTW, I've got the Bears -8.5 tonight!I've got three batches planned for over the Christmas holiday (MLPA being one of them) and wanted to know your thoughts on brewing MLPA with 1968 yeast. Have you ever brewed this with something other than a standard american ale yeast?Cheers!

[Big Nake]

Hey Chad: Yeah, I think I may have tried it with 1968 along with the WLP001 and 1056. I may have tried 1272 also... not sure on that. The only issue with the 1968 is the lower attenuation. I might mash a little lower (149-150°) just to make sure that the beer doesn't end up too sweet. I just made a string of beers with 1968 and I made double and triple sure that the yeast was roused and the gravity was down before I racked them out to secondary. It will make a very nice beer, I think. I hope your holidays are nice & your brewdays go smoothly. I will be watching the Bears play on the 'unplayable concrete field' tonight! Cheers.

[chadm75]

That's a good point about the attenuation issue with 1968. That's been my issue with MLPA in the past, that I've mashed too high and the beer comes out too sweet. Combine that with the single hop addition and I ended up with MLPA that really made me pucker from being too sugary. I think I'll stick with 1056 and mash around one fity!I took into consideration the crappy conditions and the fact that the Vikings are terrible, and still think the Bears can win by a couple of TD's.

[Big Nake]

That's a good point about the attenuation issue with 1968. That's been my issue with MLPA in the past, that I've mashed too high and the beer comes out too sweet. Combine that with the single hop addition and I ended up with MLPA that really made me pucker from being too sugary. I think I'll stick with 1056 and mash around one fity! I took into consideration the crappy conditions and the fact that the Vikings are terrible, and still think the Bears can win by a couple of TD's.

I just read something about how the Vikings haven't won a game played outdoors in cold conditions since beating the Packers at Lambeau in 2005 or something. They have become wimpy because they are a dome team. I'm not predicting anything, mind you... just regurgitating. After what the Bears did last week, all bets are off! On the 1968... I think you could still do it. This English Bitter I have on my tap #1 at the moment actually came out kind of dry. I probably mashed around 150° but maybe the temps took a nosedive and I mashed even lower than I expected too. If you are very sure of your mash temps (my Thermapen has given me all the confidence in the world), shoot for around 150 and just make sure that the 1968 stays in contact with the beer for the whole primary and I'd bet you'll end up with a nice beer. If you go with 1056, you're assured a good beer, IMO. Cheers & good luck on the game. 8½ points huh?

[chadm75]

I think they win by more than that. The Vikings are just soooo bad and in the conditions tonight...they're going to get blown out of the place!I think I'll save my 1968 for an English Pale I've got planned and stick with I know what works for MLPA...1056.

[SchwanzBrewer]

Ken, I just realized I used red wheat instead of white wheat in the recipe. Any idea what that might do to the flavor? (never used it before)Cheers,Rich

[Big Nake]

Ken, I just realized I used red wheat instead of white wheat in the recipe. Any idea what that might do to the flavor? (never used it before) Cheers, Rich

It will be fine. I have used both red & white wheat with no problem. Cheers!

[positiveContact]

It will be fine. I have used both red & white wheat with no problem. Cheers!

I agree - I don't think it would make a noticable difference in this recipe. Maybe in a beer that was 50% wheat you'd be able to tell but I'm not sure.

[Big Nake]

I agree - I don't think it would make a noticable difference in this recipe. Maybe in a beer that was 50% wheat you'd be able to tell but I'm not sure.

Spot on. This is just 12 ounces for a little body, head stability, etc. I don't know the actual difference between red & white but I usually have white in the brewery as opposed to red. Cheers.

[SchwanzBrewer]

Good to know!Cheers,Rich

[SchwanzBrewer]

Figured I would share this.



Cheers,
Rich

[Big Nake]

Whoo!Can I have a glass of that??

[Big Nake]

Beerheads: After much snorting and pawing at the ground water-wise, today I decided to make a batch of MLPA and brew it old-school... the way I used to make it long ago with no mineral additions of any kind. My 100% filtered tap water has 34 ppm of calcium, 21ppm of chloride and 27ppm of sulfate so it slightly favors sulfate and the calcium might be considered low. I probably didn't realize years ago that this was the perfect beer for my water. When I went to take the pH of the mash, it was perfect. 5.0 on the ColorpHast strip (at mash temp) which translates to 5.3. In attempts to get calcium numbers higher, I have been adding calcium chloride and gypsum and these batches have not been as good as the batches I made years ago when I didn't even consider water additions. The boil has started! Cheers.

[positiveContact]

bringing it back! a classic thread!

[SchwanzBrewer]

Just don't use WLP005 then you will have made Crap-E-MLPA. Gonna try WLP007 on it this weekend in a 5 gal batch. This is a most awesome recipe.

[HVB]

This is a most awesome recipe.

MLPA seems to be cursed for me. I have made it 3 times and every time I have had some kind of issue, Maybe the 4th time will be the charm.

[johnpreuss]

MLPA seems to be cursed for me. I have made it 3 times and every time I have had some kind of issue, Maybe the 4th time will be the charm.

Took me 3 times to get it right!

Edited by johnpreuss, 05 December 2012 - 07:32 AM.