I am still a noob, 9 brew under my belt and last 3 all grain. I am just starting to try and make my own recipes. I was wondering if anyone could give some advice on this recipe as to whether it is ok or if there are any major problems with it. Looking for a moderately hoppy average ABV APA with good hop taste but not as citrusy as an all cascade APA.
Thanks in advance.
Batch Size: 5.50 gal Style: American Pale Ale
Boil Size: 7.24 gal
Color: 6.8
Bitterness: 41.8 IBUs Boil Time: 60 min
Est OG: 1.056 (13.7° P) Mash Profile: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Est FG: 1.013 SG (3.3° P) Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage
ABV: 5.6%
10 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1
8.0 oz Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 2
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 3
0.6 oz Magnum [14.0%] - Boil 60 min Hops 4
1 Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15 min) Misc 5
0.5 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.0%] - Boil 12 min Hops 6
0.5 oz Cascade [5.5%] - Boil 12 min Hops 7
0.5 oz Cascade [5.5%] - Boil 0 min Hops 8
0.5 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.0%] - Boil 0 min Hops 9
1 pkgs American Ale II
First off, I like the hops that you chose and feel they work great with each other.
What I like to do is use lesser amounts and spread the additions out. For example:
.25 oz Columbus FW
.60 oz Magnum 60 mins
.25 oz Columbus 10 mins
.25 oz Cascade 8 mins
.25 oz Columbus 6 mins
.25 oz Cascade 4 mins
.25 oz Cascade 2 mins
.25 oz Columbus flameout
.25 oz Cascade flameout
I like to do it that way because every minute that those hops boil is wasted aroma. I noticed that you didn’t mention any dry hops? Any reason why? I would suggest at least .5 oz of each variety used.
Thanks . As for dry hopping, haven’t really done much of it and didn’t know if it was really needed if I used the flameout additions…but it sounds like it would be a good idea?
If you can chill your wort very quickly, you might be able to get by with out dry hopping, but dry hopping adds a very nice character to the beer. Most of those aroma/flameout additions will turn to flavor additions if you do not chill it below 185 in 10-15 minutes. I use maybe 1/2 Oz. total in an average pale ale. I would use more for IPA. I just tie my hops up in cheese cloth and put that into the keg. If you don’t keg yet, you can do that in a carboy, it just takes a while to get the hop bag into and out of the carboy.
Dry hopping can make a huge difference for APA’s. You can taste your beer in 2-3 weeks and decide if you want to do it or not. It really adds great aroma which really helps make the beer, IMO. The recipe looks pretty solid otherwise.
[quote=“Mmmbeer”]I am still a noob, 9 brew under my belt and last 3 all grain. I am just starting to try and make my own recipes. I was wondering if anyone could give some advice on this recipe as to whether it is ok or if there are any major problems with it. Looking for a moderately hoppy average ABV APA with good hop taste but not as citrusy as an all cascade APA.
Thanks in advance.
Batch Size: 5.50 gal Style: American Pale Ale
Boil Size: 7.24 gal
Color: 6.8
Bitterness: 41.8 IBUs Boil Time: 60 min
Est OG: 1.056 (13.7° P) Mash Profile: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Est FG: 1.013 SG (3.3° P) Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage
ABV: 5.6%
10 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1
8.0 oz Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 2
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 3
0.6 oz Magnum [14.0%] - Boil 60 min Hops 4
1 Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15 min) Misc 5
0.5 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.0%] - Boil 12 min Hops 6
0.5 oz Cascade [5.5%] - Boil 12 min Hops 7
0.5 oz Cascade [5.5%] - Boil 0 min Hops 8
0.5 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.0%] - Boil 0 min Hops 9
1 pkgs American Ale II[/quote]
I personally like your original recipe more than the more with the more smaller additions. The only thing I would change hop wise is move the 12 min addition to 10. Or even better. 0.25 columbus/0.25 cascade @ 10 and @ 5. And yes dry hop.
I personally like atleast a full two ozes of dry hop on APA. And cascade and columbus work terrific together as a dry hop. I would do a 1oz of each.
[quote=“Mmmbeer”]If I dry hop, would the flameout addition still be necessary?[/quote]More hops is always the correct conclusion for APAs and IPAs, so yes, do both!
First of all, I like your grain bill. I like the Victory and the restrained use of Crystal malt.
I really like to max out the hop flavor and aroma in my APA’s and IPA’s. I get the best results with a hop stand. I’d take your 12 minute additions and move them to flameout. Kill the heat, add your hops, whirlpool with a spoon for a solid 3-5 minutes, then let it sit for 30 minutes. After the 30 minute hot hop stand, add the hops you were going to use at flameout and start chilling.
I’d also use 2-3 ounces of hops for dry hops. The easiest way to go would be to use 1 to 1.5 ounces each of the Cascade and Columbus.
I agree that you should dry hop and add late hops. Be careful about over hopping though. I have tasted many home brewed APAs and IPAs that had a heavy cat pee aroma. Large amounts of some of those hops don’t mix well with a sulfury pale ale yeast like 1056/001/05. I also don’t like the ones that are extremely grassy. APA is balanced more toward the hops, but you still need enough malt character to balance the hops. You want big flavor, but don’t over do it unless you like those extreme flavors.
