Columbus Wet-hopped Pale Ale

Beer Recipe Design
1

So, my first year Columbus plant went crazy and is full of hops, almost ready to harvest. I’d like to make a fresh hopped Pale with them. I’ve got a small handful of first year cascades to throw in there at flameout or something, but not enough to add to the recipe. Any suggestions/comments on this recipe would be awesome. Not sure about the reported IBUs on this one, it seems a little high to me, but I can deal with that.

Title: Columbus Harvest Pale
Author: Aaron Johnson

Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: American Pale Ale
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons
Boil Size: 7 gallons
Efficiency: 70%

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.052
Final Gravity: 1.015
ABV (standard): 4.92%
IBU (tinseth): 88.19
SRM (morey): 7.04

FERMENTABLES:
8 lb - Pale 2-Row (71.1%)
2 lb - Vienna (17.8%)
0.5 lb - Caramel / Crystal 40L (4.4%)
0.25 lb - Carapils (Dextrine Malt) (2.2%)
0.5 lb - Caramel / Crystal 20L (4.4%)

HOPS:
1 oz - Columbus (AA 15), Type: Pellet, Use: First Wort
1 oz - Columbus (AA 15) for 15 min, Type: Fresh, Use: Aroma
1 oz - Columbus (AA 15) for 10 min, Type: Fresh, Use: Aroma
1 oz - Columbus (AA 15) for 5 min, Type: Fresh, Use: Aroma
1 oz - Columbus (AA 15) for 0 days, Type: Fresh, Use: Dry Hop

MASH STEPS:

  1. Infusion, Temp: 150 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 18 qt
  2. Sparge, Temp: 170 F, Time: 5 min, Amount: 20 qt, batch sparge until boil volume reached
2

IBUs look really high for what you’re adding - did you account for the 5:1 or 6:1 ratio for wet hops versus dry or does the software do that for you?

3

I don’t think the software accounted for the wet hop ratio at all, or the fact the the fresh hops most likely won’t have the same alpha acid content as the pellets. I used Brewer’s Friend to throw it together quick, since I don’t have beersmith at work. I’m guessing the actual IBUs for this will probably be closer to around 45-50. I suppose I could go with fresh hops for the bittering addition, but I wanted to stick with the known quantity with pellets for that. I’m more curious on the feedback of the grist composition, I guess. As far as adjusting the recipe for fresh hops, it’d probably break down like this:

5 oz. wet hop @ 15, 10, and 5 min.
another 5 oz. for dry hop.

4

It’s a little heavy on crystal malt for my taste, I would drop the carapils, but it’ll make a good beer as-is.

5

I may drop the Crystal to .25 lb on each and maybe sub some melanoidin for the carapils for the color. Or I’ll leave it as is and stick with a more pale… that’s the beauty of this obsession. lots of flexibility. I’m shooting for about 5%, as the last couple batches have ended up around 7-8% due to better efficiency than I had planned for.

6

I’m in the same boat as you (did you get your Columbus rhizome from NB too?) and am thinking about what to make. I am thinking I’ll keep the grain bill simple (maybe even a SMASH), but am open-ended with the hops. Maybe even do a first-wort then the rest towards the end. It will also depend on how much hops it actually turns out to be…

7

I got my rhizome from the other brew store in the Twin Cities…