APA with Centennial?
 

Hello,
I need to get a brew going, and I have a whole bag of Centennial hops, so I thought, why not an APA with Centennial. Here's what I've got:
5 gallons

8.5 lb. American two-row
.5 lb. Crystal 60
.5 oz. Centennial (60 min)
.5 oz. Centennial (30 min)
.5 oz. Centennial (15 min)
.5 oz. Centennial (0 min)
Wyeast 1056 American Ale Yeast.

According to Q-Brew:
OG: 1.050
FG: 1.012
ABV: 4.8%
IBU: 39
SRM: 10

How's that look?
Thanks

Looks pretty damn good. Personally, I'd bump the 2-row up to 9lbs and make the 15min addition 1oz, losing the 30min addition. IMO, 30min additions are pointless. You could also do .75 @ 15min and then .75 @ 0min...

If you have the hops and are looking for big hop flavor, I would loose the 60 min addition as well and spread the hops out between 20 and 0 minutes to give you the desired IBUs. Don't forget to save out some for dry hopping as well.

I wouldn't say I was looking for a BIG hop flavor. Basically I want a nice session beer that won't screw with my palate too much, almost an English Pale Ale, but with American ingredients. I adapted this recipe from How To Brew (about half way down the page, Lady Liberty APA), upped the grain bill, modified the hops, and still came in with about the same results he got for his APA.

So a 30 min addition is pointless? How so? 60 min is for bittering, 15 is flavor, <5 is aroma, is my understanding. Would a 30 be for bittering also? At this point in my brewing career I pretty much follow along blindly, so please let me know! :)

Thanks

I can't get technical, I just know that I and other brewers have found no benefit from the 30 minute addition. I'm assuming it does just add bittering and little to no flavor. The most flavor utilization comes from < 20 minutes. Also remember, when you are breathing in the hop aroma, you're pretty much tasting hops as well. So you could even just do the 60min addition, then .75oz @ 10min, and .75oz dryhopped. Don't worry about your palate being overwhelmed. You're not using big enough amounts for that...

Okay, how about .75 oz. at 60, 15, and 0? Puts me in at 39 IBU. I had also calculated .5 for 60 & 30, then .75 for 15 and 0 to give more aroma and flavor, and it came in at 45 IBU according to Q-Brew. Makes me think the 30 would be more for bittering than anything else.

Yeah that sounds fine. Did you see the recipe for EdWort's Haus Pale Ale? You might wanna consider just making his recipe with Centennial like I did. Its an already proven solid recipe...

I'd do it like this:

http://www.beertools.com/images/colors/09.jpg

Size: 5.0 gal
Efficiency: 75.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 157.09 per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.047 (1.000 - 1.100)
|===============#================|
Terminal Gravity: 1.012 (1.000 - 1.100)
|=========#======================|
Color: 9.1 (0.0 - 50.0)
|==========#=====================|
Alcohol: 4.64% (0.0% - 10.0%)
|===============#================|
Bitterness: 35.2 (0.0 - 50.0)
|===================#============|

Ingredients:
8.5 lbs 2-Row Brewers Malt
.5 lbs 2-Row Caramel Malt 60L
.5 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
0.5 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 15 min
1 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 5 min


APAs and IPAs seriously benefit from later hop additions and I would always suggest an aroma addition of twice the bittering. If you want it to be like a session beer, you probably want to mash down near 150-151 and keep the IBUs close to the middle of the range.

An alternate hop sched, and one that I'd probably lean towards is:


Original Gravity: 1.047 (1.000 - 1.100)
|===============#================|
Terminal Gravity: 1.012 (1.000 - 1.100)
|=========#======================|
Color: 9.1 (0.0 - 50.0)
|==========#=====================|
Alcohol: 4.64% (0.0% - 10.0%)
|===============#================|
Bitterness: 30.33 (0.0 - 50.0)
|=================#==============|

Ingredients:
8.5 lbs 2-Row Brewers Malt
.5 lbs 2-Row Caramel Malt 60L
.25 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
0.75 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 15 min
1 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 5 min


More hop flavor and aroma with a moderate 30 IBU. Yummy

You original hop schedule should work just fine. 30 minutes adds are mostly bittering (about 75% of the IBU compared to a 60 minute add), but there are a few heavy flavor oils that will still be there. Every add time gives a different profile for bittering/flavor/aroma. Columbus is my favorite bittering hop. I buy it by the pound.