step

Recipes 

158 seems a little high to me for pale ale

If it were me I would shoot for 152 with the goal being a drier finish which I like in my pales. 158 is more in line with what a mash a stout at. Just my opinion

day_trippr

Recipes 

I totally missed that - good catch. Yes, 158 is way high for a pale...

Cheers!

chrismontgomeryil

Recipes 

Thanks. 152 degrees Fahrenheit. If we want a bit more body, I'll inch it up in later brews.

edmanster

Recipes 

That's where I found that I like 154° for my all citra apa

__________________

Quote:

Originally Posted by cadarnell 'how will i explain this to my kids' ... if i have to ask that, then i think my kids are in trouble ... just my 2 cents ... HAVE A BEER !!!

Father of 4 girls
Suffers from Zymocenosilicaphobia

chrismontgomeryil

Recipes 

After consulting with my brewing partner, we're going to go with 154 degrees as a target mash temp. Not only because of edmanster's comment, but the water in our area gives our beer a rather dry quality already. In addition, we are already using California Ale yeast, which should help mitigate any loss of dryness by upping the temp. Finally, both he and I enjoy slightly maltier / thicker-bodied beers, so this will help our pale ale have our own spot of panache and personal signature.

Keep any other comments coming! I feel like the recipe has been greatly improved by the feedback, here. Thanks fellas!

chrismontgomeryil

Recipes 

Hi, fellas. This is the final recipe we'll be using. I'll come back and post how it tasted and looked once it's done. For anyone curious what the final recipe ended up being, here it is:

TWO-BIT PALE ALE (12 Gallon Batch)

EXPECTATIONS

OG: 1.054
FG: 1.012
ABV: 5.50%
IBU: 45.58
SRM: 11.0

GRAIN PROFILE & MASH

20.00 lbs. 2-Row Pale
2.0 lbs. Caramel 60L
1.5 lbs. Munich 20L
Mash at 154 degrees for 60 minutes

HOP SCHEDULE

60 Minute Boil
0.25 oz. - 13.20% AAU Citra, FWH
0.25 oz. - 13.00% AAU Chinook, FWH
1.00 oz. - 13.00% AAU Chinook, 60 Minutes
1.00 oz. - 5.50% AAU Cascade, 10 Minutes
1.00 oz. - 13.20% AAU Citra, 10 Minutes
1.00 oz. - 5.50% AAU Cascade, 5 Minutes
1.00 oz. - 13.20% AAU Citra, 5 Minutes
0.50 oz. - 5.5% AAU Cascade, 1 Minute
0.50 oz. - 13.20% AAU Citra, 1 Minute
0.50 oz. - 13.00% AAU Chinook, 1 Minute

FERMENTATION

California Ale Yeast
3 Weeks

CARBONATION

2.5 volumes CO2

chrismontgomeryil

Recipes 

Brewed this on Sunday. Missed the mash temp by only 1 deg. Hit our OG on the nose. I don't think the FWH adds as much ibus as iBrewMaster calculates, but too late now. I'll post a critique and review and some pics when its done. Thanks again for all helpful advice!

BrewMU

Recipes 

I think it's going to be a delicious brew with any of those variations. Good thing is, you get to try them all. That Citra is dang tasty - a little bit of the citrusy tang, then a left turn to the more subtle tropical fruit flavors. Nothing against Chinook, but piling too much of C-hop flavor into the late boil might obscure the citra.

chrismontgomeryil

Recipes 

Thanks BrewMU. It's nearly done with fermentation now, and I haven't got to taste it yet (it's at my brewing partner's house). But it should be going to the keg in a few more days. I'll certainly keep your suggestion in mind if we decide to brew it again.

Thanks again.

chrismontgomeryil

Recipes 

Well, just an update on the brew - went into secondary a couple days ago with some gelatin. Today, was tossed into the cooler for a 35 degree cold crash to hopefully clear it up prior to carbonation.