Dude

Recipes 

Hops look good, but the grain bill needs some changes. A pound of honey malt will make that beer undrinkable--a little goes a long way with that stuff. Try a quarter lb. for a start, trust me. And for the crystal and cara-pils, you'll be steeping these, correct? Knock both amounts down to a half pound.

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On Tap: Lake Walk Pale Ale -- Eternity (Raspberry Stout) -- Nutrocker -- Donnybrook Dark
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Up Next: Smoked Porter -- Pub Ale -- Watermelon Wheat
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Somerville

Recipes 

Thanks man. So I'm assuming that the honey malt must give off a lot of sugar, thus the decrease. I'll definitely make the changes that youve said here but just to increase my knowledge, why the changes in crystal and cara-pils? Thanks!

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Dude

Recipes 

Well, the cara-pils might not need to be changed for an extract recipe, but in an AG recipe a half pound is all that is necessary. Also in an extract beer, you can always add dextrine powder to get more body. I'm not even sure steeping cara-pils will do the trick anyway.

As for the crystal malt--too much unfermentables added to the grist will make the beer overly sweet. If that is what you want--keep it in there. I'm more of a fan of the middle road--slightly dry, but a touch of sweetness and the half pound of crystal in a 1.050-1.057ish APA usually is just about right.

One more note on the honey malt--it is a sweetness but it has a really strong flavor. I use 1/4 lb. now and it is good, but DEFINITLEY detectable. Too much would ruin a beer, IMHO.

I'm no recipe expert--and hopefully the extract afficianados will chime in to what they do. I'm just suggesting what works for me.

__________________
On Tap: Lake Walk Pale Ale -- Eternity (Raspberry Stout) -- Nutrocker -- Donnybrook Dark
Primary: Lake Walk Pale Ale
Secondary: Summit IPA
Up Next: Smoked Porter -- Pub Ale -- Watermelon Wheat
Planning:
Gone But Not Forgotten:

www.IronOrrBrewery.com

Somerville

Recipes 

So its been 5 days in the PF and fermentation has slowed to 1 min intervals. I decided to try just a wee bit and my first impression was that it tasted a bit like really hoppy watery beer...I could be mistaken though, I only had a tiny taste...heres was my final recipe:
6lb LME
steep .5lb crystal 40l
.5 lb carapils
60min 1 oz perle 7.7%
30min 1 oz cascade 5.6%
15min 1 oz cascade
aroma: .5oz cascade
WLyeast American Ale (new)

I decided to ditch the honeymalt. I'm going to put it 1-2weeks in secondary...what do you guys think? Do I have a potential bad batch or do you think my first impression was flawed?

Oh yeah and the reason why the hops are so high is that I am only boiling 2.5 gals and then filling it up to 5gal in PF...

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Secondary
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Bottled
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R.I.P.
Dry Irish Stout #1
German Pilsner #1
American Pale Ale #1
California Ale #1
Dusseldorf Style Altbier #1