Rhys79

Recipes 

Ok, I really like pale ales, but SWMBO doesn't like the bite on the toungue she gets from them (Sierra Nevada, etc...). I don't notice a "bite on my toungue" from pale ale's, so not entirely sure what she's referring too...

Coopers Sparkling Ale, which I also like, apparently doesn't have said bite. Trying to figure out what the difference is, so I can decide how to make a pale ale that we will both drink.

I'm going out on a limb here and guessing it has to do with the variety of hops used. Assuming that is the case, which varieties of hops should I avoid to not get the "dreaded bite"

TIA!!

dannypo

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She is most likely referring to bitterness. My wife is the same way. She loves the smell and taste of hops but anything over 30 IBUs is way to bitter for her.

Rhys79

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That could be it too, I just looked, didn't realize there was a 10 IBU gap between the two styles... Looks like Coopers is around 25ish and Sierra Nevada is around 35ish. I'll have to keep that in mind.

Here's a recipe I came up with, how does it sound for a less hoppy pale ale?

Name: Indiana Pearle Ale
Type: Extract
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 5.72 gal
Boil Time: 60 min

Est Original Gravity: 1.053 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.013
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.3 %
Bitterness: 24.8 IBU
Est Color: 9 SRM

6.00 lb Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 85.7 %
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 7.1 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 7.1 %
0.75 oz Pearle [8.00%] (60 min) Hops 21.1 IBU
0.13 oz Pearle [8.00%] (30 min) Hops 2.8 IBU
0.13 oz Pearle [8.00%] (5 min) Hops 0.7 IBU
1 Pkgs Cooper Ale (Coopers #-) Yeast-Ale

30min grain steep, then 60min boil

This would be my first boil, so I was going for something fairly simple (and reasonably priced...). Anything look severly out of whack with this?

adx

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Could it be from the carbonation? Have her drink some soda water and see if that's the same bite she is talking about. She might just be a hop head in disguise!

Rhys79

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I doubt it's the carbonation. Coopers Sparkling Ale is pretty highly carbonated and she likes it.

ajf

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1 lb cara-pils and 1 lb crystal is going to give you a lot of unfermentables. I'd cut them both back to 1/2 lb, and probably go for crystal 40 instead of 20 to keep the color about the same.
For hops, you could try EKG, Fuggles or Willamette. They all have a much softer profile than most American hops. I've never tried Pearle, so I don't know what they taste like.

-a.

Rhys79

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I'm kinda limited on what hops I can get at my LHBS (Quality Wine and Ale). Their prices are pretty comparable to online for most ingredients, and even after tax I can't beat there prices when you add shipping from an online shop (plus I usually get stuff cheaper in store than on their website...).

Haven't used any hops myself, so I figure if I do a few trial brews with a different type of hop each time, I can get a feel for the different hop influences.

I'll run the modifications on the grains through beersmith and update the recipe. Does the hop schedule look ok?

Thanks!

ajf

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The hop schedule looks fine. It's the volumes that look wrong to me, but I'm a hop head while you and your SWMBO are probably normal balanced people.
FWIW, I can't drink beers with Cascade hops (like SNPA) without getting severe indegestion, while I have no problem with the hops I mentioned earlier.

-a.

Rhys79

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I would personally be perfectly happy to double (at least) the amount of hops in that. If the SWMBO is going to drink it though, I need to keep it under ~30IBU.

As long as everything looks good, I'll probably make up a batch of that for my next brew and see how it comes out.

niquejim

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The 2 of you like the taste of the hops and you like the bitterness, I believe.
If that is correct, change the hop additions to
40-30min
10-5 min
0 min (see how I do it) http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/fat-owl-pale-ale-55221/

this will give you all the flavor without the bite