aidan

Recipes 

Hi,
I've done 2 kit based batches and for my next one I'm going to have a go at an extract + speciality grain brew. I have most of my ingredients lined up already so now I just need to figure out the quantities. I want to make an American Pale Ale.

Here’s my ingredient list so far (for 23L batch):

* Safale US-05 Yeast – 1 packet (11.5g)
* Medium Crystal Malt – not sure of amount yet, probably 250g (1/2 pound)
* Simcoe Hops pellets (for bittering) – not sure of amount yet
* Cascade Hops pellets (for finishing) – not sure of amount yet
* 3kg Liquid malt extract – perhaps 1 can of Coopers Light for the boil and 1 jar of a cheaper amber (Brewmaster) to add after the boil

Any advice on quantities to use? I like beers like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. More details of my brew plan in my latest blog:
http://beerandgarden.com/planning-my-first-extract-batch/

Cheers,
Aidan

BendBrewer

Recipes 

1/2 pound of crystal will be fine.
You have the right yeast.

I don't suggest Simcoe as a bittering hop as you'll end up losing all that great aroma and flavor.

Search Yoopers House Pale ale recipe for a good hop schedule. If you like SNPA than you'll enjoy her schedule.

aidan

Recipes 

I purchased Simcoe because it sounded like an ideal bittering hops for APA - according to the description: "American high alpha variety used for both bittering and imparting a distinct aroma/flavour as a late addition. It is often characterised as citrus with a woody/pine aroma. Good for beer styles like IPA, Double IPA, and American-style ales". Does it not work well with Cascade or what?

I see that Yoopers recipe is all Cascade. I had thought 2 different hops would give it a bit more dimension.

BendBrewer

Recipes 

Yeah, I sub out the first addition with a more aggressive bittering hop like Columbus. 1.5 oz instead of 2 oz for a 10 gallon batch. But I have made all Cascade and it is a fantastic Ale.

BendBrewer

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Yeah and they work incredibly with Amarillo. Like peanut butter and jelly.

arch1tect

Recipes 

I agree with Bend, the simcoe is going to overpower your beer and he's right about the Cascade/Amarillo. They are truly amazing together. I'm almost done with my American Blonde Ale that used those two exclusively.

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aidan

Recipes 

Thanks for advice, I think I might do an all Cascade then. I'll still have a packet of Simcoe pellets left so what would an all Simcoe ale be like?

aidan

Recipes 

Ok, I've got my recipe finalised now, I'll brew it next week when my current batch of kit beer comes out of the fermenter.

So here's my recipe for Aidan's First All Cascade American Pale Ale:

Batch Size: 23.00 L
Boil Size: 10.00 L
Boil Time: 60 min

Ingredients
1.15 kg Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 28.75 % [boil]
0.35 kg Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 8.75 % [add at end of boil]
2.25 kg Amber Liquid Extract (12.5 SRM) Extract 56.25 % [add at end of boil]
0.25 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 6.25 %
20.00 gm Cascade - NZ [7.70 %] (60 min) Hops 22.6 IBU
20.00 gm Cascade - NZ [7.70 %] (30 min) Hops 12.3 IBU
20.00 gm Cascade - NZ [7.70 %] (10 min) Hops 5.8 IBU
20.00 gm Cascade - NZ [7.70 %] (0 min) Hops -
20.00 gm Cascade - NZ [7.70 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
1 Pkgs Safale US-05 (Fermentis) Yeast-Ale

Beer Profile (Beersmith)
Est Original Gravity: 1.049 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.56 %
Bitterness: 34.0 IBU
Est Color: 22.0 EBC

Beer Profile (Kit & Extract Beer Designer Spreadsheet)
Est Original Gravity: 1.052 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.013 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.4 %
Bitterness: 35.9 IBU
Est Color: 24.3 EBC

Beer Profile (Average)
Est Original Gravity: 1.050 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5 %
Bitterness: 35 IBU
Est Color: 23 EBC

Thanks for the input guys, I'll report back on how it turns out.
Cheers,
Aidan

aidan

Recipes 

Brewed up this recipe last night. I have a few niggling worries about it. OG came out at 1.042, quite a ways of the 1.050 target. The wort tasted pretty bad - very bitter and hoppy. I hope it's not an indication of final taste. Previously I've just done of home brew, both from pre-hopped kits and the wort tasted good in both cases. Just worried that since the OG came out lower than anticipated, I might have over hopped it. I'm considering skipping the dry hops.

It's been 10.5 hours since pitching and fermentation has not started yet. This time I rehydrated my yeast. For previous 2 batches I just sprinkled the kit yeast on top and in both cases it was bubbling away by next morning. I thought the rehydrated yeast was supposed to kick into action faster, so I'm a bit surprised by that.

RM-MN

Recipes 

If you put in all the malt extract that the recipe called for, you really got 1.050, not the 1.042 that you measured. Your wort just wasn't mixed up as well as you thought. The taste you got was probably from that same problem so I wouldn't worry about the taste and follow the hop schedule as written. Besides, the bitterness has to be boiled out of the hops, dry hopping will only get you aroma, not bitterness.

Yeast follow their own schedule, not yours. Besides, what did you check to see if fermentation had started? The airlock? It's not a reliable indicator. At this time of the ferment, the hydrometer probably wouldn't show much either. Just quit worrying about it for another day at least and then check.