First "Home Made" recipe, need critique

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ImperialStout

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Got some help here before on developing this partial mash recipe, a home version clone of Sebago's Frye's Leap, a very hoppy beer from Maine, but thought one last critique before brew day would help. At 7.5 oz hops, this may be a little too hoppy, but then the BU:GU is balanced at 0.95. Want to keep the grains as is.

Wondering if dry hopping with 1 oz Cascade / 1 oz Centennial is a bit much. Thinking of dry hopping with .5 oz Cascade / .5 oz Centennial and adding 1/4 oz at 15 and 5 min for more bittering and aroma, maybe at 5 and 1 min just for more aroma.

What would you do? Leave as is or move hops around?

Malt
11# American 2 row pale ale
2# Extra Light Dry Extract
1# Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L*

Hops
boil 60 mins 1.5oz Nugget pellet 13.0
boil 15 mins 0.5oz Cascade pellet 6.0
boil 15 mins 0.5oz Centennial pellet 8.7
boil 5 mins 0.5Cascadepellet6.0
boil 5 mins 0.5oz Centennial pellet 8.7
boil 5 mins 0.5oz Nugget pellet 13.0
post-boil 1 min 0.5oz Cascade pellet 6.0
post-boil 1 min 0.5oz Centennial pellet 8.7
post-boil 1 min 0.5 Nugget pellet 13.0
dry hop 7 days 1.0oz Cascade pellet 6.0
dry hop 7 days 1.0oz Centennial pellet 8.7

15 min 1*tbsp Irish Moss*

California Ale V

Calculated Specs
OG 1.086*
FG 1.024*
Color 10° SRM
Mash Efficiency 75%
IBU 81.5
BU:GU 0.95
ABV 8.3%
 
Honestly, I'd consider upping the hops, you got a really alcoholic beer on your hands, I'd try more for 95 or 100 ibu's. Just my opinion... That being said, with the recipe you got, I don't think you need to worry about it being over hoppy. I'd consider a 20 minute addition instead of one of your 1 minute additions to ensure you get as much flavor as you can. You're dry hopping so should be good on aroma. Good luck!
 
I like the recipe overall, but I"d take nugget out of the late additions as I simply find it harsh and don't like it in flavor, aroma, or dryhopping. I like the centennial and cascade additions and the timing!
 
OK, made some recommended changes. Moved Nugget out of late editions to reduce harshness and reduced overall Nugget hops from 2.5 oz to 1.5 oz and put them in at 60 and 30 min. Increased Cascade and Centennial from .5 oz each to 1 oz each at 15 min for flavor. Retained Cascade and Centennial aroma hops. Need to keep 12 pounds grain and 2 pounds DME as MLT is a 5 gal Igloo round cooler and am limited to 12 pounds of grain.

Adjusted recipe looks like this:

Malt
11# American 2 row pale ale
2# Extra Light Dry Extract
1# Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L*

Hops
boil 60 mins 1.0oz Nugget pellet 13.0
boil 30 mins 0.5oz Nugget pellet 13.0
boil 15 mins 1.0oz Cascade pellet 6.0
boil 15 mins 1.0oz Centennial pellet 8.7
boil 5 mins 0.5Cascadepellet6.0
boil 5 mins 0.5oz Centennial pellet 8.7
boil 1 min 0.5oz Cascade pellet 6.0
boil 1 min 0.5oz Centennial pellet 8.7

dry hop 7 days 1.0oz Cascade pellet 6.0
dry hop 7 days 1.0oz Centennial pellet 8.7

15 min 1*tbsp Irish Moss*

California Ale V

Calculated Specs
OG 1.086*
FG 1.024*
Color 10° SRM
Mash Efficiency 75%
IBU 85.1
BU:GU 0.99
ABV 8.3%

Plan to ferment in small fridge with temp controller at 68F (20C) for 14 days, secondary and dry hop at 68F for 7 days, bottle and age in fridge at 68F for 30 days.

Sebago's Frye's Leap calls for all three hops but guessed at where to use them. As I said this is my first home made clone. Hope this beer comes out as a high ABV beer with good hoppy flavor and aroma but not sweet or harsh.

Anyone think this will do it or should it be tweaked some more?
 
85 IBUs, most of them from nugget at 60 and 30 minutes, might give you an overwhelming bitter flavor. Do you feel that you really need the 30 minute bittering addition? I think the recipe might taste better without it, although I've never heard of the beer you're trying to clone.
 
I don't really know if the 30 min addition is necessary. Another reply said to move the nugget to 20 min felt it might contribute too much flavor at 20 so moved it to 30.

I'll admit, I really don't know what I am doing but learning and having fun. Besides, you drink the mistakes, usually.

All I know is that this beer uses Cascade, Centennial and Nugget hops and the higher AA hops should be used early in the biol. Have no idea what flavor nugget hops contribute. Have heard that Cascade is a very common hop to use in an American IPA. Have heard that a BU:GU of 1.00, or close to it, is a balanced beer, not too hoppy or too sweet, but then we all here a lot of things, most of it not true.

Question: What beer style is nugget commonly used in? Would you recommend just cutting out the 30 min addition of Nugget or cutting out the 30 min AND reducing the 60 min to .5 oz?

As I said, just want a hoppy tasting beer with good aroma but not bitter.
 
I don't really know if the 30 min addition is necessary. Another reply said to move the nugget to 20 min felt it might contribute too much flavor at 20 so moved it to 30.

I'll admit, I really don't know what I am doing but learning and having fun. Besides, you drink the mistakes, usually.

All I know is that this beer uses Cascade, Centennial and Nugget hops and the higher AA hops should be used early in the biol. Have no idea what flavor nugget hops contribute. Have heard that Cascade is a very common hop to use in an American IPA. Have heard that a BU:GU of 1.00, or close to it, is a balanced beer, not too hoppy or too sweet, but then we all here a lot of things, most of it not true.

Question: What beer style is nugget commonly used in? Would you recommend just cutting out the 30 min addition of Nugget or cutting out the 30 min AND reducing the 60 min to .5 oz?

As I said, just want a hoppy tasting beer with good aroma but not bitter.

I"d just totally leave out the 30 minute addition, and see what the IBUs will calculate to. Nugget is normally only used as a bittering hop, since it's high in alpha acids and a little goes a long way.
 
OK, done. Just taking out the 0.5 oz 30 min Nugget dropped the IBU to 69 and the BU:GU to 81. Bumped the 60 min Nugget from 1 oz to 1.5 oz. IBU is 89 and BU:GU is 1.05. Will brew this, see what it makes and tweak as needed.

Don't really understand BU:GU but that is a topic for another posting.

Sebago's Frye's Leap from Gorham, Maine is similar to Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot Ale, except they use Chinook instead of Nugget.
 

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