Recipe for a lighter, summer ale

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thanantos

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n00b brewer help needed here in terms of styling and hops.

I have two batches fermenting right now that are both heavily hopped IPA's, but with the heat of summer quickly approaching I want to put together a nice, light post-lawnmowing beer.

Here is what I have come up with so far:

Name: GF Light Summer Ale

Boil Volume: 2 gal. Boil Length: 60 min. Target Volume: 5 gal.
ABV: 4.3%
SRM: 3
IBU: 32

Fermentables
Sorghum Syrup 2 lbs. 5.00 oz.
Rice Syrup 2 lbs. 10.00 oz.
Belgian Soft Candi Sugar, Blonde 1 lbs.
Honey 1 lbs.

Hops
Centennial (Usa) 1 oz. @ 60 min
Cascade (Usa) 0.25 oz. @ 30 min.
Cascade (Usa) 0.25 oz. @ 15 min.

Safale American Ale (US-05) 73

Maltodextrin 4 oz. and I will probably try some Whirlfloc in this batch.



Let me know what you guys think. Especially with type of hops used. :mug:
 
I personally like the combo of cascade and saaz. Citrus meets spice. But I'm still learning a lot about hops, trying to do mostly single hop or "clean bitter" + single flavor/aroma/dry hop, so I know how to put together combinations.

I tell ya what, though--don't be afraid to borrow the hop schedule from a non-GF recipe! If you can find a clone recipe for Anderson Valley's Cerveza Crema, that was my most favorite summer ale ever. I think they use a touch of vanilla extract or something.
 
Both are good suggestions.

I haven't used saaz yet, and since I am new to this I have been trying to use different hops in just about every batch so I can get a feel for how the different hops affect flavor. I'll try that one next.
 
I ended up using Saaz hops, and irish moss in this beer.

I racked this into secondary today and it was crystal clear and tasted great.

I am looking forward to sharing this beer with some family. Most of my previous beers I have enjoyed a lot, but they have been VERY hoppy (around 80 IBU on average). I hope to make something my Canadian beer drinking friends and family will enjoy.
 
This beer came out great!

However, it's not what I intended it to be.
It's a good beer, but just a TAD heavy all around (hops, color, body and ABV) for a lawnmower beer.

I would call this one more of an Amber Ale rather than a Light, Summer Ale.

The head is great, with a nice lacing on the glass all the way to the finish. This is partially (i think) because the beer is carbonated REALLY WELL :) (5oz of priming sugar) which I don't mind at all.
The taste is a very slight sweetness upfront that finishes with an earthy hoppiness that I quite enjoy. Sorghum twang is slightly detectable, but that might be because I am looking for it.
I shared this with non-GF friends this weekend that quite enjoyed it.

I would recommend this recipe to any new GF brewer.
 
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