Pale Ale Extract Recipe

This is my first crack at building a recipe, so any feedback would be appreciated.

Suckerpunch Pale Ale
6.0lb Pale LME
1.0lb Amber
.75lb Crystal 20L
.25lb Caramunich
1 Whirlfloc Tablet

Hops
1.0 oz Centennial (60min)
.50 oz Cascade (45min)
.25 oz Cascade (30min)
.25 oz Cascade (2min)

Yeast - WLP001

Click to expand...

I wanted Carafoam instead of Caramunich, but the LHBS guy told me this was the same thing...Beersmith disagrees. lol

I love hoppy beers and wanted to make one within the Pale Ale style...this one weighs in at a hefty 49.4 IBUs (just under the pale ale limit of 50). I called it Suckerpunch because the small cascade addition of finishing hops should catch the drinker offguard with the bitterness that's about to follow.

I plan on brewing this in the next couple of days, and I'm not sure about the hop schedule. Let me know what you guys think I should adjust...

BTW, my friend is brewing a Brewers Best Pale Ale kit and we're planning on comparing the finished products...obviously I'm hoping that mine rates higher. lol

The FG will probably be too high with that much crystal (1lb.) Most DME already has some and aren't all that fermentable anyway.

Does LME have crystal in it already too?

The crystal malt amount is fine. Carafoam is the same as carapils not the same as caramunich. It will actually be better with the caramunich instead of the carafoam. 1/4 lb of carafoam won't change much but a 1/4 lb of caramunich will change the flavor.

I would actually use all pale extract and eliminate the amber, so 7 lb of pale. I would change the 20L to 40L instead of using the amber malt for color.

If you already bought the ingredients the batch will turn out fine.

Forrest

Thanks Forrest.

Unfortunately, I already bought everything. Next time I should probably post here first...lol

The 1lb of amber was a late addition after reading a few other recipes. I wanted something close to the color of Sierra Nevada...that deeper gold color. You're right though, I should've just used a darker grain instead.

I changed the Hop schedule to...
60min 1oz Centennial
45min .25oz Cascade
30min .25oz Cascade
2min .50oz Cascade

I wanted to add a little more nose to it...although doing so cut back my IBUs to about 45. I think it will be a more enjoyable drink this way...any opinions on the hopping?