First recipe. Critique please.

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tonyp063

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Being the brewing noob I am, I've been doing kits (NB,AHS, etc) and recipes from my LHBS & this august collection of madmen & women, for the past 10 or so batches.
Basically so I can concentrate on my technique & consistancy. Yes, eventually I'm going to go AG, but not yet.

Now I've been *very* happy with the results of these brews, as has SWMBO.

So I tell myself, "Self, it's time for you to up your game a bit & build your own recipe from scratch"

This is what I've come up with for a 5 gallon batch. The idea is that it will become my house Pale Ale.

5 lbs Light Dry extract
1 lb Amber Dry extract
1/2 lb Crystal 20L (steeped at 152 for 30min.)
1/2 oz Summit at 60
1/2 oz Summit at 20
1/4 oz Cascade at 5
1/4 oz Cascade at flameout

1.053 SG 1.013 FG
8 SRM
37 IBU
5.3% ABV

according to my calculations.

I'm torn between Nottingham or Danstar BRY-97 for the yeast. I know they offer 2 very different profiles, but I like the descriptions of the resulting beer that they both provide.
I've only used US-05 as a dry yeast to date.

Comments, suggestions & opinons welcome.
 
Nottingham is a great dry ale yeast. I have made some really tasty beer with it.
I would combine the last 2 hops additions and add at 5 minutes. one less step and wont make much difference.
overall sounds like a nice recipe. I would probably think of it as a pale ale maybe.
 
What about wyeast 1272... it's their "house" ale strain for American brews.

YEAST STRAIN: 1272 | American Ale II™

Back to Yeast Strain List

With many of the best qualities that brewers look for when brewing American styles of beer, this strain’s performance is consistent and it makes great beer. This versatile strain is a very good choice for a “House” strain. Expect a soft, clean profile with hints of nut, and a slightly tart finish. Ferment at warmer temperatures to accentuate hop character with an increased fruitiness. Or, ferment cool for a clean, light citrus character. It attenuates well and is reliably flocculent, producing bright beer without filtration.

Origin:
Flocculation: Medium-High
Attenuation: 72-76%
Temperature Range: 60-72F, 15-22C
Alcohol Tolerance: 10% ABV
Styles:
American Amber Ale
American Brown Ale
American IPA
American Pale Ale
American Stout
Blonde Ale
Fruit Beer
Imperial IPA
Wood-Aged Beer


Then perhaps harvest the yeast and repitch into subsequent batches.
 
I'd consider replacing the "amber" DME with more "light" and bumping up the crystal to 40 or 60L. In general, you're going to get better flavors from fresh grains than from a malt extract.
 
Looks good to me as it is.

I would replace the amber DME with light, just so you don't have to maintain stocks of two types of DME.
You may find you need a bit more aroma hops, but I would start with what you have, and adjust for future brews if you want to.

As for the yeast, Nottingham should be good, but so would US 05. I cannot comment on BRY-97 because I've never tried it.

Good job.

-a.

P.S. Just let me know if you need help drinking the finished brew. :)
 
P.S. Just let me know if you need help drinking the finished brew. :)

I might just do that. My folks are on The Island :)

Interesting points to consider from all. I like the idea of simplfying it (DME) but I want to have a bit of character.

Time to think some more.
Meanwhile, I do believe I'll have a beer.
 
You can get plenty of character without using the darker extracts. That's where the specialty grains come in. If you use an "amber" extract, you're stuck with whatever the manufacturer considers a good base for an "amber beer." But if you use light extract, you've got a neutral base to work off of and you can tailor the beer to suit your tastes. If you let us know what sort of flavor profile you're going for, we can help you select some specialty malt(s) to get you close.

Also, remember that this will be an iterative process. Even for an experienced brewer, you very rarely hit one out of the park on your first attempt. So don't worry too much about coming up with the perfect recipe. Get one that's "good enough" and make some tweaks next time around.
 
If you let us know what sort of flavor profile you're going for, we can help you select some specialty malt(s) to get you close.

I guess what I'm looking for is a good, general beer. One that I can serve to my BMC drinking friends without scaring them away, yet has enough character & interest to apeal to those that like some of the more esoteric brews.
It's not really about what *I* might like because, truly, I've met very few good (for whatever value of "good") beers that *I* haven't liked.
From DFH Palo Santo to Tröegs Perpetual.

Yeah. An easy plan.
Good point about the itterative process. I'd lost sight of that
I think I'll start with just ight DME & 60L. Same hops & the BRY-97 & see where it goes.
 
I think 60L is a good all-around choice. It's what I typically use. Gives a fair amount of caramel / toffee without any of the more fruity flavors of the darker roasts. I like to use a little biscuit in my pale ales as well if you want to give that a shot.

Good luck and let me know how the BRY-97 works out. From the little I read about it, it looks like it's a more flocculant version of the Chico strain (S-05). That sounds like it's right up my alley.
 
another vote to forego the amber DME and go with some crystal 60. maybe 1/2lb of that and 1/2lb of carapils (I find that a minimum 1lb of cara malt per 5 gallon batch does wonders for body an head retention). also, if you're steeping anyway, maybe add a little 2-row (2-3lbs) and get a partial mash going? not that difficult, and adds some nice fresh grain to the beer. not quite as simple as steeping, you'll have to fiddle with the temp a little, but you can mash in 30-45 min if you don't want to wait the hour. you can then do a late addition with the DME (15 min left in boil) to prevent caramelization an boost hop utilization.

either way, sounds like a good start. I'm on the 3rd or 4th iteration of my house pale ale, and it's dialed in to a point where I (and my friends) really like it. fun to have a "house" beer you're truly proud of :mug:
 
Simon,

Good idea. I'm not quite ready to do partial mash yet though. That's my next big step.
I'm still working on getting my process & technique down solid & repeatabe. Taking things one step at a time.
Beer is about patienece, right? :)

gr8shandini,

I never considered biscut. I had thought about Cara Hell though.
1/2 lb? Beersmith thinks it fits the profile.
 
I agree with gr8shandini's comments about the amber extract, but I'm not so sure about replacing the crystal 20 with crystal 60.

Most American Pale Ales are brewed with a small amount of light crystal, while English Pale Ales usually use a darker crystal (~60L) resulting in a darker beer.

I must admit that I use crystal 60 for my house pale ale, but that's because I come from England. If I brew an American Pale Ale, I use crystal 20 instead, and most of my American friends prefer the lighter crystal than the darker.

I don't like SimonHucko's suggestion about using >= 1 lb cara malts in a 5 gallon batch. I like <= 0.5 lbs, but again, this is a personal preference.

I wouldn't try using biscuit malt without doing a partial mash. It requires mashing to convert the starches, and without a mash with base grains will not produce the desired results.

-a.
 
alf,

SWMBO comes from across the pond, so I fully understand.
Let's just say that a Wee Heavy must always be available for Herself:)
Also; I'm not trying to make an American or an English "pale ale"

I'm trying to encapsulate all the simple goodness of a Pale Ale, alll kinds, all styles, into something lovely, drinkable and, most importantly, shaerable.

I'm going to retrench & K.I.S.S.
one DME & one grain.
6 Lb of the former & 1/2 lb of 40L. Same yeast & hops.

Thank you all, my distant brewing friends, for your feedback & suggestions.
I'll follow up here with reports & let you know what happens.

Again. Thank you all

--
Tony
 
sounds like a good plan. have a good brew day. and let us know how it turns out!

I encourage you to look into partial mash for your next beer - it really isn't much more difficult than steeping grain, you just have to be a little more rigorous about temperature and find a bigger bag for grain (a 5 gal paint strainer bag does the trick).

cheers!
 
Simon,

I will. That's the next step I'm planning on taking.
Like I said, one step at a time & get that step right before moving on.
 
Ok.
Followup.
Did light DME & 2 grains. 6 Lb of the first & 1/2 lb of 40L & 1/4lb of carapils. Same hops schedule & BRY97.

The measured OG came out spot on. 3 weeks in primary at 66 degrees.
FG was 1.013. Bottled.
The unfinished brew tastes quite yummy.
I will wait 3-4 weeks in bottle before I finally judge, but this is certainly going well in the direction I want
 
And the final followup.

It came out good. Not great. Not quite what I'm looking for. But good nonetheless.

I need to adjust the hops a bit as the aroma was not where I wanted it & the bry-97 seems to accentuate the malts more.

I do love how it cleaned up! Man, that yeast drops *really* well.
It also held it's flavor quite well over the past weeks.

I'll be going over the suggestions listed here & modify accordingly.
One more thing I will be doing is splitting the batch & doing 1/2 with bry-97 & 1/2 with s-05
 
glad to hear it came out well :) if you're looking for more hop aroma, you can always try a dry hop - adds another layer of hoppy goodness to your beer. I'd also up the late additions a bit.

also, I don't know what your water is like, but maybe add a little gypsum to help bring out the hop bite. 1/2 teaspoon in the kettle is probably a good place to start (more if you have very soft water, less if it's very hard)

cheers :mug:
 
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