I’m Thinking of a House Pale Ale (Hold the Grapefruit)

I like my Nierra Sevada, but this seems the time of year to back off of the citrus punch that the Cascade puts in the recipe.

I’m shooting for a session Pale Ale. Clean, crisp and moderately bitter with little to no citrus aroma. Somewhere just north of 4.1% and not too dark in color.

This is my first use of Nugget so I’m hoping they do the trick. Anyone see any flaws with this recipe?

Recipe: BierMunchers Pale Faced Ale
Brewer: Bier
Style: American Pale Ale
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
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Batch Size: 11.00 gal
Boil Size: 13.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.043 SG
Estimated Color: 6.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 28.3 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.0 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
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Amount Item Type % or IBU
15.00 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)

1.00 oz Nugget [13.00%] (60 min)
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [6.90%] (10 min)

Kolsch Slurry from prior batch.

Mash at 150 for 60 minutes
Ferment at 65 degrees for 7-10 days.
Rack to clearing tank with gelatin and condition additional 10 days.
Rack to keg and crash cool/carbonate for 7 days.

It looks like I can keep the hops/gravity ratio at the lower end of the bitterness spectrum and still stay within style guidlines.

I wouldn't call that "moderately bitter" for an IPA.

Have you tried a Simcoe / Amarillo IPA yet? I don't know too many people who don't have about that combination for their IPA.

Interesting choice for Kolsch yeast. Are you going to ale or lager?

EDIt; 150º for mash? Isn't that a bit low, or are you looking for big malt and low ABV?

Cheesefood said:

I wouldn't call that "moderately bitter" for an IPA.

Have you tried a Simcoe / Amarillo IPA yet? I don't know too many people who don't have about that combination for their IPA.

Interesting choice for Kolsch yeast. Are you going to ale or lager?

EDIt; 150º for mash? Isn't that a bit low, or are you looking for big malt and low ABV?

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It's actually and APA. And I'm trying to stick with my inventory of hops. I've never used nugget but have heard some good things as a bittering hop.

The 150 is at the low end, so I'm hoping that gives me a bit dryer finish. (Of course, I always overshoot my mash temp so that's a bit of a crapshoot.)

This will be an ale that I'll let take it's time at 65 degrees. After visiting the local micro and seeing that they use Koslch exclusively because of it's clean fermenting character, I'm going to give that a try for a while. (Plus, they set me up with a couple quarts right out of their fermenters).

I notice you're grain bill is a bit different from the one for your Session Haus Ale - when I made that one I ended up with OG much closer to what you've got for this recipe.

1. He's looking for a pale ale, not an IPA
2. Amarillo would give him the grapefruit/citrus, which he's not looking for
3. The relatively low mash temp will make the wort MORE fermentable, not less.

BM, I've never used Nugget, so I can't speak to what effect it might have. Looks like it'll be pretty good, though. You want any nose in it? You might want either another real late addition of the EKG or maybe a small dryhop.

I would go heavier on the caramel, I accidentally did on my last apa and I was surprised at how good the caramel note was in an apa. I would maybe go with 80L or so. Of course, that was paired with Cascade.

Get with it Cheese!(by the way your avatar is way too clean now, but you balanced that nicely with the catchphrase above it, nice!)

155 or so and higher is the unfermentable end of the spectrum.(like I know, I have 2 AG's under my belt, but that is what I have read. I sure hope that is right because my second AG is Lagering right now!)

I've used Nugget with EKG and its nice. I like the idea of the Biscuit malt too. You could also considering some Victory...

A darker crystal might get you a bit closer to a classic English pale ale. Where you're at now, it's almost a bit of a hybrid; seems like it might be a cleaner version, especially using the Koslch yeast. I'd leave it the way you've got it, personally. You'll already have some decent background malt from the Maris Otter.

BierMuncher said:

It's actually and APA. And I'm trying to stick with my inventory of hops. I've never used nugget but have heard some good things as a bittering hop.

The 150 is at the low end, so I'm hoping that gives me a bit dryer finish. (Of course, I always overshoot my mash temp so that's a bit of a crapshoot.)

This will be an ale that I'll let take it's time at 65 degrees. After visiting the local micro and seeing that they use Koslch exclusively because of it's clean fermenting character, I'm going to give that a try for a while. (Plus, they set me up with a couple quarts right out of their fermenters).

Click to expand...

The Kölsch yeast will impart a moderate fruity ester both in the nose and the finish that may end up giving you a bit of the grapefruit that you don't want. I use WLP029 fairly often for just that purpose, but it depends on the strain that they gave you. The only way to know for sure is to try it. Maybe split into two batches and use the brewpub slurry in one fermenter and Nottingham in the other.

28 IBU seems a bit low to me for an APA, but then again I'm a hophead.

I'd be interested to hear how the Kölsch yeast ends up working for you.

Mutilated1 said:

I notice you're grain bill is a bit different from the one for your Session Haus Ale - when I made that one I ended up with OG much closer to what you've got for this recipe.

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Yeah…since that time I crush my own grains so my efficiency has improved a bit. 72-75% is typical now.

ohiobrewtus said:

The Kölsch yeast will impart a moderate fruity ester both in the nose and the finish that may end up giving you a bit of the grapefruit that you don't want. I use WLP029 fairly often for just that purpose, but it depends on the strain that they gave you. The only way to know for sure is to try it. Maybe split into two batches and use the brewpub slurry in one fermenter and Nottingham in the other.

28 IBU seems a bit low to me for an APA, but then again I'm a hophead.

I'd be interested to hear how the Kölsch yeast ends up working for you.

Click to expand...

That’s not a bad idea. I have a few quarts of Notty in the fridge. I’m never above experimenting.

I’m trying to maintain the color and IBU just on the low fringes because I’ll want this to have more mass appeal. More robust and richer than a blonde, but more drinkable as a session beer than a 40+ IBU Pale.

That looks rather tasty. I'm going to be giving a go with Nugget this weekend, too. I have an Amber recipe that I have made before using 1/2 oz of Chinook for bittering. It was a bit harsh for me and I'm going to replace with with Nugget for a softer flavor.