Captain Lawrence Freshchester Pale Ale

Hi all,

I only have two brews under my belt. Both were 5 gallon batches from a kit using extract (one liquid, one dry) with addition of water that's been steeped. I really want to try to brew something along the lines of Captain Lawrence's Freshchester Pale Ale. This has been one of my favorite beers since I discovered it, but I haven't found any recipe and I don't really know how to formulate my own. According to the Captain Lawrence site, this pale ale is made using domestic two-row and english crystal malt and is hopped with Columbus, Cascade, and Crystal for an IBU of 35 and an OG of 14 plato (1.057).

Does anyone know of a recipe or kit using these ingredients, or can someone help me out in figuring out how to either modify an extract recipe using these hops and malts or how to formulate my own extract recipe using these ingredients?

Thanks! Really looking forward to brewing something like this!

John

Hi all,
As a follow up to my original post, I've tried putting together an extract recipe to approximate the Captain Lawrence Freshchester Pale Ale. I don't have the experience to know how boiling the hops for the times listed will taste. I'm really shooting in the dark based on the numbers alone which I know will not be exact in my brew and are a little off from the CL anyway.

I'd welcome any advice on how to tune this, and please tell me if my numbers for the amount of extract and grains are way off. Is two pounds of steeping grains too much? Should I change the hop additions order or quantities?

Thanks a lot!
John


HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: Freshchester Ale

Brew Method: Extract
Style Name: American Pale Ale
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5.125 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 2.5 gallons
Efficiency: 35% (steeping grains only)

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.056
Final Gravity: 1.014
ABV (standard): 5.52%
IBU (tinseth): 31.86
SRM (morey): 9.16

FERMENTABLES:
6.25 lb - Dry Malt Extract - Light (75.8%)

STEEPING GRAINS:
0.75 lb - Caramel / Crystal 60L (9.1%)
1.25 lb - Pale 2-Row (15.2%)

HOPS:
0.5 oz - Columbus (AA 15) for 60 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil
0.5 oz - Cascade (AA 7) for 30 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil
0.5 oz - Crystal (AA 4.3) for 30 min, Type: Leaf/Whole, Use: Boil
0.5 oz - Columbus (AA 15) for 15 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil
0.5 oz - Columbus (AA 15) for 10 days, Type: Pellet, Use: Dry Hop

YEAST:
Wyeast - American Ale 1056
Starter: No
Form: Liquid
Attenuation (avg): 75%
Flocculation: Med-Low
Optimum Temperature: 60 F - 72 F

I would use 1oz Columbus for 60 minute and move the 30 min to 20 min and add a 0 minute hop addition.

I would also try doing a 1L yeast starter. It's pretty simple and makes a huge difference.

I've never steeped with 2-row before or seen it steeped on a extract recipe

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll remove the 2-row from the steep and maybe add a second crystal. I'm was also planning to split the 5 gallons of wort into 2x2.5 gallon batches and pitching a full smack pack into each because I want to experiment with different yeasts. Do you think I'd still need to do a yeast starter?

Also, I noticed that in your Hillcrest recipe you have a second addition of DME at 10 minutes. How does this differ from adding it all at 60 minutes? Does it give a different OG than if it were all added at 60 minutes, or just a different flavor?

Thanks again,
John

Well that recipe has 6 lbs Liquid malt extract i put at 60 minutes and the DME at 10 minutes. From talking to other brewers the DME can caramelize and be over boiled if boiled for the full 60 minutes. Malt extract is already boiled so when adding it's really only dissolving. THe OG should be the same as if it was added at 60 minutes. Adding it at the end, in theory, is supposed to reduce over-boiling and some extract type flavors.

I think one smack pack for 2.5 gallons should be good.

Check out John Palmer's Lady Liberty Pale Ale recipe, it's an excellent APA base:

http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter19-3.html

I did my first brew using this recipe but bumped up the aroma hop additions and dry hop additions, including Amarillo. After a bunch more extract and AG brews under my belt, it's still one of the best beers I've brewed.

I would add a bit more to your dry hop for the last 2 days (48hrs). Also I would add 4oz of maltodextrin or steep 1.31lb carapils, which will improve body and head retention. I think the maltodextrin improved the last IPA I made.

Thanks, hop hero and taulpepper, for the advice. I took a look at the Lady liberty recipe and between that, some other recipes I've looked through, and hop hero's hillcrest, I think I've got enough to go on. I'll tweak the recipe and re-post for any additional comments.

Thanks again, brewers!

John

Still working on this recipe, but here's what I'm thinking now. I'm still going to play with the hop schedule a little, but I have a couple of questions. What should I use for priming the bottles, and how much of it? (I'll keep searching the forums, I'm sure this has come up before.) If I remember right, both batches I've brewed used 1.5 lb of light DME in 2C water.

Also, if the OG is low after I cool the wort and top off to 5.125 gallon (like if I've overestimated my steeping efficiency), is there anything you can do to raise it or is it too late at this point?

Thanks a lot!
John


Brew Method: Extract
Style Name: American Pale Ale
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5.125 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 2.5 gallons
Efficiency: 35% (steeping grains only)

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.054
Final Gravity: 1.013
ABV (standard): 5.3%
IBU (tinseth): 35.32
SRM (morey): 8.96

FERMENTABLES:
6 lb - Dry Malt Extract - Light (75%)

STEEPING GRAINS:
0.75 lb - Caramel / Crystal 40L (9.4%)
0.5 lb - Carapils (Dextrine Malt) (6.3%)
0.75 lb - Caramel / Crystal 20L (9.4%)

HOPS:
0.75 oz - Columbus (AA 15) for 60 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil
0.75 oz - Cascade (AA 7) for 20 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil
0.75 oz - Crystal (AA 4.3) for 20 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil
0.5 oz - Cascade (AA 7) for 0 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Aroma
0.5 oz - Columbus (AA 15) for 0 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Aroma

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
1 tsp - irish moss, Time: 15 min, Type: Other, Use: Boil

YEAST:
Wyeast - American Ale 1056
Starter: No
Form: Liquid
Attenuation (avg): 75%
Flocculation: Med-Low
Optimum Temperature: 60 F - 72 F

3/4 cup of corn sugar (priming sugar) should be good for an APA. I would consult How to Brew on that one also - it's a good resource for it (buy the book if you don't have it!) - http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter11-4.html

Re: hitting your target OG, you have so little grain in your recipe, you should be able to get a pretty accurate estimate of how much gravity your DME will contribute.

Some links to explain it
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f37/dme-specific-gravity-58690/
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter3-4.html

Adding stuff post-boil is certainly something you can do, but you risk infection once you have cooled. You can boil and cool the additional DME or LME you add, but the cooled wort can infected if it's not sealed up.

It should end up being pretty close unless you start doing things with more grain like partial mashes or all grain, where you need to consider the efficiency of your system.

I think it looks good! I wouldn't dry hop with some cascade after 7 days of fermentation. I boil 1 pint of water and 3/4 cup of corn sugar for ten minutes to prime. I add that to my bottle bucket then siphon the beer in to the bottling bucket, carefully stir it in to avoid splashing which causes oxidation.

Thanks for the replies...I have to start bookmarking these links!

Hop Hero, do you mean that you would dry hop with cascade? I had a dry hop in, but I took it out and wasn't sure which hop to use. Maybe I'll give it a try with the cascade.

The book I have (Beer Captured) recommends 1.25 cup DME for priming sugar for all their american pales, but the corn sugar looks like a cheaper option. Does it matter which I use, as long as I hit the carbonation level? Does it affect the flavor?

Thanks for all the help,
John

I've read that corn sugar is more of a pure dextrose (sugar) and will prime quicker with no added flavor.

I would dry hop with cascade or a combo of all the hops you used is good too.