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4weight

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So this was my first attempt at putting together my own recipe. I brewed it about 6 weeks ago and just took my first taste tonight. All in all, it didn't turn out too bad. First impressions are that it is a bit boozy and a bit of the summit onion funk is definitely there, although I actually kind of like that. The mouthfeel is a bit syrupy and the aftertaste is a tinge metallic. Although I guess it really is an extract brew with specialty grains, I did treat the grains as though it was a partial mash, mashing for an hour at 156 with .75 gallons of water and sparging with the same amount. I was 2 points low on the OG (1.071) and 1 point high on the FG (1.019). It sat in the primary for 2 weeks and in the secondary for 3 weeks, including 1 week of dry hopping. I kegged it and did the set it and forget it at 13 psi for 10 days. It may still be a little undercarbed, but it's pretty close to what I like. I'm already thinking about brewing it again, and although I am definitely pleased with how it turned out, I'd like to get some feedback as to what could be done to make it better.

% LB OZ MALT OR FERMENTABLE PPG °L LATE

54% 6 0 Muntons Plain Extra Light DME 34 7 ~

28% 3 2 Northern Brewer Pilsen LME 36 2 Y

9% 1 0 Malteurop 2 row pale malt 34 2 ~

9% 1 0 Crystal Rye Malt 28 90 ~

Batch size: 5.0 gallons edit
Original Gravity
1.073 / 17.7° Plato
(1.065 to 1.076)
Final Gravity
1.018 / 4.6° Plato
(1.016 to 1.019)
Color
15° SRM / 29° EBC
(Light Brown to Medium Brown)
Mash Efficiency ?
75% edit
Late Boil Additions
Show | Hide
hops
USE TIME OZ VARIETY FORM AA

boil 60 mins 0.5 Warrior pellet 16.7

boil 30 mins 0.5 Cascade pellet 6.2

boil 30 mins 0.5 Summit pellet 17.6

boil 15 mins 0.5 Cascade pellet 6.2

boil 15 mins 0.5 Summit pellet 17.6

boil 5 mins 1.0 Summit pellet 17.6

dry hop 7 days 1.0 Cascade pellet 6.2

dry hop 7 days 1.0 Summit pellet 17.6

Boil: 3.0 avg gallons for 60 minutes edit
Bitterness
76.0 IBU / 8 HBU


Wyeast American Ale (1056)
ale yeast in liquid form with low to medium flocculation and 75% attenuation edit

Alcohol
7.3% ABV / 6% ABW
Calories
241 per 12 oz.
misc
USE TIME AMOUNT INGREDIENT

boil 5 min 1 ea Whirlfloc Tablet
 
What temperature did this ferment at and what temperature did you pitch at? If fermented too high, that could lead to the boozy flavor.
 
Use more 2-row (at least 20-30% mashed quite low) and less extract and only about 4-5% Crystal Rye. Replace some of the extract with sugar to boost fermentability - 10-12% should do. Add half of your extract late (with 15 minutes left in the boil). Try to do a full volume boil with no top off water. Make a big, healthy yeast starter instead of under-pitching one packet of 1056. And lastly, this is minor, but the whirlfloc tab should boil a little as possible, but be completely dissolved... I usually find this takes about 10-15 minutes, not 5.

Here is a revamped hop schedule:

boil 60 mins 0.75 to 1.00 Warrior pellet
boil 15 mins 1.50 to 2.00 Summit pellet
boil 5 mins 1.00 to 1.50 Cascade pellet
whirlpool 30 mins 1.00 Summit pellet
whirlpool 30 mins 1.00 Cascade pellet
dry hop 7 days 2.00 Cascade pellet
dry hop 7 days 1.00 Summit pellet
 

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