Recipe/Process Critique, Please

I'm preparing to brew my first AG batch, and having researched and thought about it a great deal, I thought it would be good to get the perspective of others. My ideas for my first AG have gone through a great evolution, beginning as a NB Ranger clone, moving to a SMaSH, and ending up as the more complex beer you see below.

This will be a half batch (2.5 gallons) American Pale Ale, brewed via stovetop BIAB.

I am going for an APA that is light in color, near the low end of the style guidelines, but that has medium-to-full bodied mouthfeel. (Let's say high-medium body.) I want strong malt flavor and relatively clean fermentation (but not completely neutral). I want to completely de-emphasize bittering hops, and instead emphasize hops flavor and aroma through late additions. At the same time, I want the overall hops experience to be fairly moderate--so that my wife, a non-hop head, can enjoy the beer.

Batch size 2.5 gallons
OG 1.051
Expected FG 1.013
Expected ABV 4.9%
Color 4.6 SRM
33 IBU

Grains:
4.75 lbs 2-row base malt (86.4%)
0.5 lbs Munich malt (9.1%)
0.25 lbs CaraPils (4.5%)

Mash at 154 F, for slightly fuller mouthfeel.

Hops:
.75 oz Chinook pellets (13%aa) at 10
.75 oz Chinook pellets at 5
.5 oz Chinook pellets at 1

Yeast:
Wyeast 1272, 1 liter starter, pitching volume ~2.75 gallons

I plan to ferment at about 64F, to hit the middle of the 60 - 72 range described by Wyeast for 1272:

"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."

(64F also happens to be the fermentation temp I can most easily maintain.)

I am interested in suggestions for changes to my grain bill, and also changes to my mash and ferment temps to achieve the effect I'm looking for. Really, any and all comments and suggestions are welcome!

Looks good to me. Have you thought of maybe doing a first wort hop. This will be comparable to a 20 min flavor addition.Also how's your water profile look?

erikhild59 said:

Looks good to me. Have you thought of maybe doing a first wort hop. This will be comparable to a 20 min flavor addition.Also how's your water profile look?

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I considered FWH, but as I understand it Chinook wouldn't be a good choice because of its high alpha acids.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get a complete water report yet from the city, so I don't know about my water profile. But our water (Olympia, Washington) tastes good, and its reputation for light lagers is good. So, I don't have TOO many water worries for my APA.

That is an interesting question erikhild59 about the water profile which got me wondering what would be an ideal starting PH to attain a good PH in the mash.

I know that in the Portland area, the Bull Run reservoir usually measures between a ph of 7.6 - 8.2. I got that number from the Portland Water Bureau Triannual Water Quality Analysis report from Aug 2010. I am sure Olympia water bureau would have a similar report. I also understand that water from Bull Run is considered one of the best for brewing beer.

So I am wondering what would be the ideal starting PH of water in order to attain a PH of 5.1 - 5.3 in the mash without having to add any additives?

TripHops

TripHops said:

I got that number from the Portland Water Bureau Triannual Water Quality Analysis report from Aug 2010. I am sure Olympia water bureau would have a similar report.

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Believe it or not, the City of Olympia doesn't test for secondary or aesthetic qualities, only for contaminants. They couldn't tell me the ph, or even the level of calcium and magnesium in the water. I may see if our state Dept of Ecology has that info for our water system.

Any more thoughts on my recipe/process?

As far as the water goes , you either A) just brew it and see what you get ...B) build your water from scratch with distilled or reverse osmosis water which are both mineral free and need aditives like gypsum and /or calcium chloride or C) get a water test done on your tap water and adjust it accordingly. There is a product called Buffer 5.2 which will adjust your mash ph for you. Also check out BrunWater's site , they have excellent info and a calculator for building water or checking to see if the water you have is style appropriate or minerally deficient/overly minerally. Good luck with the brew , remember don't worry relax....

TripHops said:

That is an interesting question erikhild59 about the water profile which got me wondering what would be an ideal starting PH to attain a good PH in the mash.

I know that in the Portland area, the Bull Run reservoir usually measures between a ph of 7.6 - 8.2. I got that number from the Portland Water Bureau Triannual Water Quality Analysis report from Aug 2010. I am sure Olympia water bureau would have a similar report. I also understand that water from Bull Run is considered one of the best for brewing beer.

So I am wondering what would be the ideal starting PH of water in order to attain a PH of 5.1 - 5.3 in the mash without having to add any additives?

TripHops

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Well I think it depends on your ingredients. Check out brunwater.

I forgot to mention that there's a sticky on water chemistry here on hbt ...think its under brew science, by ajdelange

erikhild59 said:

I forgot to mention that there's a sticky on water chemistry here on hbt ...think its under brew science, by ajdelange

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Thanks for your opinions and help, erikhild59.

Does anyone else have suggestions or reactions to my proposed recipe or my process? (Apart from water chemistry.)

I would consider a bittering addition. I made a recipe very similar. Mostly late addition hops. It finished very low 1.008 but tasted super sweet. I was trying to do the same and make a hoppy beer without the bitterness for a friend who hates ipas( mostly because of the bitterness) It turned out real bad it really needs bittering addition to balance it out.

JRems said:

I would consider a bittering addition. I made a recipe very similar. Mostly late addition hops. It finished very low 1.008 but tasted super sweet. I was trying to do the same and make a hoppy beer without the bitterness for a friend who hates ipas( mostly because of the bitterness) It turned out real bad it really needs bittering addition to balance it out.

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Thanks for the suggestion. What about...

0.15 oz Chinook at 60 (10.9 IBU)
.25 at 20 (11 IBU)
.5 at 10 (13.2 IBU)
.75 at 0

Total 35.1