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aristocrat

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Wallaceburg, Ontario, Canada
I have been reading about homebrewing on and off for a couple of years and am finally ready for my first batch. Unfortunately living in south-western Ontario it is difficult to source ingredients. I have come up with the following via online ordering and a brew on premises shop that was willing to sell some grain and malt extract.
10 lbs Pale LME
1 lb crushed Crystal (no Lovibond rating)
8 oz Centennial hop pellets
2 packs of Safale US-05

I love big hoppy ales and bought these ingredients with a Two Hearted Ale clone in mind. I’ve changed my mind now and would like to make something a little more tame to share with friends and family that don’t love big hoppy ales like me. I was thinking of something more along the lines of a mild pale ale and was hoping for some recipe ideas based on the above ingredients. Thanks in advance.

Asa lama lakum
 
You definitely have the right stuff for a decent IPA. But 8oz of hops is a bit much.

You might use 2-3oz of them during the actual brew for a big, bitter, hoppy beer. Consider dry-hopping with a 1/2oz to an oz.

The most important thing is to get brewing. You can read about it day and night but until you actually get down and dirty and start doing it, you can only learn so much.
 
Wow.. joined over two years ago and just made your first post! you weren't kidding about being a long time lurker!!

Welcome aboard and I'm certain the the beer geniuses here at HBT will get you all the info (and sarcastic humor) you could ever need....

I am not one of the geniuses so I'll defer to their wisdom!
 
Assuming that you're doing a 5 gallon batch:

10 lbs of LME is a lot. A normal grav beer will have about 7 lbs of LME. 8 oz of hops is a crap ton as well. 4 oz is a fair amount for an IPA (they aren't all added at once by the way). Before you understand how the ingrediants work I'd tone it down.

For my first brew I used 7 lbs amber LME and an ounce of cascade. Steeping the caramel would be a good addition to your recipe, but I suggest use 7 lbs of LME and an ounce of hops for 60 minutes, and if you want more hoppieness you could add .5-1 oz later in the boil (boil for 30 minutes or less) the longer you boil them, the more bitterness you'll get, the later you put them in the more aroma you'll get. Maybe do .5 oz for 5 or 10 minutes if you're so inclined.
 
Corkster What can I say, I am a habitual procrastinator, but I think I might actually brew this beer tomorrow... I've been mentally preparing myself for the past 2 years.

Just to clarify, I wasn't going to use all the ingredients in one batch, I just bought a little extra of everything because I wasn't sure what recipe I was going to go with. The 8 oz of hops will definitely be used in multiple batches. I was going to try to match the Northern Brewer Three Hearted Ale extract recipe, but have decided to go a little milder/lower gravity for my first brew. This is what I've got in Beer Smith right now based on Rhymenoceros’ thoughts:
3.00 lb Pale Liquid Extract
4.00 lb Pale Liquid Extract (late addition)
1.00 lb Crystal (steeped)
0.50 oz Centennial (60 min)
0.50 oz Centennial (30 min)
0.50 oz Centennial (5 min)
 
I made an extract 2 Hearted Clone that came out pretty well:
I used 8 pounds LME
1# Crystal 10L
1.0 oz Centennial (60 minutes)
1.0 oz Centennial (40 minutes)
1.0 oz Centennial (5 minutes)
1.0 oz Centennial dryhopped after 1 week in primary

It definitely reminded me of the real thing, and it went quickly...



I feel like using 1/2 ounce additions you were thinking of would be too far off the Two Hearted taste you are going for. Oops, I missed the part where you said you were trying to go milder for your first brew. Still, I don't think you would be disappointed going for full ounce additions if you like Two Hearted Ale.
 
8 ounces of Centennial?? Good God, man- You are looking at over 200 IBUs!!! That's going to be undrinkable!! Cut it down to 2- 2 1/2 ounces and you'll at least be able to choke it down!
 
I'd put in 4 oz of hops

1 oz at 60
1 oz at 20
1 oz at 10
1 oz at flameout

it'll make one hell of an IPA
 
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