Last fall we were running sort of low on inspiration for new beers, and had leftover ingredients in the fridge, and I had picked some hops off the new plants. We came up with a recipe and I'm drinking it now. We were hoping to showcase the hops and keep it pretty easy drinking. It's a little odd-tasting, so I think the ingredients don't match perfectly. It may be the bittering hops don't quite match the malts. Still, the whole-leaf Cascades come through nicely in the aroma (not overpoweringly, though) and there is definitely a little fruity-estery flavor from the yeast. The head retention is decent (not as good as our saison) and the mouthfeel is pleasantly robust.
What sort of style would you call this? It fits within the range of bitterness and SRM for an APA, although there's no caramel and oats are normally reserved for stout, wit, and saison.
Prestidigitation Ale
OG 1.051, FG 1.017 (4.4% abv), 4.6 SRM
35 IBU's (perhaps higher than this; the actual weights were a bit higher than the 3/8 oz I entered into Beer Smith)
5 gallon total, 4 gallon boil
Steep in 1 gallon @ 150 F:
4 oz munich
4 oz flaked oats
Sparge wth 1 gallon @ 150 F (too much water, I realize now).
Fill to 4 gallons and start to boil.
Add 1.5 lb XL DME @ 60 min.
Add 3/8-1/2 oz Chinook @ 12 AA, 3/8-1/2 oz Challenger @ 5 AA (60 min)
At 15 min:
Add 1/2 oz whole-leaf Cascades (home-grown) (flavor)
1 lb Wheat DME
3.5 lb XL DME
Irish moss
At 5 min:
Add 1/2 oz whole-leaf Cascades (home-grown) (aroma)
Cool, fill to 5 gallons, oxygenate, pitch one pack Nottingham.
Ferment 7 days @ 68 F, secondary 14 days @ 65 F, and keg w/force carbing.
If I made this again, I think I'd pick a different bittering hop and keep it to a single variety. Going all-grain would probably dry the beer out/lower the FG a little, although I'd think about adding a little crystal to offset that. I like my beer malty.
Thanks!
What sort of style would you call this? It fits within the range of bitterness and SRM for an APA, although there's no caramel and oats are normally reserved for stout, wit, and saison.
Prestidigitation Ale
OG 1.051, FG 1.017 (4.4% abv), 4.6 SRM
35 IBU's (perhaps higher than this; the actual weights were a bit higher than the 3/8 oz I entered into Beer Smith)
5 gallon total, 4 gallon boil
Steep in 1 gallon @ 150 F:
4 oz munich
4 oz flaked oats
Sparge wth 1 gallon @ 150 F (too much water, I realize now).
Fill to 4 gallons and start to boil.
Add 1.5 lb XL DME @ 60 min.
Add 3/8-1/2 oz Chinook @ 12 AA, 3/8-1/2 oz Challenger @ 5 AA (60 min)
At 15 min:
Add 1/2 oz whole-leaf Cascades (home-grown) (flavor)
1 lb Wheat DME
3.5 lb XL DME
Irish moss
At 5 min:
Add 1/2 oz whole-leaf Cascades (home-grown) (aroma)
Cool, fill to 5 gallons, oxygenate, pitch one pack Nottingham.
Ferment 7 days @ 68 F, secondary 14 days @ 65 F, and keg w/force carbing.
If I made this again, I think I'd pick a different bittering hop and keep it to a single variety. Going all-grain would probably dry the beer out/lower the FG a little, although I'd think about adding a little crystal to offset that. I like my beer malty.
Thanks!
