Too much hops in my english pale ale?

I brewed a pale ale last sunday - as usual, I had my recipe "in the vault", which is my nickname for my pea brain. Here it is:

8 lbs breiss 2 row pale ale malt
1 lb 40L crystal
2 tsp gypsum

mash for 70 minutes at 152 degress

sparge water 5.5 gallons @ 165 degrees

I had about 6.5 gallons of wort and brought to a boil. Added 1.5 lbs of organic light brown sugar (another goof - my recipe was for 1 lb, but I opened the pack and dumped it. THEN I read that the package was 1 lb, 8 oz. Sensing a theme here? Adult ADHD and brewing are contradictory!:cross

For my bittering hops I used 1 oz Fuggles and 1 oz Northern Brewer (I think, dangit. I am at work and my notes are at home. ugh.) I do know that one of them was 4% alpha and one was 4.6% alpha. I used no aroma or finishing. That was it. I now realize that I had intended to hold back about .5 oz for the last 15 minutes.

Did I give any of you pros enough info to know if you think it will be too bitter for the style? Too bitter period? For the record, I like a little balance, but I am by no means a hophead.

BTW, my OG was at 1.052.

Thanks!

If your Northern Brewer were really 4-4.5%, you've got about 33 IBUs, within the range of 20-40 by style. If you hit 1.052, BTW, you've also got around 79% efficiency, if I ran this right. [edit] I didn't - 'cuz I left out the 1.5 lbs of sugar...closer to 58%...[/poor math skillz]

Northern Brewer are normally ~8.5 (7.5-10.0) IIRC, so if your NB was a bit higher, say ~8, then your IBUs jump to 46-ish, outside the style...still very tasty in my book!

I'd say you've got a good Extra Special Bitter going, which is a standard Pale style. Occasionally, we need to remind ourselves that the American IPA has very little in common with traditional pales, other than color.

The hops look fine to me, but if your worried about being in style, then it may be a bit dry with the extra sugar and the 152F mash. There won't be the maltiness for the style. It's still going to be good though.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the great thing about brewing is that if you screw up one style, it just becomes another style!

thank u guys. it was supposed to be a bass clone. it is not my first all grain - but it is my first in about 11 years! I batch sparged and figured my efficiency would be low, so I used a little extra pale malt in the grain bill.

I am wrong too. just checked my notes. I used:
one ounce fuggles - 4.9%
one ounce Kent Goldings at 4.2%
to the guy who mentioned the dryness - what temp fosters a higher malt flavor? I love malty brews!

If you like malty brews, try replacing the Briess 2 row with Maris Otter, the crystal 40 with crystal 55, and do a thick mash (1 qt water per lb grain) at 152 - 153F. I'd also cut the crystal down to 8 - 12 oz.

-a.

If it is too bitter for style, call it something else.

I don't see anything wrong with your style. I personally (a matter of taste) would not have added sugar -- I prefer to stick to malt. I suspect your Northern Brewer had a higher AA, but even so, you should be fine.

ajf's suggestion for a maltier brew are on the mark. Again, I would leave the sugar out because all that really does is increase your alcohol and thin the beer out somewhat. Light brown sugar isn't going to add the much flavor, and in my opinion, isn't true to style. I might also keep the 40L crystal, but perhaps add a little Victory malt.

ajf said:

If you like malty brews, try replacing the Briess 2 row with Maris Otter, the crystal 40 with crystal 55, and do a thick mash (1 qt water per lb grain) at 152 - 153F. I'd also cut the crystal down to 8 - 12 oz.

-a.

Click to expand...

I will most definitely do that! I have heard rave reviews about maris otter. I appreciate the tip.