Cascade APA (gluten free)

My last 3 brews have been disappointing. I think I engaged in too much experimentation. WHatever the case, I really hate spending all of that time brewing and then having a finished product that is....meh. I have read about 15 minute IPAs and decided I would try one. But rather then just brew it I thought I better post it on here beforehand to get some feedback. This is adapted from several cascade IPA/APA recipes out there.

I've never used corn syrup before so this should be interesting.

Cascade APA
Batch Size: 5 Gallons

15 minute boil!

Ingredients/Instructions:
2.5 lbs Corn Syrup (prior to boil)
0.25 lbs Brown Sugar (prior to boil)
2.5 oz Cascade Hops (15 min)
0.5 tsp Irish Moss (10 min)
8 oz Malto-Dextrin (5 min)
1oz Cascade (5 min)
.5 oz Cascade Hops (flameout)
1lb D-45 Candi Syrup (flameout)
1 lbs Clover Honey (flameout)
1.5 lbs Sorghum Syrup (flame out)

S-04

Dry Hopping:
1 oz Cascade Hops for 7 days

Bottling: Carbonated with 0.75 cup of corn sugar

We are so alike, man...we've both done the "I've been getting too experimental and my beers have been disappointing" thing, and then followed it up with...something that's also pretty experimental. Why not go back to something that worked well, and tweak it a bit, or try brewing a recipe recommended on here? I've been trying to do that every three or four batches just to ensure something nice and drinkable is always on hand. I worry that as this is your first time doing a hop-bursted ale, your first time doing all-cascade hops (right?), and your first time using corn syrup, you may end up with something not to your liking yet again. Don't get me wrong, it could turn out fine, but it still seems to be quite experimental.

Also, care to tell us a bit about those last few disappointing beers? What went wrong with them? It might help the rest of us not go down similar dead-ends.

Hmm...bit scary there, you nailed all 3 new variables in this brew. I had planned on doing my Transfiguration IPA this Sunday but was so down about my last batch that I never toasted any grains (I have 7lbs of Buckwheat, 1lb of Amaranth, 1lb of oats, 1lb of millet just waiting to be used) but I had set time aside to brew so I wanted to do something...hmm...

The autumn bourbon ale is just....okay. Sometimes it tastes decent, other times I don't enjoy it at all. I don't think it is the bourbon, something is just not right with the flavor profile. My Silver Bullet (all Columbus) IPA is okay but it needs more time to mellow because those hops are harsh. But I knew that when I brewed it. My Belgian Graff is definitely the most disappointing, it tastes like coriander flavored water. 3 1/2 gallons of apple juice and 1 can of apple juice concentrate and all I can taste is coriander. I can't figure out what went wrong in that one.

Oh and I forgot my pecan pie ale. THAT was an utter disaster. Wild yeast or something (brewer error?) made that undrinkable.

Maybe you can perhaps PM me the grapefruit IPA scaled up to 5 gallons? I think I have all of the ingredients for that currently in my possession.

It is funny, when I first started my recipes were all simple and quite delightful. The more I learn the worse my beer seems to taste!

ChasidicCalvinist said:

It is funny, when I first started my recipes were all simple and quite delightful. The more I learn the worse my beer seems to taste!

Click to expand...

Don't lose heart! Remember when I went through a similar down-period a few months back? I pulled myself out of it by retreating a little bit to safety and re-brewing the No-Nonsense Stout (albeit with a few tweaks, which didn't help it, but at least it was still good), and also by meticulously trying to analyze why my batches were coming out bad. What went wrong? How do I not make those mistakes again? Yeah, the bad batches are disheartening, but they're also the best opportunities for learning and growth.

There are just so many variables in brewing, and I think it's easy to attribute our successes or failures to the wrong variables. To make matters worse, it's almost impossible to fully isolate variables as a homebrewer...and most of us don't have the attention-span to really hone in on a single recipe by brewing it over and over again with minor tweaks each time (I know I don't! ). The best most of us can do is to really try to reflect on what we could have done differently to get a better result, to seek advice from our peers, and try to apply those lessons in the next batch to see if they hold true. I can't imagine how anyone can develop good gluten-free beer in isolation, and without a lot of failures.

I'll see what I can do about that grapefruit IPA recipe. I'm thinking about re-brewing that one in the not-too-distant future, as well, just because I gave the last bottle to a (non-GF) friend, and she said everyone she shared it with thought it was amazing.

I've done a brew very similar to this with us 05. It's quick, easy and a huge hit with pale ale drinkers. This is the base recipe I used https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/15-minute-cascade-pale-ale-210253/

Thought I did a blog post about it but might have missed it. It's a lot of cascade but its so cheap in bulk.

Fwiw I dry hopped with 3oz in a sanitised stocking.

Well, I ended up brewing this since I had the ingredients already purchased with one minor addition. I used Simplicity Clear Syrup instead of D-45. This turned out to be a winner! (phew).

On an unrelated note I have now brewed with all 5 candi syrups. I'd have to say that only the ones with numbers are worth using (45, 90, 180). The others, aside from fermentable sugar, seem to impart next to no flavor.

This is coming along quite nicely. I cracked open the first couple of bottles on St. Patrick's Day--very pleased! This will be a good beer. Next time I think I'd up the sorghum by 1lb and lower the corn syrup by 1lb but that is the only change I'd make.