How is this American Pale Ale looking?

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anico4704

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I am making an extract American Pale Ale. I am not looking for a super bitter beer, but more a a crisp subtly fruity type pale ale.

Here's the ingredients of my 60 min 5 gallon boil.

Steeping (30 mins)
6 oz Caramel Malt 60L
5 oz Victory Malt

Boil (60 Mins)
5.6 Lbs Golden Light DME

Hop Schedule
0.5 oz Chinook (60 min)
0.25 oz Chinook (45 min)
0.25 oz Chinook (30 min)
0.5 oz Chinook (15 min)
0.5 oz Chinook (2 min)
0.5 oz Simcoe (dry hop 7 days)

Yeast:
Wyeast 1056 - American Ale

Any suggestions or thoughts?

:mug:
 
anico4704 said:
I am making an extract American Pale Ale. I am not looking for a super bitter beer, but more a a crisp subtly fruity type pale ale.

Here's the ingredients of my 60 min 5 gallon boil.

Steeping (30 mins)
6 oz Caramel Malt 60L
5 oz Victory Malt

Boil (60 Mins)
5.6 Lbs Golden Light DME

Hop Schedule
0.5 oz Chinook (60 min)
0.25 oz Chinook (45 min)
0.25 oz Chinook (30 min)
0.5 oz Chinook (15 min)
0.5 oz Chinook (2 min)
0.5 oz Simcoe (dry hop 7 days)

Yeast:
Wyeast 1056 - American Ale

Any suggestions or thoughts?

:mug:
Click to expand...

You might try reading the recipe section and/or finding a beer (commercially) that you like to try and clone it. Thats a great way to design beers you like.

Im not a huge fan of that much Chinook. I think it may be bitter and a little harsh but that's me. Some brewers LOVE Chinook.

One thing for sure, make some beer and have some fun!!
 
my rough estimate says you'd get around 1.050 for a 5 gallon batch, so that's enough fermentables depending on what the goal is.

personally, I would ditch the caramel 60 and just use the victory, but I really don't care for caramel malt in a pale ale... i just feel it doesn't belong IMHO.

i think chinook is fine, i've used it with good success and i, unlike the previous poster, like the profile (to each their own!). BUT, I would just do a bittering charge at 60 min, and then get rid of the 45 and 30 minute additions and pack it in late (10, 0, dry). maybe try 1oz at 10 mins, and 1 oz at flameout. then, do yourself a favor and bump the dry hop up to 1oz, you'll be happy you did.

just my opinion, but that's how I'd brew it. have fun!
 
I agree with the above statement, ditch the 45 and 30 min additions and throw them in late.
 
android said:
my rough estimate says you'd get around 1.050 for a 5 gallon batch, so that's enough fermentables depending on what the goal is.

personally, I would ditch the caramel 60 and just use the victory, but I really don't care for caramel malt in a pale ale... i just feel it doesn't belong IMHO.

i think chinook is fine, i've used it with good success and i, unlike the previous poster, like the profile (to each their own!). BUT, I would just do a bittering charge at 60 min, and then get rid of the 45 and 30 minute additions and pack it in late (10, 0, dry). maybe try 1oz at 10 mins, and 1 oz at flameout. then, do yourself a favor and bump the dry hop up to 1oz, you'll be happy you did.

just my opinion, but that's how I'd brew it. have fun!
Click to expand...

+1 on the grains too.. I agree

But at 1.050 and 58 IBU's this would be a bit bitter and a bit harsh...but that's just my perception of Chinook in that quantity. Changing up the hop schedule like above will definitively tone it down and make it more drinkable.
 
Awesome everyone, thanks for the replies!!!

I think I am going to try this and see what happens. I changed the hop schedule to the following:
1oz Chinook for 60 mins
.5 oz Chinook for 15 mins
.5 oz Chinook for 2 mins
1oz dry hop Simcoe

Is the 15 min and 2 mins difference going to do anything, or should I just throw the whole oz in at 2 mins left?

In Beersmith I get the following numbers:
OG: 1.048
IBUs: 66.7
SRM: 7.3
ABV: 4.8%

Does that sound like it will fit the style? I tend to be extremely close to the Beer Smith numbers every time. I may change the Caramel to 10L in the same amount.

From the statement above, the 66 still seems way to high, suggestions? I have it in Beersmith exactly as stated in this post now.
 
CHINOOK

Origin: Washington, USA| Alpha Acid: 11.0 – 13.0%

Flavor Profile: Chinook is the hop that smells and tastes the most like you would imagine – a dank piney forest. These hops are known to have a very spicy finish, too, and because of the very high alpha acid levels it makes for the perfect bittering component of a beer. Many brewers will tell you to watch out, because they can easily be overused.

Beer Styles: Pale Ales; India Pale Ales; Black IPAs; Barleywines
 
This one cracks me up!!


SIMCOE

Origin: Washington, USA | Alpha Acid: 12.0 – 14.0%

Flavor Profile: There are many brewers using this variety today, but to get a clear understanding of what this hop variety smells and tastes like, one should look no further than the Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA. With a very high alpha acid, this is a hop that isn’t bashful with its pine, citrus, and cat urine characters. In fact, this is commonly referred to as the “cat pee” hop. Try it!

Beer Styles: Pale Ales; India Pale Ales
 
anico4704 said:
Awesome everyone, thanks for the replies!!!

I think I am going to try this and see what happens. I changed the hop schedule to the following:
1oz Chinook for 60 mins
.5 oz Chinook for 15 mins
.5 oz Chinook for 2 mins
1oz dry hop Simcoe

Is the 15 min and 2 mins difference going to do anything, or should I just throw the whole oz in at 2 mins left?

In Beersmith I get the following numbers:
OG: 1.048
IBUs: 66.7
SRM: 7.3
ABV: 4.8%

Does that sound like it will fit the style? I tend to be extremely close to the Beer Smith numbers every time. I may change the Caramel to 10L in the same amount.

From the statement above, the 66 still seems way to high, suggestions? I have it in Beersmith exactly as stated in this post now.
Click to expand...

My Math is off tonight. It seems you are a little high. A pale ale should be about .71 BU:GU or Bittering units to Gravity units. Here's a calc.

Untitled.jpg
 
Yeah, according to that calc, your bitterness is goig to be too high for a pale. You could either change the bittering hops or change the amount to, say .75 oz if you have an accurate scale. Could also try Centennial as the bittering, since it is slightly lower in AA but has similar qualities and will go great with Chinook and Simcoe.

I'd also keep the Caramel 60 or change it to Caramunich if you want something slightly less sweet. I personally think some kind of caramel malt in a Pale Ale rounds it out a little better.
 
I have revised the recipe to the following:

Steeping:
4oz Caramal 60L
12oz Victory

Boil:
6lbs Golden Light DME

Hops:
Columbus .5oz 60 min boil
Columbus .5oz 15 min boil
Simcoe .5oz 2min boil
Simcoe .5 oz Dry hop 7 days

Yeast:
Wyeast American Ale

1.052 SG
43 IBU
7.7 SRM
5.2 ABV

How is that sounding now?
 
That looks a lot better in terms of OG/IBU ratio and efficient use of hops. I like my Pale Ales at about 40 IBUs with half of the IBUs coming late.
 

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