Have never brewed APA....

I Have been brewing for about seven years now and AG for three of those years, and never made a APA? I usually make oatmeal stouts, Ipa, Belgian style ales and English style ales. Is that normal? Do most homebrewers start out making APA's? I mean it's homebrew, so I brew beer that I like to drink. I'm just wondering what everybody else does when they journey into AG?

That's part of the appeal of brewing, I guess- brewing what you like!

I brew mostly IPAs and APAs with a few other styles tossed in. But I bet 3/4 of my batches are APAs or IPAs.

I really enjoyed the act of making beer as much as i like drinking it(i'm sure most do too) so i made a hand full of extract brews and went strait into all grain. I think just for the challenge of making my own equipment.

When i first started to brew beer I really only liked ambers, but 90% of the beer I drank was bud/coors, i just hadn't developed a taste for micro brews. As i started to get into brewing I stated to try a wide variety of beers that I didn't even know existed. Two years ago I had no idea what a IPA was. I started going into liquor stores with a whole new look. Today IPA and APA are 90% of what i drink and brew.

Almost entirely APAs and IPAs for me.

I guess, I feel like its kind of a waste to brew a APA. Every time I brew I wanna brew something interesting and APA seems kinda boring...

I hope I'm not being closed minded.

Warwick316 said:

I hope I'm not being closed minded.

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No, of course not. It's just that an APA has endless permutations. Almost ANY kind of base grain, and any kind of specialty grains, along with hundreds of hop combinations mean that there is endless variety. I find stouts to be far more boring!

There are maltier APAs, and hoppier APAs, both of which are in style according to BJCP. Some have firmer bittering, some have earthy hops, some have crystal malt, plus the addition of Vienna malt or Munich malt to provide some richness is often done. It's a really great style that way, compared to, say, a Scottish 70+/-. I could drink 100 different commerical pale ales, and they would all be different- some markedly so.

Thanks for giving me some insight on the many varieties of the APA.. I guess I never thought of them really being all that different from each other. Now I know what I'm brewing next

I'd say 80%+ of what I brew are IPAs, APAs, and American Ambers. Maybe a a few Belgians and American Browns a year and an occasional Porter. I have yet to make a stout.

Recently I have been hoping my APAs like an IPA 4-6oz of hops for lots of flavor, but less alcohol and less calories

I am planning on making my 1st one this fall. I have been sampling MANY commercial versions and I find that I like the "earthy, piney, spicy" hops for this style and like the citrusy, fruity hops in standard IPA's. I am leaning towards a Chinook, Willamette, Fuggles bomb but that is just me.

I really like IPA but really dislike most APA. Truthfully I would rather go toward the maltier side and have an amber, or the hoppier side and have an IPA. I guess I just like the bolder differences instead of blending.

I do like the idea of a light IPA which most people would consider a APA with more hops.

My second batch ever, which is currently in primary, is an APA. I think that brewing a style that I have drank many examples of will be a faster way for me to imrpove my technique. I know what I expect from the style, and therefore am in a better position to learn from this batch.

i'd imagine an APA would be easier to turn BMC friends onto homebrew?

If people cared to post the malt bill for their favorite APA recipe here, I'd be much obliged. (Percentages are most useful.)

I'm about to brew an APA that's 88% 2-Row, 6% Crystal 60, and 6% Victory. Should turn out all right, but I'm interested in learning what sort if grist others consider ideal.

Warwick316 said:

Thanks for giving me some insight on the many varieties of the APA.. I guess I never thought of them really being all that different from each other. Now I know what I'm brewing next

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This beer is anything but boring. I strongly recommend you try it.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/lake-walk-pale-ale-32939/

I've never brewed a stout, porter, or brown ... pretty much APA or lighter for me. Funny how we have our go-to styles.

shelly_belly said:

This beer is anything but boring. I strongly recommend you try it.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/lake-walk-pale-ale-32939/

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Thanks shelly, I'm going to give this a try.

After many years of brewing, I brewed my 1st APA 2 summers ago. I saw Edwort's recipe for his Haus Pale Ale, and I knew I had to brew it. It's my summer brew now!

I love making porters, both for the flavor and for gently tweaking my recipe. The last one was amazing!

That said, I have two apa's fermenting now