American Pale Ale Thoughts

Hey all, still somewhat new to all grain/not brewing what a kit tells me to. I whipped up this recipe in beersmith and thought I would vet it a little but here to see what you all thought. I was wondering if anyone has brewed anything similar and could describe what type beer I would be getting out of this as a final product. Any general thoughts/comments would be appreciated, additions are welcome too (grains of paradise, orange peel, etc) anything that you think would enhance the recipe.

Recipe: Summer APA
Brewer: Josh
Asst Brewer: Greg
Style: American Pale Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 6.41 gal
Estimated OG: 1.058 SG
Estimated Color: 8.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 42.7 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
8 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 79.07 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 9.30 %
1 lbs Munich Malt - 8L (8.0 SRM) Grain 9.30 %
4.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 2.33 %
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (60 min) Hops 34.5 IBU <-----*possibly galena?*
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (10 min) Hops 5.3 IBU
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (5 min) Hops 2.9 IBU


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 10.75 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 13.44 qt of water at 165.9 F 154.0 F

Looks fine. I'd probably skip the carapils though. I assume you're using that for head retention. You can use a little bit of wheat instead to serve the same purpose without adding unfermentables (lb of C40 is enough crystal for that beer IMO). Depending on what you are shooting for in your FG of course.

I recieved lots of good feedback from my Pale Ale...very similar recipe..just a little simpler

8 lbs 2 Row
1 lb C20
1 oz Saaz hops for bittering (60 minutes)
.50 oz Saaz hops at 15 minutes
.50 oz Saaz hops at 5 minutes

60 minute boil...

Excellent beer..goes over very well with the BMC crowd and its a super easy drinker...kinda my lawn mower beer...

I think your on the right track though...sounds like a pretty good beer!

Bruise, what yeast do u use?

The only thing that I would suggest is cutting that Crystal to .75 pounds and maybe go a little cooler on the mash but that is minor.

smithnick0 said:

Bruise, what yeast do u use?

Click to expand...

I've used repitched Edinburgh Ale Yeast or Safale US 05...either works great.

Thanks for the quick Re's. So far I've adjusted out the carapils and bumped up the 2 row to 9lbs. I also cut back on the crystal. What is the reasoning on the cooler mash? Lighter body? What would you suggest mashing/sparging at? I also think I'm going to go the Galena bittering route. I like that earthy taste like sam 48 lat has. I'm about to teach a class but I will re post the recipe with adjustments when I get back tonight. Thanks again!

Galena is good but you wouldn't be wrong to use the Centennial either.

Lower temp will give you a drier beer. Higher temp leads to the perception of sweetness. I mash my Pale Ales at 151ish.

dutra2418 said:

What would you suggest mashing/sparging at? I also think I'm going to go the Galena bittering route. I like that earthy taste like sam 48 lat has.

Click to expand...

I'd mash at around 151F like BB said, the lighter body will be nice for the summer. sparge temp is pretty irrelevant. technically warmer should net you more rinsed sugar, but from Kai's research its kinda insignificant. just keep it under 180F and it'll be fine.

galena vs centennial at bittering won't effect the flavor and if you want earthy, amarillo is definitely not the right hop choice.

Drop the Carapils as someone said above. 1lb of Crystal is fine, as long as you get rid of the dextrine, you just don't need it here.

Everything looks pretty good. It doesn't look too hoppy, but that's a personal taste. One more 0.5oz hop addition at 0min wouldn't be a bad idea, but overall, looks like a solid pale ale.

dcp27 said:

i'd mash at around 151f like bb said, the lighter body will be nice for the summer. Sparge temp is pretty irrelevant. Technically warmer should net you more rinsed sugar, but from kai's research its kinda insignificant. Just keep it under 180f and it'll be fine.

Galena vs centennial at bittering won't effect the flavor and if you want earthy, amarillo is definitely not the right hop choice.

Click to expand...

+1

scottland said:

drop the carapils as someone said above. 1lb of crystal is fine, as long as you get rid of the dextrine, you just don't need it here.

Everything looks pretty good. It doesn't look too hoppy, but that's a personal taste. One more 0.5oz hop addition at 0min wouldn't be a bad idea, but overall, looks like a solid pale ale.

Click to expand...

+1

Thanks again for the input so far. I've changed some things around. Love the group-think recipie! Here is the revised recipe. Noteable changes have been made yanking the carapils and switching the bittering hop..also adding some liberty as a finisher. Also drove down the mash temp a bit to dry it out. Will the liberty keep the citrus imparted by the amarillo in check? The reason I want to add some earthyness is because I don't want the beer to run away with the citrus taste. On a side note..I cant wait until that latatude 48 single hop variety pack comes out. That should take me to IPA/APA hop school! Link


Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 6.41 gal
Estimated OG: 1.059 SG
Estimated Color: 8.8 SRM
Estimated IBU: 41.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
9 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 81.82 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 9.09 %
1 lbs Munich Malt - 8L (8.0 SRM) Grain 9.09 %
0.75 oz Galena [13.00 %] (60 min) Hops 33.3 IBU
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (10 min) Hops 5.3 IBU
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (5 min) Hops 2.9 IBU
0.50 oz Liberty [4.30 %] (0 min) Hops -
1 Pkgs SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 11.00 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 13.75 qt of water at 162.5 F 151.0 F

Looks like a good beer to me.