American Pale Ale Bee Cave Brewery Haus Pale Ale

I'm placing an order with AHS as I am planing on this being my first AG brew. I'm a little confused on the base grain I need. Should I order the Brewers 2-row malt (Rahr) or the Pale Ale Malt?? Also, due to Nottingham's not being available, should I use S-04 or S-05 yeast?? Thanks for any help!! Looking forward to doing this one hopefully next weekend....

Rahr 2 row will be fine and Safale-05 will work great too.

Ed,

I have to say you are have a real winner here. I brewed this on the 4th of July and I only have 7 bottles left. Everyone that tried it loved it. Thanks for a great recipe!!!

Went to the LHBS today to get what I needed for this. They didn't have Cascade hops so I ended up with Mt. Hood hops. Hopefully it turns out Ok. I'll be doing the mini-mash.

Well, finally complete at 11:30 tonight. It was a long day. SG 1.060. Used the mini-mash recipe posted on the first page, except used Safeale S05 and Mt. Hood hops because the LHBS was out of both. I've got it in the fermentation chest set at 60-63 deg F. Pitched at ~72 or 73.

I made this beer on crude homemade equipment today. It was a good day, and I can still smell the cascade hops. It is my first all grain. It was my first full boil in a keggle. I actually got the cooler to mash it at 152 only loosing 2 degrees. I screwed up the mash out and sparge volumes (reversed them). Had to do a small additional batch sparge to to get up to 6.5 gallons. All in all I got 76% efficiency from a coleman rectangle cooler, with a copper manifold with slits cut in it, and a sg of 1.052. It is a little warm here yeast pitched at 78. After 3 hours there is activity, from a single pack of safeale 04, and a very through wisking while racking to carboy for aeration.

I'm a new brewer and I plan to make this beer as my first real partial mash and could use a little help from you guys on some calculations if you don't mind...I've only done Mr Beer kits up to now.

I bought the ingredients yesterday for the PM version, substituting light LME (6.25 lbs) for the LDME, Crystal 20L for the 10L they didn't have and the Cascades they had were 6.0% (the original stated 6.6%). I won't be able to do quite a full boil so I'm a little worried about hop utilization, but I also think my homemade primary won't quite handle 5.5 gallons so I'm thinking I could scale it down to, say 4.5 gallons. I'd like to still use the full amount of grain (2.0 lbs vienna and .5 lbs Crystal 20L) but I'd like to know:

1) What should I adjust the LME down to if I shoot for 4.5 gallons and mash all the grains?

2) If I do downsize the recipe to 4.5g and use the full hop schedule with my 6.0% hops and a 3 gal or so boil, would I get close to the original IBUs and flavor?

3) Would I be better off to split the recipe and make two separate batches using a full boil? I think could easily put together a 2nd 3 gal primary...

Thanks for helping a noob brewer.

Brewed my first batch of this recipe yesterday. Very straightforward. Everything went perfectly. Thanks Ed.

My only derivation was that my LHBS had neither Nottingham nor US-05 and I wasn't about to make a starter and pitch liquid as that seemed counter to the spirit of the endeavor. So I used 14g of Cooper's Ale Yeast. Most descriptions classify it as a fruity yeast, medium attenuation and medium flocculation, but there are some sites that claim it very neutral, high attenuation and high flocculation. I can't find anyone who actually speaks from experience nor can I find any info on the Cooper's web site. It will be interesting to see how it turns out. If anyone has actually used Cooper's and has an opinion please let me know.

Just wanted to mention that I suspect this recipe is singlehandedly responsible for a shortage of nottingham yeast. None of the local or online brew stores seem to have any!

knownikko said:

Just wanted to mention that I suspect this recipe is singlehandedly responsible for a shortage of nottingham yeast. None of the local or online brew stores seem to have any!

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That would be cool, but really it's because Danstar is in the middle of changing packagers because the one they were using up and folded on them with no notice. It takes a while to get the pipeline filled up again.

That's why it pays to always have a few packets of Nottingham on hand.

EdWort said:

That would be cool, but really it's because Danstar is in the middle of changing packagers because the one they were using up and folded on them with no notice. It takes a while to get the pipeline filled up again.

That's why it pays to always have a few packets of Nottingham on hand.

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Well that's not nearly as good of a story.

Thanks for the info though. Hope to give this recipe a try the next time I make it to the LHBS for ingredients.

10 days in the primary and I just took a gravity reading... 1.011, spot on!

Now, I'll crash cool if for a few days and then keg this bad boy up!

The gravity sample tasted awesome so I can't wait to try to final product...must have patience...must have patience.

Well I brewed this and unfortunately it was my only batch I've had to dump so far. I kept letting it sit and trying it but to no avail.
It had a bad moldy musty taste. No other batch has been bad yet. I'm sure I'll give this another shot sometime. Probably next spring. Unfortunately this is my only batch where I put no notes into BeerSmith. Hopefully I have some downstairs.

After many unexpected delays, I FINALLY got this one started. My first AG recipe so I'm crossing my fingers. Looking forward to its completion

Just did this today and it was my first AG brew. Everything went really smooth and I'm looking forward to my first sip. My mash temps hit a bit high (156) but I got it down to 154 before putting the lid on. I ended up with 6.8 gallons in the kettle and my OG after boil was 1.048 with abount 5.5 gals. Efficiency ended up just shy of 70% but I think my grains contributed as I bought pre-milled and they did not appear to be crushed very well. A Barley Crusher looks like it might be necessary. Cascade's were 6% so IBU's will be a bit low (32). In hindsight, I should have ordered an extra ounce just in case AAU's were on the low side. I now know for next time. My only other "issue" was getting it cooled down. I have a wort chiller and I got it down to 100 degrees in about 20 minutes but I found it tough to get it below that. I ended up making room in my fridge and stuck the fermenter in for a couple hours. Finally hit in the high 70's and I pitched the yeast. It smells fantastic so I hope everything works out!!! Thanks to EdWort for the recipe!!

Flic said:

Just did this today and it was my first AG brew. Everything went really smooth and I'm looking forward to my first sip. My mash temps hit a bit high (156) but I got it down to 154 before putting the lid on. I ended up with 6.8 gallons in the kettle and my OG after boil was 1.048 with abount 5.5 gals. Efficiency ended up just shy of 70% but I think my grains contributed as I bought pre-milled and they did not appear to be crushed very well. A Barley Crusher looks like it might be necessary. Cascade's were 6% so IBU's will be a bit low (32). In hindsight, I should have ordered an extra ounce just in case AAU's were on the low side. I now know for next time. My only other "issue" was getting it cooled down. I have a wort chiller and I got it down to 100 degrees in about 20 minutes but I found it tough to get it below that. I ended up making room in my fridge and stuck the fermenter in for a couple hours. Finally hit in the high 70's and I pitched the yeast. It smells fantastic so I hope everything works out!!! Thanks to EdWort for the recipe!!

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You did pretty well for the first time. Congrats!

Hey Ed, I want to do this for my first AG. Can you tell me how to do it with a Fly Sparge?
This will be my first AG, so if there is an easy way to adjust a recipe from Batch to Fly Sparge I am unaware of it. Thanks.

Use this link...

What type of fly sparge do you use? I use phils sparge arm. but nonetheless. figure you water.. and put your sparge water in the HLT - do you have ball locks on your MLT and you HLT?
Here is a pic. IMG_0136 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Here is another pic.

Then just monitor your flow. Make sure you are keeping water above the grain and having a nice slow flow to the kettle.

It takes more time.. but I hit great numbers doing this...

kornbread said:

Hi guys,

I bottled my bee cave haus ale today. I tasted it and it taste weird. It taste almost like cinnamon or some type of spice. I'm not sure if that's from the hops or some error in my process. It tasted pretty good the day I brewed it but each time I've tasted it since the "spice" flavor is more pronounced.

I followed the recipe very closely. My efficiency was off. I only hit 1.048 O.G. instead of 1.051. I'm wondering if I didn't get enough "sweet" out of the malt to counteract the hops. Do Cascade hops have a cinnamon flavor?

My LHBS was out of the Nottinghams yeast. So, I used Muntons instead. Could that be it? Also, it has been very hot here lately. Temps in the basement have been upper 70s and low 80s. I kept the fermenter in an Ice water bath but the stick on thermometer always read in the upper 70s. I've been told that high temps during primary fermentation can cause off flavors. Is cinnamon one of the off flavors?

Sorry for the long post, But, I'm kind of worried that the beer is gonna suck.

Thanks in advance,

Kornbread

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Update: I popped the top on one of these yesterday. And, after having been in the bottle twelve weeks the "spicy" flavor is mellowing out. It was completely drinkable.

That wasn't the case just four weeks ago. I opened a couple while on vacation back in Aug. and couldn't drink it. I decided then to pitch it when I got back home. But, when I got home, I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Who knows, In four more weeks it may be good beer.

Kornbread

Add another "I popped my AG cherry with Bee Cave Pale Ale" to the list. Finally had a chance to do this yesterday afternoon/evening. Start to finish was a little less than 5 hours. I calculated my efficiency at 61% so I have some work to do there but it was my first AG so I'll chaulk it up to inexperience. I did a double batch sparge and the first sparge stuck toward the end, I didn't realize this and thought it completed drained so I added my 2nd sparge water, then realizing the first one hadn't finished and it was stuck so that may have affected my efficiency some. My sparge water was heated to 180F but by the time it was time to dump in my 2nd sparge, the temp had dropped to about 172. I'm not sure if that would affect efficiency or not.

I'm now realizing that the base malt I had was Brewers 2 row (Rahr) instead of Pale Malt and my cascade hops were 6.0% instead of 6.6%. Do you think this is going to affect the beer negatively at all?? Thanks for the recipe Ed.

I'll bet your efficiency was low due to not draining the first sparge well. Sometimes when I'm in doubt I dig a little hole in the corner, careful not to disturb the grain bed near my SS braid. If there is any wort still sitting there I stop the flow, give it all a stir, tilt my MLT so that the wort runs toward the opening, then be sure to vorlauf again since I disturbed the grain bed. My efficiency is rather inconsistent, but I'm using grain milled by my HBS. Still falls between 69-79. which is okay with me for now. I'm pretty new at brewing too so if there is any problems with this process please let me know.

Thanks. I also realized that SS braid likes to make it's way off the bottom of the MLT. I think in the future I may switch to a manifold instead because I spent way too much time trying to figure out if that thing was "floating" in the mash or laying on the bottom. I even dented it while pushing down on it with my spoon one time.

MN_Jay said:

I'm now realizing that the base malt I had was Brewers 2 row (Rahr) instead of Pale Malt and my cascade hops were 6.0% instead of 6.6%. Do you think this is going to affect the beer negatively at all?? Thanks for the recipe Ed.

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Nope. Should turn out fine. RDWHAHB!

BTW, Congrats on your first All Grain!

Just bottled this one yesterday -- my 1st AG as well.

the hydro sample tasted great! I was a little low on the OG, so no surprise the FG was a little low as well.

thanks for the recipe Ed

I thought about switching to a copper manifold. It seems like such a pain in the ass to clean! Do you have to solder it together?

I kicked my keg last night. It was very upsetting since this was my go to beer on a hot day or when I was working around the house. It also became my official boating beer. I will definately be making this one again.

nyer said:

I kicked my keg last night. It was very upsetting since this was my go to beer on a hot day or when I was working around the house. It also became my official boating beer. I will definately be making this one again.

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Yes, the sound of a keg blowing is one the most depressing sounds known to man.

nyer said:

I kicked my keg last night. It was very upsetting since this was my go to beer on a hot day or when I was working around the house. It also became my official boating beer. I will definately be making this one again.

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I kicked mine while filling up 2 more from the fermenter. Now I just have to wait for them to carbonate.
I almost had the timing right!!

I am finally ahead of the game. I have three kegs on tap in the fridge at all times and I have another pale ale and an IPA kegged waiting for their turn in the fridge. I also have one in primary and one batch waiting to be made. The only bad thing is the pale ale and IPA were put in storage because they weren't very good the first time around. I'm hoping a little aging changed them.

I just bottled a batch on Saturday...

This one, however, used 1 oz instead of 2 oz of Cascade ... (my mistake)

O am sure it will be a hit, still !

Three weeks grain to glass and this is a definite winner. Yes, I was getting impatient and had to sample it. It's a keeper!

It's a bit cloudy, but I realized too late that I forgot the Irish moss.

Thanks Ed!!

Just measured out the grain for a 15 gallon batch tomorrow. 31.5 pounds of grain. This is the biggest batch of beer I've made yet, but I think the 20 gallon Blingmann can handle it.

HLT gets lit tomorrow morning at 6:30 AM. Whoo Hoo. It's been too long!

Bottling my pale ale sunday. Cant wait much longer, need to drink them! Need kegs, this bottling and waiting sucks.

I was planning to bottle mine tomorrow as I brewed it on Friday of last week. I realized my fermenter will fit in my fridge if I take out a shelf. Would it be worth putting it in there to semi-crash cool until tomorrow evening?? Is 24 hours enough to do much of anything? My fridge temp is around 42 degrees. Also, do you need to let it warm back up to room temp before bottling?

Flic said:

I was planning to bottle mine tomorrow as I brewed it on Friday of last week. I realized my fermenter will fit in my fridge if I take out a shelf. Would it be worth putting it in there to semi-crash cool until tomorrow evening?? Is 24 hours enough to do much of anything? My fridge temp is around 42 degrees. Also, do you need to let it warm back up to room temp before bottling?

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you could try it. The biggest problem would be too much of the yeast dropping out of suspension and having a hard time bottle carbing. You might want to wait another week or two to bottle dude. It's only been 8 days.

what would be a good substitute for Notty on this one? Chico? or some basic american/british ale yeast? it seems that all the online hb stores are out of it.. as Ed and someone else mentioned.

dp69_2001 said:

you could try it. The biggest problem would be too much of the yeast dropping out of suspension and having a hard time bottle carbing. You might want to wait another week or two to bottle dude. It's only been 8 days.

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Good point about the yeast. I guess that is a bad idea if bottling. Ed says to ferment for 10 days so I assumed 9 would be fine as long as gravity reading is OK. I may actually give it until the end of the week as I'm not sure I'll have time tomorrow anyway.....

bergman1118 said:

what would be a good substitute for Notty on this one? Chico? or some basic american/british ale yeast? it seems that all the online hb stores are out of it.. as Ed and someone else mentioned.

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Safale US-05 seems to be the recommended replacement. That's what I used since Notty was nowhere to be found.

cool, was thinking that as well. thanks man

I was thinking safeale05 but my lhbs only had safeale04. I am done fermenting and bottling in about 12 hours. I took a little taste tonight and checked the final gravity. 1.012 and taste was right on for a pale ale. This is my first pale ale and first AG beer. But after the sample tonight, it tasted better than the Big sky Scape Goat I am drinking right now! Color is right on, its a little cloudy but I did not use any irish moss, and hopefully after bottle condition, and cold fridge, it will clear more! Taste was wonderful. I cant wait for 2 more weeks or so. Damn near tempted to put the damn carboy in freeze and drink. But I know better.

NikolausXX said:

I was thinking safeale05 but my lhbs only had safeale04. I am done fermenting and bottling in about 12 hours. I took a little taste tonight and checked the final gravity. 1.012 and taste was right on for a pale ale. This is my first pale ale and first AG beer. But after the sample tonight, it tasted better than the Big sky Scape Goat I am drinking right now! Color is right on, its a little cloudy but I did not use any irish moss, and hopefully after bottle condition, and cold fridge, it will clear more! Taste was wonderful. I cant wait for 2 more weeks or so. Damn near tempted to put the damn carboy in freeze and drink. But I know better.

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Just do it! No but serious now. The best part about home brewing is being able to make the same beer multiple times, or never again. I need to brew some more pale ale.