Ryat66
Well-Known Member
I recently brewed an all-Cascade pale ale (yes, it's a Mirror Pond Clone and yes I COULD buy it) that came out pretty good but was slightly more bitter than I anticipated. I would actually like to make this my house pale ale since it was well received. Anyway, my question is whether to dabble with the hopping schedule, water, conversion temp, carbonation rate (carbonic acid) etc. Sure, it would be easy to cut back the hop additions but that also means I'm sacrificing extra hop material that might contain some flavor. In terms of water, I guess I could cut back on the sulfate but maybe that will screw with something else. Maybe raising the mash temp will make the beer slightly sweeter. Maybe decreasing the carbonation rate and thereby decreasing the amount of carbonic acid. Has anyone dabbled with these things?
Anyway, I would like some input on where to start.
Here's my recipe and water profile. Any help or input would be greatly appreciated. TIA!
10 lbs 9.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM)
12.9 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM)
2.9 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)
0.80 oz Cascade [6.90 %] - Boil 85.0 min
0.80 oz Cascade [6.90 %] - Boil 30.0 min
1.10 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins)
0.50 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 mins)
0.80 oz Cascade [6.90 %] - Boil 5.0 min
0.80 oz Cascade [6.90 %] - Boil 0.0 min
1.0 pkg English Ale (White Labs #WLP002)
0.75 oz Cascade [6.90 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days
Mash In Add 17.11 qt of water at 163.3 F 149.0 F 75 minutes
Water(ppm): Calcium-58; Magnesium-15; Sodium-11; Sulfate-115; Chloride-51; Bicarbonate-48
Target Carbonation Rate - 2.5 vols CO2
Anyway, I would like some input on where to start.
Here's my recipe and water profile. Any help or input would be greatly appreciated. TIA!
10 lbs 9.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM)
12.9 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM)
2.9 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)
0.80 oz Cascade [6.90 %] - Boil 85.0 min
0.80 oz Cascade [6.90 %] - Boil 30.0 min
1.10 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins)
0.50 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 mins)
0.80 oz Cascade [6.90 %] - Boil 5.0 min
0.80 oz Cascade [6.90 %] - Boil 0.0 min
1.0 pkg English Ale (White Labs #WLP002)
0.75 oz Cascade [6.90 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days
Mash In Add 17.11 qt of water at 163.3 F 149.0 F 75 minutes
Water(ppm): Calcium-58; Magnesium-15; Sodium-11; Sulfate-115; Chloride-51; Bicarbonate-48
Target Carbonation Rate - 2.5 vols CO2