Critique my APA recipe

[timcook]

10.5# two-row pale malt
1# Crystal 40L
1# Munich malt

Mash at 152*

1 oz. Centennial (60)
1 oz. Cascades (flameout)
2 oz. Cascades (dry hop)

Yeast WLP 001

-variables I have the ability to adjust: hops & yeast

I have a pound of Cascades, Centennial & Amarillo in the freezer. I am not looking to brew an IPA. I want to brew a fast turn around (easy drinking) beer before my keg of IPA runs out; while my saison slowly ferments in the basement. Any suggestions for adjusting the hops I am planning to use and/or adjust the amount used?

Yeast: I also have London ESB on hand.

Please share any thoughts/critiques/suggestions.

Tim

 

[blubrewbbq]

I had success where you can remove the bitter hop addition, do 2oz@ 20min and another 2oz at FO. Assuming cascade hops

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

I haven’t done a pale ale before since my wife likes IPAs so much. I prefer Amarillo over Cascade or Centennial, but I know a lot of people really love those hops.

 

[6Tap]

I vote for cutting the crystal amount in half.

 

[AzOr]

Looks good.
Blacklab has a popular APA w cascades
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/cascades-orange-pale-ale.84558/
Similar but not the same. His cascades are listed as 5% aa. Seems like every time I buy cascades they are north of 7%.
His recipe is pretty tasty. I’ve brewed it twice and both times the keg was killed quickly.

 

[couchsending]

Cut the crystal in half.

Cut the 60 minute addition in half

Add 1oz of Amarillo at 20

Instead of just using cascade for WP and DH, blend something else in at either stage. Ideally the hop that smells the best out of the bag.

 

[timcook]

Cut the crystal in half.

Cut the 60 minute addition in half

Add 1oz of Amarillo at 20

Instead of just using cascade for WP and DH, blend something else in at either stage. Ideally the hop that smells the best out of the bag.

I'm going to cut the Crystal by half. The original recipe is over 10 years old. I know the use of Crystal malt has decreased significantly in recent years. Maybe I'll use Maris Otter instead of 2 row (failed to mention I've got 20 pounds here). I do like a good malt backbone.

I'm going to consider the hop ideas that were suggested. I'll get back after the weekend with my final recipe.

Thank you to everyone who responded.

Tim

 

[timcook]

Final recipe, the boil started as I write this:

10.5 # two row pale malt
1 # Munich Malt 8L
.5 # Crystal 40L

Magnum .25 ounce at 60
Amarillo/Centennial 1 ounce of each at 15
Centennial 1 ounce flameout/whirlpool

Dry hop with 2 ounces of Amarillo

Slurry of WLP 001

Thanks for the suggestions. Pre-boil OG was 1.049, so things are going well so far.

Tim

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

I think it’s overkill, but you’re going to be really happy with the result.

 

[timcook]

I think it’s overkill, but you’re going to be really happy with the result.

Overkill with hops? Could you be more specific?

 

[6Tap]

Looks like a good apa recipe to me.
Keep us posted on the results!
[emoji482]

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

That looks tasty. I think the drop in crystal was a good choice. Amarillo is a good PA hop (IMO) because in large quantities I get onion from it. But at the levels you're using it'll be a nice addition.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

Overkill with hops? Could you be more specific?

I usually dry hop an IPA with an ounce of something strong like Amarillo. I do 2 gallon batches so scaled to 5 gallons that would be 2.5 ounces for an IPA. A regular PA is generally not as aggressive with hops as an IPA so for 5 gallons, I might dry hop with an ounce per five gallons, but really it isn’t that big of a difference so maybe overkill is too strong a word. As the NEIPA craze continues perhaps a PA in relation to its more highly hopped cousins will also shift relatively. What I enjoy about a PA is the character is less in your face but enjoyable. I am not a fan of session IPAs because the hops overwhelm the beer IMO. Conversely, I want an IPA to reach out and biotch slap me across the face with hop aroma. Your coice though. I think it will be enjoyable either way.