Still searching for a simple extract brew, so I made...

[DJL531]

First time I made this I used a different hops and it came out not so good. Looking back at my notes there was something way off because measurements and OG did not calculate out right. I don't recall the hops used.

Second time it tasted funny, almost burnt, but then after about 6 weeks in the bottle it did a 180 and although more bitter than expected, it was a decent pal ale. It was a clear and bright as a Helles. This second one used Ella hops

So here is try #3. Only difference are the hops and the way I did the steeping grains.

I/2 pound Vienna that this time I did a mini mash. 1 hour at 152 deg in a large thermos with 24 oz water.
Rinsed with 24 more oz of water at 170 deg and this left me with about 40 oz of 1.033 og wort.

Add the above to pot, fill to 1.5 gallon and add 3 lbs of Golden Sparking DME.
Bring to boil,
Add 10 gr Magnum 13.3 AA hops - bittering
15 minutes in add 15 gr of Wakatu 5.6 AA hops - flavor
25 minutes in add 20 gr of Wakatu 5.6 AA hops - aroma
Stop boil at 30 min, cool, rack into fermenter and top to 2.75 gallons.
US-05 yeast
RO water

Idea is to see what a particular hop really tastes and smells like. Neutral bittering to bring up IBU and I want to hit about 5-5.5% abv. If this works out I plan to do the same with Zappa hops. The ones I have are extremely low AA, 2.6 if I recall, so I will adjust the bittering.

My OG on this brew was 1.052
Brew calc says 41 IBU and 5.7 abv. We shall see.
No additions, no clarifiers, nothing except what is in the above recipe.

The smell from the airlock is mostly lime but smooth and mellow, not a tart smell.

Best part about this brew is I can do it start to finish, on the kitchen stove in under 90 minutes from prep to cleanup.
Besides Zappa, if this works I'm looking to try Topaz, Triumph, Vic Secret and Pacific Jade. Maybe combine some I do know the taste of, like Citra and Centennial.

Tell me I'm out there, I'm wrong, I should have added... Appreciate the comments.

 

[NGD]

When I do this I only use a single hop for bittering, aroma and flavor.

Great thing about this hobby is whatever makes you happy is the correct way. I think as long as you use same base for every beer then you will have an accurate representation of flavor each hop imparts.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Over the decades, there have been a number of documented base recipes for exploring hop flavors.

Tell me I'm out there, I'm wrong, I should have added... Appreciate the comments.

Looks like the "grain bill" is around 90% "brewers malt" and 10% Vienna. Overall a good approach.

Vienna LME would shorten the brew day, but it may also involve storing partial containers (AFAIK, in 2021, Vienna DME doesn't exist). Some online stores have "style specific" LME, but I don't have experience with these types of LME.

Other approaches would use 10% munich or crystal 40/60. An approach using 100% base malt leads to the SMaSH recipe idea.

There's also American IPA - Base Pale Ale Recipe for Single hop Beers

Basic Brewing Radio has a "hop sampler" series. Ingredients: 1 lb DME, 3/4 gal water, 1 oz hops, US-05. Process: create the wort, bring to a boil, add the hops, remove the heat, let stand for 20-ish minutes, chill. Yields a 6 pack - which may be enough for sampling (or scale up the recipe according to need).

 

[DJL531]

Over the decades, there have been a number of documented base recipes for exploring hop flavors.

There's also American IPA - Base Pale Ale Recipe for Single hop Beers

Thanks for the reply and links. I read a lot on pale ale and how to vary it from a blonde ale to an IPA by tweaking malts and OG producing multiple types of beers. I like that idea, but I'm still struggling on the base pale ale. I found a simple, and looks idiot proof, all grain recipe that can easily be made into 2.5 gallons, but it still takes 4-6 hours from prep to mash to boil to cool.

The DME I have is Briess and ingredients show 99% base malt and 1% carapils so my worry is not enough head retention or 'thin' tasting beer. I've done a number of extract kits and nearly all had LME or LME and a small amount of DME. They all came out great so I feel my process is right. I looked into LME but between cost and opening a 6.6 pound jug for 4 pounds of extract leaves too much that could be wasted if not used. Of course, use it all, make 5 gallons, but then I have 5 gallons to drink of good or bad taste before I do the next one. 2 or 2.5 goes quicker.

Pic attached, current fermentation. Left is the 2.5 gallon Wakatu Pale Ale DME experiment and on the right is Northern Brewers Caribou Slobber (extract kit) that I renamed Dark Side of the Moon Ale.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

The DME I have is Briess and ingredients show 99% base malt and 1% carapils so my worry is not enough head retention or 'thin' tasting beer.

I brew periodically with Briess Golden Light DME (99% base malt / 1% carapils) and with Briess Pale Ale DME (100% pale ale malt). Never had problems with head retention or thin tasting beer.

 

[D.B.Moody]

I think you're out there a bit, but, If you like what you're doing, stick with it.
However, if you want simple, just use DME with no additions. It produces good, session ale. Also, I think you could go lighter and less bitter to let the taste and aroma come through.
I do some of my 5 gallon extract brews with no additions and only 5 lbs. of DME. I can't tell you the ABV, because I don't bother with gravity readings.
By the way, now I have to try Ella hops. I had to look them up. They sound interesting.

 

[TheBluePhantom]

I brew with Briess golden Light, and a pound or half pound of crystal 10 or 20. Makes a good hop showcase, medium ale. If I want a light summer beer, I trade in some dextrose. My goal is usually somewhere around 5% abv. I have never had a thin beer at 5%, if you go lighter, you may want to stay with all malt/ extract or change yeasts to a lower attenuation if you want full body. If you go very light, look into maltodextrin for body.

If you use DME instead of LME it stores better. Yes cost is a bit ;higher, but no waste. I bought DME bulk, and a heat sealer, cost is much closer per point and storage is not an issue. I broke the 50 pound bag into sizes I normally brew with and i am good. wait for a sale if you can and it gets really affordable.

This is how I fell in love with Summer hops, then my LHBS stopped carrying them. Probably the fires....

 

[DJL531]

One think I failed to mention are the hops. I subscribe to the Yakama Hops hopbox. Every 3 months I get another box of 8 different hops, 2 oz each. So last year I ended up with one box of Australian and New Zealand hops. Another was all German. In late 2020 I got the 2020 US harvest bunch. Best of all they come in small cans that are nitrogen filled, so they are well sealed. In late December I got the first 2021 box, Talus, Zappa, Strata, Medusa, HBC 586, Adeena, Topaz and Nelson Sauvin. So this is where these 2.5 gallon single hop experiments are coming from.

Adeena is slated for a Saison in 6 weeks. Last one I made used Hallertau Mittelfruh and it was amazing. Going to use the same grain bill and swap hops for a comparison.

 

[DJL531]

I can't believe how well this turned out! So, on day 5 I created a "test" bottle. I primed it with 1 tst of table sugar and filled a 12 oz bottle like I would normally. Sat it on the shelf for 5 days, 2 of which were 80 degree days and chilled it today, Day 10. Lots of carbonation, lots of lasting foam and basically what I hoped for. Mouthfeel was a cross between a pale ale and a pilsner. It was a bit more bitter than I thought, Not unpleasent, just above the ratio I wanted to the malt/hops. I'll drop the bittering hops slightly next time. IBU calculated at 41 and I should shoot for more like 30-35, and ABV was 5.25%. Lemon citrus smell just flowed from this pour. Taste was lemony and citrusey and matched the aroma perfectly. Poured a light orange color with expected haze. When I bottled the test, the fermenter was still very hazy. Since then a lot more has cleared out. Bottling this weekend when I get a chance and I'll do this one again. I have to admit, 10 days from brew to bottle condition drinkable is pretty quick. I may have actually found my recipe!

Plans to use with Medusa next week.