APA partial mash recipe for review

[jwitt]

Recipe: Bayern Munich Victory Day Dry Hopped APA

Style: American Pale Ale
TYPE: Partial Mash


Recipe Specifications
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Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.25 gal
Estimated OG: 1.050 SG
Estimated Color: 7.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 36.2 IBUs


Ingredients:
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Amt Name Type # %/IBU
1 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 1 13.8 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 2 6.9 %
8.0 oz Pale Malt (6 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 3 6.9 %
4.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4 3.4 %
5 lbs Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 5 69.0 %
1.00 oz Yakima Magnum [14.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 31.3 IBUs
0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 mins) Fining 7 -
1.00 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 8 4.9 IBUs
1.00 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] - Dry Hop 14.0 Days Hop 9 0.0 IBUs



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Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com

Hello all! I'd like a little input on this recipe. I omitted mash and boil specific information- I realize that some particulars such as hops schedule can't be precise without it, but I'm in the middle of an equipment profile change, so I'd like to concentrate on the grain/extract bill and general hops characteristics and leave fine-tuning for the next batch.

Background:

This will be my third partial mash brew (I've been spending on collecting carboys for the ale & mead pipeline instead of building a MLT). So far, I've hacked out a North English Brown and an American Brown with Beersmith. Now that I have a handle on the process, I thought I'd brew something lighter in color. Then it's time to build that MLT in time for Belgian styles for warmer fermentation.

Questions:

1) Realizing that most of my fermentables come from extract, I wonder if the small grain additions will become totally lost in the mix? With my brown ales, the additions are obviously present, but I'm in totally unfamiliar territory with this light colored one.

2) Any suggestions? No promise I'll follow them, but hey, I might! I'm trying to learn, so the academic discussion is important.

3) Perhaps I should swap the 6 Row for more Cara-Pils? I wonder if the tiny percentage I currently have on the bill would do anything?

Recipe concept:

My concept is a reasonably light colored ale with a prominent, bright, but not excessive hop presence, and a little more body / mouth feel than a crisp commercial APA, but light enough in character to be a good summer session ale.

Ingredients:

First of all, I understand that while using such a high percentage of extract, I'm probably splitting hairs when choosing base grains for my steeping / partial mash. Nonetheless, it's fun.

It will be brewed this Saturday, right after watching Bayern Munich destroy Chelsea in the Champions League Final, which was my deciding factor on trying a bit of Munich malt.

Crystal 20 added arbitrarily- I figure it will add a light caramel note but nothing major.

Cara-pils was chosen for "textbook" reasons- perhaps the small addition will give a hint of full texture to the otherwise fairly crisp brew?

I chose Six Row simply because it's different and I'd like to see if I can pick up on the supposed slightly stronger "grainy" flavor.

I chose the hops partly because they both have Oregon-related names, in honor of my gluten intolerant buddy who recently did a WWOOF stint at an Oregon winery. (to shed some light on my decision-making process)






Thanks in advance, and Prosit!

 

[wonderbread23]

Couple things:

- I'd forget the 6-row. Not really doing anything in the recipe.
- Citrusy hop varietals are more typical for an APA. This is looking more English in style of hops.
- If you use the Munich, make sure you mash in the 150's as it has unconverted starch that you won't want in the final beer.
- The amount of crystal looks pretty good to me.

 

[jwitt]

OK- I guess in an extract brew like this I should shoot for more "bang for the buck" in my grains as opposed to adding base malt to make up the gravity. Perhaps I'll double the Cara-Pils to make it more relevant and kick the other 4oz into Munich. Surely this is nit-picky for a partial mash, and would be more relevant in all grain, but what the hey. It's fun and educational, as Brew #4 will be all grain.

Any hints on mash temps? Shall I shoot for 156ºF for a little added body? (First and second brews target temp was 152 and I managed to get sweet delicious wort out of my grain on the second batch). I will use a spot of iodine to test for conversion.

EDIT:

1) I ditched the 6 Row and bumped the others. 1.5 pounds Munich and 8oz each CaraPils and Crystal.

2) Looking at the LHBS website, quite a few hops are out of stock right now. After thinking on it for a bit, I plan to stick to my not-quite-to-style hops, but perhaps the guy at the store will have some options for me that aren't listed on his site.