Citra&Mosaic Session Ale Critique

[Arska]

I've been working with this recipe for a while and need some critique for it.
The object is to brew 4,5-4,7% abv pale-ale with lots of tropical fruits, fructose and citrus aroma, being still balanced and easy to drink.

Waterprofile:
Ca: 75, Mg: 5, SO4: 80, Cl: 30, Na: 10, CaCO3: 20.

Malt:
56% Pale Ale, 5ebc
20% Vienna, 7ebc
8% Wheat, 3ebc
7% Cara-Pale, 8ebc
5% Cara100, 100ebc
4% Melanoidin, 70ebc

Mash: 152-155F

Hops:

for a five gallon batch:
60min 17ebu Magnum
10min 0,75oz Citra + 0,75oz Mosaic
5min 1,35oz Citra+1oz Mosaic
0min/Whirlpool: 1,5oz Citra + 1,35oz Mosaic

Dryhops: 1,15oz Citra + 0,85oz Mosaic.

Yeast: safale S04.

 

[motorneuron]

So is that Cara100 roughly equivalent to what we'd call crystal/caramel 40L or 60L in the US? I think EBC is about double L. Really the more important question is the kind of flavor. What I think you want from your description is something with a sweet caramel taste, so that sounds about right. Not sure I would bother with melanoidin in this batch, but a little can't hurt.

But yeah, looks good to me!

 

[zardozap]

Looks good. Been wanting to do a Citra / Mosaic IPA, but it's been kind of difficult getting any Mosaic of late.

 

[Arska]

So is that Cara100 roughly equivalent to what we'd call crystal/caramel 40L or 60L in the US? I think EBC is about double L. Really the more important question is the kind of flavor. What I think you want from your description is something with a sweet caramel taste, so that sounds about right. Not sure I would bother with melanoidin in this batch, but a little can't hurt.

But yeah, looks good to me!

Yes, ebc is about double L. Cara100 is just the product name, it's very similar than any of Cara40-60L. Don't necessary want sweet caramel taste, but really need the body for this to carry all the hops, Cara-Pale is somewhat similar to mixture of carapils and cara10.

 

[motorneuron]

If you want body without sweetness, you can go for protein instead and use a higher percentage of wheat. I like to use wheat in lower-strength beers because of the body it adds. You can use either flaked (unmalted) or malted. (I know you have some in there; wasn't sure if it was malted or not.)

You also should get some residual sweetness anyway from using an English yeast.

 

[Arska]

If you want body without sweetness, you can go for protein instead and use a higher percentage of wheat. I like to use wheat in lower-strength beers because of the body it adds. You can use either flaked (unmalted) or malted. (I know you have some in there; wasn't sure if it was malted or not.)

You also should get some residual sweetness anyway from using an English yeast.

That's malted wheat, good point. I actually did something and reduced the caramel malts and melanoidin each by 1%, maybe 10% of wheat malt in the grist work?
Im still thinking if there's too much hops, really don't want any harsh, green, vegetal flavors?

 

[bmoritzasu]

I made a SMASH with Maris and Mosaic and it was freaking phenomenal. The fruit aroma when you smell the beer is out of this world, and the taste is absolutely awesome. I followed about the same hop addition as you have listed but for my whirlpool I waited until the wort cooled to 180 then added an ounce of mosaic and let it steep in the kettle for 15 mins at 180. I put the lid on, stopped the cooling, and let the hops release their aromas. I really believe this had a huge impact in the flavor/smell of the finished beer.

The terpenes responsible for the fruity aromas have lower boiling points than the iso-acids, that is why you want to cool to at least 180 before adding the aroma hops.