Help with APA recipe proportions

[Neptune]

So I'm trying to replicate one of my favorite beers, or at least make it in the ballpark. The beer is Smiling Irish Bastard made by Geaghan Bros Brewing up here in Bangor, Maine.

I'm still pretty new, so I was wondering if some of you more experienced brewers could give me some ideas with the ballpark proportions of the ingredients (5 gallon batch)...

From the website:

Style: American-Style Pale Ale
Malt Profile: 2-row, Crystal 15, Crystal 30, Wheat
Hop Profile: Columbus, Cascade
OG: 1.058
FG:1.012
ABV:6.0%
IBU:45.6

I'm guessing probably around 80% of the grain bill is 2-row, but not real sure on the amounts of other ingredients. I don't even have a guess on the hop schedule.

here are a few reviews that might be helpful.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[atom]

Without ever having the beer my shot in the dark recipe is:

2-row: 84%
Wheat: 10%
C15: 3%
C30: 3%

Columbus to bitter to approx 30IBU
late additions of cascade
maybe whirpool and dryhop with both columbus and cascade.

 

[hanuswalrus]

Atom's shot in the dark sounds pretty close to what I would do. I might use more wheat tho. Maybe 75-80% 2 row and 15-20% wheat.

Atom's hop schedule sounds spot on to me. Hard to say having never tried the actual beer.

 

[Neptune]

Thank you for the replies... I will be tweaking this batch as I go along but I really needed a starting point. This was very helpful.

So would something like...

11 lbs 2-row
1 lb flaked wheat
0.5 lb C15
0.5 lb C30

0.5 oz Columbus (60 min)
0.5 oz Cascade (30 min)
0.5 oz Cascade (20 min)
1 oz Cascade (0 min)
1 oz Columbus (0 min)

How does this sound? Possibly dry hop another ounce of each? I realize that virtually none of you have tried this particular beer, but I'm really just asking if this looks like a reasonable recipe (proportions and hop adds) to try out.

And now for another noob question (sorry)... Do you just mash the wheat flakes right in with the rest of the grains or do you need to do something different with them (haven't worked with wheat yet)? I was thinking 153 degrees for 60 minutes

 

[atom]

Looks pretty good to me...I might decrease the crystal by a bit, but it's just a preference...I's also move your 30 and 20 minute cascade additions to 20 and 10. and yeah...another ounce of each for a dry hop sounds good.

mash flaked wheat with the rest of your grains.

 

[Neptune]

My understanding is the crystal is mostly for color, but adds a little bit of sweetness because it's not as fermentable, correct?

 

[STMF]

My understanding is the crystal is mostly for color, but adds a little bit of sweetness because it's not as fermentable, correct?

Pretty much, yes, correct

 

[m00ps]

crystal adds more sweetness than youd think. The only time id use a full lb of crystal in a 5gal batch would be for a SWEET stout. Anything remotely hop focused Id keep it under 0.5lb or itll clash with the hop character

if you are only looking for color, 1-2oz of a debittered black malt would be best

 

[Neptune]

Ok, yeah it's definitely hop focused. I thought it was an IPA when I first tried it, actually... So I'll dial back the crystal a bit then. Thanks!

 

[d_boosh]

Without overly hijacking this I was gonna brew a batch this upcoming wednesday. APA, looking for floral hop notes without overly bitter.

11lbs 2 row
1lb wheat
1.5oz black malt

.75 columbus at 60min
.5 cascade at 20 and 10
1oz cascade at flameout

Questions:
Should i toss that extra .25 columbus in at flameout and what would be a good dry hop to throw in there

Beersmith estimates 1.057og, 40ibu and just under 8 srm

 

[legacyofmisfortune]

"Questions:
Should i toss that extra .25 columbus in at flameout and what would be a good dry hop to throw in there"



throw that extra .25 Columbus hop.

There are a lot of hops you could dry hop with, you could use Amarillo which has a great aroma profile similar to cascade but with some notes of tropical fruits.

Willamete is a another nice hop with some grassy and spicy notes that complement the floral aroma.

but if you want to keep it simple add another oz of cascade and it should be just as good, it all depends of what you are looking for

1oz should be enough I think 3-5 days it´s good but it cretainly could be more time it depends of what you are looking for I wouldnt go more than 10 days for this style though.

 

[d_boosh]

I might use Amarillo... Looking to see the differences between hop styles and havent used that much especially in a side by side comparison with the same style. Ive made a few apa's since switching to all grain but mostly with magnum and cascade.

Also this will be first adding the flaked wheat im trying to get a nice frothy head that stays so im hoping that will help as the others havent had much head retention but they have been just pale malt and caramel for color

 

[Neptune]

I wanted to bump this and get back to the original recipe. I'm brewing this weekend and this is where I'm at so far (based on suggestions here)

11 lbs 2-row
1 lb flaked wheat
0.25 lb C15
0.25 lb C30

0.5 oz Columbus (60 min or FWH)
0.5 oz Cascade (20 min)
0.5 oz Cascade (10 min)
1 oz Cascade (0 min/hop stand)
1 oz Columbus (0 min/hop stand)
1 oz Cascade (dry hop)
1 oz Columbus (dry hop)

mash @152 for 60 minutes

Again, this is a pretty hoppy APA (almost like an IPA)... I'm mostly concerned with the hop schedule here, as I'm pretty new. Does this look reasonable?

Also, I'm thinking about no-chill (chilling overnight) and have adjusted it (or attempted to adjust it) accordingly. Any feedback is appreciated.

 

[hanuswalrus]

If you're saying this beer tastes like it's almost in IPA territory hop-wise.. I would add more hops to the whirlpool and dry hop. Maybe 1.5 - 2 oz each Cascade and Columbus.