Imperial California Common

[AlexKay]

Because why not? Here is the recipe for a 2.5-gallon batch:

7 lbs. pale ale
1 lbs. Munich
0.6 lbs. medium crystal (Fawcett)
0.2 lbs. chocolate rye

7 g Magnum (15.1% AA) @ 60 min.
14 g Northern Brewer (7.3% AA) @ 10 min.
14 g Hallertau (4.3% AA) @ 10 min.
14 g Northern Brewer (7.3% AA) @ 0 min.
14 g Hallertau (4.3% AA) @ 0 min.

My last CA Common used Crystal instead of Hallertau, but I've got a piddly 7 g of Crystal left. Suggestions for a different hop schedule? (I have a somewhat eclectic mix of hops in storage.)

In the spirit of playing around, should I add a few grams of spruce tips? A few ounces of smoked malt? Any other off-the-wall ideas?

 

[Rish]

I like the idea! I love smoked beers (smoked anything, really). I have a smoked porter in the fv now with 12 oz of Weyerman smoked malt that is just right for me but that's probably too much for this beer. Good luck!

 

[AlexKay]

I like the idea! I love smoked beers (smoked anything, really). I have a smoked porter in the fv now with 12 oz of Weyerman smoked malt that is just right for me but that's probably too much for this beer. Good luck!

I make a lot of smoked beers. I get malt from Sugar Creek in central IN; their smoke level is much, much higher than Weyermann or Briess. Really an ounce or less could hit the perceptible-only-if-you-know-it’s-there level I’d be shooting for. I’m thinking birch or cherry for this recipe.

 

[Steveruch]

I make a lot of smoked beers. I get malt from Sugar Creek in central IN; their smoke level is much, much higher than Weyermann or Briess. Really an ounce or less could hit the perceptible-only-if-you-know-it’s-there level I’d be shooting for. I’m thinking birch or cherry for this recipe.

No smoked malts, but I just ordered some malts from Sugar Creek and some Crazy Horse hops to brew an all Indiana beer.

 

[Climb]

What yeast do you plan to use? The curious want to know.

 

[AlexKay]

What yeast do you plan to use? The curious want to know.

W34/70. Always dry yeast for these spur-of-the-moment I-think-I’ll-brew-today days.

Brew day was kind of a fiasco. OG was way, way low (~1.062) and the beer was extremely dark.

I’m going to see how the NB-Hallertau combination works out, plus the small amount of spruce I put in. But I may then take this knowledge and immediately make another, better beer.