Looking for help. Trying to draw inspiration from a local Pale Ale

[jaredkent]

Massachusetts has a fairly new brewery located out of Ipswich, MA. Notch Brewing has the mindset that we need more session ales and they should never be lacking in flavor.

I recently had their Notch Session Ale and loved the aromas coming from the hops. I want to create a recipe based on this beer with a similar aroma profile, but maybe with a bit more body.

Their site lists the ingredients as malt (Pale, Crystal, Munich, Rye) and hops (Falconer's, Mt Hood, Cascade). I'm curious what you guys think as far as quantity goes for a 5 gallon batch. I shot them an email with a few questions and this is the insight I got back from them:

In terms of the hops, try first wort hopping (assuming you are employing a full mash) with about 25 IBU's of cascade in a 90 min boil. For flavor hops, try a 10 and 1 minute addition (before flameout) w/ falconers flight and mt hood. For dry hop, try 1/2 lb per bbl (adjust for your volume) after primary fermentation w/ falconers (7C).

Shoot for an 11P(1.044) post boil wort, and use a british yeast such as whitbread (it's an APA, but the fruity British yeast really works here). Keep specialty malt 15% or below (crytstal and lighter cara malts). Oats are always a great idea for session beers too.

Now for a 5 gallon batch I understand that 25 IBUs of Cascade for 90 min boil would be about 1 oz (assuming a 7% alpha acid). For dry hopping 1/2 lb per bbl would be about 1.25 per 5 gal. What volume would you recommend for the 10 and 1 minute additions?

As far as the grain bill. Like I said earlier I'd like a bit more body than their Session Ale. That was the only area it seemed to be lacking a bit. What poundage would you guys recommend for the grain bill if I'm shooting for a 1.050 or 1.055 OG?

 

[jaredkent]

Here's what I came up with. I would appreciate any feedback, regardless of whether you've tasted the original beer. My only concern is I'd like it to be a bit darker, maybe more like a red ale in color. I was thinking of adding some Caramel 80 in there, as well, but unsure.

Brew Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Volume: 6.50 gal
Boil Time: 90 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.0 %

Malt
8.50 lb Pale Malt (2 Row)
0.50 lb Caramel 60
0.50 lb Munich Malt
0.50 lb Rye Malt

Hops
1.00 oz Cascade [7.00%] (FWH)
0.50 oz Mt. Hood [4.50%] (10 minutes)
0.50 oz Falconer's Flight [11.4%] (10 minutes)
0.50 oz Mt. Hood [4.50%] (1 minute)
0.50 oz Falconer's Flight [11.4%] (1 minute)
1.25 oz Falconer's Flight 7C [9.9%] (Dry Hopped)

1 Pkg Whitbread Ale (Wyeast 1099)

Beer Profile Estimated Original Gravity: 1.051 SG
Estimated Final Gravity: 1.015 SG
Estimated Color: 8.4 SRM
Bitterness: 35.1
Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 4.8 %
Mash @ 153 for 60 min

Ferment at ~70 for 14 days.