Pale ale w/honey malt

[wareaglefan23]

Hey all,

I'm looking to brew an American pale ale. I want a medium bitterness, strong fruity character with the sweeter malt backbone to balance well. I was thinking

1.056 OG (1.010 FG Target)
49% Pilsner malt (1-2SRM)
49% Light Munich (6-8SRM)
2% Honey malt
35-45 IBUs
Hops used will be dependent on the best quality I can find on brew day that fits the profile (mosaic, NZ Hops, citra, el dorado, maybe belma)

I wanted to have a clean, sweeter base without using crystal malts (except honey if you count that)

Minimal yeast character, WLP001 as baseline. Strong starter- I don't want this to stall out at 1.018.

Thoughts?

 

[Build]

That looks pretty good. I think it will have a clean mild malt flavor with a touch of sweetness, of course somewhat depending on the hops used. I usually use a little Vienna and aromatic and would scale back the light Munich. Just a thought.

You can't go wrong with Mosaic and the new NZ hops should be arriving soon. Lots of good choices there.

Good luck with it and please post your results.

 

[saltymirv]

I'm not sure if pilsner/munich is going to give you clean and sweet. If you want to stick with pils/munich then I would up the honey malt to 5%. I've used it at 2% and its not noticeable if you have other flavors in (like a bunch of hops). Take a look at golden promise malt, it may be what you're looking for https://www.morebeer.com/products/simpsons-golden-promise-malt.html I think 70% of that, 25% maris otter and 5% honey malt will get you where you want to be

 

[wareaglefan23]

What kind of character do you think I would get from 50/50 Pils Munich + the 2% honey?

 

[wareaglefan23]

I would want a bready "sweetness", more like a yeast roll than something with caramel or whatever.

 

[saltymirv]

50/50 pils/munich is basically an oktoberfest, so it'll be really malty. The 2% honey malt is negligible IMO, especially if its going to be strongly hopped

 

[saltymirv]

I would want a bready "sweetness", more like a yeast roll than something with caramel or whatever.

Have you ever used maris otter? I think that's what you're looking for

 

[casualbrewer]

I used a half pound in an IPA I did a couple months ago. Came out amazing! Best IPA I have ever drank. The honey malt accentuates the juicy hop profile that I was using... Makes it seem like the hop flavors and aromas are more pronounced. Still have it on tap. However the initial flavor/aroma is down but the bitterness is nicely balanced by the honey malt. Definitely give it a try.