Piney Pale Ale Malt question

[plaplant]

I am trying to brew a piney APA and wanted some input on my recipe and really help with my malt selection. I am trying to get a lot of piney and earthy tones that be reminiscent of being at home in the New Hampshire white mountain woods at the beginning of winter. Crisp, woody, and piney is what I want.

Concept recipe (PLEASE GIVE INPUT!)

Malt
-2 row pale
-crystal 30

Hops
-Nugget 1/2oz 60 minutes
-Chinook 1/4oz 30 minutes
-Northern Brewing 1/4oz 15 minutes
-Chinook 1/4oz flame out
-Northern brewing 1/4oz flame out
-Chinook 1/2oz hop tea
-Northern brewing 1/2oz hop tea

 

[BrewMU]

What's hop tea?

 

[Skyforger]

Looks pretty good to me. I might consider some Fuggles to give it a woody character. Maybe replace some Northern Brewer with that, or add it.

The malt is clean, simple, straightforward. You could add richness with more crystal malts, but if you want it to be crisp and light that looks good to me.

As a pretty out-there suggestion, you could add some smoked malt to give it a woodfire aroma. Make it reminiscent of homefires and cookouts. But it would have to be a tiny bit, and even that might clash a bit.

 

[pm5k00]

A small amount (1/4oz @15) of Columbus or Nugget would help to impart a resiny earthy flavor. Also I have never brewed with them, but consider adding spruce tips.

 

[helibrewer]

Consider 1 oz. of American Oak cubes, Medium toast. Buy 2 oz's, make a tea out of 1 oz in water and see how you like the taste/structure. If you like it, add the other oz during fermentation and leave the cubes on the beer until bottling.

There is a bit of vanilla/coconut in American Medium toast which is why I suggest trying the tea first. A Medium plus toast is more vanilla/spice and less coconut/wood.

Yeast do metabilize vanillin so some of the vanilla will be consumed during fermentation.

 

[plaplant]

What's hop tea?

Hop tea is an alternative to dry hopping (sort of). You create a tea by steeping the desired amount of hops in a french press or just a pot and then add the tea to the beer right before bottling. It adds hop flavor and aroma in my experience with the technique.