Pliny the Elder to an APA

[redrocker652002]

Saw this in an older thread and thought it looked cool. When I plug it into my Brewfather the numbers come up a bit short of the post for this. Here is the recipe:

Pliny's Midlife Crisis APA (3 Dawg Night recipe)
8 lb 2-Row
.75 lb Carapils
4 oz Caramel 40L
.75 lb Corn Sugar
2 oz Cascade (whole) mash
.5 oz Simcoe 45 min
.5 oz CTZ 30 min
2 oz Centennial 0 min
1 oz Simcoe 0 min
3 oz CTZ 5 day dry hop
1 oz Centennial 5 day dry hop
1 oz Simcoe 5 day dry hop
WLP001 Cal Ale yeast

The OG the original poster gets is about 1.051, but mine is Brewfather comes out to about 1.048 FG comes in at 1.009 while I get about 1.007 ABV 5.1 vs 4.8.

I adjusted my Brewfather for the OG of 1.051 and it adds about 8 ounces of 2 row, 8 ounces of Carapils and about 2 ounces of 40L. I have the needed Carapils, but don't have the 2 row or the 40L. I have a small amount of 20L My question to the masses is, if I just add the Carapils and add the small amount of 20L without adding the 2 row, is that going to change the flavor of the beer? I don't mind either taking a quick ride to my local Morebeer to get the needed ingredients, but it is about a 45 mins drive and for such a small amount I am wondering if what I have will be ok to add. Any input is welcomed.

 

[Miraculix]

You'll be fine, not worth the drive if you ask me.

 

[redrocker652002]

You'll be fine, not worth the drive if you ask me.

So will adding the Carapils and 20L won't affect the flavor? It definitely ups the numbers to closer to the OP

 

[Miraculix]

So will adding the Carapils and 20L won't affect the flavor? It definitely ups the numbers to closer to the OP

Carapils doesn't have a real taste on its own and the 20l is also on the neutral side of crystal.

Of course it will change the overall flavour in a certain way, but so does the fact that you are running a different system than the inventor of the recipe.

 

[lumpher]

With that amount of hops you won't notice the 40-20 swap and a few oz less 2 row. I'd do what you're looking at in your scenario.

 

[camonick]

Make a slightly smaller batch with the ingredients you’ve got and you can hit his theoretical numbers.

 

[redrocker652002]

OK, so looking a bit more into all this, I realized the original recipe said it was 50 IBU's. This, as is, is in the 80 IBU range. Cannot say I have ever had anything with that much IBU. I might scale down the Cascade to 1 ounce to bring it down to 60. 80 seems very high, and I really don't think I have ever had anything with that much IBU. Thoughts?

 

[Miraculix]

With an abv of about 5% I would personally not go above 40 Ibus. I like 35 Ibus for my normal strength abv and bitter beers.

 

[camonick]

OK, so looking a bit more into all this, I realized the original recipe said it was 50 IBU's. This, as is, is in the 80 IBU range. Cannot say I have ever had anything with that much IBU. I might scale down the Cascade to 1 ounce to bring it down to 60. 80 seems very high, and I really don't think I have ever had anything with that much IBU. Thoughts?

Do you already have all the hops? It’s really hard to formulate a recipe concerning IBUs unless you actually have the hops you are going to use in hand or can verify their Alpha acid content. Simply saying I’m going to use an ounce of this or an ounce of that without knowing the AA% doesn’t really mean much. I know most brewing software has an average range that they use but if you know the exact AA% of the hops you’re using you can get it pretty darn close. Manipulating the boil time can also change your expected IBUs.
No offense to 3 dawg night (I’ve actually had some of his beers), but one thing I don’t like about certain published recipes, is when they don’t state what the Alpha acid content of the hops they used was. If you are wanting to nail a recipe, just as the author brewed it, you need to know those numbers.
If I’m trying to work up a new recipe of something that I am not familiar with, sometimes I go to the liquor store and buy a few single cans of commercial samples to try and see what they are like. Do some “research“ and go buy a few high IBU IPAs.

 

[redrocker652002]

With an abv of about 5% I would personally not go above 40 Ibus. I like 35 Ibus for my normal strength abv and bitter beers.

I was thinking that too. Racer 5 is an IPA and it is 75. I like it, but I think the IBU being so high might be a bit much for an APA. I am thinking of fooling around with the grain bill a bit and see if I can bring it down a bit to an IPA level. Pliny is a double IPA, so anything less would not be bad LOL. Thanks for the input.

 

[redrocker652002]

Do you already have all the hops? It’s really hard to formulate a recipe concerning IBUs unless you actually have the hops you are going to use in hand or can verify their Alpha acid content. Simply saying I’m going to use an ounce of this or an ounce of that without knowing the AA% doesn’t really mean much. I know most brewing software has an average range that they use but if you know the exact AA% of the hops you’re using you can get it pretty darn close. Manipulating the boil time can also change your expected IBUs.
No offense to 3 dawg night (I’ve actually had some of his beers), but one thing I don’t like about certain published recipes, is when they don’t state what the Alpha acid content of the hops they used was. If you are wanting to nail a recipe, just as the author brewed it, you need to know those numbers.
If I’m trying to work up a new recipe of something that I am not familiar with, sometimes I go to the liquor store and buy a few single cans of commercial samples to try and see what they are like. Do some “research“ and go buy a few high IBU IPAs.

Great info, thank you. I do have most one hand. I have to look because some of them are from a haul of hops I got from a local guy who kinda is taking a break from the brewing and had a bunch in vacuum sealed mason jars. Most will be pellet hops with the initial bitter hops to be whole cone that are still in the package, so I can check those. I am thinking of maybe playing with the grain bill too to up the ABV and bring it to IPA levels. PTE is a double so if I can get it a bit lower in the IBU and make it an IPA that could work as well. Either way, I appreciate the info.

 

[redrocker652002]

I also have about 12 ounces of Viking Pilsner. If I add that to my recipe it adds a bit more ABV so the bitterness might not be so bad. I know it seems like I am being stupid, but just curious as to how this whole recipe building thing works. LOL. Feel free to call me out as being dumb, I have been called that and worse in my job. LOL

 

[Miraculix]

Pilsner and two row can be used interchangeably, especially in a highly hopped beer. Nobody will be able to tell the difference.

 

[redrocker652002]

Pilsner and two row can be used interchangeably, especially in a highly hopped beer. Nobody will be able to tell the difference.

Cool. I will add that to the recipe and see where we go. LOL. Thinning out my supply too, that is nice.

 

[redrocker652002]

https://share.brewfather.app/thByXAwkiStCmL
This is the right one I think. This gets me in the 5.5% ABV and keeps me in the numbers for an APA. Any input is welcomed.