Should i add extra LME?

iky0 · May 5, 2011

I purchased the American Pale Ale II kit from B3 and since they were out of 8 lb bags of extract, they gave me a 9 lb bag. The recipe is generating an expected OG of 1.056 and IBU of 60.5 at 8lbs and 1.062 / 57.6 at 9lbs of extract (beersmith).

The recipe is already above average IBU for a pale ale, but at 9 lbs the ABV is getting a bit high. Should i use the extra malt or toss it? Will it have a noticable impact on the sweetness of the beer? The yield of the malt is about 75%.

Joe_K · May 5, 2011

Sounds more like an IPA to me. I would probably use it.

Fishhy · May 6, 2011

If you use a higher attenuating yeast like WLP001 or the Pacman yeast by wyeast you really won't notice a big difference in sweetness. I'd say add that extra lb!
Tell us out it turns out!
Cheers!

MikeSteele · May 6, 2011

I have brewed that kit before, and it's great. I would just say that the Pale Ale II kit is already a more malty pale ale than a typical pale ale. I would suggest refraining from putting the extra pound in, and saving it for your next brew in the near future, just because it will detract from the style.

I would also suggest, with this kit, dry hopping with about 2 oz. Maybe even do a late malt extract addition. For me, this kit came out darker than I was hoping.

iky0 · May 7, 2011

I am using US 05 dry yeast, and i am leaning towards only including 8lbs. Gonna brew on Saturday so we will see how it goes.

iky0 · May 10, 2011

Brewed it using 8 lbs of extract and it definitely is dark, and og ended up at 1.060.

TheSeether · May 10, 2011

Did you do any late extract additions or did you just dump it all in at the start of the boil?

iky0 · May 11, 2011

Since it is my first time with this recepie I just dumped it all from the start of the boil

MikeSteele · May 12, 2011

When I did this kit, I brewed it per the instructions with no late extract addition. On about day 5 I threw in 1 oz. of Centennial hops, as fermentation was slowing down. (Tasty McDole of the BN recommends this for a few reasons, so I gave it a try.) I bottled after 2 weeks, tasted after 3 weeks in the bottle and it was a very enjoyable beer.