Specialty grain recommendation

[hikemor]

I'm on my third version of a basic ale/APA recipe. I want a simple, balanced and drinkable ale. Not too concerned about color or style. Looking for specialty grain recommendations for a 5 gall. PM recipe of:

1.0# [specialty grain] - mash
3.0# American Pale Ale - mash
3.5# Extra Light LME - flame out
1.0 oz. Cluster at 60 min.
US-05 yeast

What specialty grain do you recommend and why?

TIA

 

[motorneuron]

In my experience, APAs tend to cluster broadly into two groups. Some are drier, lighter and toastier, like the classic Sierra Nevada. Some are a little darker, heavier, with more caramel and malt flavor.

If you want to go for the first type, you could use some biscuit malt (not too much--half a pound at most) or some other non-caramel, moderately toasted grain, such as Munich, amber (unlikely to find at an LHBS), or Vienna.

If you want to go more for the second type, you could use some crystal. Anything mid-range--between, say, 20L and 60L--would work. You could also add a little aromatic.

I don't think I would use a pound of any of those, though. A half pound of crystal or biscuit is more than enough. But you can use another half pound of flaked wheat or carapils for body and head retention, which is nice in an APA.

 

[two_hearted]

I'm a fan of a little carapils for some body. It makes an appearance in most of my IPAs and APAs. I usually go with 5-10% Carapils and 5-10% light to medium crystal and the rest 2-row. Maybe a little vienna here and there.

 

[tallguybrewer]

I agree with above.

I would ask whether you have made a pale ale without specialty grains yet? If not, it is always a good experiment to try, especially when you are first starting to formulate recipes. I think one of the most drinkable APAs that I have tasted is Goose Island's Green Line, which is only pale malt. That is not to say it is the best pale ale I've ever had, just extremely drinkable and satisfying.

I agree with the biscuit malt recommendation. My latest APA was a pale malt, vienna, biscuit recipe with simcoe and centennial hops. I only used 0.25 lbs of biscuit and it is noticable. A definite bready/toasty character in the beer (attributed to the blend of Vienna and biscuit). Victory malt is another option - similar to biscuit, but I find it more "toasty".

If you go the crystal malt way, I would suggest layering crystal malts as it adds a nice complexity to APAs. So instead of using a half a pound of 40L, use a quarter pound of 20L and a quarter pound of 40L. When doing extract or partial mash, I would agree to only use half a pound of crystal malt. I found it a lot harder to dry out a beer using extract, and adding crystal on top of it could result in a more "sticky" brew. Not that it won't be delicious, but if you are going for drinkability, I would keep it at 0.5 lbs (disclaimer - this is a completely subjective opinion).

 

[hikemor]

Great recommendations. I think I will go with .5 lbs crystal 20 and .25 lbs carapils.