Winter Beer

2gdsm87 · Sep 4, 2013

This is my first attempt of making my own beer to suit my own taste buds. I am looking for a crisp refreshing pale ale having more fruity/citrus based flavor and less of the nutty caramel taste. Let me know if my concoction is in the right direction! I would also like to keep this pale ale a lighter color.

Water: 3 gallon boil, adding rest for full 5 gallon at end of boil. 1 hr boil

Malts: 6lbs Briess golden light. 1 lb at boil, rest with late malt addition with 30 min left.

Grains: Biscuit: 0.375lbs steeped
Carmel 20l: 1lbs steeped

Bittering: Columbus 0.3oz at boil
Citra 0.5oz at 30min
Mt.Hood 0.5oz with 5 min left in boil
Dry Hop: 1oz Mt.Hood

Yeast: White Labs California V

dcp27 · Sep 13, 2013

mt hood isnt gunna give you the fruity/citrus flavors you're looking for. the citra will give you some fruity/tropical notes, but 30mins is too early in the boil for much if any of that to remain. move the citra to the end of the boil and swap the mt hood for something like cascade, centennial, or amarillo

Yooper · Sep 13, 2013

If you don't want much "caramel, nutty taste", then using caramel 20L and biscuit malt is a bad idea. Those are the two malts that will help give that flavor.

If you want less caramel, then skip the caramel/crystal malt. For fruity/citrus hops, use a hop variety that has that quality, like amarillo hops or even cascade hops.

ill4delph · Sep 27, 2013

im working on my second case of the Belgian Style IPA that i brewed a few months ago...i used Citra, Summet, Amarillo and Centennial Hops in the brew, and also dry hopped with the Amarillo. This beer is amazingly citrusy and delicious.

Rickybobby17b · Oct 2, 2013

I've had good luck with a fruity citrus taste with cascade and citra (the citra being later in the boil) as well as dry hopping with 1.5 oz of citra

flatlanderHQ · Oct 2, 2013

If you want to add a steeping grain you could consider some honey malt. You might also try a perennial fave on this forum: Bieunche's Centennial Blonde Ale. It fits the characteristics you are looking for.