# LCPA clone - Great after one week!



## WWDWD (16/2/14)

Here's my attempt at a Little Creatures Pale Ale clone, this is the second time I've made basically the same recipe but first time I was able to temp control in the fridge. First beer I was able to cold crash and the clarity is a beautiful thing. It has turned out pretty amazing after only one week in the bottle. I thought I'd test it out not expecting much. It tastes pretty darn close to LCPA. The main thing though, and this is only my 6th brew ever, is that this is the first beer I've made with great head retention and lacing. Blown away. This is making my hangover disappear. Going to chuck a few more in the fridge right now. It's good to go!!

*Wet Dogz LCPA Clone* (Cascade & Amarillo American Pale Ale)

Ingredients
-----------------------------------------
1 x Coopers Australian Pale Ale Can
1 x Briess Golden Pale Malt Extract
300g Light DME
200g crystal malt

4 litre Hop Boil (with all DME and steeped grain liquid)
20g Cascade @ 30 mins
30g Cascade @ 10mins
15g Amarillo + 30g Cascade @ flame out
20g Cascade @ dryhop


US-05 Yeast
23L

Pitched US-05 at 22°
Brewed in fridge at 16°
Dry Hopped 20g of Cascade after 7 days
Bottled with Coopers carb drops on day 14


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## indica86 (16/2/14)

Congrats mate.


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## eresh666 (16/2/14)

I have a can of coopers pale ale that I need to get rid of.

Is the 4litre hop boil including the crystal grain? Mash?


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## WWDWD (16/2/14)

eresh666 said:


> I have a can of coopers pale ale that I need to get rid of.
> 
> Is the 4litre hop boil including the crystal grain? Mash


Here's my method.

• pop crystal malt grain into grain bag and bash with rolling pin to crack the grain a bit
• bring 1.5 litres of water to 70° and turn heat off then add cracked grain bag - let steep with lid on for 30mins
• In a larger pot bring 4L of water to the boil, mix in the liquid from the grain steep & all of the dry malt extract
• Add the hop additions.
o 20g Cascade @ 30 mins
o 30g Cascade @ 10mins
o 15g Amarillo + 30g Cascade @ flame out
• Let wort cool (place pot in sink filled with ice cold water for 30mins)
• strain into the fermenter
• Add the two tins of liquid malt extract to the fermenter then add water to 23 litres aiming for 22°
• pitch US-05
• Pop in fridge at 17°
• Dry Hop with 20g of Cascade after 7 days


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## eresh666 (16/2/14)

thanks for the run down, I will give it a go in a couple weeks once my fermenting cider is out of the fridge.


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## pat86 (17/2/14)

that does look mighty clear and sounds good! How long and what temp did you cold crash at?


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## WWDWD (17/2/14)

2 to 3C for four days.


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## jkhlt1210 (17/2/14)

WWDWD said:


> Here's my method.
> 
> • pop crystal malt grain into grain bag and bash with rolling pin to crack the grain a bit
> • bring 1.5 litres of water to 70° and turn heat off then add cracked grain bag - let steep with lid on for 30mins
> ...


 that looks awesome! I must try that recipe


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## jkhlt1210 (17/2/14)

WWDWD said:


> Here's my method.
> 
> • pop crystal malt grain into grain bag and bash with rolling pin to crack the grain a bit
> • bring 1.5 litres of water to 70° and turn heat off then add cracked grain bag - let steep with lid on for 30mins
> ...


 that looks awesome! I must try that recipe


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## WWDWD (17/2/14)

Cheers. Gonna keep working on it to try and get it closer to LCPA, but this is definitely a good start. Looking forward to it improving in the bottle over the next month.


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## FFC (21/2/14)

WWDWD said:


> • Add the hop additions.
> o 20g Cascade @ 30 mins
> o 30g Cascade @ 10mins
> o 15g Amarillo + 30g Cascade @ flame out



Sorry, I am new to all of this so if this seems like a dumb question I'm sorry! 
With the boil after 30 minutes you add the first lot of hops? Then 10 minutes after the initial addition of hops you add more?

OR

After the grain steep/malt has been added, you add in the first lot of hops and boil for 30 minutes. Then add in the second lot of hops for 10minutes. After 10 minutes, stop boiling and add the 3rd lot.

OR

Other, and I shouldn't try to grasp brewing as a concept whilst I have the flu.


Cheers
Dave


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## WWDWD (21/2/14)

Yeah I was confused when I started brewing a few months ago. I'm still fairly new to this too.

The times represent how long is left in the boil / how long you boil that hop addition for.

So...

Once you've steeped the cracked grains (at 70C for 30mins) and removed them, pour that liquid into a bigger pot, top up with water to reach your boil volume (usually 4 - 8litres depending on pot size) and stir in the Dry Malt Extract.

Bring it to a boil and wait for what is called the hot break. This is when the pot really foams up substantially. Keep an eye on the pot so it doesn't boil over. Once the foam has subsided you make sure you're getting a lovely rolling boil and you start the timer for the hop boil.

In this instance I'm doing a 30 minute boil.

So I set the timer on my phone for 30mins and add the first lot of hops.

Then with 10 minutes *remaining* on the timer (so we've been boiling for 20mins now) we add the next addition.

Then the timer goes off. You turn the heat off and you add any "flame out" additions.

I'm getting into extract brewing now. Which means I don't use the pre-hopped kits (e.g. the coopers australian pale ale tin etc) any more, I just use a combination of un-hopped liquid malt extract and dry malt extract. Then I do a full 60minute boil of hops. A hop addition with 60mins left will give you bitterness but no flavour or aroma. Around the 30 - 20 minute mark you're getting less bitterness but more flavour and a bit of aroma. With 15, 10, 5 and flame-out additions you're getting mostly aroma.

Once you get your head around all that it's pretty cool. You have more control over your beer.


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## FFC (21/2/14)

WWDWD said:


> Yeah I was confused when I started brewing a few months ago. I'm still fairly new to this too.
> 
> The times represent how long is left in the boil / how long you boil that hop addition for.
> 
> ...



Fantastic, thank you for that. I was getting lost as everyone seems to talk in a very specific way when it came to this point of the process. Now I understand! 

A little more reading about the process and I'll invest in a kit.


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## WWDWD (21/2/14)

Cool. I found the sooner you start the better. Cos you're bound to make a few mistakes on your first few brews - better to get them out the way now because it means you'll be making good beer sooner. It wasn't until my 5th beer that I was happy with a brew. My 7th brew is fermenting now.


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## indica86 (21/2/14)

I'd argue the 15, 10, 5 are aroma only.
The Pales I make - limited experience but a few brews down - have a 60 minute bittering addition, then 15, 10 and 5 minute additions - depending on aa% - and have loads of hop flavour.


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## WWDWD (22/2/14)

also, I have to add... I just had a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale whilst out, I think my recipe turned out closer to that than a Little Creatures Pale Ale. I'll have to do a taste test on the weekend and compare.


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## menoetes (22/2/14)

If you're going for a LCPA clone I'd suggest a little chinook hops, there's definitely some in there. Try this hop schedule with your Coopers Pale kit, it worked well for me;


20g Cascade (6.8 % AA) – 15min boil
20g Chinook (11.4 % AA) – 5min boil
20g Cascade (6.8 % AA) – 5min boil
10g Cascade (5 % AA) – Dry Hop after 7 days
10g Chinook (11.4 % AA) – Dry Hop after 7 days
You can up the quantities if you would like it even hoppier but I find it works well for a 20 liter batch. 1g of hops per liter (in each addition) works well for Pales IMHO.


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## manticle (22/2/14)

indica86 said:


> I'd argue the 15, 10, 5 are aroma only.


As in contribute neither bittering nor aroma at all - just purely smell nice?


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## indica86 (22/2/14)

Nope, I meant I'd argue against that. WWDWD posted that. But I get plenty of flavour in my beer around then,


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## WWDWD (22/2/14)

Oh yep, I was wrong. Still plenty of flavour at 15 and 10mins. This chart is pretty handy when designing your beer.


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## menoetes (24/2/14)

That is an excellent chart! Now.. ummm.. right click... ummm... click on 'save image'... ummm... dammit this comes so much more naturally when downloading dirty pictures!


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## WWDWD (1/3/14)

Edit: posted in wrong thread


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## bingggo (3/3/14)

I'm new to the world of hops 

I notice the Tassie HBS has these listed - are they the same kind as in this recipe?


Amarillo 8.4% aau
Cascade 4.5% aau

Also, is this the crystal malt - that is, which one?

Crystal Grain 120 ebc
Crystal grain 270 ebc

Cheers,
B


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## Alex.Tas (4/3/14)

Yep, same stuff mate. I'm reasonably sure the tas home brewing supplies sells tassie grown cascade hops, which may not be what the OP used, but they should be pretty close. As far as i understand, hops can vary in AA% which changes the bitterness you get, so if you want to get as close the the original recipe, maybe pm the OP and ask him what the AA% of the hops he used were. To be honest, it probably wont make a massive difference though.

the number before the EBC relates to the colour of the grains and the colour and flavour they will give the beer. 
Again this may vary depending on the supplier, but from what i understand:
60 ebc is light crystal
120 ebc is medium (the most common one I use, and i reckon its what the OP used too)
270 ebc is dark crystal


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## livetoride (22/3/14)

hey guys I went to my local hbs to get the ingredients this morning and pretty much got laughed out of the store with how many hops were going to be used by the owner and a few other patrons which got me worried! Is it too much or perfect? 

This is my first grain and hops beer so just need to set my mind at ease! Thanks in advance.


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## pat86 (22/3/14)

mate that sounds pretty crazy, surely the LHBS a) would want to sell you more hops and b) shouldn't be laughing at any new brewers giving hops a go. This isn't really an outrageous hop bill so if you got what's in the recipe they are the stupid ones. 

Did you have the right amounts or 10x?! you would have ended up with about 100g Cascade and maybe 100g Amarillo (with some left over for next time)? Never buy hops in tiny packs/ teabags - its a very expensive way to try out different flavours. 

Also, re. Crystal malt, I wouldn't call 60L light crystal- as you can also get Crystal in 10L, 20L, 40L which are all lighter in colour and flavour. 

The bigger the number, the darker it will make your beer and the more caramel/ roasty flavours. I'm also pretty new, but I think you would say 60L is medium (still a good choice for this beer) and anything like 120 + is getting dark. 270 would absolutely have too much colour and roast/ burnt flavours for LCPA. 

Good luck - it is going to be a good beer!

Steeping grains is really easy and you will see that when you are on your 4th pint and starting the hop boil!


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## jc64 (22/3/14)

Laughed out of the shop because of the amount of hops? 

I've mash hopped with more!


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## livetoride (23/3/14)

Thanks everyone for your advice, I received a message from a guy that knows the store and was told they don't have the greatest idea so that made things a bit clearer in my mind!

But yes i was laughed at in the store, my wife and I thought we must have been trying to do something ridiculous but as it turns out from the advice im not! Thanks for the post Pat86 it was extremely helpful unfortunately I went down the path of buying what I needed so Ive learned from that already. Still have a bit more reading to do before I have a go but will post some results hopefully it turns out as good as the op. Thanks again!


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## Woostyle (23/3/14)

Any gravity readings, OG, FG?


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## pimpsqueak (23/3/14)

livetoride said:


> hey guys I went to my local hbs to get the ingredients this morning and pretty much got laughed out of the store with how many hops were going to be used by the owner and a few other patrons which got me worried! Is it too much or perfect?
> 
> This is my first grain and hops beer so just need to set my mind at ease! Thanks in advance.


FYI, my current record for # of grams of hops into a single batch is 210g.

You could always take a bottle of your "beer-with-way-too-much-hops" into your LHBS to try and when he admits it's lovely, tell him you're buying all your gear via one of the AHB sponsors and walk out.

It's what I would do. But I'm drunk. And a bit of an arsehole.


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## pat86 (24/3/14)

good luck! 

Crazy that a place would have that kind of customer service, must be a HBS specialised in brewing XXXX and tooheys new clones!

If I worked in the brewing industry and someone came in and ordered a ridiculous amount of hops (which you clearly didn't), I would be high fiving and asking to sample some of your beer. Definitely check out the retail forum here at AHB, I've bought from a few sellers as well as LHBS and so far everyone has been ridiculously helpful. You can read threads that have hundreds of comments on the customer service as well as ask questions there.

Also re. my post above pretty sure I am wrong now and 60L crystal is still 'light'. the others were definitely too dark for the recipe though I'm sure if used in very small quantities would still make a nice drop.


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## Nizmoose (26/3/14)

Played around with this recipe on IanH's spreadsheet and kept everything the same besides the hops, saw that it was quite hoppy for the style and I'd love to try these recipe I'm just not a heaps hoppy person so would the following work?

12g Cascade @ 30 mins
12g Cascade @ 10 mins
12g Cascade and 6g Armarillo @ flame out 
12g Cascade @ dry hop


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## wereprawn (26/3/14)

Yep. You should get a mild but noticeable hoppiness .


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