Little Creatures Pa

[MHB]

LCPA has to be one of my favourite beers. I am assured that LC are using fresh Cascade and Chinook flowers in a hop back. We are recommending 15g of Chinook and 25 g of Cascade, for a taste addition and the other dry hoped in the rack. The results are outstanding.

The dried version of the American ale yeast (US-56) with the above hop combo goes into one of my best selling recipes; people keep coming back for more, so it must be hitting the spot.

Good Brewing
MHB

 

[T.D.]

At a tasting the Little Creatures rep mentoned it was a cascade flower added late...

doesn't mean it is right though. I guess the LCPA is a flavour I haven't stepped up to yet, a bit too much when I tried it... still loving the malt domination beers. But saying that, my brews IBU's are creeping up over time. I dare say I'd be into it one day

[post="92871"][/post]​

I'll give you less than 3 more brews Jazza, and I reckon people will have to pry you off those American hops! I reckon they are great. I mean there is a time and a place for UK and European varieties, no doubt about it, but I have certainly gravitated to American varieties over the past 6 months (for ales I mean). For me, my tastes started to change after visiting Canada last Christmas and trying some of those beautiful North American micro brews.

And also, re the cascade added late with LCPA, its probably not wrong depending on how you interpret it, but I know they use both cascade and chinook in the hopback (as most people have mentioned here). What I don't know is whether they have hop additions late in the boil AS WELL AS the hopback. The most detail I have heard about the hopping of LCPA is that they use goldings for bittering (to around 35 IBUs) and imported cascade and chinook flowers in the hopback. That was more or less from the (alleged) horse's mouth.

 

[shmick]

The 1056 (US-56) can get citrus like flavours when fermented cool but I've found it usually fades after a month or so conditioning.
I doubt a commercial brewery would muck around fermenting at a yeast's lower range as it would take too long.

I've acheived a slight citrus note in the past with Northern Brewer at 5 min and flameout but it was in a malty Strong Ale and was hard to pick. :chug:

My votes on the hops

 

[Lindsay Dive]

I made a clone of the LCPA about four years ago. It was spot on the money (Wes Smith & Phil Yates can vouch for that) and I used the New Zealand Cascade Hop Cones @ 8.6% AA.
I can't find the recipe at the moment (prior to the use of Promash) but I can clearly remember that I used the Whitelabs (WLP023) Burton Ale Yeast. I also remember chucking a whole heap of the flowers into the secondary and left them there for about 3 weeks prior to bottling.
The problem I find using Cascade Cones is the lack of consistency with the flavour profile you need.
The last time I made a LCPA clone using the same yeast, NZ Cascade Cones (different year to the first used) the beer had a distinct grassy flavour. The difference between the two beers was amazing, so much so that I haven't tried to copy this beer since.
Time heals most wounds so I guess I'll have to brew another in the near future.

 

[THE DRUNK ARAB]

Not that I am trying to copy LCPA.
I always find I get a great aroma with 20 grams of dry hopped Cascade pellets in my APA's.

I also love Simcoe as the bittering hop.

C&B
TDA

 

[colinw]

A big thumbs up from me for Chinook mixed with Amarillo for flavour & aroma.

Having used Amarillo I don't think I'll go back to Cascade. In the past I've had mixed results with Cascade. Sometimes it is superb and other times it seems kind of grassy, must depend on the freshess. Its been erratic enough that I'm hesitant to brew with it.

My most recent APA was Amarillo & Chinook only, with 20g of Amarillo & Chinook each at 1 minute, then 40g of Amarillo & 20g of Chinook a couple of minutes after strikeout. That was in a 42-litre batch (full recipe on 1st page of this newsletter). For my tastes, about that proportion seems to hit the right balance between the "tropical punch" effect of the Amarillo and the clean pungent grapefruit of the Chinook. I'd say it is the Chinook in the hopback which gives that "special something" to LCPA, without it (if you just used Cascade or Amarillo) you would still have a nice beer but it wouldn't have that crisp citrus bite in the aroma & flavour.

cheers,
Colin

 

[Lindsay Dive]

A big thumbs up from me for Chinook mixed with Amarillo for flavour & aroma.

Having used Amarillo I don't think I'll go back to Cascade. In the past I've had mixed results with Cascade. Sometimes it is superb and other times it seems kind of grassy, must depend on the freshess. Its been erratic enough that I'm hesitant to brew with it.

My most recent APA was Amarillo & Chinook only, with 20g of Amarillo & Chinook each at 1 minute, then 40g of Amarillo & 20g of Chinook a couple of minutes after strikeout. That was in a 42-litre batch (full recipe on 1st page of this newsletter). For my tastes, about that proportion seems to hit the right balance between the "tropical punch" effect of the Amarillo and the clean pungent grapefruit of the Chinook. I'd say it is the Chinook in the hopback which gives that "special something" to LCPA, without it (if you just used Cascade or Amarillo) you would still have a nice beer but it wouldn't have that crisp citrus bite in the aroma & flavour.

cheers,
Colin

[post="92947"][/post]​

Colin, where did you get the Amarillo and Chinook Hops from? You've got me interested!

Regards,
Lindsay.

 

[colinw]

Bought them from Brew Your Own At Home in Canberra - Simcoe as well.

More recently one of our club members has brought some pellets in direct from the US.

 

[Lindsay Dive]

Thanks Colin,
Rang up and ordered the last of the Amarillo (100gms) and 200 grams of the Chinook. I'm all eager now to make a nice APA.
Brilliant...thanks.

Regards,
Lindsay.

 

[colinw]

Prepare to be stunned by one of the most glorious aroma & flavour hops around! You'll be drinking all your hydrometer samples of this one.

 

[tangent]

you know it's gonna be a good beer when you're skolling hydrometer samples

 

[Jazzafish]

QUOTE(Jazzafish @ Nov 23 2005, 10:32 PM)
At a tasting the Little Creatures rep mentoned it was a cascade flower added late...

doesn't mean it is right though. I guess the LCPA is a flavour I haven't stepped up to yet, a bit too much when I tried it... still loving the malt domination beers. But saying that, my brews IBU's are creeping up over time. I dare say I'd be into it one day






I'll give you less than 3 more brews Jazza, and I reckon people will have to pry you off those American hops! I reckon they are great. I mean there is a time and a place for UK and European varieties, no doubt about it, but I have certainly gravitated to American varieties over the past 6 months (for ales I mean). For me, my tastes started to change after visiting Canada last Christmas and trying some of those beautiful North American micro brews.

LOL,

it only took me 2 brews! Had it last night and loved it. Going to make something like it asap! Might try a recipe clone posted in here somewhere

 

[T.D.]

Haha, good to hear Jazza!

I brewed an APA with Amarillo hops a while back and it was bloody great. Not quite as "over the top" hoppy as LCPA but definitely a whole bunch of hop flavour and aroma. Amarillo still seems to be as rare as hens' teeth so future efforts (for the mean time) will have to use Cascade instead, which is not really much of a consolation...

Anyway, I reckon APAs have probably been the style I have brewed most of, and slowly but surely I think I am starting to get an idea of what works and what doesn't. Anyway, I reckon something like the following recipe would be a damned tasty brew:

For batch size of 25L
95% Ale malt
5% Crystal malt
Northern Brewer (to ~ 35 IBUs)
30g Cascade @ 15 mins
30g Cascade @ 5 mins
60g Cascade @ flameout
Target OG: 1.050

So simple, but I reckon that could be a winner - it is very similar to the Amarillo brew I mentioned above, but with Cascade instead.

Good luck with it mate!

 

[yardy]

I made a clone of the LCPA about four years ago. It was spot on the money (Wes Smith & Phil Yates can vouch for that) and I used the New Zealand Cascade Hop Cones @ 8.6% AA.
I can't find the recipe at the moment (prior to the use of Promash) but I can clearly remember that I used the Whitelabs (WLP023) Burton Ale Yeast. I also remember chucking a whole heap of the flowers into the secondary and left them there for about 3 weeks prior to bottling.

Gday Lindsay,

did you ever locate that recipe ?

cheers

Yard



EDIT:
nevermind, i found the SFPA thread.

cheers

yard

 

[devo]

I was heading over to my sister in laws place last night for a free feed and thought I'd stop into the drive thru to pick up some brews and found these Little Creatures Pale Ales in "pint size" stubbies.

Me thinks I'll be keeping the empties for my own brews.

View attachment 9788

Anyone else come across these at all?

 

[Weizguy]

I've seen these bottles. Apparently available at Dan Murphy's (no affiliation) and other places.

Is it just my cynical mind, but is LC aiming at the market that Coopers currently has for beer in homebrewer-friendly bottles?

Good on 'em, either way!

Seth

 

[Wardhog]

My first unhopped extract brew was an APA with Chinook & Cascade, and I love it.

3kg Light LME
200g Medium Crystal
10g Chinook @60
15g Cascade @30
15g Cascade @5
US-56
To 23 Litres

Is by far the best beer I've brewed.

Going on hydrometer sample tasting, got another batch exactly the same on.

 

[Simon W]

Anyone else come across these at all?

Nup, but I'd heard rumours.
Now I've seen a pic I'm on the hunt!
yeehaa!

 

[colinw]

First Choice liquor at the Newnham Hotel on the Brisbane south side has these bottles.

 

[Dunkel_Boy]

I have a feeling my house brew will end up something like...

1.5kg extra pale LME
2.5kg MO
300g caramunich III

30IBU worth of First Gold

US-56



LCPA I think is a fantastic beer, but moreso because it inspires me to throw around a lot of hops with the same malt/yeast background, and see what I come up with. And then settle down with a beer that's... what's that word... bal... bala.... balanced. That's the word.