Long time listener, first time caller

[intested_party]

First, thanks to all that contribute here. It's a great resource.

I was just hoping some more experienced than me would cast their eyes over my first crack at speciality grains and hop additions.

1.5 Kg Cooper's Light LME
1.3 Kg LDME
300g Wheat DME
300g Medium Crystal 120
US05 yeast

15g Super Alpha @ 60 mins
10g Amarillo @ 15 mins
10g Cascade @ 15 mins
5g Amarillo @ 0 mins
5g Cascade @ 0 mins

Boil: 4l
Final volume: 23l
Fermentation temp: 18°C
IBU: 31
EBC: 14
Alc%: 5.2

Cheers.

 

[hoppy2B]

Seems a pretty good level of medium crystal you have there at 300 grams. Are you familiar with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale? The is a good clone on here in the recipes section that uses 500 gram of the medium. I think 300 grams is plenty good.

I haven't done an IBU calculation but I think you could go a bit heavier on the late hop addition for a bit more flavour.

 

[hoppy2B]

I just notice your IBU at 31. A bit more hops late or a dry hop could work nicely too.

 

[pat86]

Looks like a very good recipe, I'd personally follow hoppy2B's advice and up the late hops

 

[Bribie G]

I'd go a bit more hoppy as well. Did a brew day with a guy a couple of years ago who had just bought an urn and gone AG. He had a fair amount of his previous extract brews for quaffing during the day and they were really good, hoppy APAs seem to suit extract very well.

 

[Yeastfridge]

I'm with everyone else about more late hops. Also, I'd try and boil more than 4L if you can. What part of the malt are you boiling (not that it really matters, just curious)?

 

[intested_party]

Thanks for the replies. I haven't tried the Sierra Navada Pale but it's on my list. I've been drinking a few different local pales recently (Squire's 150 lashes, Vale Ale, Swell Pale, Little Creatures Pale etc) and enjoyed the Vale ale the most so I'm having a weak attempt at making something similar.

I think it will be a little more bitter than the Vale Ale according to Ian's spreadsheet. The hops I found from googling "Vale Ale clone" (so no idea if they are actually close).

I have no idea how hoppy it will be having never done it before. So do you think upping it to 10g of each of the Cascade & Amarillo at flameout is enough?

 

[intested_party]

I'm with everyone else about more late hops. Also, I'd try and boil more than 4L if you can. What part of the malt are you boiling (not that it really matters, just curious)?

I was going to ask you guys the same. Ian's spreadsheet says for a 4L boil use LME:474 DME:389. I don't know if that means both or just one of those. I assume it means to use just one in which case I will use the DME because it will be easier to weigh. Let me know if I'm way off.

I've got a big pasta pot so I could up the boil. I'm just concerned about be able to cool it down. I was just going to cool it is a salt/ice slurry in the sink before tipping it into the fermenter.

 

[pat86]

I was going to ask you guys the same. Ian's spreadsheet says for a 4L boil use LME:474 DME:389. I don't know if that means both or just one of those. I assume it means to use just one in which case I will use the DME because it will be easier to weigh. Let me know if I'm way off.

I've got a big pasta pot so I could up the boil. I'm just concerned about be able to cool it down. I was just going to cool it is a salt/ice slurry in the sink before tipping it into the fermenter.

Yep just one and the DME is much easier to measure. The difference in weight is the water content of liquid malt extract.

You don't need to have a huge boil, but the bigger the better and I think 5L has been recommended previously as a good minimum, my last one I did about 500g of DME with the steeped liquor in about ~6L although this did boil down and I lost a fair bit to the hops absorbing it too over 40 mins.

I think Vale ale would definitely have more late hops - so yep up them to maybe 10-15g each at flameout.

 

[hoppy2B]

A flameout addition of 30 gram of both of those hops with no chill wouldn't be overdoing it.

Rather than doing a 60 minute boil, you could save some gas and just do a 30 minute boil and maybe use a different hop for your bittering if the flavour of Super Alpha doesn't suit. So for example you could use 30 grams of Citra at 30 minutes and 30 grams each of the other 2 hops at flameout and no chill.

No chill is similar to a 20 minute addition in a cube at a volume of 20 litres. A smaller volume boil will cool down quicker.

 

[carniebrew]

With my extract brewing I found that 8 litre boils (or greater) were the 'sweet spot' for not having to change any recipes you found on the web. Anything less than that and you were mucking around a fair bit with understanding how much more hops you needed to add, etc.

 

[jaypes]

mmmm, Amarillo

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v256/jliller/Homer-drooling.gif

 

[burrster]

I'm with everyone, to add more late addition hops. I'd go 10/15g each add a dry hop of each at 15g. Also, I'm with Carniebrew with the 8L boil, but if you can't aim for 5 - 6L. Looks pretty good though. I'd be keen to know how it turns out, as The vale Ale and there IPA are favourites of mine. I can highly recommend the Sierra Navada Pale too!

 

[intested_party]

Thanks guys. I'll put the shopping list together and up the late hops a little. I don't think I'll go crazy though.

 

[intested_party]

I'm with everyone, to add more late addition hops. I'd go 10/15g each add a dry hop of each at 15g. Also, I'm with Carniebrew with the 8L boil, but if you can't aim for 5 - 6L. Looks pretty good though. I'd be keen to know how it turns out, as The vale Ale and there IPA are favourites of mine. I can highly recommend the Sierra Navada Pale too!

So I brewed it up and it come out surprisingly good. In the end I took the advise and upped the 15 and 5 min additions of hops to 15g of cascade and 15 g of amarillo each time. My only issues are that it's a little sweet and a little flat (the latter being my flawed carbonation method).

Now there is a BIAB pale with the same hop schedule in the fermenter!