Style Of The Week 5/7/06 - Apa

[Kai]

None of my beers remotely approach ready seven days after bottling, which the possible exception of wheat beers.

Kai, be honest now, how many of your beers actually make it past the "primary fermenter taste test" stage ??

I'll be honest, then. Most of Kai's beers that do get beyond the PFTT stage and into bottle, are worth waiting the extra 8 days for

"approaching ready" and "i might be getting stuck into them" are two different things, of course.

 

[jimi]

Who's used Ahtanum in an APA before??

Some say like Cascade some say "unique", I've never used the hop myself, but keen to try something new.

Thoughts?

 

[wee stu]

Who's used Ahtanum in an APA before??

Some say like Cascade some say "unique", I've never used the hop myself, but keen to try something new.

Thoughts?

I regularly use ahtanum in my Little Big Man American Indian Pale Ale, and like it a lot.

Will post the recipe later tonight when I get home.

 

[wee stu]

OK here she goes:


BeerSmith Recipe Printout - www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Little Big Man 4
Brewer: wee stu
Asst Brewer:
Style: American IPA
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 23.00 L
Boil Size: 30.49 L
Estimated OG: 1.060 SG
Estimated Color: 16.8 SRM
Estimated IBU: 70.0 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 67.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.00 kg Pale Malt, Galaxy (Barrett Burston) (1.5 SGrain 75.2 %
0.60 kg Vienna Malt (Weyermann) (3.0 SRM) Grain 9.0 %
0.50 kg Caramunich II (Weyermann) (63.0 SRM) Grain 7.5 %
0.30 kg Melanoidin (Weyermann) (30.0 SRM) Grain 4.5 %
0.25 kg Caraaroma (Weyermann) (178.0 SRM) Grain 3.8 %
50.00 gm Ahtanum [5.70%] (60 min) Hops 29.7 IBU
45.00 gm Cascade [5.50%] (30 min) Hops 19.8 IBU
15.00 gm Target [10.00%] (60 min) Hops 15.6 IBU
15.00 gm Amarillo Gold [8.50%] (10 min) Hops 4.8 IBU
8.00 gm Amarillo Gold [8.50%] (Dry Hop 14 days) Hops -
10.00 gm Amarillo Gold [8.50%] (0 min) Hops -
0.29 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs Safale us-56 (DCL) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 6.64 kg
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temp Step Time
Mash In Add 17.34 L of water at 77.6 C 67.8 C 60 min
Mash Out Add 9.71 L of water at 92.4 C 75.6 C 10 min


Notes:
------

Now that I look back on it, maybe I should call it the kitchen sink APA, cos almost everything else seems to be in it.

Slightly surprised I only usced the one yeast

Last one was a tad over bitter at the back of the thrapple. Was thinking of cutting back on the target next time.

Awrabest, stu
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[tangent]

that's gotta be your most complex and long winded recipe ever Stu.
for a balanced and basics brewer, that's carpet bombing
welcome to my over-complicated world

 

[tangent]

great topic and style
newbies - you've gotta make one of these first!
totally agree, great 1st AG. Just have to let it smooth a bit in the keg or bottle IMO.

i started with:
Ingredient Amount % When
Australian Pale Ale Malt 5.00 kg 92.6 % In Mash/Steeped
German CaraMunich I 0.25 kg 4.6 % In Mash/Steeped
German Wheat Malt 0.15 kg 2.8 % In Mash/Steeped
Hops
Variety Alpha Amount Form When
US Simcoe 14.1 5 g Pelletized Hops 60 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 15 g Pelletized Hops 30 Min From End
US Simcoe 14.1 5 g Pelletized Hops 30 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 25 g Pelletized Hops 15 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 25 g Pelletized Hops 5 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 25 g Pelletized Hops At turn off

then tried:
Ingredient Amount % When
Australian Barrett Burston Galaxy 5.00 kg 88.2 % In Mash/Steeped
German CaraMunich II 0.52 kg 9.2 % In Mash/Steeped
German CaraAroma 0.15 kg 2.6 % In Mash/Steeped
Hops
Variety Alpha Amount Form When
US Cascade 6.0 50 g Pelletized Hops 60 Min From End
US Amarillo 8.4 40 g Pelletized Hops 30 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 10 g Pelletized Hops 30 Min From End
US Amarillo 8.4 15 g Pelletized Hops 15 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 15 g Pelletized Hops 15 Min From End
US Amarillo 8.4 15 g Pelletized Hops 5 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 15 g Pelletized Hops 5 Min From End


then tried:
Ingredient Amount % When
Australian Barrett Burston Galaxy 2.10 kg 37.3 % In Mash/Steeped
Australian Pale Ale Malt 2.10 kg 37.3 % In Mash/Steeped
German Pilsner Malt 1.10 kg 19.5 % In Mash/Steeped
German CaraAmber 0.30 kg 5.3 % In Mash/Steeped
German Caramel Pils 0.03 kg 0.5 % In Mash/Steeped
Hops
Variety Alpha Amount Form When
US Nugget 9.5 27 g Bagged Whole Hops 40 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 15 g Bagged Whole Hops 25 Min From End
US Amarillo 8.4 15 g Pelletized Hops 20 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 15 g Bagged Whole Hops 10 Min From End
US Amarillo 8.4 15 g Pelletized Hops 10 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 15 g Bagged Whole Hops 5 Min From End

and have finished with:
Ingredient Amount % When
Australian Barrett Burston Galaxy 2.75 kg 46.4 % In Mash/Steeped
Australian Pale Ale Malt 2.75 kg 46.4 % In Mash/Steeped
German CaraAmber 0.25 kg 4.2 % In Mash/Steeped
German Melanoidin Malt 0.15 kg 2.5 % In Mash/Steeped
German Caramel Pils 0.03 kg 0.5 % In Mash/Steeped
Hops
Variety Alpha Amount Form When
US Nugget 9.5 30 g Bagged Whole Hops 40 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 15 g Bagged Whole Hops 25 Min From End
US Amarillo 8.4 15 g Pelletized Hops 20 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 15 g Bagged Whole Hops 10 Min From End
US Amarillo 8.4 30 g Pelletized Hops 5 Min From End
US Cascade 6.0 30 g Bagged Whole Hops 5 Min From End

Biggest improvements have been in order of significance:
fresher hops,
fresher hops,
fresher hops,
more hops,
a lower mash temp (~64C)
and better yeasts.

I started with a CPA capture, used US56, then went to American Ale II and reused that. Impressed with that yeast. But u can't beat the US56 for an easy quick solution.

The addition of Pilsner malt has made it dissapear way too quickly from the keg. I try to let it mature but by the time it's matured enough and is tasting awesome I've got about a litre left. As good as this sounds I'm going back to ale malts to get some more backbone with a dry finish.

Nerdulator is saying I'm getting approx 75% with a fine grind from a Chinese corn grinder

edit- some of my hop origins may be dodgy due to my record keeping laziness.

 

[Weizguy]

My turn

Did anyone mention SFPA. Of course they did, and for good reason. Top brew in many incarnations.
Not hard to formulate an APA, but to make an exceptional APA is like making a remarkable porter, easy in theory, but try it yourself and see if you can beat an SFPA.

Yeast? I have, and use: US-56, W1712 Am II, YeastLabs A01 Am ale yeast.

Based solely on the recommendation earlier in this thread, any noobs/ neophyte zymoligists/ exploring and aspiring brewers should have a go at an ESB 3kg paint tin o'goo.

APA sets off well against the consumption of several weizens, from experience.

Hops? Cascade, Chinook, Willamette, and Amarillo, but not necessarily in that order. Oh, and I think that it work best with max=2 hop varieties. Chinook goes well in the Arrogant *******, with more Chinook. I know it's not an APA, but it's a close relative, and could be done as an APA, with maybe some Munich and melanoidin.

Pils and/or ale malt, as well as crystal and Vienna with maybe some choc (<50g) or a dash of dark crystal. Maybe a sour mash with some bourbon barrel character?

my 2 cents has run out.

Testify!
Seth

 

[Kai]

Here's a different one:

Imperial Mild Ale

brewed 2/10/05

14 litres
OG 1.037
FG 1.013
3.2% ABV
28 IBU
15 EBC

50% 1.25kg hoepfner munich
25% 625g weyermann pils
20% 500g hoepfner melanoidin
5% 125g TF caramalt

69C mash for 40 minutes

11g simcoe @ 60mins, 12% AA, 23 IBU
10g amarillo at 10 mins, 8.5% AA, 5 IBU
10g simcoe at flameout
10g amarillo at flameout

1332 Wyeast Northwest Ale

fermented at 23C

 

[wee stu]

that's gotta be your most complex and long winded recipe ever Stu.
for a balanced and basics brewer, that's carpet bombing
welcome to my over-complicated world

Somewhere, in the mists of time, the original Little Big Man was based on a clone recipe I found for Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale. (that was a lovely beer)

Then I decided to tweak it and make it a little bit more English IPA, hence the Target. Aiming for a transatlantic IPA perhaps :unsure: (that was the best beer I had ever made till then)

Then I found another clone Celebration recipe and tweaked the original a bit more. Not realising that Celebration is a seasonal (Xmas/Thanksgiving) ale which has changed recipes from year to year. (that one was a bit of a disappointment I put it in a Xmas case too :angry: )

Then I discovered Amarillo and the whole thing changed again, to the current recipe (nice beer, but needs simplifying for my tastes :lol: )

All in all, a work in progress.

 

[mje1980]

I have 1007 german ale yeast. Could this be used in an apa??, it is fairly nuetral, and has no yeast flavour at all really. I only have english ale yeasts otherwise.

 

[Jase]

I have 1007 german ale yeast. Could this be used in an apa??, it is fairly nuetral, and has no yeast flavour at all really. I only have english ale yeasts otherwise.

I've made APA's in the past with WLP013 London Ale, and they turned out alright. Well I thought they did.

But don't take my word for it, I've made bocks in the past with the same yeast. h34r: And didn't that upset some people!!!!!

Cheers,
Jase

Edit: Spelling.

 

[Voosher]

I have 1007 german ale yeast. Could this be used in an apa??, it is fairly nuetral, and has no yeast flavour at all really. I only have english ale yeasts otherwise.

I've made APA's with 1007 and they're fine. You'll find it emphasises malt more than the traditional 1056 or 1272 but when was that a bad thing? Sounds like a good excuse to throw in even more hops.


Afterthought... You've got me thinking... time for another 1007 APA.
:chug:

Edit: Which English Ale yeasts? Wyeast 1028 is good in an APA as well though personally I prefer to use it in higher gravity APA's or those APA's which push almost into the Amber zone.

 

[Steve]

How does this sound? Comments, thoughts?

4kg Golden Promise Ale
500gms Wheat malt
500gms Munich
300gms Carapils
25gms Roasted malt

24gms Chinook (12.8%) @ 60mins
20gms Amarillo (10%) @ 30 mins
20gms Cascade (5.5%) @ 15 mins & 0 mins & dry hop

Whirlfloc & US 56 dry yeast

Cheers - is the carapils necessary if the wheat malt is in there?

 

[warrenlw63]

How does this sound? Comments, thoughts?

4kg Golden Promise Ale
500gms Wheat malt
500gms Munich
300gms Carapils
25gms Roasted malt

24gms Chinook (12.8%) @ 60mins
20gms Amarillo (10%) @ 30 mins
20gms Cascade (5.5%) @ 15 mins & 0 mins & dry hop

Whirlfloc & US 56 dry yeast

Cheers - is the carapils necessary if the wheat malt is in there?

Looks nice Steve.

I'd go slightly the opposite way. Maybe lose the wheat and keep the Carapils. Will leave a little more residual body in the beer.

Looks like a 23 litre batch you're making. Maybe even halve the Carapils.

Warren -

 

[Steve]

Looks nice Steve.

I'd go slightly the opposite way. Maybe lose the wheat and keep the Carapils. Will leave a little more residual body in the beer.

Looks like a 23 litre batch you're making. Maybe even halve the Carapils.

Warren -

OK - thanks for that Warren. Will lost the wheat and halve the carapils. Much appreciated...and yes its 23 litres.
Steve

 

[Ross]

Hi Steve,

I personally don't like more than 5gms of chinook at the start of the boil, as I find the grapfruit overpowers everything else - but if it's grapfruit you want, then no problem.
I'd ditch either the carapils or the wheat, can really see the need for both.

cheers Ross

 

[DJR]

OK - thanks for that Warren. Will lost the wheat and halve the carapils. Much appreciated...and yes its 23 litres.
Steve

Can i suggest a little Crystal or Caramalt in there as well? Probably just about 100g of Light Crystal would do it, but looks like a tasty drop nonetheless. And why not bitter with the Amarillo, it will be smoother than Chinook by a long way (about 35% cohumulone in the Chinook vs about 15-20% in the Amarillo). Chuck some amarillo in at whirlpool as well, Cascade and Amarillo is a great combo. All you need then is to start experimenting with the other strange hops for APA's, like Simcoe & B Saaz. The CH show winning AIPA used a combo of Simcoe Amarillo and Cascade, was a damn fine drop.

 

[Steve]

OK - thats for the comments...after a think and a bit of jiggling im going to go for this:

4kg Golden Promise Ale
500gms Munich
150gms Carapils
100gms Light Crystal
25gms Roasted malt

30gms Amarillo (10%) @ 60mins
25gms Cascade (5.5%) @ 30 mins
20gms Cascade @ 15 mins & 0 mins
15gms Amarillo dry hop
15gms Cascade dry hop

Whirlfloc & US 56 dry yeast

:super:

Cheers
Steve

 

[Voosher]

Looks nice Steve.

I'd go slightly the opposite way. Maybe lose the wheat and keep the Carapils. Will leave a little more residual body in the beer.

Looks like a 23 litre batch you're making. Maybe even halve the Carapils.

Warren -

This is the way I'm going as well.
I've used wheat generally for head retention 'cos I've never been a fan of Carapils.
With Joe White Trad as the base for APA's I've found the body lacking just a little so I've done just as Warren suggests here and switched 5% Wheat for 5% Carapils.
The Golden Promise may give a little more body than Joe White but no harm in going the Carapils to be sure.


Edit: Posted my reply and then saw your revised recipe.
You'll barely taste 100g Light crystal in that grist. With the roast grain around 4-5% crystal won't hurt.
Perhaps a little more Carapils as well, again around the 5% mark.

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

Watch out Steve...I know where your keg fridge is!

APA, yummy, yummy, yummy :chug: :chug: :chug: