Tomorrows Session Ale Recipe - Thoughts & Suggestions

[chrisluki]

Hey guys

Lucky enough to do a weekday brew tomorrow and decided to brew a mid strength with my leftover grains and hops.

Making recipes up isn't my strength, so I thought I would run it by you guys for some comments.

So here is it...thoughts?

rs

Cheers

Chris

 

[Coodgee]

Should go alright. Nice and malty. A bit like a few rogers clone recipes floating around here

 

[damoninja]

I use a mix of pilsner malt (50%) and munich (~35%) in my session ale but pale will be better for an ESB.

My preference for a session ale is usually a more hop driven american style, this one looks like it'll be lightly caramel / malty with a sneaky hint of american hop aroma. If you weren't going down the English road I'd say bitter with something else but go for it.

When I started messing about with recipes I kept things simple for a while to get a good idea what was doing what. For instance single hop, single specialty grain so on. These session ales though are great for tinkering with since they're pretty hard to stuff up.

 

[wereprawn]

The cara and wheat are superfluous and may add too much body IMHO.

 

[damoninja]

The cara and wheat are superfluous and may add too much body IMHO.

I kinda thought the same then 1.043, yeah I'd still session that.

 

[chrisluki]

I use a mix of pilsner malt (50%) and munich (~35%) in my session ale but pale will be better for an ESB.

My preference for a session ale is usually a more hop driven american style, this one looks like it'll be lightly caramel / malty with a sneaky hint of american hop aroma. If you weren't going down the English road I'd say bitter with something else but go for it.

When I started messing about with recipes I kept things simple for a while to get a good idea what was doing what. For instance single hop, single specialty grain so on. These session ales though are great for tinkering with since they're pretty hard to stuff up.

Good advice.

This was a last minute idea, so I had to make the most of what i got. I figure its worth trying...whats the worst that could happen, I make a dud beer? Been there and done that, its all about learning!!

 

[mckenry]

That's a pretty dark crystal and a fair bit of it, for that IBU.
It will be more sweet than English malty.
Think about balancing it either with more bittering hops or less crystal malt.

 

[chrisluki]

The cara and wheat are superfluous and may add too much body IMHO.

Drop them out then? replace them with more Pale or Munich?
Or just drop one of them?

 

[chrisluki]

By the way, thanks for all the help guys.

This is an awesome community.

 

[damoninja]

Good advice.

This was a last minute idea, so I had to make the most of what i got. I figure its worth trying...whats the worst that could happen, I make a dud beer? Been there and done that, its all about learning!!

Won't be a dud beer, if it were me I'd go on the cautious side and maybe go less crystal or change to light crystal (and still a little less, maybe 5%)

Or bitter some more but I'd probably go for the former.

 

[chrisluki]

That's a pretty dark crystal and a fair bit of it, for that IBU.
It will be more sweet than English malty.
Think about balancing it either with more bittering hops or less crystal malt.

I was kinda going more for colour there...how much would you drop out?

 

[wereprawn]

I kinda thought the same then 1.043, yeah I'd still session that.

All that spec malt and s-04 could finish up with a high fg.

Drop them out then? replace them with more Pale or Munich?
Or just drop one of them?

Wouldn't use them mate.

 

[chrisluki]

All that spec malt and s-04 could finish up with a high fg.

Wouldn't use them mate.

Swap in a s-05?
Malts gone.

 

[Dan Pratt]

Id drop the Munich but thats me...hi Coodgee ;-)

Drop the victory and crystal the Munich will add plenty of sweet malt character at that %.

What mash temp?

 

[wereprawn]

Swap in a s-05?
Malts gone.

Yeah 05 will work well. MJ m42 would be my choice chris. As damoninja said, lower
the xtal a bit ...say 150-200g.

 

[chrisluki]

Id drop the Munich but thats me...hi Coodgee ;-)

Drop the victory and crystal the Munich will add plenty of sweet malt character at that %.

What mash temp?

Cheers!
69 degrees?

 

[chrisluki]

Yeah 05 will work well. MJ m42 would be my choice chris. As damoninja said, lower
the xtal a bit ...say 150-200g.

Had an 04 and 05 on hand...that's it, so I will go 05.
If i had planned better, i would have had more options...but I just gotta go with what I have got.

 

[damoninja]

Although with a totally different idea was in mind, I recently did an English ale recipe with 400g light crystalm 100g med, 60g choc, mashed at 69C and fermented with S04. Sessionable? Nah. Could it be? Yeah, if I diluted it a little.

Higher IBU also, but a similar BU:GU (actually his is higher).



This is a very very balanced beer, the oak was a great addition. This is now my go to English pale, oaked or not.

FG was not 1.018 by the way

 

[chrisluki]

Hey guys, just wanted to say thanks for all your help in puling my recipe together.

The brew is now fermenting and despite a few hiccups, all went well. I have to try and do one thing at a time...by filming my brew day I was a bit distracted and forgot a few things.

Will put the video on my FB/YT page by the end of the week if anyone is interested.

Cheers

 

[Andy_27]

Although with a totally different idea was in mind, I recently did an English ale recipe with 400g light crystalm 100g med, 60g choc, mashed at 69C and fermented with S04. Sessionable? Nah. Could it be? Yeah, if I diluted it a little.

Higher IBU also, but a similar BU:GU (actually his is higher).

oaky.JPG

This is a very very balanced beer, the oak was a great addition. This is now my go to English pale, oaked or not.

FG was not 1.018 by the way

Hey that looks alright, I might have to borrow that recipe!