Simple pale ale...

[bwarbiany]

This is just a simple pale ale recipe I'm looking at to use up some specialty grain and hops, but I'll be serving this at a party, so I want a few more sets of eyes to look it over for any potential red flags... Let me know what you think.

It'll be served alongside the Oktoberfest lager, so I'm looking for something a bit more pale and dry, and a great bit more hoppy.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 10.50 gal
Boil Size: 13.43 gal
Estimated OG: 1.052 SG
Estimated Color: 6.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 50.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
10.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 46.51 %
10.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 46.51 %
1.00 lb Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 4.65 %
0.50 lb Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM) Grain 2.33 %
2.50 oz Magnum [10.00 %] (60 min) Hops 43.4 IBU
2.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (10 min) Hops 6.9 IBU
2.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-SteepHops -
2 Pkgs SafAle American Ale (DCL Yeast #US-05) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 21.50 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Light Body
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 26.88 qt of water at 161.4 F 150.0 F

[BrewMasterBrad]

Looks pretty tasty to me. I don't know what wort chilling method you use, but you might want to whirlpool hot for 15 to 30 minutes before you start chilling to extract as much flavor and aroma as possible from that last addition of hops.

[bwarbiany]

I typically recirculate the wort through a CFC immediately following the boil until it's down to ~110 deg or so -- takes 15-20 minutes. Then run it through the CFC into the fermenter to pitching temps. I typically pull through hop & break material into the fermenter, so that's not filtered out.

I have additional hops on hand, so if you think with my method that it would make sense to up the hop rates, I can certainly do it.

[bwarbiany]

Thinking about changing this up and swapping in S-04. I haven't used it much, and feel like this would be a relatively clean recipe where a yeast change might really give me a sense of what S-04 is capable of.

Any thoughts? Will it mesh well with Cascade? Recommendations on fermentation temp?

[BrewMasterBrad]

I have never used S-04, but it looks like it is similar to WLP002, so you should be fine using it in this recipe.

[brahn]

Good to hear, I'm planning to try out S-04 at some point soon in an american pale/amber too.

[bwarbiany]

Damn. O'Shea was out of S-04.

I'll be working with Nottingham. Every time I've used it, I've kept it very cold (60-62 degrees), and it's been very clean. If I want to get more estery English character, what temps are recommended? Anyone ferment Notty up in the 68-70 range with success?

[lexuschris]

I use Notty in my American Wheat and usually ferment in the 66-68 range. Clean profile, very attenutive (85%-90%).

I've not tried it lower or higher...

--LexusChris

[brahn]

I've used Nottingham a few times, I'm sure some were in that range. I can't remember it ever giving a particularly British character, but let us know how it turns out.

[JonW]

I've been using it at 68 for a centennial blonde recipe and I'm not happy with the flavor. It seems to have a buttery flavor to it. I may try it down around 62-63 or I may even switch the recipe to S-04 next time.

[nico soze]

I've used safale 04 66-70f and I like the taste I get from it. Oceric referred to my brown ale as "how the ahp brown ale recipe is supposed to taste"

[bwarbiany]

Ever had one of those brew days where -- assuming the final beer tastes good -- it's a testament to the yeast, not the brewer?

Had trouble holding mash temps. Had horrible mash efficiency. Had a pump problem on the sparge, so my sparge went too fast and didn't get a good vorlauf (ended up with a little bit of grain material in the kettle). Extended my boil and added 1# sugar to account for the mash issues, but that makes me glad I went with Notty rather than US-05, which would have dried out the beer WAY too much. Then, when it came time for hops, I didn't realize that my big bag of hops in the fridge was Czech Saaz, not Cascade. So I switched my 10 min addition to 3 oz Saaz, and replaced my flameout addition with 2 oz EKG. But my neighbor came by right before the end of the boil, and I got distracted and didn't add my flameout hops until I had already cooled the wort to 140 degrees.

In the end, with the sugar addition I was only a point off my target OG, and I still think I'll end up with a decent, crisp, hoppy ale. But if the mark of a good brewer is the ability to consistently repeat a quality process and make the beer he intended, I have seriously failed.

[lexuschris]

assuming the final beer tastes good -- it's a testament to the yeast, not the brewer?

Perhaps it will be a testament to a savvy homebrewer, who successfully navigated all the changing variables on the fly ... and still made a good beer!

--LexusChris

[bwarbiany]

assuming the final beer tastes good -- it's a testament to the yeast, not the brewer?

Perhaps it will be a testament to a savvy homebrewer, who successfully navigated all the changing variables on the fly ... and still made a good beer!

--LexusChris

My ego is large enough, Chris... The last thing the world needs is for it to grow.