Building on a basic APA

I've got this fermenting.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/basic-basic-apa-407331/

Initially I thought I'd wait to taste this and then maneuver it into something else. But I want to brew and bottle in the same day. So, I'm looking for general wisdom of where to take this next. I really like Red's Rye and most rye PAs I've had and am thinking that rye would be a great standard part of the recipe. I might add some wheat next time. I don't want a red's rye clone but something inspired by (since much of RR isn't just the rye but also the hops).


What do you think about this?

4 lbs 16 oz 2 row 67%
1.27lb Rye malt 17%
.74lbs 40L 10%
.3lb Cara-Pils 4%
.15lb aromatic 2%

.5 Centennial 60 min
.25 Centennial 20 min
.25 Cascade 10 min
.25 Cascade 0 min
.25 Centennial Dry hop 7 days
.50 Cascade Dry hop 7 days

1 pkt US-05

39.7 IBUs
5.8% abv
9.3 SRM

I know this isn't a super exciting project, building on the basics of an APA. Exciting in terms of crazy hop varieties and specialty grains. I'm trying to focus on the basic building blocks of recipes and would LOVE experienced brewers' feedback.

Thanks!

no lovin'.....sniffle.....sniffle....

bannerj said:

no lovin'.....sniffle.....sniffle....

Click to expand...

I think the recipe looks fine. A bit odd to list 4lbs.16oz. I believe that would just be 5 Lbs. otherwise though looks like a nice ryePA only made one Rye Ale and that used all Rye.......was a bit too much. So I can't really comment on the overall flavor of your recipe but it appears to be a solid recipe.

I'd do 20%-25% rye, I just did an imperial rye amber, used 19% and it's close, but could have used a little more. I'm going to go after 25% the next time. The rest looks great!

GilSwillBasementBrews said:

I think the recipe looks fine. A bit odd to list 4lbs.16oz. I believe that would just be 5 Lbs. otherwise though looks like a nice ryePA only made one Rye Ale and that used all Rye.......was a bit too much. So I can't really comment on the overall flavor of your recipe but it appears to be a solid recipe.

Click to expand...

Must've been a typo copying from beersmith. Thx

meltroha said:

I'd do 20%-25% rye, I just did an imperial rye amber, used 19% and it's close, but could have used a little more. I'm going to go after 25% the next time. The rest looks great!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. I'll maybe push more Rye on the next one after this then. I'm trying subtle shifts right now. Rye is the DEAL for me.

Just a thought, you may already be doing this but don't forget when you go over 10%+ rye malt you might need to add rice hulls etc. to thin out the mash.

thanks. Do I need rice hulls with BIAB? I didn't think so.

You don't need rice hulls with BIAB. I'd cut out the aromatic malt and just add the rye, subtracting the same amount from your 2-row. I wouldn't want another malt that was not in your fermenting batch to conflict your senses when comparing to this batch. I think rye isn't necessarily what people claim it is unless you use more.

14thstreet said:

You don't need rice hulls with BIAB. I'd cut out the aromatic malt and just add the rye, subtracting the same amount from your 2-row. I wouldn't want another malt that was not in your fermenting batch to conflict your senses when comparing to this batch. I think rye isn't necessarily what people claim it is unless you use more.

Click to expand...

Good point on the aromatic. It's really hard to take small steps with these brews.

bannerj said:

Rye is the DEAL for me.

Click to expand...

No doubt man, I'm diggin it

Rye is nice, but you would probably be surprised by how much different an APA can be by simply moving from standard 2 row to a British pale. I am sipping on a West Coast Pale I made recently featuring Thomas Fawcett Halcyon malt along with some TF Crystal , and I can't believe the difference between this beer and a "standard" APA. It has loads of biscuit-y and spicy flavors, and the crystal malt comes across way fruitier and less sweet than the normal C malts I use.

I'm not discouraging you from rye by any means, but keep in mind that just making small switches like one pale maltster from another can make huge changes.
Also, the crystal rye from Thomas Fawcett is pretty amazing.

ahurd110 said:

Rye is nice, but you would probably be surprised by how much different an APA can be by simply moving from standard 2 row to a British pale. I am sipping on a West Coast Pale I made recently featuring Thomas Fawcett Halcyon malt along with some TF Crystal , and I can't believe the difference between this beer and a "standard" APA. It has loads of biscuit-y and spicy flavors, and the crystal malt comes across way fruitier and less sweet than the normal C malts I use.

I'm not discouraging you from rye by any means, but keep in mind that just making small switches like one pale maltster from another can make huge changes.
Also, the crystal rye from Thomas Fawcett is pretty amazing.

Click to expand...

AWESOME. This is exactly the kind of interaction/ideas that I'm looking for: what and how to tweak an APA.

I was thinking of going to maris otter next for my base malt. I'm doing a small switch to breiss 2-row instead of rhar (some said you can't tell a difference, but I could tell between the dry kernels). I want to shift the crystals around to 20L and others. I'll look into TF.

I love pales and I'm thinking that they will give me the easiest and best way to readily tell the difference between the various changes/additions.

Thanks!