What have I made?

[thrall]

Hey guys,

I used up some ingrediants on my last bacth of beer and really have no idea what to call it....is it a lager, IPA, ALE etc

I started with a coopers lager kit and then added the following

1kg DME
450g carapils
400g crystal 60

8g East Kent Goldings + 8g Galaxy + 4g Saaz @30mins
12g Saaz @15
12g Saaz @5

Most of the hops and the crystal were getting a bit old and I needed the freezer space so just made this. Any idea how it will turn out and also what its classed as.

I have some left over Galaxy and Saaz so I might do a dry hop also.

 

[sptaylor70]

Assuming that the Cooper's Lager kit makes a blonde ale (which is what most people seem to say), with an OG ~ 1040 and IBU ~ 25, then your additions should have brought your beer to OG ~ 1067 and IBU ~ 41. That's in the ballpark of a not-very-hoppy American IPA. If you want to be closer to the middle of that style, or you just like hops, then the dry hopping will be a good idea. Otherwise, you could call it a big-boned American Pale Ale. The key thing isn't so much what you call it, but whether you like it. Post how it turns out.

 

[thrall]

Assuming that the Cooper's Lager kit makes a blonde ale (which is what most people seem to say), with an OG ~ 1040 and IBU ~ 25, then your additions should have brought your beer to OG ~ 1067 and IBU ~ 41. That's in the ballpark of a not-very-hoppy American IPA. If you want to be closer to the middle of that style, or you just like hops, then the dry hopping will be a good idea. Otherwise, you could call it a big-boned American Pale Ale. The key thing isn't so much what you call it, but whether you like it. Post how it turns out.

Thanks for the reply,

I was thinking the hop bitterness would be a little higher as the Galaxy hops I used were 16.9 AA.

Also what would you recomend for a dry hop? I have 16g Galaxy and 32g Saaz left.

 

[sptaylor70]

Dry hopping is mostly about aroma, so I'd definitely put in the Saaz (all of it), at least. Adding the Galaxy will accentuate the citrusy passionfruit aroma, and therefore flavors, so if that sounds desirable, then just put it all in. Give it about a week, then bottle.