Trying to hammer out a nice pale ale. . .

[czucker]

Hey folks,
I've been trying to pin down a good pale ale recipe. I've had some success and some failures. . .

Here's my next shot. . . Any thought?

Atticus Pale II

Best,
Chris

 

[Pappers_]

Looks interesting and good, Chris. Three thoughts: 1) perhaps simplify the mini-mash by getting rid of the biscuit and carapils (with 1lb of crystal I don't think you need carapils); 2) perhaps move your middle hop addition to the 20 minute mark; and 3) have you looked to the recipe database here for guidance and ideas?

Happy brewing!

 

[czucker]

Hi Jim,
Thanks for the thoughts.

The last pale that I did was really lacking in body, so I thought that the carapils wouldn't hurt any, but I do see your point about it being redundant. If you were to drop it from the recipe, would you up the caramel, or should the 1lb be good enough?

As for the biscuit I kind of like the character, but maybe substituting some vienna malt instead might be good. . .

I'm going to re-work the recipe in a bit and see what I come up with.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[pkeeler]

If you moved the extract addition to 15 min. from the end of boil, it would probably increase your hop utilization. Then you could maybe reduce the amount and save some money and cut down on trub.

 

[czucker]

Thanks for the tip. that was an error on my part. I kept looking at the recipe wondering why the hell it was taking so much hops to get 40 IBUs. I typically toss the DME at the very end of the boil.

So, how does this strike you folks?

Atticus Pale III

Best,
Chris

 

[chefchris]

Thanks for the tip. that was an error on my part. I kept looking at the recipe wondering why the hell it was taking so much hops to get 40 IBUs. I typically toss the DME at the very end of the boil.

So, how does this strike you folks?

Atticus Pale III

Best,
Chris

In my experience, Vienna malt is a little sweet. If you have a pound of crystal (sweet) and a pound of Vienna (sweet).... well, that might be too sweet. Pale ales are all about balance of malt and hops. I would replace the Vienna with .75 lb of Victory, or even toast some 2-Row of your own (it comes out very nice but fades quickly).

Did you mash your last pale ale at 149F? That might be the culprit for the lack of body. Crank that **** up to 154F.

Any reason for the 90 minute boil?

 

[czucker]

No real reason for the 90 minute boil. . .

I like the Victory suggestion. I'm going to give that a shot. I'll report back with my results.

 

[chefchris]

No real reason for the 90 minute boil. . .

I like the Victory suggestion. I'm going to give that a shot. I'll report back with my results.

You'll like it. It will add some nice toasty notes to help bring the malt forward. I would just do a 60 minute boil, otherwise it's just a waste of gas (on most styles).

let us know.