100% Amarillo Pale Ale

100% Amarillo, hops @ 15 minutes or less

Fred Bonjour's Amarillo Pale Ale, I subbed Victory and Pacman yeast.  The Amarillo had a distinct funk at first, the orange tangerine notes have only started to come forward after a few weeks in the keg.

Summer On My Mind

A lot of Hops

A freezer full of hops, sacks of malt,  empty carboys and a fresh culture of  ESB yeast sets up well for a "summer strength" American Pale Ale.  The goal? Aromatic, well balanced, light to medium bodied American style ale with serious pulling power.

The grist is simple; Pale Ale Malt, Flaked Barley and Crystal 40 to the tune of 1.050.  The plan is to mash just the Flaked Barley and Pale Ale Malt @ 150F for 60 minutes before adding the Crystal 40 during Vorlauf.

 

230 grams of aroma/late/dry hops (~1.5lb/bbl) will be divided:

• 20% (45g) Cascade @ 20 minutes remaining in boil
• 50% (115g) Simcoe/Galaxy @ Whirlpool (30 minutes)
• 30% (70g) Galaxy split between two carboys, 35g each.

I'll add an additional bittering hop, probably Columbus or Chinook @ 60 to hit 35 IBU's (Tinseth).  To better estimate the final bitterness, whirlpool hops are entered to my brewing software as a 5 minute addition. I have found this to be a reasonable estimation of their bitterness contribution.

To dial in my water profile, I'll treat the entire 60 litres of brewing liquor with lactic acid to a room temperature pH of 5.4.  Then add 2 tsp of Calcium Chloride, 3 tsp of Gypsum and a campden tablet.  This should yield an appropriate mash pH with a final Calcium concentration of ~ 100ppm.

3rd Rock Pale Ale and Jamil's BCS Scottish 70/-

Pictured left is a Scottish 70/- from Jamil's "Brewing Classic Styles".  In the book he offers two recipes on the same style, one more traditional, the other a modern take on the classic.

I opted the modern version which includes 2-Row, Munich, Honey Malt, both medium and dark Crystal.  Finally Pale Chocolate Malt.

I brewed to an OG of 1040 with a single addition of Target @ 60 minutes for 13 IBU.  I mashed as prescribed @ 158F, fermentation stopped at an FG of 1.014-1.016.  I fermented with 4th gen Pacman yeast harvested from a bottle of Rogue Brutal Bitter.

The beer is excellent!  Lots of character for such a small beer.  Nice body, head retention, great colour.  Could see this becoming a house style.  Easy drinking, satisfying and you can drink two or three and feel fine.  Great social brew for sure.

Pictured right is a late hopped APA.  I call it "3rd Rock".  2-Row, Munich, CaraPils, and a touch of CaraAroma for colour.  OG about 1060.  I followed this with an insane hopping schedule!  Follow me here:

Chinook/Cascade/ Columbus @ 25 min, 15 min, 5 min and 1 min.  IBU count of ~ 36.  Each addition featured a 2:1:1 ratio.  Example 2:1:1 Chinook:Cascade:Columbus followed by 2:1:1 Cascade:Chinook:Columbus followed by 2:1:1 Columbus: Cascade:Chinook.   I then did the same for two dry hops, each 4 days long.  A total 240g for 20 Litres of beer!

First off, the beer drinks nothing like 36 IBU, more like 50 or 60.  It's clear with decent head retention.  Love the colour, classic IPA.  I am picking up some slight oxidation.  I dry hopped this in a secondary which I might not do again.  I have had better success hopping in the keg.  Intense grapefruit and pine flavours.  It's very nice but could do with some more body.  I used 8% CaraPils so perhaps a slightly higher mash temp might be in order.  Nice aroma but not as pungent as I was expecting.  I am getting little from the Columbus.  The Cascade and Chinook shine.  Fermented with Pacman, finishes quite dry.  Drinks like an IPA not the intended APA.

Short & Heavy "Special" APA

WLP090 - Pitch +87hrs

Brewed 40 liters of APA yesterday.  I've been trying to use up stock and therefore I'm running light on malt; however, the freezer is well stocked with hops.  To borrow a term from British brewers, with respect to gravity or strength of ale, this is going to be a "Special" strength American Pale Ale.

Base was a mix of Domestic 2-row and Pils combined with a decent portion of Vienna.  Weyermann CaraFoam and some CaraMunich for colour and body.  The **CaraMunich was added late in the mash, during the mash-out, one of a few changes I made to my brew process.  The idea here is to introduce less variables to the mash and thus stabilize the pH resulting in a more predictable wort.

Rather than treating the mash with salts, I simply treated the entire volume of brewing liquor with Lactic Acid to a pH of ~ 5.50 as calculated with the sparge water acidification tool in Bru'n Water.  I then added Calcium Chloride and Calcium Sulfate to the boil for a desired flavour profile and calcium content.

Since I was brewing 40 liters, a decent water to grain ratio can quickly fill my 36qt MLT.  This meant that I was not able to add all my sparge water at once as I normally would with smaller batches. What I decided was to begin draining the second running, then when the water level had dropped slightly, add the remaining sparge water.  A cross between batch and fly sparging.  Didn't seem to impact my mash efficiency at all.

Beyond the tight working conditions of my MLT, the only other issues encountered were a slightly low temperature on the sparge water (got caught making dinner).  The mash and mash-out were a perfect though, 152/168F.  I had two minor boil overs, once before the first hop addition, the second just after the 20 minute addition.  These stops and starts reduced my anticipated boil off and dropped the *OG a point or two.  Finally, during the last 15 minutes of the boil, while recirculating boiling wort through my pump and lines to sanitize everything, I guess some thermo protection switch kicked in and the pump stopped working.  Once the wort had chilled considerably, the pump resumed function.  I feel the risk of infection is minimal since it did get about 10 minutes of contact time with boiling wort.

I've started using Yeastex, a nutrient.  Not sure if it does anything but I figured it's cheap insurance since I tend to re-pitch yeast often.  For this particular beer, I did a split batch, one half receiving 250ml of 3rd gen, BRY-97 - American West Coast Ale Yeast.  This was harvested from a Blonde Ale the previous day.  The other half received a fresh 1L starter of WLP090 -San Diego Super Yeast.   As of pitch +7.5hrs, the BRY-97 had a light krausen covering the surface.  No action on the WLP090.

Here's the recipe...

Short & Heavy Special APA

OG 1.047*/ IBU 40/ SRM 5/ 40L
BRY-97 West Coast Ale Yeast/WLP090 San Diego Super Yeast

42% Domestic 2-Row
33% Pilsner Malt
16% Vienna
5% CaraFoam
4% **CaraMunich I (38L)

15g (13 IBU) Columbus @ 60m
40/20g Centennial/Simcoe @ 20m
40/20g Simcoe/Amarillo, 1/2 @ 5m, 1/2 @ 1m

Dryhop (Keg)
***40/15/5g Centennial/Simcoe/Amarillo

***Amount specified is per keg/19L

Update - Pitch +20hrs

BRY-97 was quick out the gates, the krausen continues to slowly build.  WLP090 was slower off the get go but has exploded filling the entire 4L headspace with krausen.

Update - Pitch +32hrs

BRY-97 krausen now stands at ~2".  From what I've seen in the past, this is pretty much high krausen.  The San Diego Super WLP090 krausen has started to fall slightly.  Very quick!  Wort temperatures holding steady @ 20c

Update - Pitch +63hrs

Both krausens have fallen to a light layer covering the surface of each fermenter.

Update - Pitch +72hrs

Krausen on WLP090 has completely fallen, STC controller set to 22c.

Update - Pitch +87hrs

Sample pulled from each fermenter, BRY-97 @ 1.012, WLP090 @ 1.011.  WLP090 sample very clear already!

Update - Pitch +13 days

Move BRY-97 to ambient and WLP090 to the keg.  Added Dry hops to the WLP090.  Will DH @ ambient for 3 days before moving keg to serving fridge.

Update - Pitch +16 days

Moved WLP090 to the serving fridge.  Set pressure to 30psi.

120 Liter Weekend?

Yeast starters are fermenting, recipes have been planned and barring any major interruptions, I hope to put 120L into the fermenters this weekend...

1. 40L APA - 2-Row, Vienna, C60 & Wheat malt with Columbus, Simcoe & Amarillo hops
2. 40L SMaSH - Vienna malt & Citra hops
3. 40L Mild - MO, C60 & Pale Chocolate malt with Styrian Goldings hops

For the APA, I plan to use White Labs English Dry Yeast - WLP007.  To suppress ester production, this batch will be closely controlled in the fermentation freezer .  The plan is to complete the bulk of fermentation at the strains lowest optimal temperature, 18c/65F.  The yeast was harvested from LowTech Blonde v4 (June 26th) making this the 5th pitch.  Last evening, approximately 250ml of solid slurry was pitched to 1.4L of 1.037 starter.  After a day on the stir plate this should result in an anticipated cell count of 400B, enough for 40L of 1.056 Ale.

For the SMaSH, I plan to pitch Safale S-04 in one fermenter and Danstar BRY-97 in the other.  This batch will not be temperature controlled.  I will be at the mercy of my cold room's ambient temperature.  As of last night, this was 18c/65F.  So depending on how much heat each strain will generate, I may be pushing low 70's at the height of fermentation.  I plan to hydrate each dry yeast using 110ml of 38c/100F bottled spring water.  The dry yeast will be sprinkled evenly over top of the water and left to rest for 15 minutes after which the yeast will be re-suspended and left for 5 minutes.  At this point you attemperate with wort to within 10c of the pitch temperature.  From the reviews I've read on BRY-97, it does benefit from re-hydration.

For the Mild, the plan is to pitch Burton Ale Yeast - WLP023 to one fermenter and British Ale Yeast - WLP005 to another.  Again, no temperature control beyond the ambient of my cold room.  Approximately 150ml of WLP023 was harvested on June 24th will be added (2nd pitch) directly without a starter.  Yeast calc indicates a viability of 80% which results in a cell count of 120B.  The recommendation is 140B for 20L of 1.038 Ale.  Close enough I say.  The WLP005 was certainly getting long in the tooth.  190ml was harvested on March 27th.  Yeast calc pegs the viability at  39%.  After 1.2L of 1.037 starter, the resulting cell count should be in the neighborhood of 120B.  Again, slightly low of the 140B target but close enough I say.  This will be the yeast's 5th pitch.

Update July 19th

Both starters WLP007 & WLP005 appear to have fermented out.  When I woke this morning I found that both were starting to clear.  Both starters were placed into the fridge to crash remaining yeast, perhaps I can decant some of the starter liquid.

First up this evening is the Citra SMaSH.  Paired with 9kg of Vienna Malt for 40 Liters @ 1.050 & 37 IBU.  I treated my water with 1 tsp Gypsum, 2 tsp Calcium Chloride and 1 tsp Epsom for a room temp mash pH of 5.49.  An additional 1 tsp of Gypsum added to the boil.  Whirlfloc with 5 min remaining.  Hops at 60 (9g), 30 (15g), 5 (120g), and will dry hop each keg with an additional 60g.  As noted, will pitch BRY-97 and S-04 to this batch.  Water numbers: Ca 71, Mg 9, Na 18, Cl 61, S04 132.

100% Vienna Malt

Ended with ~19L in each fermenter.  Gravity measured 13.2% Brix = 1.051.  I left behind about 4.5L in the kettle, trying to filter it for a future starter.  Was only able to chill to 24c, so I will leave in the basement cold room until tomorrow morning and then pitch my yeast. 

Update July 20th

Hydrated both yeasts as described and pitched to SMaSH this morning @ 10am. 

Mashed in on the APA/WLP007.  Hit mash temp of 67c/152F.  7kg OiO 2-Row, 2kg Vienna, 500g CaraMunich 1, 500g Wheat Malt for 40L @ 1.056 and 41 IBU.  Treated water with 1 tsp Gypsum, 2 tsp Calcium Chloride, 1 tsp Epsom for a room temp mash pH of 5.6 (forgot Acid Malt).  Additional 1 tsp Gypsum to the boil as well as 1 tab Whirlfloc @ 5min.  Hops @ 60 (18g Columbus), 30 (15g Simcoe, 15g Amarillo), 5 (60g Simcoe, 60g Amarillo).  Each keg with receive a dry hop addition of 30g Simcoe, 30g Amarillo.  As noted, will pitch WLP007 to each fermenter and this batch will be controlled in the freezer @ 18c/65F.  Water numbers: Ca 70, Mg 9, Na 18, Cl 60, S04 129.  Finished with 2x20L @ 1.059 OG.



As of 2:20pm this afternoon, both SMaSH fermenters are showing air-lock activity. That's about 4hrs from pitching!  Cold room sits @ 19c/66F. 

Pitched the WLP007 @ 9pm.  Wort temp was down to 15c.  Controller set to  18c.

APA heading to the Primary

After struggling for the better part of an hour to try and fit both fermenters into the freezer, gave up and moved both to the cold room.  Need to figure a better solution in the future, perhaps 1 carboy and 1 pail?  Also, I noticed there was over a 1c difference in temperature between the two.  Not great.  Anyways, WLP007 now at the mercy of my 18-19c/64-66F cold room. 

Update July 21st

I don't have another 40L brewday in me.  I decided to mash only 20L of the Mild which is obviously much quicker.  When running off to the fermenter,  I intend to reserve 500ml of the wort and pitch to the WLP005 which has been waiting in the fridge, this should wake it up and build the cell count a little more. Will pitch tonight.

Mashed at 67c for 50m before beginning mash-out.   2.7kg of MO, 600g of Muntons 150 (57L), 200g of Wheat malt and 120g of Pale Chocolate malt from TF&S for 1.036 @ 14 IBU.  Styrian Goldings (30g) added @ 30m.  1tsp Calcium Chloride added to the mash for a pH of 5.56.  Additional 1 tsp of Calc Chlor and 1 tsp of Epsom added to the boil, Final water: Ca 66, Mg 15, Na 18, Cl 106, S04 81.

The setup for this weekend

Ended with 23L of Mild @ 10.6% Brix = 1.040.  Not sure why I overshot the gravity by 4 pts?  Volumes were as expected.  This one may end up being a touch under hopped. 

Pitched WLP005 @ 8pm.  WLP007 batch has beginning stages of Krausen in both fermenters.  BRY-97 still pushing the airlock but nothing in the way of Krausen.  S-04 looks like it may be half way done LOL! 

Update July 22nd

5 fermenters rocking this morning.  Krausen on the S-04 Citra SMaSH has fallen.  The BRY-97 is nearing peak.  Both WLP007 APA's are showing full krausen.  The WLP005 I pitched last evening (after a couple more hours on the stir plate with batch fresh wort) is popping the airlock at a steady pace.  It's ALIVE!   

Update July 26th

As of this morning, only the BRY-97 still has krausen.  All other fermenters have fallen.  I only have a single available keg so I for foresee some decent conditioning time for most of the beers.

Update August 3rd

Kegged 1 fermenter of APA @ 1.014 (7.8% brix = 3.55°P), ~5.8% ABV 

Update August 6th

Kegged both Vienna SMaSH and the Mild.  Bone head move on the Mild, started racking the beer to keg before dumping the 1/2 gallon of Starsan, DOH!  Dumped at least 2 gallons of Mild before continuing to rack the remaining beer.  The Vienna SMaSH fermented with S04 was near crystal clear heading into the keg.  The BRY-97 looks quite cloudy, hopefully the cold conditioning will help.  Same with the WLP005 Mild, very cloudy and somewhat yeasty smelling while heading to the keg.  I neglected to take FG on any of these beers.

The remaining 1 fermenter of APA was racked to a secondary to further condition and clear.  I didn't have any additional kegs.

Update Sept 22nd

Final carboy of the APA racked to keg, FG 1.010, no dry-hops.  Didn't like how this one turned out so I didn't want to waste the hops.  This second carboy sampled much nicer than the first.

Tasting - LowTech Pale Ale v4

LowTech Pale Ale v4

For a beer that I considered more or less a failure... it's sure nice!  In case you didn't read, I had big problems with a new hop filter design, it quickly clogged.  I managed to finally transfer the wort into the fermenters via auto-siphon although I lost substantial wort in the process.

Appearance

Pours burnt orange.  The Muntons Crystal 240 is darker than I expected.  It holds up nicely to the high gravity to bitterness ratio.  There is a very faint roastiness although I get more caramel notes than roast. The dense head only sticks around briefly before settling back into a fine lace.  Considerable lacing throughout the pint.  Considering the age of the beer and the lack of cold conditioning, the clarity is superb.  No finings post boil were used, this is all WLP007.  Overall, its certainly at the darker end of the pale ale spectrum.  You might even call it an American Amber Ale.

Aroma

Malty with a definite hop presence.  Not sure I can pick out any one hop, but the combination works.

Taste

For a pale ale, I'd consider the bitterness assertive.  Hop are front and center, surprising when you consider there were only 5oz's in the 40L batch.  Malt sweetness with some toast on the back end.  The body and mouthfeel are adequate, I might increase the crystal slightly.  Carbonated well, finishes dry.

Drinkability

Bitter and hoppy.  Inviting to the eye.  Lower AVB works. Anxious to try the dry-hopped version. 7/10.

Update June 11th

Had some carbonation issues early on, they seem to have been corrected.  Pints are pouring nicely, the ale is developing nicely.  Not sure if it's at it's peak yet but close.

Update June 13th

Wow!  Drinking really nice.  Bitterness has mellowed, malt profile starting to come forward.  Still a hoppy beer but now with a nice balance.

LowTech Pale Ale v5 - "Filter Test"

Sunday past, I brewed up a batch of APA (v4) using a new hop screen attached to the boil kettle's dip tube.  Between the hops and cold break, the filter clogged real fast, pump lost prime, I lost wort and finally resorted to racking each fermenter via auto-siphon.  I deemed the project and perhaps the brewday to be a failure.  However, I am not willing to give up so easily.

After discussions with my local brew club,  I mocked up a new filter design.  A Stainless Steel mesh "pocket" which will be placed in the center of the immersion chiller during the last 15 minutes of the boil (to sanitize).  The pocket is roughly 12" high, perhaps 8" across.  The recirculated/whirlpool wort would be pumped into the pocket which hopefully contains a large amount of trub while allowing the dip tube to continue feeding the pump unobstructed.   Results?  SUCCESS!

LowTech Pale Ale v5

OG 1.048/ IBU ~40/ SRM ~7/ 23L

82% OiO 2-Row 
11% Weyermann Light Munich
07% Muntons Dark Crystal 240 (91L)

4.45 AAU (10g) Chinook @ 60 minutes
2.91 AAU (15g) Willamette @ 20 minutes
17.9 AAU (50g) Northern Brewer @ 10 minutes
3.54 AAU (10g) Northern Brewer @ 1minutes
4.45 AAU (10g) Chinook @ 1 minutes

Primary dry hop TBD

Fermentis Safale S-04

Brewed  May 27th

Mashed in at 152F for 45 minutes before sparging to collect ~29L pre-boil volume.  Boiled for 70 minutes adding hops as scheduled above.  1/2 tab Whirlfoc added at 5 min remaining in boil.  Chilled to ~22c.  Transferred ~23L to a pail.  Pitched one packet of S-04 (dry).  1 tsp Gypsum, 1.5 tsp Calcium Chloride, 1 tsp Epsom Salts added to mash for a pH of 5.49.  Final water numbers: 
Ca 78, Mg 15, Na 18, Cl 79, SO4 145 

Brewday observations:
- Hop pocket worked perfectly
- Pump flow was awesome, never transferred to fermenter so fast!
- Directed the flow through a mesh strainer as well, didn't see any accumulation of break or hops.  Hop pocket did a great job (see photo's above)
- Again efficiency is high than expected, SG = 1.0489 (12.12°P).  4.4kg of malt at noted gravity with ~23L in the fermenter = 87% Brewhouse efficiency.
- Love brewing these smaller batch sizes!  No threat of boilovers + 3.5hr brewday from start to finish (including clean up).

Update May 28th 

Airlock movement in the morning.  Temperature has raised slightly to 67F.  Very active by the evening.

Update May 30th

Airlock movement complete.  Gravity tested 1.0129 (3.29°P) = 73% attenuation.  1oz of Chinook, 1/2 oz of Nothern Brewer and 1/2oz of Amarillo added to the primary.

Update June 8th

Racked beer to keg, pressure set to 12psi

LowTech Pale Ale v4

Been a while since I brewed up some LowTech APA.  I am fresh out of Cascade so I have decided to sub in something interesting...  Nelson Sauvin.  I'll be pairing it along side Willamette (for which I have a major surplus) and finishing up with Amarillo which I deeply love.  I am awaiting receipt of more wheat malt and have a touch of Light Munich which I'd like to use up, so I'll be straying slightly from my house recipe.  I present...

LowTech Pale Ale v4

LowTech Pale Ale v3

OG 1.046/ IBU ~40/ SRM ~7/ 41L

80% OiO 2-Row
13% Weyermann Light Munich
07% Muntons Dark Crystal 240

6.35 AAU (1/2oz) Chinook @ 60 minutes
5.60 AAU (1.0oz) Willamette @ 20 minutes
24.6 AAU (2.0oz) Nelson Sauvin @ 10 minutes
8.00 AAU (1.0oz) Amarillo @ 10 minutes
2.80 AAU (1/2oz) Willamette @ 1minutes
6.15 AAU (1/2oz) Nelson Sauvin @ 1 minutes

Dry hop with 1/2oz of each Chinook & Amarillo for 7 days

WLP007

Brewed  May 26th

Mashed in at 152F, mashed for 70 minutes before collecting 44L pre-boil volume.  Topped up with 2L of straight water for a final pre-boil volume of 46L.  Boiled for 70 minutes adding hops as scheduled above.  Whirlfoc added at 5 min remaining in boil.  Chilled to ~19c.  Was attempting to use a new hop screen which failed miserably.  Part way through the transfer to fermenters, I lost prime.  After losing a few liters of wort attempting to reprime my pump, I opted to use my auto-siphon for the remaining wort.  Two fermenters filled with about 19L in each.  Each fermenter received half the cake reserved from LowTech Blonde v3 (making this yeast pitch 2nd generation or 2nd time used).  Yeast was about 2 weeks removed from the Blonde, no starter used.  Removed from fridge, partially decanted and pitched cold to new home.  2 tsp Gypsum, 2 tsp Calcium Chloride, 1 tsp Epsom Salts added to mash for a pH of 5.49.  Final water numbers: 
Ca 77, Mg 10, Na 18, Cl 66, SO4 141 

Brewday observations:
- Don't use a hop screen with my setup, doesn't work.
- The crystal malt is much darker than I expected. This wort appears more amber in colour.
- During the mess up with the pump and prime, I had way too much direct contact with the wort, infection a possibility.
- Used carboys as opposed to pails for the first time in a while, not sure why.
- Not sure if my efficiency is high than expected or perhaps due to my loses, SG = 1.0481 (11.92°P) which is about ~86% mash efficiency.

Update May 27th

Woke this morning to find the airlock on both fermenters in the "up position".  A light layer of Krausen present on both carboys.  Wort temperature  ~18.5c (65F)

Update May 28th

Both carboys showing high Krausen.  Steady movement on each airlock.  Wort temperature has hit 21c.

Update June 2nd

One carboy racked to secondary with 1oz of Nelson Sauvin.  Decided to use up the little that was left.  I sampled and it's very hoppy!  I might not even dry hop the second carboy. 

Update June 3rd 

Racked the fermenter which didn't have the dry hops to keg.

Update June 5th

Co2 pressure bumped to 40psi.  Samples are bitter and hoppy.  Looking forward to trying this carbonated.

Update June 8th

Second fermenter racked beer to keg, pressure set to 12psi

Tasting - LowTech Best Bitter v1

LowTech Best Bitter v1

Not a terrible first attempt, I do plan on some future changes, first being the yeast selection.  I would also drop the amount of chocolate malt used for colouring or perhaps use a different specialty malt all together.

Appearance

Pours darker than the software estimated 9 SRM.  Closer to a deep copper.  The picture (right) wasn't taken in the best lighting and appears darker then is actually is.  Suffers from chill haze which is surprising since I got a real nice chill on this beer plus my hop screen did a bang up job of filtering out cold break.  I used whirfloc as well.  Not sure what else I could do besides using some post boil finings (gelatin).

Head retention is alright.  Hangs around for a short while before settling back to a 1/4" lacing.  Carbonation medium-low, a touch too high for the style.

Aroma

Nice kettle aroma, more than I anticipated!  I also get a very slight fruitiness but would like to smell more yeast esters on my next attempt.  Very, very slight breadiness.  Overall, very pleasant.  I might need to add EKG to my next hop order.

Taste

LowTech Best Bitter v1

There is a slight mineral flavour that I do not care for.  I believe this is quite indicative of English yeast's.  The ale is weighted towards hops and thus the caramel flavours from the crystal malt have been somewhat masked.  Mouth feel is what I'd consider medium, too heavy for the style.  When I brew again, will reduce late hops to try and bring malts forward a touch  The bitterness is about right, perhaps a touch high but not much.

Drinkablility

Definitely a step in the right direction.  The OG was too high for a Best, I'd like the hops and malts to balance better.  The colour is too dark and I might need to consider some finings post boil.  However, the beer drinks quite nicely, it passed the wife test!  For my next attempt, I'll up the crystal malt slightly and change up the colouring malts (chocolate) to lighten the colour a touch.  6/10.

Update April 24th

Not sure if we had been drinking this particular ale a little too young, but I began noticing significant improvement over the past few days.  The reported breadiness from the WLP022 started to really come through.  It did a stellar job of accentuating the maltiness of the MO not to mention enhancing the caramel notes from the English crystal.  It also dropped clear as a bell.  The sad part is, I served the keg at a birthday party this weekend past and only manged to save three pints before the keg blew!  Thankfully I have a second batch of 20L still in the primary... gotta love 10 gallon batches!

Tasting - Throwdown APA

Appearance

Throwdown APA

Pours from the tap with a deep orange hue.  The head is whipped and fluffy.  There is a slight haze with is likely attributed to the dry hopping, it should diminish with further cold conditioning.  I have my keg fridge set to ~5c with the pressure regulator set at 12psi.  I normally disconnect the gas once the desired carbonation has been reached.  Carbonation is on the lower side for an APA, maybe 2.2 vols.

Aroma

Citrus with some Amarillo dank.  Centennial is present but takes a back seat to the Amarillo which dominates the aromatics.  2oz per 5 gallons @ 7 days does a nice job.

Taste

Nicely attenuated,  Finishes somewhat dry.  A firm bitterness stands up to the caramel sweetness thanks in part to the moderate amount of CaraMunich III.  Nice and hoppy.  Malts provide backbone but citrus hops once again dominate.

Drinkability

Very sessionable!  Easy drinking, very aromatic and flavourful.  Could use a touch less caramel malt sweetness.  Next time will experiment with using wheat malt rather than CaraFoam which might provide more of a dry graininess. 8/10!

Update May 15th

The APA did not fair well at the Throwdown.  Was dinged heavily for oxidation and some acetaldehyde.  I was very surprised as I didn't pick these up at all!  Funny enough, in a blind tasting of 11 beers, I selected my own 3rd place overall...  unfortunately I was the only one LOL.  Somethings to work on for next time...  looking forward to trying one of these little competitions again.

Throwdown APA

Our local homebrew club is hosting a competition of sorts,  a "Throwdown".  Best APA using a common set of recipe ingredients, may the best process win.

Guidelines

• 1.052/40 IBUs
• 90% Domestic 2-Row
• 5% Crystal 60
• 5% Wheat/CaraFoam/Oats/Flaked Barley (pick 1)
• Any combination of: Chinook/Centennial/Amarillo/Cascade/Citra
• Dry hop with 0-2oz's
• US-05 Yeast

Here's what my submission looks like...

APA Throwdown

OG 1.052/ IBU ~40 (Rager)/ SRM ~6/~41L

90.0% OiO Canadian Two-Row 
05.0% Weyermann CaraMunich III
05.0% Weyermann CaraFoam

12.07 AAU of Chinook @ 60 minutes
16.35 AAU of Centennial @ 05 minutes
16.35 AAU of Amarillo @ 05 minutes
16.35 AAU of Centennial @ 0 minutes
16.35 AAU of Amarillo @ 0 minutes

Dry hop 1oz Centennial for 7 days (each carboy)
Dry hop 1oz Amarillo for 7 days (each carboy)
 

Fermentis US-05 Yeast

Recipe Brewed March 9th

  

Mash was conducted at 153F for 60 minutes.  I then batch sparged and boiled the wort for 70 minutes hopping according to the schedule above.  At the end of the boil, I whirlpooled for 20 minutes and then proceeded to chill the wort to 68F.  The wort was given a chance to stand for 20 minutes where most of the cold break and hops and fallen to the bottom of the boil kettle.  

The wort was then transferred to each of the fermentation vessels where it was aerated with a Fizz-X wine degasser for 5 minutes.  US-05 packet pitched dry to both fermenters.  Showed signs of activity within 24 hours. 

1 tsp Calcium chloride, 1/2 tsp Gypsum, 1/2 tsp Epsom and 130g Acid malt added to the mash for pH of 5.52.  Additional 1/2 tsp Gypsum added to the boil.   Final water numbers:

Ca 42, Mg 10, Na 18, Cl 35, S04 99  

Update March 11th

Full krausen.  Performed first dirty skim

Update March 12th

Top cropped second rise, added to mason jar filled with boiled and cooled water.

Update March 25th

The cropped yeast continue to ferment in the mason jar even when placed in the fridge at 4c!  Twice, I had to clean up.  The top cropped yeast was very active.
Final gravity tested 1.0118 (3.03°P)

Update Match 27th 

Both fermenters racked to secondary.  1oz Centennial and 1oz Amarillo added to each carboy.

Update April 3rd

Both fermenters rack to keg.  The first transfer was very smooth.  When racking dry hopped beers, I use my 3/8th auto-siphon with a voile bag over the tip of the cane.  The bag is secured with a sanitized elastic.  This ensures no hop pellet particles make it through to the keg.  During the second transfer, I performed the same steps but this time the bag was causing quite a bit of air bubbles.  I removed the racking cane and change the bag for a new one after which, the transfer proceeded smoothly.  Hope I didn't oxidize the beer!  Will drink this one first.

Update April 4th

Sipping the first pint.  Cloudy and green but the foundation is there.  Interested in seeing (tasting) how this progresses.  I think the hop stand had a negative impact on the aroma.  I had expected more from the Amarillo hops (one of the hops I have decent experience with). 

Update April 7th

What a difference just a few days can make!  I bumped the pressure back to 34psi last night, vented and set to serving pressure again this morning.  Beer is now carbed and damn delicious!  The carbonation really helps to accentuate the hops.  It's had also cleared significantly since the first pour.  Looking forward to seeing how this one develops.

Update April 12th

We're several pints into this one now, aroma has diminished slightly, firm bitterness remains.  Could stand to be a touch clearer.  Excellent flavour, a real solid APA.  Thankfully I have a second keg because this is my go to tap at the moment.   

Tasting - Chinook SMaSH

This turned out to be a real nice session beer.  Light a crisp, malty notes on the aroma.  Would have preferred more Chinook aromatics given the late additions, not sure what happened there.  I've never really been able to get much aroma from late kettle additions, lots of flavour just not aroma.

At near 44 ibu, the beer drinks crisp and slightly dry but not nearly as bitter as you might imagine.  It's actually fairly well balanced all thing considering.  I started drinking it real young, brewed on February 20th, I was pouring pints by March 10th.

Easy drinking albeit fairly one dimensional.  Body and head retention surprisingly good consider the uber simple malt bill.

As far as appearances are concerned, a picture speaks 1000 words.

Chinook SMaSH

Chinook SMaSH

Not much to say about this one.  If you haven't tried brewing a SMaSH beer, they are an excellent way to fine tune your pallet and really experience was a particular malt or hop is all about.  In this case, the malt took a back seat to Chinook Hops.  I used a fairly clean neutral yeast, WLP007 to further accentuate the hops.  The recipe had originally been planned in the 1.065 IPA territory but some low efficiency numbers meant it finished more in the realm of an APA.  I adjust the bittering addition on the fly to account for the projected lower starting gravity.

Another nice this about SMaSH beers is that they don't require much conditioning time.  Case and point with this SMaSH as I believe it went from grain to glass in a little under 2 weeks.  I am writing this introduction well after the initial brewday.  On to the details.

Chinook SMaSH

OG 1.055/ IBU ~44/ SRM ~3/~26L

100.0% OiO Canadian Two-Row

9.00 AAU of Chinook @ 60 minutes
9.00 AAU of Chinook @ 20 minutes
13.5 AAU of Chinook @ 05 minutes
13.5 AAU of Chinook @ 0 minutes

WLP007 Dry English Ale Yeast

Recipe brewed on February 20th

Brewed a 26L batch (post boil), ~23L into the fermenter.  Mashed @ 153F for 60 minutes, boiled for 60 minutes.  Fermentation controlled at 68F

1 tsp Calcium chloride, 1/2 tsp Gypsum 100g Acid malt added to the mash for pH of 5.49.  1/2 tsp Gypsum added to the boil to accentuate hop sharpness.  Final water numbers:

Ca 62, Mg 3, Na 18, Cl 53, S04 91

Update March 8th

Terminal gravity 1.012.   Ale racked to keg and "bump" carbonated.  Allow to chill in the fridge overnight and then received 36psi for 30hrs.  Carbonation acceptable.   WLP007 Yeast reclaimed for later use in LowTech IIPA. 

Little Devil APA - Now Available from OBK

Ontario Beer Kegs has picked up one of my recipes!

Check it out:
OBK Little Devil Pale Ale by Craig

Tasting - "Amarillo Pale Ale, No Salts"

Brewday Post and Recipe
Amarillo Pale Ale - No Brewing Salts

Appearance
Picture speaks a thousand words.  Not sure if this amazing appearance is related to using no salts, or perhaps I was just extra patient with this brew.  I did give the brew more time in the primary and boy did it pay off.

9/10.

Aroma

Mild hoppiness.  Nothing over the top but quite inviting.

6/10

Taste
Nicely balanced.  True to style APA.

7/10

Overall Impressions
Pleased.  I don't feel the beer was drastically different due to the lack of brewing salts.  I'll brew again without water additions.

7/10

Brewday - "Yeast/Salt Test"

Notes
Essentially the same recipe (modified hop schedule) as "Little Devil" albeit with some significant yeast and miscellaneous ingredient changes.  An attempt to go back to basics, I rely completely on the addition of Acid malt for mash pH adjustment.  I used EZWater calculator to decide on the amount of Acid Malt, 90grams accordingly to the spreadsheet.  I am re-pitching the US05 from my Centennial BSB2012 IPA.  This is the third time I've brewed this basic recipe.  Each time I've used a different yeast with a slightly different hopping schedule.  Interested in seeing how this one turns out.

American Pale Ale (10A)

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: US-05
Yeast Starter: Nope
Additional Yeast : Re-pitch
Batch Size (Post Boil): 26L
Original Gravity: 1.054

Final Gravity: 1.011 (est)
IBU: 35.5
Boiling Time (Minutes): 65
Colour (SRM): 5.4 (est)
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 10 @ 65-68F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 12 @ 65-68F
Conditioning [Bottle] (# of Days & Temp): 21'ish @ 65-68F

Ingredients

89.0% Canadian Two-row (OiO)
05.0% CaraFoam (Weyermann)
04.0% CaraMunich I (Weyermann)
02.0% Melanoidin (Weyermann)

24.8 IBU Warrior (17g @ 60 min)
17g Cascade @ 20 min

17g Amarillo @ 10 min
17g Cascade @ 0 min

17g Amarillo @ 0 min

Water (City tap water treated with Campden)

Acid Malt added, pH 5.49
City of Ottawa tap water (Campden treated)

Mash Instructions
Single Infusion, 60 minutes (153F), 1.25qt/lb
Double batch sparge, collected ~27.6L into the boil kettle

23/06/2012 - Recipe brewed

24/06/2012 - Yeast pitched, wort aerated

10/07/2012 - Racked to secondary

01/08/2012 - Bottled

Brewday - "Little Devil"

Notes
Named after my second son, this is the second time I've brew this recipe.  Based on the awesome Amarillo hop, the goal is a hop forward ale without the sharp bite of an IPA.

For round 2, I've made some minor tweaks.  I changed up the hop schedule a touch.  Increasing the initial 60 minute charge, I deleted the previous incarnation's 30 minute addition.  Late hops have been simplified additions at 10 and 0.   I am undecided whether or not to dry-hop, I did in the v1 recipe.  I suppose it will depend on the availability of a carboy...  I am brewing at capacity for the timing being.

I will also be using a different yeast.  The previous version was pitched onto a S-04 yeast cake.  I do not have much experience with Danstar Nottingham yeast.  I understand it to be a neutral yeast with wide a temperature range.  Attenuating on the high side (75%+), it's appropriate for American Ales.  I harvested this yeast from a friends completed Festa Brew kit.

American Pale Ale (10A)

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: Nottingham
Yeast Starter: Nope
Additional Yeast : Nope
Batch Size (Post Boil): 24L
Original Gravity: 1.052
Final Gravity: 1.011 (est)
IBU: 35.7
Boiling Time (Minutes): 65
Colour (SRM): 5.3 (est)
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 10 @ 65-68F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 12 @ 65-68F
Conditioning [Bottle] (# of Days & Temp): 21'ish @ 65-68F

Ingredients

89.0% Canadian Two-row (OiO)
05.0% CaraFoam (Weyermann)
04.0% CaraMunich I (Weyermann)
02.0% Melanoidin (Weyermann)

26.1 IBU Amarillo (27g @ 60 min)
28g Amarillo @ 10 min
28g Amarillo @ 0 min
28g Cascade @ 0 min

Water (City tap water treated with Campden)

Gypsum, Calcium Chloride and Epsom Salt added, pH 5.50

Ca-93/Mg-15/Na-18/Cl-105/S04-147

Mash Instructions
Single Infusion, 60 minutes (152F), 1.25qt/lb
Double batch sparge, collected ~27.6L into the boil kettle

Favorites - SNPA Clone

(Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Clone)
American Pale Ale (10A)

Notes
Originally found on Hoptomology, I was immediately drawn to the recipe's simplicity.  Having no Perle or Magnum, I had to make do with "internet accepted" subs.  In went Columbus for bittering and Challenger at the 30 minute flavour/bittering charge.  I was very pleased with the results.

Fermentation went very well.  Even without a secondary, brew bottled very clear.  Aroma wasn't "slap you in the face", but noticeable.  Overall the beer was incredibly balanced, flavourful and very easy to drink.  I was amazed this simple recipe could provide such a pleasing brew.  KISS in full effect!  Will make again (soon).

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: Fermentis Safale US-05
Yeast Starter: Nope
Additional Yeast : Nope
Batch Size (Post Boil): 26L
Original Gravity: 1.053
Final Gravity: 1.011
IBU: 35.7
Boiling Time (Minutes): 65
Colour (SRM): 6.5
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 15 @ 68F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): N/A
Conditioning [Bottle] (# of Days & Temp): 21 @ 68F

Ingredients

90.9% Canadian 2-Row (OiO)
09.1% Crystal 110 (Muntons)
19.1 IBU Columbus @ 60 min
10.5 IBU Challenger @ 30 min
06.1 IBU Cascade @ 10min
57g Cascade @ Flame-out

Water (City tap water treated with Campden)

Gypsum, Calcium Chloride and Epsom Salt added

Mash
Single infusion,  60 minutes (153F)
Mash-out (170F) , double batch sparge, collected ~30L into the boil kettle