Edwort's Haus Pale Ale (attempt 2)
So had some Cascade hops lying around and finally picked up some Vienna malt to try out last time at store, so decided to give one of HBT's most-talked-about house ales another shot. The 1st time around, I used a different malt (UK 2row 2 lbs) and .1 lbs crystal 60L. The OG was 1.062 and FG was 1.014. My notes say it "originally smelled like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, but taste was weak and watery. If was maltier would be nice; has transparent caramel taste." Being one of my first all-grain recipes, I did not measure strike temp of water and mash temp, but should have been quite low, seeing as how i doughed in when water was 165F and wanted to mash at 150F (could have been using the candy thermometer i broke before i bought my digital one). Things I did differently on this batch:
Mash around 154-155F to bring out more malt profile
Use ingredients similar to the actual listed recipe; not whatever malt was laying around.
Ferment at cooler temps
Take better notes on process
I have not had the chance to sample my recent brews yet as most are carbing and conditioning. However, I have become increasingly concerned with my fermentation temperature (though US05 can be used up to 75F) and how it might affect taste. I've also been concerned about over-attenuation and ending up with beer that lacks body. Except for my porter, most other brews have finished 1.012 or 1.013. Going to try to use mash temperature to affect this. Maybe longer mashes have caused this, so this time I put first runnings on the stove to kill enzyme activity quicker and mashed for shorter time. Still had good efficiency though, can't wait to see final gravity reading. I'm also going to let ales condition bit longer than my little patience allows, will taste 1 bottle 2 weeks after bottle conditioning, one at 3, etc and make notes.
Pale Ale (after BCBHPA) 1 gallon 1.45 lbs 2 row $1.60 .35 lbs vienna malt $0.42 .07 lbs crystal 60L (calls for 10L) $0.10 .2 oz Cascade 6.2%AA 60 mins $0.40 .1 oz Cascade 30 mins $0.20 .05 oz Cascade 15 mins $0.10 .05 Cascade 5 mins $0.10 US 05 yeast $0.60 $3.52/9= $0.39 per bottle
1.865 x 1.3= 2.4 quarts 185F water to preheat MLT. Dough in at 170-171F and mash at 154-155F for 55 mins. Put first runnings on stove while stirred in first half of batch sparge water (185F). Cooled and pitched rehydrated yeast starter. Filled small bucket 2/3 up primary's side with cool water and have been adding ice cubes as need to keep water surrounding fermenter around 66-67F (wort will be warmer due to fermentation activity). Starting temp= 157F End temp=152F (thermometer had to be off, havent lost so many degrees in while) OG: 1.059 at 82F= 1.062 actual 89% efficiency Not complaining about efficiency but with such low amount of 2 row in this brew I calculated efficiency lower (at 82%) than I have been getting on the past few brew sessions. After this higher gravity than i wanted, average efficiency used to create recipes will be 86%.