Citrus Mistress Pale Ale Recipe Critique & Sugesstions

Beer Recipes
1

Hi everyone and  good morning west coast time here 8)

Would appreciate some suggestions & or critiquing; please explain why… so I learn  :smiley:

Created a pale ale recipe that is not thick in body, should have nice lacing in glass,  is easy drinking for the people who do not like the very bitter and hoppy beers. Im aiming for a  citrusy/ fruity  aroma and well rounded and smooth bittering up front.

What I do not care for is a hop monster( high IBUS/ Bittering or something that that has a very strong aroma of grass or pine cones… Im not an herbavoir .LOL

My BU/GU Ratio is
Boil Gravity 1.044
BU/GU ratio  0.58
Calories per 12oz 184.9

Im at a BU/GU of .060 rounded off for a perceived bitterness which is at the low end if im reading the Hoppy Style Bu/GU chart’s i’ve seen for a pale ales  at the low end of bittering.  :slight_smile:

Method: All Grain
Style: American Pale Ale
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 7.52 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.044 (recipe based estimate)
Efficiency: 80% (brew house)

Original Gravity: 1.056 Final Gravity: 1.013 ABV (standard): 5.61% IBU (tinseth): 32.32         
SRM (morey): 6.1
Fermentables
Amount Fermentable   PPG °L Bill %
8.4 lb     American - Pale 2-Row 37 1.8 80.5%
0.52 lb American - Caramel / Crystal 40L 34 40 5%
1 lb German - Munich Light 37 6 9.6%
0.52 lb American - Wheat 38 1.8 5%
10.44 lb Total

Hops
Amount Variety Type AA Use Time IBU
0.5 oz Magnum Pellet 15   Boil: 60 min 27.34
0.25 oz Citra Pellet 11         **Aroma:**15 min 4.98

Hops Summary
Amount Variety Type AA
0.25 oz Citra   Pellet 11
0.5 oz     Magnum     Pellet 15

Mash Guidelines
Amount Description Type Temp Time
4.05 gal mash In Infusion 152 F 60 min
6.05 gal mash out Sparge 170 F 15 min
Starting Mash Thickness: 1.55 qt/lb
Other Ingredients
Amount Name Type Use Time
1 tsp Irish Moss Fining Boil 15 min
Yeast
Wyeast - American Ale 1056
Attenuation (avg):
75%
Flocculation:
Med-Low
Optimum Temp:
60 - 72 °F

Fermentation Temp: fermentation freezer with Johnston controller and probe  insulated and taped to carboy
**62°F **
Pitch Rate:
0.35 (M cells / ml / ° P)
101 B cells required

Yeast Starter: 1500ML starter

Notes
What Im aiming for in this recipe:(for beer drinkers who do not like that Very bitter and hoppy beers)
Body: Light to medium
Head: Nice head retention and lacing
malty: slightly not overpowering
Sweetness: Just enough to round off the bitterness of the bittering hops
Color SRM: nice golden to that slight orangey/ brownish color
Bittering: clean & smooth bittering, not very bitter.
Aroma: Strong citrus and tropical tones of grapefruit, melon, lime, gooseberry, passion fruit and lychee

A nice beer i could drink in the summer. wait isn’t that what we all want…LOL

2

See: citrus mistress 1st recipe very beginning of discussion
Method: All Grain
Style: American Pale Ale
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 7.52 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.044 (recipe based estimate)
Efficiency: 80% (brew house)

Original Gravity: 1.056 Final Gravity: 1.013 ABV (standard): 5.61% IBU (tinseth): 32.32         
SRM (morey): 6.1
Fermentables
Amount Fermentable   PPG °L Bill %
8.4 lb     American - Pale 2-Row 37 1.8 80.5%
0.52 lb American - Caramel / Crystal 40L 34 40 5%
1 lb German - Munich Light 37 6 9.6%
0.52 lb American - Wheat 38 1.8 5%
10.44 lb Total

2nd version of above  (Tweaked)

BU/GU: 0.59
IBU
Method: All Grain
Style: American Pale Ale
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 7 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.043 (recipe based estimate)
Efficiency: 80% (brew house)

Original Gravity: 1.055 Final Gravity: 1.013 ABV (standard): 5.51%
**IBU (tinseth):**32.55 
SRM (morey): 5.78
Fermentables
Amount Fermentable PPG °L Bill %
8.75 lb American - Pale 2-Row 37 1.8 85.4%
0.5 lb American - Caramel / Crystal 40L 34 40 4.9%
**0.5 lb **German - Munich Light 37 6 4.9%
**0.5 lb ** American - Wheat 38 1.8 4.9%
10.25 lb Total

Hops
Amount Variety Type AA Use Time IBU
0.5 oz Magnum Pellet 15 Boil 60 min 27.54
0.25 oz Citra Pellet 11 Aroma 15 min 5.01
Hops Summary
Amount Variety Type AA
0.25 oz Citra Pellet 11
0.5 oz Magnum Pellet 15
Mash Guidelines
Amount Description Type Temp Time
4.05 gal mash In Infusion 152 F 60 min
6.05 gal mash out Sparge 170 F 15 min
Starting Mash Thickness: 1.55 qt/lb

3

That looks like an easy drinking pale.  Are you looking to do a clone of HV’s Citrus Mistress?

4

LOl sounds like i am… because of the name. I just called it that to keep track of it in my  files…LOl something catchy I guess…

“Easy drinking pale and not a bitter or sweet  bomb”:  That’s what I was  going for, so yes. easy drinking. I  trying for something smooth, slightly malty and  rounded smooth bitterness with that  Lychee, passion citrus fruit aroma flavor that Citra hops gives you…

Out of the 2 recipes which one is best you think?
5.5 gallon batches

1: would you increase or decrease the crystal or leave alone?

2: Munich or sub in Vienna and or increase?

3: would you increase either thee Munich or Vienna

Note: I/ve never used magnum or Citra nor have i ever made an APA beer. 1st time and my 1st recipe formulation…LOL !  Am I using theses correctly for what Im trying to achieve?
I think/ hope I am according to my research… maybe…LOL

Thank You for taking the time to respond :slight_smile:

5

My main question is regarding the hop amounts. Is there really only 0.75 ounces of hops total? If so, that is a big problem for an APA. My house APA uses about 4.5 ounces of hops total for 5 gallons and that is conservative to some…

6

I agree you are low on the late hops for an apa. Looking more in blonde territory. I recommend pairing the citra with something. I don’t like it solo. Amarillo, cascade, centennial, and simcoe are all good choices.

7

+2

8

You can lose the wheat and Munich, IMO.

9

So How would you guys do a hop schedule for this

The suggestions were magnum for bittering
pairing the citra with cascade for aroma

What about using Amarillo as well  or is that just too much of a muddled/ sim. floral aroma?

Hop schedule example?

Well rounded and smooth Bittering,
fruity + passion fruit+ citrus+orange aroma and  flavor

Denny, I dropped the what but kept the Munich as well… why drop that if I might ask?

Thank you every one for your suggestions and input…

Thanks guys

10

You could do all three if you want, but stage them at different times. You already said you don’t like hop forward beers, so maybe go easy. I would try a half ounce citra and .5 ounce of another c-hop at 5 or 10 minutes.

If this were my beer, I would go ounce total at 0, ounce total at 10, magnum (or another good bittering hop) to get it to about 30-35 ibu. Dry hop is optional.

11

To tell ya the truth, I was on the fence about the Munich.  You dropped the wheat, so let’s call it good!

12

Denny, I went with your advice and kept everything else :slight_smile:
Now to brew this puppy…LOL

13

Ok everyone,

SteveTX helped me out so credit goes to him for HOP schedule if its bad…LOL if its good It was all me… ha ha

Kidding!

Method: All Grain
Style: American Pale Ale
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 7 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.043 (recipe based estimate)
Efficiency: 80% (brew house)

Pale ale
Original Gravity: 1.055
Final Gravity: 1.013
ABV (standard): 5.51%
IBU (tinseth): 35.36
SRM (morey): 5.83
Fermentables
Amount Fermentable PPG °L Bill %
9.25 lb American - Pale 2-Row 37 1.8 90.1%
0.51 lb American - Caramel / Crystal 40L 34 40 5%
0.51 lb German - Munich Light 37 6 5%
**10.27 lb Total **

Hops  IBU (tinseth):35.36    BU/GU Ratio: .64
Amount Variety Type AA Use Time IBU
0.3 oz Magnum Pellet 15 Boil 60 min 16.52
0.5 oz Citra Pellet 11 Aroma 5 min 4.03
0.5 oz Cascade Pellet 7 Aroma 5 min 2.56
0.5 oz Cascade Pellet 7 Whirlpool at 150 °F 0 min 4.77 (SEEP FOR 10MINS)
0.5 oz Citra Pellet 11 Whirlpool at 150 °F 0 min 7.49 ((SEEP FOR 10MINS)

Flameout Hops Seeping: Seep hops for 10 mins at flame out  170-180F wort
I read somewhere else  to seep at around 120F.?
So I averaged the 120 and the 180 and got 150F, hence this degree

14

I would never hop stand at 120F, that’s just too low. You want to maximize flavor extraction, but minimize bitterness. My preferred temp is 170F. You get very little bitterness at all at that temp, but extract loads of flavor. I also usually hold it for 30 minutes or so at that temp. You will extract a good amount of flavor in 10 minutes, but the longer you go, the better.

Personally, I’d move all your late hops to the steep. The more you boil hops, the more volatiles you lose.

15

I agree with the simpler malt bill, more hops, push em to late additions.

Cascade and Citra sounds awesome but I have had also had 100% Citra pales that were also awesome. Actually I think Lawsons Sip of Sunshine is close to 100% Citra too and it’s an amazing 2xIPA.

For heavy hop aroma APAs I like ½ oz/gallon steeped at 170f for close to an hour and an oz/gallon dry hopped.

16

The Other Citrus Mistress  :wink:
Brewed it up this Sunday… Freaking HOT day to brew i’m a brew warrior ;D

Everything went like clock work (Except)
Batch 5.5
The good:
Preboil Gravity 1.042@65F (not temp compensated)
Post Boil OG 1.053/2 @76F (not temp compensated)
Hydrometer calibrated to 60F
Made 1500Ml starter wyeast 1056 w/ 1 cup of amber DME light for 4 days prior and decanted wort liquid prior to pitching.

The bad:
Sat. night  I sanitized all my equipment  with a mix of starsan & PBW and boiling water, march pump, silicone brew hoses with fittings, dudadeisel 36"L-20 plate plate chiller for over an hr then cleaned with clean boiling water “flushed out”

But on Sunday when I brewed, as I was pumping my hot worth through the plate chiller,  I totally forgot to starsan the inside of the  silicone hoses  as well as run starsan through plate chiller… Frak me!

Im my system, the hot wort leaves the kettle>>>goes though hose #1 >>>into input side of march pump & >>>out via Hose #2 hose which is connected to >>>inlet at the Plate chiller and comes out >>>on the cold side of the output via hose #3 which is directed into the ferment bucket  (hose #3 is the cold side)

So up to this last point everything is very hot!    but during this I was chilling the plate chiller with Ice cold recirculated water… So once the Hot wort starts to make its way through the plate chiller by the time it comes out the outlet it is 65F ±  and that last hose#3  is the cold side which is what I use to  direct the flow of 65F wort into sanitized bucket.

Im kinda worried that the middle of chiller & the end of the outlet side; the #3 silicone hose could be a point of possible contamination…  I’m hooping my starter and that I cleaned everything very good the night before compensate for this possibility!

Am i over worrying about this? will the starter over ride anything possible from the cold side??

17

I think you will be fine.  I’m no expert, but it sounds like your Saturday evening session cleaned the microbes from your gear. I can’t see the bad guys building up overnight. RDWHAHB.

18

Thanks I hope ur right
or else I quit brewing …lol :wink:

19

By the way when I pitched at 6pm Sunday night the activity in the air lock was going crazy a few hrs later. Maybe by the am… I dunno I was tired but by 8 am it was going crazy bubbles…

20

Hello and good afternoon, west coast California time!

Hot and in drought so wonderful…LOL

I wanted to update everyone who commented along the way on this pale ale, my 1st attempt at style as well as  my 1st late hop additions at flame out. wooo wooo

Im past main fermentation since I brewed this 1 week ago; 08.09.2015
Fermentation took off like a rocket!!
Yesterday, I took a  gravity reading yesterday on 08.15, 2105 … hit my FG dead on 1.012 :slight_smile:
Sample:
SRM: Color was is a beautiful orangish goldish very slight tint of redish; CHECK 
Aroma: “WOW” has that aroma  of passion fruit kiwi, citrus…etc…
Taste: I had stated I don’t like hoppy beers But dang this was sample has very smooth bittering. I let my mother have a sip and a wiff, she was curious as to what I was doing… she doesn’t drink period
Her comments were like: Wow this is actually really tasty and that smell is amazing… How did you get this to smell like that.
she thought it was ready to drink at 1 week…LOL

Cant wait to bottle this in approx 3 weeks for a total of 4 weeks in primary, I don’t do secondary…

By the way 1st time making this style and flame out hops… what can I expect as it conditions? Smoother, bitter, etc…??

Thanks every one!!!  8) ;D

I tried adding an image doesn’t work by the way… :frowning: