Just put together an extract recipe for an American Pale. I’m still a little green when it comes to making my own recipes, so I’d appreciate any feedback. Looking for a clean, super drinkable pale (like Sierra Nevada). Thanks in advance.
11 gallons
16 lbs Pale LME
1 lb. Crystal 10L (steeping grains)
15 oz. Pilsner LME
15 oz. wheat LME
1.75 oz. horizon (60 min)
.5 oz. cascade (10 min)
.5 oz. centennial (10 min)
1 oz. cascade (flameout)
1 oz centennial (flameout)
Judging by the amount of extract, this is a 10 gallon batch? If so, I would at minimum double you late additions. But I like hoppy.
I do like cascade and centennial together.
I don’t think you really will gain much from the pilsner extract and you might want to consider using c20.
Also, I recommend moving into all-grain. 10 gallon extract batches are expensive. The savings from two batches can more than pay for a Dennybrew cooler style mash tun.
any reason for the pils and wheat extracts? If not I’d skip them I’d think about skipping or seriously reducing the crystal malt as well. remember that pale LME already has some crystal in it most likely.
and +1 to bumping the hops alot if this is a 10 gallon batch or cutting the LME way down if this is a 5 gallon (and maybe still bumping the hops up some)
My recommendation for an extract APA or IPA is to use either pilsner or Extra Light DME only for your base. They are the most fermentable extracts in my experience. You also may want to consider using about 10% table sugar to make sure the beer finishes as dry as you’d like. In my experience the biggest issue with extract Pale Ales is that they don’t finish dry enough.
Good suggestions from other folks here. Remember that extract is most likely going to be less fermentable than an all grain brew due to the lack of free amino nitrogen and also the possible addition of crystal malt to the original mash (you really have no idea what is in those extracts.)
I’d get away from LME completely as it tends to not be as fresh as DME, or, to be more exact, suffers more from oxidation. And as others have said, subbing a small amount of sugar will help dry the beer out.
On top of everything you might be surprised how easy all grain brewing is, and if you are making 10 gallon batches you might already have the most expensive parts: The boil kettle and the chiller. Do a search fro “Denny Brew” to find Denny Conn’s quick, cheap and easy batch sparge method. It’s what I use and it makes great beer.