Design me a recipe... using Cascade.

[Piscator]

It's been a very long time since I last did a "C" hop recipe of any sort but while I was rummaging in the freezer down in the shed getting hops out for the Jims ESB brew along I found 2 unopened packs of Cascade that I'd forgotten all about

I'd like to get another brew on the go once the ESB is out of the fermenter and would like something to contrast with it - so a Cascade heavy brew seems appropriate, however I'm having trouble deciding which direction to go with it... so here's where you come in.

I thought it would be fun to open the recipe up to you guys and see what you can come up with - I have plenty of the following grains in stock...

Pale malt
Crystal malt
Caramalt
Munich malt
Choc malt
Black malt
Flaked maize
Torrified wheat
Flaked rice
Rolled oats (cue Seymour )
Golden syrup
Demerera sugar
Molasses

Feel free to suggest dark beers, light beers and anything in-between... or even a twisted take on English ales if you like, the only thing it has to use plenty of is Cascade.
I have Magnum for bittering if you like - but feel free to do as you see fit with the hop schedule (don't feel obliged to use up both packs of hops).

The only thing I'd like to know about your suggestions is why you chose the grist/hop schedule and what you think it will bring to the brew - is it something you've had success with before ? or maybe something you've been toying with trying yourself but didn't feel brave enough to try and need a guinea pig

Over to you - be creative

Cheers
Steve

[seymour]

Fun challenge, Steve. Here's one tasty possibility:

PISCAMOUR AMERICAN BROWN
Being a Piscator and Seymour collaboration brew. All aboard the "Cascadian Dark Ale" bandwagon.

6 US gal = 5 Imperial gal = 22.7 Liters

GRAINBILL*
80% = 9.07 lbs = 4.11 kg, Pale Malt
12% = 1.36 lbs = 617 g, Torrified Wheat
2% = .23 lb = 104 g, Crystal Malt
1.5% = .17 lb = 77 g, Chocolate Malt
4.5% = .51 lb = 231 g, Black Malt

MASH low at 149°F/65°C for 60-90 minutes for maximum fermentability.

RAISE temp to 172°F/77.8°C, then VORLAUF, then SPARGE to collect 7.5 US gal/6.2 Imp gal/28.4 L pre-boil.

BOIL 60 minutes

HOPBILL†
33.3% = 1 oz = 28 g, Cascade, first wort addition
33.3% = 1 oz = 28 g, Cascade, 20 minutes remaining
33.3% = 1 oz = 28 g, Cascade, 5 minutes remaining, steep until chilled

YEAST, brewer's choice but here are my druthers in order:
1. Ringwood Brewery dual-strain. This ultra-attenuating, estery yeast is magically delicious.
2. McEwans Brewery Scottish ale strain, available as Wyeast 1728 and White Labs WLP028.
3. another distinctive, estery, high-attenuating UK brewery yeast such as Adnams, Fullers, or Whitbread-B.
4. Australian ale yeast, Coopers Brewery and/or Mauri 514.
5. American ale yeast if you must, note this is last on my list.

APPROXIMATE STATS (assuming 75% mash efficiency and 77% yeast apparent attenuation)
OG: 1053
FG: 1012
ABV: 5.3%
IBU: 40
COLOUR: near-opaque brown, reddish when held to the light, with sudsy off-white foam and lace

*This proven grainbill is based on my Seymour Citra Dark template, which borrows elements from some of my favourite complex dark ales: Ringwood XXXX Porter, KBC Porter, Seymour Simcoe Mild, The Civil Life American Brown. It is perfect when you want to go big in the malt AND hop departments. Sorry to disappoint, omitting my signature oats, but Alan Pugsley's Torrified Wheat provides the desired soft bready mouthfeel, head retention and lace this time.

†To transform this recipe into a Black IPA, simply: a) hold back the Chocolate and Black malts to stir into the mash immediately before sparging, for dark tint but minimal roasty flavour, ala Greg Noonan's original Vermont Pub Blackwatch IPA technique and b) dry-hop with another 2 oz/57 g Cascade after primary fermentation for 1-2 weeks before kegging or bottling.

[Piscator]

Now then, that looks rather good Seymour... and I wouldnt have thought of going that dark or using that much black malt. I don't mind not using oats That's a healthy snort of torrified wheat which should do a great job in the lacing/retention department
Interesting note about your choice of yeasts too - I would have used an American ale yeast on autopilot but now have something to think about... a re-pitch of the SO4 from the current batch of ESB might be more appropriate.
Thanks very much for your suggestion - much to consider...

Cheers
Steve

[bochgoch]

Interesting note about your choice of yeasts too - I would have used an American ale yeast on autopilot but now have something to think about...

I'd probably have done the same and now I'm questioning myself! Out of interest Seymour why is American last on your list? Flavour profile?

[seymour]

I think you mean "lack of flavour profile." Chico is a predictable workhorse, but it's just so damn boring. You guys have a heritage of so many yeasts which are just as fast and attenuative and compacting, which also contribute extra delicious layers of complexity.

[seymour]

Just to illustrate my point and open up discussion:
name one thing you like about American Ale yeast which Nottingham doesn't do better?

[Mr. Dripping]

Anyone with a hefty stock of cascade should look up the recipe for 'Epic Pale Ale'.......fabulous beer that I've made on several occasions. Uses tons of cascade, but due to the way the hops are used it tastes far more complex.

On the yeast thing.....001 is okay, but it does get pretty boring after a while.
I've been using 007 quite a lot recently, very similar FG to 001 and very clean but with a touch of English character. Clears far better than 001.
Nottingham is a versatile option too....increase the pitch and ferment cool for a very clean taste. It does strip a bit of hop flavour though IMO.

[chris2012]

You could look for a Sierra Nevada Pale ale clone, such as http://byo.com/cider/item/3025-sierra-n ... -ale-clone

[chumley]

Here is an old favorite recipe of mine.

Gust o' Wind Pale Ale
(5 gallons)

OG 1.060 FG 1.014 IBUs > 100

10 lbs. Maris Otter pale ale malt
1 lb. aromatic malt
1 lb. unmalted wheat (Montana low protein white winter wheat)
1 lb. light clover honey
1.5 oz. whole Cascades FWH
2.0 oz. Northern Brewer (8.1%) (60 min)
1.5 oz. whole Cascades (45 min)
1.0 oz. whole Cascades (15 min)
1 tsp Irish Moss (15 min)
1.0 oz. whole Cascades (1 min)
1.0 oz. whole Cascades (dry)
Wyeast 1056 or 1272 - 1.5 L starter

For the wheat, I just crush it in my Vita-mix mixer until it resembles coarse flour with chunks. Mash-in at 150°F. After 45 minutes, add an infusion of boiling water to raise to 158° for another 45 minutes. Batch sparge twice, add water to reach your pre-boil volume. Boil for 90 miuntes. Add honey at the end of the boil. Chill and aerate, ferment at 68°F, transfer to a secondary, add the dry hops, and age for two more weeks. Keg or bottle.

This beer is brilliantly clear, has a massive thick white head, and prickles the tongue. It won a 1st place in the APA/IPA category in the 2001 NHC Midwest Regional the one time I entered it into a contest.

To tweak it to match your ingredient list, substitute Munich for the aromatic, torrified wheat for the unmalted wheat, and Magnum for Northern Brewer.

[Piscator]

Thanks all for the ideas!

So far there are suggestions for pales - and a dark brown ale... any Amber Ale ideas out there?

Cheers
Steve

[seymour]

So far there are suggestions for pales - and a dark brown ale... any Amber Ale ideas out there?...

Amber ales, eh? Here you go:

Did you know Mitch Steele, legendary brewmaster of Stone Brewing, was previously an Anheuser Busch brewmaster? This is one of his recipes from 1995, the first ale brewed at the Budweiser plant in almost 100 years.

Elk Mountain Amber Ale
AB-InBev (historic, 1852-present) in St. Louis, Missouri, USA
OG: 1059
ABV: 5.6%
Grainbill: 80% Pale, 20% Crystal 40L Malt
Kettle hops: Willamette, Hallertau, Cascade
Dry hops: Cascade (.25 lbs/bbl)
IBU: 25
Yeast: A-B's standard ale yeast: NCYC 1044, from a British brewery, ferment at 70°F, flocculates well


Or, how about these other amber ale clone recipes, except "Americanizing" all the hops to Cascade?

Adnams Fat Sprat
Adnams Brewery (historic, 1872-present) in Southwold, Suffolk, UK
OG: 3.8%
Grainbill: Pale, Munich Malt, CaraMalt, Black Malt
Hops: Columbus, Goldings, Cascade, Chinook
Yeast: proprietary Adnams English ale dual-strain, originally from Morgan's of Norwich in 1942: ferment at 64.4°F/18°C, available in mini-casks but not bottles. It is believed one of those strains is sold commercially as Wyeast 1335/White Labs WLP025

Ballast Point Calico Amber Ale
Ballast Point Brewing Company (1996-present) in San Diego, California, USA
ABV: 5.0%
Grainbill: 88% Pale, 8% Crystal 60L Malt, 4% CaraPils/Dextine Malt
Hops: Challenger (60 min), Challenger (5 min)
Yeast: "Chico", the leading American Ale yeast, possibly from Scotland originally. Ballantine Brewery/Siebel BRY96/Sierra Nevada/WLP001/Wyeast 1056/Safale US-05, etc

Bath Ales Gem
Bath Ales (1995-present) in Warmley, Bristol, UK
OG: 1046
ABV: 4.8%
Grainbill: 91% Maris Otter, 4% Crystal Malt, 4% Wheat Malt, 1% Chocolate Malt
Early hops: Challenger
Late hops: Goldings
IBU: 22-25
Yeast: proprietary Bath ale strain, but derived of Whitbread-B (dry), related to NCYC 1026, Wyeast 1026, Wyeast 1098, White Labs WLP007, Safale S-04.

Hitachino Nest Amber Ale
Kiuchi Brewery/Hitachino Nest (historic, 1823-present, modern craft beer production since 1996) in Ibaraki, Japan
ABV: 5.5%
Grainbill: Maris Otter, Munich Malt, Crystal Malt, Chocolate Malt, Black Malt
Early hops: Chinook
Late hops: Cascade
IBU: 30
Yeast: moderately attenuative top-cropped ale strain

John Courage Amber
brand owned by Heineken/John Smith/Newcastle but last contract brewed at Caledonian Brewery
OG: 1045
Grainbill: 83.9% Pale, 9.7% Pale Crystal Malt, 6.5% Biscuit Malt
Hops: Northern Brewer (120 min), Fuggles (20 min)
IBU: 18
Yeast: historic Caledonian Brewery ale strain, open fermented for 1 week, top-cropped 3x per ferment, repitched up to 1 year. Could be related to Vaux/Wards or McEwans which is brewed at same place since 2004

L’Ambrée des 3 Brasseurs
Les 3 Brasseurs (1986-present, a Peter Austin/Alan Pugsley brewhouse installation?) in Lille, France
ABV: 6.2%
Grainbill: Pilsener Malt, Crystal Malt, Munich Malt
Early hops: Saaz, Nugget
Late hops: Saaz
IBU: 26
Yeast: Belgian wit strain, top-cropped and open-fermented, with brief lagering period

MacTarnahan's Ale
North American Breweries/Pyramid Breweries/Portland Brewing Co/Hart Brewing (1984-present) in Portland, OR & Seattle, WA & Berkeley, CA, USA
OG: 1052
ABV: 5.0%
Grainbill: Pale, Crystal Malt (mash high at 153°F for residual sweetness)
Hops: Cascade
IBU: 30
Yeast: fruity UK ale strain

New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale
New Belgium (1991-present) in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
OG: 1052
ABV: 5.2%
Grainbill: 50% Pale, 20% Munich Malt, 20% Dark Munich Malt, 5% Cara 80L Malt, 5% Victory/Aromatic Malt
Hops: Target, Willamette (60 min), Goldings (at flame-out)
IBU: 19
Yeast: proprietary New Belgium ale strain, a very neutral American ale strain, sometimes offered as Wyeast 1793

Rise Ærø Påske Ale (Danish Easter Beer)
Rise Bryggeri (2004-present) in Ærøskøbing, Denmark
ABV: 5.0%
Grainbill: Pale, Crystal Malt, Black Malt, Wheat Malt
Hops: Goldings
IBU: ≈20
Yeast: Rise house yeast came from Stonehenge Brewery, which is the old Morland Brewery English ale strain

Widmer Brrr Seasonal Ale (Winter Red Ale)
Craft Brew Alliance/Widmer Brothers Brewery (1984-present) in Portland, Oregon, USA
OG: 1070
ABV: 7.2%
Grainbill: Pale, Cara 10L Malt, Cara 80L Malt, CaraPils/Dextrine Malt, Dark Chocolate Malt
Early Hops: Proprietary Alchemy blend
Late Hops: Simcoe, Cascade
IBU: 50
Yeast: the Widmer "American Hefeweizen" house strain, originally the Zum Uerige German alt strain, available as Wyeast 1007 and White Labs WLP036, not a true weizen strain at all

Wood's Wonderful
Wood's Shropshire Beers (1980-present) in Craven Arms, Shropshire, UK
OG: 1048
ABV: 4.8%
Grainbill: Pale, Crystal Malt, Chocolate Malt, Torrified Wheat
Kettle hops: Fuggles
Dry hops: Goldings
IBU: ≈23?
Yeast: fruity English ale strain

Wynkoop Rail Yard Ale
Wynkoop (1988-present, original Colorado brewpub, craft beer pioneer John Hickenlooper became mayor then state governor!) in Denver, Colorado, USA
ABV: 5.2%
Grainbill: 77.4% Pale, 12.9% Wheat Malt, 9.7% Pale Crystal Malt
Hops: 90 minute boil: Hallertau (80 & 60 min), Cascade (30 min), Tettnanger (at flame-out, steep 15 min), Cascade dry hops for 8 days
IBU: 25-30
Yeast: proprietary Wynkoop Brewery strain, possibly same as White Labs WLP051 Cali Ale V, ferment at 69°F/21°C for 10 days