Five Recipes for feedback - APA, ESB, Belgian, Bitter & Pale

[dean_wales]

Hi Guys,

Following on from another thread, here are my five planned homebrews for 2012. I have to plan it like this so that I can order cheaply in bulk once and fudge recipes to use everything up. That way all ingredients get used whilst they are fresh within a few months of delivery.

Please point out any errors or offer advice as I have not yet ordered.

There are five 6 Gallon / 27 Litre batches here which equates to around 240 pints. Should just about keep me in beer for the year.

Fuller's ESB Clone

Tried and tested recipe I have used before but I have had to slim down the hop bill this time.

Pale Malt 5 EBC 6500 grams 92.9%
Crystal Malt 130 EBC 400 grams 5.7%
Crystal Malt, Dark 300 EBC 100 grams 1.4%

Fuggle Whole 4.9 % 90 mins 60 grams 60%
Fuggle Whole 4.9 % 10 mins 15 grams 15%
Golding Whole 5.7 % 10 mins 25 grams 25%

Yeast Whitelabs WLP002

Final Volume: 27 Litres
Original Gravity: 1.062
Final Gravity: 1.015
Alcohol Content: 6.1% ABV
Total Liquor: 39.7 Litres
Mash Liquor: 18.2 Litres
Mash Efficiency: 80 %
Bitterness: 30 EBU
Colour: 34 EBC

Leffe Clone

Again tried and tested recipe here, not so worried about this one. Wanted to try a new yeast but have WLP500 from last batch bottles.

Dingemans Pilsner Malt 4 EBC 5000 grams 79.4%
Dingemans Aromatic Malt 50 EBC 300 grams 4.8%
Dingemans Pale Wheat Malt 3.5 EBC 300 grams 4.8%
Sugar, Household White 0 EBC 700 grams 11.1%

Hallertauer Hersbrucker Whole 3 % 90 mins 100 grams 100%

Final Volume: 27 Litres
Original Gravity: 1.059
Final Gravity: 1.009
Alcohol Content: 6.6% ABV
Total Liquor: 38.3 Litres
Mash Liquor: 14.6 Litres
Mash Efficiency: 80 %
Bitterness: 25 EBU
Colour: 11 EBC

Yeast Whitelabs WLP500

Sledge Hammer

(Self designed english pale ale for summer BBQ drinking. Want an easy drinker but is that bitter enough?)

Crisp Pale Malt 5.7 EBC 6000 grams 92.3%
Crystal Malt, Pale 50 EBC 500 grams 7.7%

First Gold Whole 8.3 % 90 mins 25 grams 38.5%
First Gold Whole 8.3 % 5 mins 40 grams 61.5%

Final Volume: 27 Litres
Original Gravity: 1.059
Final Gravity: 1.014
Alcohol Content: 5.8% ABV
Total Liquor: 39.2 Litres
Mash Liquor: 16.9 Litres
Mash Efficiency: 80 %
Bitterness: 22 EBU
Colour: 18 EBC

Yeast Safale S04

Stars & Stripes - American Pale Ale

(Again self designed but more straight forward. Is this about right)

Crisp Pale Malt 5.7 EBC 6000 grams 92.3%
Weyermann Carapils 4 EBC 500 grams 7.7%

First Gold Whole 8.3 % 90 mins 35 grams 25.9%
Cascade Whole 5.7 % 20 mins 40 grams 29.6%
Cascade Whole 5.7 % 5 mins 60 grams 44.4%

Final Volume: 27 Litres
Original Gravity: 1.059
Final Gravity: 1.013
Alcohol Content: 6% ABV
Total Liquor: 39.2 Litres
Mash Liquor: 16.9 Litres
Mash Efficiency: 80 %
Bitterness: 40 EBU
Colour: 11 EBC

Yeast Safale S05

Dartmoor Ale

(Again self invented, want a rich real ale. It looks like it will be quite dark which I am OK with as long as its not OTT?)

Crisp Pale Malt 5.7 EBC 6500 grams 90.3%
Crystal Malt 130 EBC 100 grams 1.4%
Crystal Malt, Dark 300 EBC 400 grams 5.6%
Thomas Fawcett Pale Wheat 3.5 EBC 200 grams 2.8%

Golding Whole 5.7 % 90 mins 40 grams 42.1%
Fuggle Whole 4.9 % 15 mins 25 grams 26.3%
Golding Whole 5.7 % 15 mins 30 grams 31.6%

Final Volume: 27 Litres
Original Gravity: 1.065
Final Gravity: 1.016
Alcohol Content: 6.5% ABV
Total Liquor: 39.9 Litres
Mash Liquor: 18.7 Litres
Mash Efficiency: 80 %
Bitterness: 29 EBU
Colour: 51 EBC

Yeast Safale S04

PS: Some quantities and hoppings might seem a little odd but are designed to use everything up. Excluding yeasts (which I have) this lot costs £68 inc delivery so will work out at 28p a pint by my maths. However please let me know if something will taste or look totally wrong!!!!

Thanks in advance.

Dean.

[Beer O'Clock]

IMO as far as the ESB is concerned, having drunk gallons of the stuff, for authenticity, reduce the Pale malt to reflect a 5.5% final ABV. I think you are over egging the pudding. Plus I would use WLP013

[dean_wales]

Yer maybe 6% is a bit overkill. Might just add a litre or two more water as I will have the grain here.

Saying that Fuller's is 5.9%.

I havent heard much about WLP013? I thought that WLP002 was the de fact choice for most people? How different is it?

Dean.

[Beer O'Clock]

WLP013 is London Ale yeast. More similar in style to Fullers yeast.

[jimp2003]

For the Dartmoor Ale I am not sure I would go with quite that much of the dark crystal bearing in mind that the bitterness is at the same level as your ESB. Of course its your beer and if you are happy with a sweeter beer then go for it.

[Goulders]

Wlp002 is the fullers yeast - same as wyeast 1968. I would go with 002.

[super_simian]

Fair bit of Carapils in that APA; perhaps more like 2-3% plus 5-6% of a medium Crystal?

[Spud395]

You could be right about "sledge hammer" 5.8% with only 22IBU might be a bit unbalanced.
My easy drinkers will sometimes have 22-25 IBU but I would have only around 4% ABV

[coatesg]

WLP013 is London Ale yeast. More similar in style to Fullers yeast.

Nope - it can't be more similar than the yeast itself! Use WLP 002 and follow the ferment from the brewing network. On the ESB, the true recipe is pale +5% crystal, but brewed as a partigyle. The hops are different too (target, challenger, northdown, ekg).

For the summer drinker, I'd go for about 40-45 ibu at that og - that's around the 0.8 bu:gu mark

[Beer O'Clock]

WLP013 is London Ale yeast. More similar in style to Fullers yeast.

Nope - it can't be more similar than the yeast itself! Use WLP 002 and follow the ferment from the brewing network.

Oops, my mistake

[coatesg]

The thing about the Fullers yeast (and any other yeast) is that there are so many factors at play - to brew a clone is incredibly hard. Pitching rates, temperature, shape of fermenter, aeration, timescales, etc all make a difference to the finished beer. WLP002 is notoriously flocculant, so it does need a bit of careful handling to get full attenuation and to ensure you don't land up with a massive diacetyl-bomb (though you do want some). The BN podcast is useful, and the closest in profile I have got, though even then, I've not come that close really...

[Barley Water]

I agree, WLP02 is the Fuller's yeast. It will attenuate assuming you pitch enough etc. By the way, why not dry hop the APA? Most of us yanks want the bitterness, flavor as well as the aroma. I did an APA last year which I thought was pretty good but got pounded in a contest due to lack of aroma. That hop bursting stuff is all the rage. Also, there are other "C" hops you might mess with, I've had good luck with Amarillo (it's sort of like Cascades on steriods plus it's low cohumolone). Now for a bit of a rant (nothing against your formulations by the way) but I don't understand why we (Americans I mean) make APA's that are damn near O.G. 1.060 and hopped like hell. I can hardly tell the difference between a regular American IPA and an APA these days. Seems like, if you want higher gravity and hoppy, why not just do an IPA? Later in the year, I'll do another APA but I want an O.G. in the 1.050 range with about 40 IBU's but also hop bursted. I would like a hop delivery vehicle that is more of a session beer, that way after a few I don't feel like I've met my maker if you know what I mean?