Outsourced Pale Ale

This weekend I'm brewing an old favorite of mine with a small twist.  The recipe is sourced from my Fargo Pale Ale Experiment.  When I was at More Beer in Riverside I picked up some Rakau Hops.  They are from New Zealand and are fairly new to us American Homebrewers.  The description from RebelBrewer.com is:

Usage: Dual
Description: Suitable for use both as bittering and aroma. Developed as a true dual purpose variety typically with alpha acid above 10 % delivers soft bitterness through low levels of Cohumulone less than 25 % of alpha acids. Can be used for multiple additions with late hop character delivering tropical fruit aromas of passionfruit and peach. Quite high levels of oil with an H/C ratio typical of classical aroma varieties.

This variety has a lot of typical New Zealand fruity character so would be best suited to new world styles of ale and lager such as Pales and "big" IPA's.




Reading on Homebrewtalk and some other sites, this hop doesn't seem to have the appeal that the other New Zealand hops are getting.  But by the description and opening the bag and taking a smell, I have to give it a try.  I get a lot of the same tropical fruit flavors that I do in Citra hops.  Obviously I need to wait and taste this batch before any real taste profile can be created.  With the insanely hot weather it will be nice to drink this session type of pale in a couple weeks.

PS: This also gets me another brew day in my Pale Ale Experiment, Even though my batch #1 was a winner out of the gate. 

Outsourced

American Pale Ale

Type: All Grain	Date: 8/11/2012
Batch Size (fermenter): 6.00 gal	Brewer: Chris Lewis
Boil Size: 6.86 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: My Equipment
End of Boil Volume 6.24 gal	Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 6.00 gal	Est Mash Efficiency 75.0 %
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage	Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Ingredients Amt Name Type # %/IBU 6 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 60.0 % 2 lbs 8.0 oz Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 25.0 % 1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 3 10.0 % 8.0 oz Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 4 5.0 % 0.80 oz Bravo [15.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 42.8 IBUs 0.50 oz Rakau Hops [11.40 %] - Aroma Steep 10.0 min Hop 6 0.0 IBUs 1.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) [50.28 ml] Yeast 7 - 1.00 oz Rakau Hops [11.40 %] - Dry Hop 3.0 Days Hop 8 0.0 IBUs
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.046 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.047 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.008 SG	Measured Final Gravity: TBA SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.9 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: TBA %
Bitterness: 35.9 IBUs	Calories:  TBA cal/12oz
Est Color: 5.3 SRM
Mash Profile
Mash Name: My Mash	Total Grain Weight: 10 lbs
Sparge Water: 4.31 gal	Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	Tun Temperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE	Mash PH: 5.20
Mash Steps Name Description Step Temperature Step Time Step Add 15.00 qt of water and heat to 151.0 F over 2 min 151.0 F 60 min
Sparge Step: Fly sparge with 4.31 gal water at 168.0 F
Mash Notes:
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Keg	Volumes of CO2: 2.4
Pressure/Weight: 11.69 PSI	Carbonation Used: Keg with 11.69 PSI
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 41.0 F	Age for: 15.00 days
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage	Storage Temperature: 32.0 F
Fermentation Notes
Pitching at 63, holding for 3 days.  Free rise to 70.  Transfer and crash cool into a keg.
Created with BeerSmith

Brew Day:

It was a great day for brewing, hot and humid.  I hit all my numbers and will be watching this one closely.