Batch 503: Session Pale Ale

Last month I was sitting in my computer chair, ready to register for the National Homebrew Competition.  I had everything I needed, my AHA number, my entries for each category and my payment information.  Then it happened, the NHC crash of 2013.  I was lucky to get registered right at the start and get one beer entered into the competition.  After that it was a hour and thirty minute fight with 503 Errors and frozen pages.

During this time I started working on a new recipe.  (Typically when I start a new recipe I open up Beersmith and find a good base recipe that I've done before, duplicate it and start rewriting it.)  Today, I was on a different computer with Beersmith but without my recipe collection, so I started from scratch.  Which was a great feeling, not to have any other recipes hovering over me.

The idea was simple, I wanted to use no crystal malts in this recipe, only base malts (yes Munich is a base malt) with some Honey malt as an added mouthfeel addition.  For the hops I started thinking about what I had in stock and what would or could work with this recipe.  I kept coming back to Cluster (I'm sure I don't need to go into detail about how much of a "Cluster fuck" this NHC registration was.) I really can't think of why.



Once the recipe was completed I started to get scared, just a little.  I brew a lot, so tossing a beer is never a big deal, but I want to avoid it as much as possible.  But I've never brewed with Cluster.  Plus the reviews are a mixed bag of every possible reaction to it.  So on brew day I backed off a little and chose to do a split batch.  Three gallons into one carboy and three gallons into another.  The mash, kettle and aroma hops would all stay the same.  For the dry hopping I would keep one with Cluster and the other with Cascade Centennial hops.  Now in theory, if the clustered beer is underwhelming I can blend it with the cascade Centennial version.  On the positive side, if they are both good I have a good side by side experiment to play with. 


 

Batch 503

American Pale Ale

Type: All Grain	Date: 3/9/2013
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal	Brewer: Chris Lewis
Boil Size: 6.34 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: Lewys Tower
End of Boil Volume 5.72 gal	Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 5.50 gal	Est Mash Efficiency 72.0 %
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage	Taste Rating(out of 50): 30.0
Taste Notes: No "tasting Notes" have been created for this recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients Amt Name Type # %/IBU 1.00 tsp Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 1 - 6 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 57.1 % 4 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 3 38.1 % 8.0 oz Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 4 4.8 % 0.50 oz Cluster [7.00 %] - Mash 60.0 min Hop 5 2.3 IBUs 0.60 oz Bravo [15.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 33.9 IBUs 1.20 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 7 - 0.50 oz Cluster [7.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 8 2.3 IBUs 1.20 oz Cluster [7.00 %] - Aroma Steep 10.0 min Hop 9 0.0 IBUs 0.50 oz Cluster [7.00 %] - Aroma Steep 0.0 min Hop 10 0.0 IBUs 1.0 pkg Edinburgh Ale (White Labs #WLP028) [35.49 ml] Yeast 11 - 1.10 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Primary 3.0 days) Other 12 - 1.00 oz Cluster [7.00 %] - Dry Hop In Carboy 11 Hop 13 0.0 IBUs 1.00 oz Cascade Centennial [5.50 %] - Dry Hop In Carboy 12 Hop 14 0.0 IBUs
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.050 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.047 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.011 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.014 SG / 1.012 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.1 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.3% and 4.6%
Bitterness: 38.6 IBUs	Calories:
Est Color: 7.7 SRM
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Temperature Mash, 1 Step, Full Body	Total Grain Weight: 10 lbs 8.0 oz
Sparge Water: 4.32 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 Saccharification Add 13.13 qt of water at 161.4 F 150.0 F 40 min Mash Out Heat to 168.0 F over 10 min 168.0 F 10 min
Sparge Step: Fly sparge with 4.32 gal water at 168.0 F
Mash Notes: Temperature mash for use when mashing in a brew pot over a heat source such as the stove. Use heat to maintain desired temperature during the mash.
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Keg	Volumes of CO2: 2.3
Pressure/Weight: 10.59 PSI	Carbonation Used: Keg with 10.59 PSI
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 41.0 F	Age for: 30.00 days
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage	Storage Temperature: 65.0 F
Fermentation Notes
Primary Fermentation: Pitched the yeast at 65 degrees.  Ramping up to 70 over a week
Created with BeerSmith Cluster Dry Hopped Batch: This beer fermented down to 1.012 with a ABV of 4.6%  Main issue I ran into with this beer was the very active fermentation.  On the 3rd day it blew the airlock off the beer and onto the floor of my fermentation chamber.  Which created a mess for me to deal with.  The second issue is my continuing hatrid of whole hops used as a dry addition.  They create such a logistical nightmare.  Also using a small 3 gallon square fermentation better bottle increased this problem.   Centennial Dry Hopped Batch: This beer was a breeze, I think the fermentation was a little more controlled because the level of liquid was slightly lower the the Cluster Batch.  This gave the yeast a little more headspace to work the gravity down to 1.014.  This beer while going into the mini keg had a lot more haze vs the whole hopped Cluster batch.   They are both inside the keggor right now priming, I should have some tasting notes up later this week.