I was planning my 2nd all grain batch Dale's Pale Ale clone and found this recipe online (the first one was 2 years ago, so this is pretty much starting over). This is the recipe for a 5gal batch with my substitutions:
Dale's Pale Ale Clone
9lb Pale Malt (2 Row) - subbed Maris Otter
1.5lb Crystal 30L - subbed 40L
1.5lb Munich
.75lb Crystal 20L
1oz Northern Brewer 8.5% @ 60min - (mine are 8.9%AA)
1.75oz Cacade 5.5% @ 25min - (no AA% on these for some reason)
1oz Columbus 14.00% @ 10min
1oz Centennial 10% @ 0min (mine are 8.7%AA)
US-05 - subbed Wyeast London Ale Yeast starter
Est OG: 1.069
Est FG: 1.018
Est IBUs: 63.6 (using the AA% from the recipe, not actual)
Est Color: 11.0 SRM
A friend of mine (a newbie extract brewer) asked me why I was using Pale and insisted that I use Maris Otter instead because it would be better. I wasn't sure, so I asked the guy at the LHBS about subbing the MO, and he also said it was a good idea and would make the recipe better. Also, he had no 30L so he subbed with 40L. He milled all the grain together; I can't separate it now.
Today I showed another friend of mine, a professional brewer at the local brewpub, my recipe and told him about the substitutions. He told me my subs would make a pretty big impact and it would be much darker and maltier than I anticipated.
These are his suggestions: The recipe will be too malty with the MO and specialty malts, so I should bump up the bittering hops by splitting up the 1oz of Columbus and using half of it to bitter. With the local water, I probably won't get anywhere close to an SG of 1.069 (he uses local water every day at the brewery a block away). I should take a sample after my mash, cool it quickly, determine the SG, and calculate my hop addition then. Maris Otter is not fully converted, so I should ideally do a step infusion and bring up the temp instead of doing a single-step infusion with batch sparge.
I was originally going to use a dry packet of US-05 in this, but as I was writing this message, my friend dropped by with about a quart of some fresh from the lab Wyeast London Ale Yeast to use in this recipe.
He said if I don't hit the target SG, I could just add some honey to bring it up... As a mazer, I liked this idea anyways and was naturally thinking about a very late stage honey addition. My thinking is that not only would it bump up the SG, but maybe "thin" out the extra body from the MO a little since honey will fully attenuate.
Any other takes or suggestions on this? I definitely trust his opinion since he is a professional brewer and experienced homebrewer, but I wanted to get some opinions from my other trusted friends on GM ;D Maybe I could really bump up the hops, dry hop in the secondary, and make an awesome IPA?
I know I should have just gone with the original recipe and used the Pale, but I fell victim to being indecisive and changing my minded at the last minute. I know I'm not the only brewer/mazer who has made last minute subs that drastically change the original recipe... I wanted to try something ambitious, but doable, and I feel like I already set myself up for failure
Dale's Pale Ale Clone
9lb Pale Malt (2 Row) - subbed Maris Otter
1.5lb Crystal 30L - subbed 40L
1.5lb Munich
.75lb Crystal 20L
1oz Northern Brewer 8.5% @ 60min - (mine are 8.9%AA)
1.75oz Cacade 5.5% @ 25min - (no AA% on these for some reason)
1oz Columbus 14.00% @ 10min
1oz Centennial 10% @ 0min (mine are 8.7%AA)
US-05 - subbed Wyeast London Ale Yeast starter
Est OG: 1.069
Est FG: 1.018
Est IBUs: 63.6 (using the AA% from the recipe, not actual)
Est Color: 11.0 SRM
A friend of mine (a newbie extract brewer) asked me why I was using Pale and insisted that I use Maris Otter instead because it would be better. I wasn't sure, so I asked the guy at the LHBS about subbing the MO, and he also said it was a good idea and would make the recipe better. Also, he had no 30L so he subbed with 40L. He milled all the grain together; I can't separate it now.
Today I showed another friend of mine, a professional brewer at the local brewpub, my recipe and told him about the substitutions. He told me my subs would make a pretty big impact and it would be much darker and maltier than I anticipated.
These are his suggestions: The recipe will be too malty with the MO and specialty malts, so I should bump up the bittering hops by splitting up the 1oz of Columbus and using half of it to bitter. With the local water, I probably won't get anywhere close to an SG of 1.069 (he uses local water every day at the brewery a block away). I should take a sample after my mash, cool it quickly, determine the SG, and calculate my hop addition then. Maris Otter is not fully converted, so I should ideally do a step infusion and bring up the temp instead of doing a single-step infusion with batch sparge.
I was originally going to use a dry packet of US-05 in this, but as I was writing this message, my friend dropped by with about a quart of some fresh from the lab Wyeast London Ale Yeast to use in this recipe.
He said if I don't hit the target SG, I could just add some honey to bring it up... As a mazer, I liked this idea anyways and was naturally thinking about a very late stage honey addition. My thinking is that not only would it bump up the SG, but maybe "thin" out the extra body from the MO a little since honey will fully attenuate.
Any other takes or suggestions on this? I definitely trust his opinion since he is a professional brewer and experienced homebrewer, but I wanted to get some opinions from my other trusted friends on GM ;D Maybe I could really bump up the hops, dry hop in the secondary, and make an awesome IPA?
I know I should have just gone with the original recipe and used the Pale, but I fell victim to being indecisive and changing my minded at the last minute. I know I'm not the only brewer/mazer who has made last minute subs that drastically change the original recipe... I wanted to try something ambitious, but doable, and I feel like I already set myself up for failure
