[jaredkent]

I'll post this in 2 parts:

Massachusetts has a fairly new brewery called Notch located out of Ipswich, MA. Notch Brewing has the mindset that we need more session ales and they should never be lacking in flavor.

I recently had their Notch Session Ale and loved the aromas coming from the hops. I want to create a recipe based on this beer with a similar aroma profile, but maybe with a bit more body.

Their site lists the ingredients as malt (Pale, Crystal, Munich, Rye) and hops (Falconer's, Mt Hood, Cascade). I'm curious what you guys think as far as quantity goes for a 5 gallon batch. I shot them an email with a few questions and this is the insight I got back from them:

In terms of the hops, try first wort hopping (assuming you are employing a full mash) with about 25 IBU's of cascade in a 90 min boil. For flavor hops, try a 10 and 1 minute addition (before flameout) w/ falconers flight and mt hood. For dry hop, try 1/2 lb per bbl (adjust for your volume) after primary fermentation w/ falconers (7C).

Shoot for an 11P(1.044) post boil wort, and use a british yeast such as whitbread (it's an APA, but the fruity British yeast really works here). Keep specialty malt 15% or below (crytstal and lighter cara malts). Oats are always a great idea for session beers too.

Now for a 5 gallon batch I understand that 25 IBUs of Cascade for 90 min boil would be about 1 oz (assuming a 7% alpha acid). For dry hopping 1/2 lb per bbl would be about 1.25 per 5 gal. What volume would you recommend for the 10 and 1 minute additions?

As far as the grain bill. Like I said earlier I'd like a bit more body than their Session Ale. That was the only area it seemed to be lacking a bit. What poundage would you guys recommend for the grain bill if I'm shooting for a 1.050 or 1.055 OG?

[jaredkent]

Here's what I came up with. I would appreciate any feedback, regardless of whether you've tasted the original beer. My only concern is I'd like it to be a bit darker, maybe more like a red ale in color. I was thinking of adding some Caramel 80 in there, as well, but unsure.

Brew Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Volume: 6.50 gal
Boil Time: 90 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.0 %

Malt
8.50 lb Pale Malt (2 Row)
0.50 lb Caramel 60
0.50 lb Munich Malt
0.50 lb Rye Malt

Hops
1.00 oz Cascade [7.00%] (FWH)
0.50 oz Mt. Hood [4.50%] (10 minutes)
0.50 oz Falconer's Flight [11.4%] (10 minutes)
0.50 oz Mt. Hood [4.50%] (1 minute)
0.50 oz Falconer's Flight [11.4%] (1 minute)
1.25 oz Falconer's Flight 7C [9.9%] (Dry Hopped)

1 Pkg Whitbread Ale (Wyeast 1099)

Beer Profile Estimated Original Gravity: 1.051 SG
Estimated Final Gravity: 1.015 SG
Estimated Color: 8.4 SRM
Bitterness: 35.1
Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 4.8 %
Mash @ 153 for 60 min

Ferment at ~70 for 14 days.

[garc_mall]

I think your hop bill is fine. You followed their recommendations, and that sounds like a good starting point. I am going to make most of my comments on your malt bill.

I would use 4.5 lb of pale 4 lb of munich, and 1lb of rye. .5lb-1lb of crystal is fine, but I would leave it in that range. I believe that you won't get much flavor out of the munich or rye without using quite a bit of it. 2lb of rye wouldn't be out of line either, but that depends on how much you like rye. I would also mash in a bit higher. With my session ales, I usually mash in between 156-160. This will increase the body of the beer, and make up for the low amount of crystal (this is usually my preference). I have also found Whitbread to be a rather dry English yeast, and that will make up for it.

Thats my 2 cents.

[morticaixavier]

I'm going to mostly agree with Garc.

I will say that I don't think you are giving the brew a fair shake if you bump up the OG that much. If you want a stronger beer that's fine but it's not really a session at 1.050-1.055 it's just a beer.

Mash warm, really warm. like 162 even. remember the alpha doesn't denature till 168 ish. take advantage of that. you would be amazed at the body I can get with lots of munich and a 162* mash. a little crystal doesn't hurt either though. Add in the rye and you could have a real mouth pleaser without the hangover!

[jaredkent]

Thanks Guys. I appreciate the help. I haven't used Rye or Munich before so I wasn't too sure on the volume I should use. I have heard that rye is "stickier than wheat". At 1-2 lbs. of Rye (9.5%-17.4%) do you recommend a beta-glucanase rest?

I'd like to see the alcohol floating at or under 5.0%. Would you recommend dropping the Munich to 3.50 lbs, bringing it to 4.9% (with 1# of rye)? Or would you lower the volume somewhere else?

I know I just asked about taking grains out and now I'm asking about adding more in but... what do you guys think of adding a bit of Caramel 80 in there as well? Maybe 0.75 lbs of 60 and 80, or 0.75 Caramel 60 and 0.50 Caramel 80.

[denny]

The rye will be fine without any additional mash steps.

[morticaixavier]

personally I rarely bother with a protien rest. and I have yet to use rice hulls. I batch sparge in a cooler with braid ala Denny Conn and just this last weekend I had my first really truely stuck runoff but it was with an all barley beer. go figure. I just stirred it up again and started over.

single infusion at 162 is what I would shoot for.

crystal looks okay, I would go .5 of each but you may want more sweetness than that.

[mmitchem]

Be sure to take notes of how it turns out. Rarely do you get it dead on the first time. I think there has been some solid recipe help though. Taste, tweak and repeat till you nail down exactly what you are looking for.