[Virwill]

It's been 20 years since I've tried this and I'm a first-time poster here, so bear with me. Am attempting a 5-gallon batch of American Pale Ale with a recipe I've calculated from TastyBrew.com. It will include 6.6 lbs light malt extract syrup and 3 lbs light malt extract powder and four doses of Chinook pellets - 3 oz total, with 1 oz of that in the dry hop. (I've grown Chinook out back and want to make a Chinook-based but not too hoppy beer to use as a baseline.) My very basic question is on the size of the boil. The instructions I see for many 5-gal batches specify a 1-gal boil. Given the malt volume I'm trying out, is 1 gal enough? And how should I add all that? Add all 9.6. pounds off the boil, reboil, add my first hops and keep it going for 60 minutes? Greatly appreciate your help and of course any thoughts on the recipe. Cheers!

[dannyjed]

First of all, 9.6 lbs of extract will put you in the IPA range for gravity. You might want to cut down the amount of extract a pound or two. Second, you can use 1 gallon up to a full 6.5 gallons to boil with. Keep in mind that the higher the boil amount the longer it will take to cool down to pitching temps. So, you could boil around 3 gallons and top off at the end to reach your 5 gallons.

[Virwill]

Thanks much, Danny. I went back to the TastyBrew calculator and reduced the dry malt by 2 lbs. That dropped the OG to 1.054, which falls within the range listed by BJCP. Another crash course discovery: the boil length directly impacts the IBU. (!) I was going to boil for an hour, which would yield IBU 60 - kinda bitter for a pale ale, right? Reduced it to 30 min, and the IBU drops to 38.3. Also using 1 oz of my home-grown dried Chinook instead of pellets for the dry hop step. Like I said, it's been 20 years. Really appreciate the feedback. Brewing this afternoon!

[mabrungard]

I enjoy the pineyness of chinook, but I find that a little bit goes a long way. The other C hops work really well with that combination.

[Virwill]

That's what I'm thinking, Martin. But since I grew enough Chinook this summer to fool around with, I wanted to learn the taste independent of anything else using a "control" hop, pelletized and with a known AAU value. I'll make the same recipe with my hops, and compare a few bottles. (Caveat: I'm using mine for the dry-hop in both.) This hopefully is not off the deep end and I do plan to experiment down the road.

[denny]

That's what I'm thinking, Martin. But since I grew enough Chinook this summer to fool around with, I wanted to learn the taste independent of anything else using a "control" hop, pelletized and with a known AAU value. I'll make the same recipe with my hops, and compare a few bottles. (Caveat: I'm using mine for the dry-hop in both.) This hopefully is not off the deep end and I do plan to experiment down the road.

Keep in mind that hops are very terroir dependent and it's possible yours will be nothing like the pellets.

[Virwill]

Thanks, Denny. So much to learn. Worried now that I may have inadvertently contaminated the batch. Nearing 70 hours after the pitch and still no airlock bubbles (realize this isn't the right thread, just updating). I cracked the lid to take a peek and I see krauesen forming. I read elsewhere that I should be ok but that ales like cooler temps; the bucket's on the basement floor, and the air temp is 74.5 down there, floor is a bit warmer. Have moved it to a room that's 2º cooler, and partially over an a/c floor vent. All thoughts welcome.

[denny]

Thanks, Denny. So much to learn. Worried now that I may have inadvertently contaminated the batch. Nearing 70 hours after the pitch and still no airlock bubbles (realize this isn't the right thread, just updating). I cracked the lid to take a peek and I see krauesen forming. I read elsewhere that I should be ok but that ales like cooler temps; the bucket's on the basement floor, and the air temp is 74.5 down there, floor is a bit warmer. Have moved it to a room that's 2º cooler, and partially over an a/c floor vent. All thoughts welcome.

Yeah, that's a bit warm.  Yo may want to stick a fermometer on your fermenter to get a more accurate reading of beer temp.  That's what matters, not room temp.  No airlock bubbles doesn't matter as long as you see signs of fermentation.

[Virwill]

Better ... remembered I have a digital spot thermometer to check for air leaks around windows. The bucket temp is now a degree lower at 73.5. Coolest spot in the house. Thinking about setting it back in the basement in a low, wide aluminum pail and keeping the lower third surrounded with ice, as I did when cooling the wort. Don't know if that would isolate the chill too much. But it smells like beer. So something's working!

[Virwill]

Well, it tasted like beer at the 4-week mark, so I transferred it, primed the batch and bottled. Tried it after two weeks and it still tasted like beer - but carbonated . Now at 3 weeks in the bottle. Poured some this afternoon after chilling for a few hours. Real happy with it. Pours clean, nice head. Not very hoppy, as I'd planned. And, it has a distinct Belgian flavor to it - that yeasty flavor Belgians have, but not overpowering. It is not what I would call an off-flavor. I used Safale US-05, which isn't supposed to taste Belgiany (well, it IS made in Belgium ...) but I've read that low-to-mid-70s in the bucket can do this. I was pretty careful about sanitation. Thoughts?

[dannyjed]

Well, it tasted like beer at the 4-week mark, so I transferred it, primed the batch and bottled. Tried it after two weeks and it still tasted like beer - but carbonated . Now at 3 weeks in the bottle. Poured some this afternoon after chilling for a few hours. Real happy with it. Pours clean, nice head. Not very hoppy, as I'd planned. And, it has a distinct Belgian flavor to it - that yeasty flavor Belgians have, but not overpowering. It is not what I would call an off-flavor. I used Safale US-05, which isn't supposed to taste Belgiany (well, it IS made in Belgium ...) but I've read that low-to-mid-70s in the bucket can do this. I was pretty careful about sanitation. Thoughts?

It probably is the fermentation temperature. You said it started out in a 74.5 degree room, which means the temperature in the fermenter could have reached close to 80. Next time try to keep it in the low to mid 60's.

[Virwill]

Thanks, Dan. Live and learn. Perhaps the (eventual) onset of winter in Delaware will help cool the basement.

So many variables! The good news is that it's quaffable. On to the next batch.