American Pale Ale recipe assistance

[BrewBoyJoe]

Dear All,
After much thought I am strongly considering brewing up the following recipe:

http://beerrecipes.org/showrecipe.php?r ... C7703.dpbs

Beer Style: American Pale Ale (10A)
Recipe Type: all-grain
Yield: 5 gallons
American Pale Ale
Ingredients:
7.93 gal - London, England (Water)
1.00 tbsp - PH 5.2 Stabilizer (Mash 60 min) (Misc)
7 lbs 11.3 oz - Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) (Grain)
1 lbs 0.3 oz - Munich I (Weyermann) (7.1 SRM) (Grain)
7.0 oz - Caramel/Crystal Malt - 30L (30.0 SRM) (Grain)
7.0 oz - Wheat Malt, Pale (Weyermann) (2.0 SRM) (Grain)
0.4 oz - Columbus (Tomahawk) [7.8%] - Boil 60 min (Hops)
0.4 oz - Simcoe [10.3%] - Boil 60 min (Hops)
0.4 oz - Citra [11.5%] - Boil 15 min (Hops)
0.2 oz - Simcoe [10.3%] - Boil 15 min (Hops)
1.00 tsp - Irish Moss (Boil 10 min) (Misc)
0.4 oz - Citra [11.5%] - Boil 5 min (Hops)
0.2 oz - Simcoe [10.3%] - Boil 5 min (Hops)
0.7 oz - Citra [11.5%] - Boil 0 min (Hops)
0.4 oz - Simcoe [10.3%] - Boil 0 min (Hops)
1 pkgs - Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) (Yeast)
1.00 tsp - Yeast Nutrient (Primary 3 days) (Misc)
1.8 oz - Citra [11.5%] - Dry Hop 8 days (Hops)
1.8 oz - Citra [11.5%] - Dry Hop 4 days (Hops)
Additional Instructions
Boil: 60 Minutes

Beer Profile
Original Gravity: 1.052 (12.9° P)
Final Gravity: 1.011 SG (2.9° P)
Alcohol by Vol: 5.4%
Color SRM: 6.0
Bitterness IBU: 38.7
Recipe Type: all-grain
Yield: 5.00 Gallons
- See more at: http://beerrecipes.org/showrecipe.php?r ... C7703.dpuf

I have a ton of chinook and was considering swapping this for the columbus as the first bittering hop! Does the bittering hop add much flavour? I thought it was just a matter of adding a high alpha hop in small quantity, calculated to give the appropriate IBU's

Also I want to swap US-05 for WLP001 since that's what I have in!

I have experience brewing english ale with 5% wheat / 5% pale crystal combo as in this recipe and those have been some of my better beers (Deuchars IPA style for example)! Lately I'm into West coast APA's all of which have been obviously brewed with a ton of hops... but each with 100% maris otter grain bill! Having tasted some quality commercial APA's I wanted to do something slightly more complex with the grain bill here and I liked the look of the Munich! I want a slight biscuity / grainy note / not overpowering

Do you think the above will work. Is the Munich too high at 13% I don't want to overpower things! Perhaps I should half this!

I have made a few brewdog beers with Simcoe (in combo with other hops such as Nelon / chinook)and they've worked out great! How about the Citra / Simcoe combo! Never used Citra!

I understand this is an award winning recipe so perhaps I should trust in that!

Cheers
Joe

[Rubbery]

I have a ton of chinook and was considering swapping this for the columbus as the first bittering hop! Does the bittering hop add much flavour? I thought it was just a matter of adding a high alpha hop in small quantity, calculated to give the appropriate IBU's

Yes, chinook would be a good substitute.

Also I want to swap US-05 for WLP001 since that's what I have in!

No problem, they are the same strain.

Do you think the above will work. Is the Munich too high at 13% I don't want to overpower things! Perhaps I should half this!

A bit off-style, tending towards an amber ale, but will not be overpowering. I use 25% in a golden ale to good effect.

How about the Citra / Simcoe combo! Never used Citra

Not done it either, but it sounds good.

[Mr. Dripping]

My favourite grist for an APA includes around 6% pale crystal malt.
I've also brewed many with 10-15% munich malt.....and they've always turned out well. You could substitute some of the munich for Caramalt.
Wheat malt, I don't see this very often in grists for APA's......usually it is Carapils used for body/head retention. But I don't see any problem with including it.

There are some hops that do impart a distinctive flavour when used as a bittering addition and chinook is one of those. I like chinook, it has a nice grapefruit character and I would rather use it as bittering hop than columbus.
No problem with a citra / simcoe blend.....in fact the hops you've chosen are very popular combinations in this style of beer and compliment each other very well.

[BrewBoyJoe]

ok, I'm feeling rather positive about this now! I will be sure to post some tasting notes! I can give a report from the mrs since she doesnt pull her punches at all! Dishearteningly at times!
Malt Miller here we come!

[Bazz]

The last APA i did had 20% Munich and 10% carahell in the grist, the rest being MO, the hops were Chinook, Amarillo and Mosaic, 100g of each, it was lush, my best beer to date.

[BrewBoyJoe]

awesome! I can't wait to brew this! It took me a while to track down the Citra but I have this now and can't wait to get started, not this weekend because I have a wedding but Nov the 15th and report back after first taste out the the fermented primary... which I find gives a great indication!

[BrewBoyJoe]

my efficiency has been a bit all over the place so I overcompensated using a ton of malt this time.... anyhow I overshot! I couldn't bring myself to chuck the extra wort so this brew is going to be a whopping 7.10, if it attenuates to 1.10 as wlp001 often does!

I'm quite excited about this one since it's a completely new malt bill! We're at 1.016 5 days into the fermentation! I anticipate rack and dry hop on Friday! I reckon it's going to be really malty, but we shall see as it drys out! I can't taste the hops as yet! Looking forward to Fridays taste at 1:012 or so!

[Bazz]

Great news, you made an American IPA instead of a pale ale, enjoy!

[BrewBoyJoe]

down at 1.012 and bubbling once every couple of mins! Taste notes: The hops flavour comes thorough in a much more gentle way than expected, given the large amount of late and flame out additions and bittering hop is likewise very paired back! Perhaps the higher than expected 6.83 and counting ABV is offsetting the hops! Also the higher gravity presumably reduced the hop utilisation in the kettle! I was expecting a big IPA flavour but this will be a more gentle malty brew! Loving the sweetness of the cara amber and slight biscuit note of the munich! Looking forward to see what the dry hop will do! Hopefully it'll be a balanced beer when chilled and carbed but I fear it may have needed some more bittering and flavour hops! We'll see! Perhaps it'll be a top notch beer! One things for sure it'll be nothing like the punk ipa clone in keg 1! Always nice to have a mix of homebrews on tap!

[BrewBoyJoe]

On a second measure this is more like 1.014 fg! 42 ibu its not overpowering you with bitterness! Loving the citra simcoe combo! It's the first time I've used Citra and worth the extortionate 7 quid per 100g! Mango flavour is most prominent! The malt bill comes through nicely, surprisingly so for wlp001!, biscuit note from the munich is noticeable and flavoursome, I would highly recommend this recipe! You wouldn't tell it was 6.8% by tasting it! The 100 grams exclusice Citra dry hop gives plenty of aroma (3 days dry hop)! The mrs says it's my best beer yet! OK it sounds one sided! I would say if I didnt like it!