Quarter Life Crisis Hoppy Red Ale
Brewed: 06/05/2011 Bottled: 06/23/2011
 For my
40th birthday, I got
Jamil Zainasheff's and John Palmer's book Brewing Classic Styles
from the
SheppyBrew Beer Model. My sister also got me some cool
customized bottle caps. So, I wanted to use both those gifts to
brew a beer. The name I thought of was quarter life crisis as now
that I am 40, I figure my life is probably about 1/4 of the way
through.
Of course, it would have to be a pretty big beer with lots of
hoppyness,
and I came across the recipe "West Coast Blaster", which is Jamil's
interpretation of a "West Coast" American Amber ale.
I scaled the recipe down for my 2.4 gallon batches and tinkered
with
the ingredients based on what is easiest for me to find and my overall
preferences. I scaled back a bit on the hops because I am (after
all) not having a mid-life crisis or anything. I guess I'm just
not really a west-coast kind of hop-head.
But, this is well over the OG, ABV and hoppy bitterness of a normal
American
Amber Ale. This is still a pretty bold ale. It turned out to be a new favorite. Batch 2 is exactly the same recipe except it uses an ounce of chocolate malt instead of 2 ounces of pale chocolate. (the LHBS did not have pale) Batch 3 is my all-grain version. Because all-grain always is lighter in color than my extract brews, I added more dark malts the compensate. Plus, I used Columbus for bittering at a higher alpha acid than the Nugget I had used previously. It is also a larger batch. If you would like to read about QLC on my blog, follow this link.
| Quarter Life Crisis (AG) --- cost $42.72 |
| Style |
|
American Amber Ale |
|
Batch Size |
|
5.00 gal |
| Type |
|
All Grain |
|
Boil Size |
|
6.84 gal |
| Mash Efficiency |
|
70.00 |
|
Boil Time |
|
90 minutes |
Recipe Characteristics
| Recipe Gravity |
|
1.071 SG |
|
Estimated FG |
|
1.018 SG |
| Recipe Bitterness |
|
53.5 IBU (Rager) |
|
Alcohol by Volume |
|
6.85 % |
| BU : GU |
|
0.758 |
|
|
|
|
| Recipe Color |
|
19.2 SRM |
|
|
|
|
| Measured OG: |
|
1.072 |
|
Measured FG: |
|
1.013 |
| ADF: |
|
82% |
|
Measured ABV: |
|
7.8% |
Ingredients
| Amount |
Item |
Type |
% or IBU |
| 10 lbs 12.0 oz |
Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) |
Grain |
77.45 % |
| 1 lbs |
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) |
Grain |
7.20 % |
| 12.0 oz |
Munich Malt - 10L (11.0 SRM) |
Grain |
5.40 % |
| 8.0 oz |
Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) |
Grain |
3.60 % |
| 8.0 oz |
Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) |
Grain |
3.60 % |
| 2.1 oz |
Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) |
Grain |
0.94 % |
| 0.50 oz |
Columbus [14.20 %] (60 min) |
Hops |
30.8 IBU |
| 1.50 oz |
Centennial [9.20 %] (15 min) |
Hops |
15.9 IBU |
| 1.00 oz |
Cascade [5.90 %] (15 min) |
Hops |
6.8 IBU |
| 1.00 oz |
Cascade [7.80 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) |
Hops |
- |
| 1.00 oz |
Centennial [9.20 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) |
Hops |
- |
| 0.50 tsp |
Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 min) |
Misc |
|
| 0.50 tsp |
Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 min) |
Misc |
|
| 4.0 oz |
Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (1.0 SRM) |
Sugar |
1.80 % |
| 1 Pkgs |
SafeAle American Ale (Fermentis #US-05) |
Yeast-Ale |
|
Mash Profile
BIAB, Medium Body
| Step Time |
Name |
Description |
Step Temp |
| 60 min |
BIAB |
Add 24.00 qt of water at 162.5 F |
154.0 F |
Sparge with 2.73 gal of
168.0 F water.
Recipe Notes
Started as West Coast Blaster from
Brewing Classic Styles. Modified for my system and available ingredients. I also
cut back on the hops a bunch. Jamil wanted me to put in twice as much flavor and
aroma hops, but just seemed too much.
http://www.fermentis.com/FO/pdf/HB/EN/Safale_US-05_HB.pdf
Ferment 1 week
~64F followed by 1 week wherever the house temps take it.
Keg condition / force carbonate.
Brewing Record
| Brew Date: |
|
6/5/2011 |
|
Strike Temp: |
|
|
|
| Mash Temps: |
|
156 - 154
|
|
| Pre-boil OG |
|
1.058 (1.057) |
|
Pre-boil Vol |
|
7.25 (6.84 gal) |
|
| Actual Mash Efficiency |
|
84% |
|
Pitch Temp |
|
65 |
|
| Fermentation |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Day 1: Active by the time I got home from work. 62F.
|
|
Day 2: Changed water bottles in morning. Very active in afternoon. Temp at 65.
|
|
| Day 3: Crazy fermentation 66 / 68. |
| Day 4: Krausen coming into air lock. Added blow-off tube. 65F
|
Click here to see previous recipes
|