Wedding Beer

[Beer-lord]

Gonna do a quick, 2 week test batch of this recipe for my wonderful godchild's wedding in late November. Of course, I can't do anything tried and true because I'm nuts. First time using Julius (Minnesota Cascades I think), haven't used Azacca in a long while (the hops smell dankish and I hope that shows thru a bit) and Huell or Hull Melon to round things out. Don't want it IPA hoppy but I want it to have some flavor. We'll see.

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: J & O Wedding pale ale
Brewer: Paul
Asst Brewer:
Style: American Pale Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.66 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.46 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 6.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.60 gal
Estimated OG: 1.055 SG
Estimated Color: 6.8 SRM
Estimated IBU: 45.5 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 76.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 78.5 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU Volume
9.10 gal PAB's RO Water Profile Water 1 - -
7.00 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash) Water Agent 2 - -
3.00 g Calcium Chloride (Mash) Water Agent 3 - -
2.00 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Mash) Water Agent 4 - -
2.00 ml Lactic Acid (Mash) Water Agent 5 - -
4 lbs Lamonta : Pale American Barley Malt (Mecca Grade Grain 6 33.3 % 0.31 gal
3 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt, 2-Row (Rahr) (1.8 SRM) Grain 7 29.2 % 0.27 gal
2 lbs Borlander Munich Malt (Briess) (10.0 SRM) Grain 8 16.7 % 0.16 gal
2 lbs Viking Vienna Malt (4.3 SRM) Grain 9 16.7 % 0.16 gal
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 10 4.2 % 0.04 gal
1.00 oz Julius [8.90 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 11 21.9 IBUs -
1.00 oz Huell Melon [7.20 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 12 8.4 IBUs -
1.00 oz Azacca [15.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 13 9.6 IBUs -
2.00 oz Julius [8.90 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 10.0 min, 180 Hop 14 5.6 IBUs -
1.0 pkg WLP975 Hansen Yeast Yeast 15 - -
2.00 oz Julius [8.90 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 16 0.0 IBUs -
1.00 oz Azacca [12.20 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 17 0.0 IBUs -
1.00 oz Huell Melon [7.20 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 18 0.0 IBUs -


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 12 lbs
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 15.00 qt of water at 162.5 F 151.0 F 60 min

[Beer-lord]

Did this one smell nice today! Things went too well, so I guess it'll suck!

[BlackDuck]

Julius hops...never heard of those. What's the flavor/aroma profile, Orange???

[Beer-lord]

From the Farmhouse site:

The influence of Minnesota’s soils and growing climate, known as terroir, plus Mighty Axe Hops’ custom harvesting practices yield these gorgeous fruity hops that brew clean modern, aroma forward IPAs, juicy hazy pale ales, or as a burst of fruit on top of a sour.

Usage: Flavor and Aroma
Flavor Profile: Dreamsicle, Ripe Sweet Orange, Peach
Most Common Beer Styles: IPA, Pale Ale

The fermenter smells nice this morning. The taste I got as it was going into the fermenter was definitely tropical fruit.

[BlackDuck]

Yup...I guess if it's gonna be named Julius, it better be orange. I'll be curious to hear what the final outcome is. I haven't made the Fruit Salad in a while, this might be a good addition for that. I wonder if it's stronger than Mandarina Bavaria. I like that hop, but it's very mild. Seems like you need a lot of it for it to matter.

[Kealia]

Yup...I guess if it's gonna be named Julius, it better be orange. I'll be curious to hear what the final outcome is. I haven't made the Fruit Salad in a while, this might be a good addition for that. I wonder if it's stronger than Mandarina Bavaria. I like that hop, but it's very mild. Seems like you need a lot of it for it to matter.

I think everything is stronger than the Mandarina Bavaria!

[Beer-lord]

I have to agree though I still have about 8 oz of it laying around. I figured I'd use some with other hops in a long whirlpool and maybe get something out of it. I recently read where someone used it in a lager with some Kveik and was surprised how good it came out. Maye the lighter, pilsner malt helps, don't know but I'm not gonna let it go to waste.
The 3 hops I chose all seem compatible to each other so I'm hoping it works out. Got the ph down lower than I normally do as well to see if that helps with the aroma a bit more.

[mashani]

I want to get some Julius to play with but I have a stupid amount of other hops still in my freezer.

I like Azacca, I'd use them in places where I wanted something like Simcoe but without it becoming quite as prominent (in your face) in the end result as Simcoe can do sometimes.

Oh and I like your grain bill, I've made some pretty nice IPAs with a bunch of Munich or Vienna added. Victory Hopdevil is like that (as a commercial example) with a lot of Vienna in the mix, and I like it a lot.

[Beer-lord]

Northern sells them too as well as the Minnesota version of Centennial and a few other hops.
I'll reply back once it's kegged with my thoughts though it won't be just on the Julius.

[mashani]

What do you think of the Mecca Grade malt?

I really want to get some of the Mecca Grade Wind Malt. Northern carries it, but I can get something like 35# of Viking Pilsner or 20#+ of under modified European pilsner for the same price as 10# of that stuff, so I can't convince myself that it's THAT much better.

I can't find anyone else that has it (besides Midwest, but they are the same as Northern, just different branding).

[Beer-lord]

I absolutely love it and can definitely taste the difference but it's about twice the price so I've been splitting it up with less expensive malt and it's still different enough in a good way.
I've tried their munich and vienna in small amounts but not large enough to notice much of a difference.
Northern Brewer will ship it free but it's still $100 and that's about what most homebrew stores sell Rahr and others for by the pound. However, as I buy my grain in bulk, I'm only normally spending $.95 per pound or less as in the case of Viking malt.
Grab some and give it a try and tell me what you think.

[Beer-lord]

Kegged this up yesterday and did a quick flash carb of a PET bottle just to see where it is. It's not bad at all. I mean, 2 weeks ago it was brewed and I'm drinking it, what can you expect but it's a solid pale ale. I wanted more aroma but I think the Juluis hops, which definitely give it an orange/grapefruit flavor, are also somewhat earthy. Can't say I get much of the Azacca and maybe some of the Huell Melon but I do like the malt bill. Full bodied pale for sure.
However, the yeast kicked ass and instead of 5.5%, I'm closer to 6.5%. Shyte happens!