Galaxy Single Hop AG Recipe

[HisDudeness]

Ok to distract me from the inevitable paranoia waiting for my extract beer to start fermenting I have begun thinking about the next brew, I want to go full AG on this one with a single hop galaxy pale ale, that way I can have something to compare to the partial mash version I did and will also use up the remaining galaxy pellets. Anyway based on similar recipes on here and the ingredients I currently have here is my idea:

Batch Size 10L
OG 1.045
FG Target 1.011
IBU 33.2
SRM 8
ABV4.5%

Grain Bill
MO 1.5kg
Carahell 0.3kg
Crystal Malt 80EBC 0.1kg
Torrified Wheat 0.1kg

Boil 60min

Hops
Galaxy 5g @ 30
Galaxy 10g @ 10
Galaxy 10g @ 5
Galaxy 10g @ 0
Galaxy 20g @ 5 Day Dry Hop

Yeast: planning to use some Adnams yeast recovered from Ghost Ship Keg

Any thoughts?

 

[clibit]

You have 20% Carahell/crystal there, a bit high for me. I'd be going for a total of 200g of those two, or less, myself.

 

[HisDudeness]

Thanks for the feedback clibit, is there a particular reason or rule of thumb that dictates a lower percentage of these grains? Or better still is there a good source of info on general guidelines for concocting new recipes in the various styles. At the moment I am just working on aiming at a rough ABV and colour target in the calculator

 

[clibit]

There are some rules of Online sellers often give a suggested maximum % for each grain. Crystal malts are usually 0-20% ish, but most people tend to stick within 10% cos crystal is pretty sweet. Some recipes go higher. Carahell is a light crystal malt.

 

[HisDudeness]

So are the different colour grades of crystal going to deliver the same level of sweetness? I.e can I reduce quantity but use a darker crystal to maintain the original SRM/EBC of the finished beer? Sorry to be a pest but every answer seems to lead to a new question at this stage!

 

[clibit]

You're concerned about colour? I rarely target a colour. Actually, never.

But a small amount of black malt is often used to increase colour.

 

[HisDudeness]

Well I suppose if I was aiming for a golden/Amber/ruby ale or whatever then yes I would be concerned about colour but in this case I was really just trying to ask if different grades of crystal affect flavour significantly or whether it is mainly a difference in colour

 

[HisDudeness]

Slightly revised recipe

Batch Size 10L
OG 1.045
FG Target 1.011
IBU 33.2
SRM 7
ABV4.5%

Grain Bill
MO 1.7kg
Carahell 0.1kg
Crystal Malt 80EBC 0.1kg
Torrified Wheat 0.1kg

Boil 60min

Hops
Galaxy 5g @ 30
Galaxy 10g @ 10
Galaxy 10g @ 5
Galaxy 10g @ 0
Galaxy 20g @ 5 Day Dry Hop

Yeast: planning to use some Adnams yeast recovered from Ghost Ship Keg

How does that look now?

 

[clibit]

Different colours of crystal taste different yes. Light crystals are sweet but less flavoured, dark crystals are more burnt tasting. Crystal ranges from around 20 EBC to around 300 EBC. Roughly speaking 20-100 is light, 100-200 medium, 200-300 dark.

 

[brisboy]

I like the way you're planning on using your hops. Glad you asked some questions about crystal because now I know too! :)

 

[HisDudeness]

Thanks clibit you are a font of brewing knowledge! That will be really helpful for planning or analysing recipes in the future