January Competition - American Pale Ales

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Very interesting, didn't pick up the Columbus at all. A very underrated hop in my opinion, but I didn't get that dank pine flavour in the beer.

That water profile is unexpected too. Certainly got the hops to shine, but perhaps would have expected more bitterness.

Can't quite figure how you got that moreish caramel / toffee note either from such a straightforward grist!
 
Here is the feedback from mine.

Aroma:
Citrus and pineapple. Lovely and fresh. Really inviting. 10.5/12

Appearance:
Pale straw colour, nicely hazy appropriate to style. Excellent fluffy white head that lasted well. Beautiful. 3/3

Flavour:
Followed through on the promise of the aroma; citrus, fresh. A little tartness that worked well. Restrained bitterness. Very good. 13/20

Mouthfeel: (sorry, marked out of 3 rather than 5, oops)
Carbonation perfect. Soft on the pallete then cleansed by the tartness. Excellent. 2.5/3

Overall impression:
A very competent beer, really appreciated by all who sampled it. I think the no boil really worked with the style. 7/10
 
Very interesting, didn't pick up the Columbus at all. A very underrated hop in my opinion, but I didn't get that dank pine flavour in the beer.

That water profile is unexpected too. Certainly got the hops to shine, but perhaps would have expected more bitterness.

Can't quite figure how you got that moreish caramel / toffee note either from such a straightforward grist!
I think overall there are fairly minimal boil additions. I can see it being quite an empty beer without the massive DH?

It's an interesting one about the sulphate to chloride ratios. Apparently they make the bitterness more pronounced. I'm not enough of a taste expert to comment though.

No idea about the toffee or caramel note, in all honesty I though the caramalt in just for colour!
 
Here's my recipe
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and my feedback
Aroma:
Nice citrusy aroma, makes you want to dive on. A little yeasty? Not off-putting, just a bit unexpected. 8/12

Appearance:
Appealing amber colour. A little haze. Good fluffy head that stuck around. 2/3

Flavour:
Very drinkable. Malt wall balanced with hop bitterness. There is that slight yeasty flavour there on the palate. 13/20

Mouthfeel:
Well carbonated. Moderate body that works well with the malt and hop flavours. 2.5/3

Overall impression:
Described as easy-drinking by one judge. A very nice beer. 7/10

Total 32.5/48

We all enjoyed this beer. Wondering whether the haze was from a little yeast that hadn't quite fallen out of suspension and contributed to slight issues with the aroma and flavour? Obviously plenty of hops in there that could result in haze!
 
My recipe is in my brew day thread.
Feedback:

Hi Iain. Thanks again for sending. This is a style that I have come to really appreciate, and your offering was a really good example in my humble opinion. Aroma: It always kind of takes the senses by surprise to pour a dark beer and then get that hop explosion - citrus and tropical fruit in abundance. Wonderful aroma. 9.5/12 Appearance: This split opinion I am afraid. My co-judge thought the colour was a little restrained for a BIPA. Good head and lacing that hung around. Yeast a little loose and a very careful pour was needed. 1.5 / 3 Flavour: Very nice indeed. Clearly tons of hops in there. Great complexity. Delivered what the aroma had promised. Lingering bitterness, perhaps a little too assertive? 13/20 Mouthfeel: ( sorry, marked out of 3 rather than 5, oops) Yep, no problems there. Carbonation just right. Body spot on for style. 2.5/3 Overall impression: Very enjoyable indeed. I'd have had another if I'd had it to hand! 6.5/10
 
Just to remind the top 3 finishers that you are to post your recipes so they can be placed in the recipes section like we have done in previous years.

@Chippy_Tea cam you arrange for them to be transferred into a thread in the recipe section.
 
Black IPA
21.5L
Mash at 66C, 60 mins

6.5kg Pale
250g Midnight Wheat
100g Dark crystal
45 minute boil
20g Admiral leaf 16.7%AA 45 mins
10g Simcoe pellet 12.8%AA 15 mins
10g Centennial pellet 9.7%AA 15 mins
10g Amarillo pellet 8.9%AA 15 mins
20g Simcoe 5 mins
20g Centennial 5 mins
20g Amarillo 5 mins
15g Citra pellet 9.5%AA 5 mins
64g Simcoe flameout
20g Centennial flameout
20g Amarillo flameout
15g Citra flameout
50g Amarillo dry hop, day 3
30g Citra dry hop, day 3
25g Centannial dry hop, day 3
20g Nelson Sauvin dry hop, day 3
100g Amarillo dry hop, day 7
40g Citra dry hop, day 7
25g Centennial dry hop, day 7
30g Nelson Sauvin dy hop, day 7
28g Cascade lupulin cryo powder, day 7
US-05 x2
1/2 campden, 1g salt, 5g gypsum for a hop-forward beer. 10ml lactic acid to get the pH into the sweet spot.
19L dough in, 16L sparge.
0.9mm gap size for the barley, 0.7mm for the wheat. Added in a good couple of handfuls of rice husks, and I'm glad I did otherwise the sparge would have stuck.
19C ferment
 
Lost the recipe but this is it from memory.

No boil hoppy wheat
About 4.2% should finish at 1010.
A permanent haze, crisp, slightly tart, floral , hints of lemon, massive aroma from the keg hop, easy drinking beer.

25l batch
2.5kg Maris Otter
2.5kg UK wheat

mashed at 65c for 1 hour
mashout at 75c 10 minutes
Boil 20g of 7AA hops for 20 minutes in 1.5l of water and add to with wort
Heat combined wort to 75c for 20 minutes and recirculate, Steep 50g of EKG during this time
ferment at 37c with voss yeast for 3 days, drop temp to 14c to dry hop with 75g citra & 75g eldorado for 2 days.
Cold crash for a few days then keg with 50g of citra and eldorado in a hop tube.
Takes about a week for the intense bitterness to mellow and become drinkable.
I carb this up quite high, should have a big fluffy head and lacing. Had no oxidisation problems brewing in a bucket even when using oats.
 
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