The Pale Ale was ready for tasting this past weekend, so I invited my brewing partner over and we tried it out. The Willamette hops didn't give quite the amount of flavor I was expecting, nor did they bitter the brew enough. I was hoping for some lighter bitterness, so I could just bump that up, but I really wanted that soft, pleasant flavor and aroma that Willamettes carry, and it was only slightly there. For the next batch, I'm doubling all of the additions. If that doesn't give me what I'm looking for, I will have to scrap the SMaSH Idea for this one, and add some other hops to augment the Willamette.
As for the brewday, I definitely suck a little bit less each time. This was the second attempt at the American Wheat. I used Citra hops, a more potent American cousin of the Tettnanger I was using before, and 60% wheat instead of an equal 50/50 split. Recipe:
-10oz 2-Row
-15oz Wheat
-0.1oz Citra @ 60
-0.05oz Citra @ 15
-0.1oz Citra @ 5
As with the Wheats before, the yeast chewed through this like it was nothing. So far, I think the only beers that used the blowoff tube were the Wheats. I've heard of people using at least a little wheat malt in every recipe. Apparently, the effect it has on the yeast, and the boost to head retention can really improve the finished product. It can also, however, add some cloudiness. Not a really big deal to me, mind you, but its worth mentioning.
This week is the second Pale, and I'm bottling the Stout. This is the last week of having nothing to taste, since every subsequent one has a bottle, sample, and brew scheduled...except the week I'm at the Jersey Shore, pumpin' my fist- but not my gas.
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