Quarter Life Crisis
Brewed: 05/31/2010 Bottled: 06/19/2010
 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)
| Quarter Life Crisis Batch 2 --- cost $20.75 |
| Style |
|
American Amber Ale |
|
Batch Size |
|
2.40 gal |
| Type |
|
Partial Mash |
|
Boil Size |
|
1.92 gal |
Recipe Characteristics
| Recipe Gravity |
|
1.070 SG |
|
Estimated FG |
|
1.018 SG |
| Recipe Bitterness |
|
55.5 IBU (Rager) |
|
Alcohol by Volume |
|
6.80 % |
| BU : GU |
|
0.793 |
|
|
|
|
| Recipe Color |
|
17.1 SRM |
|
|
|
|
| Measured OG: |
|
1.072 |
|
Measured FG: |
|
1.015 |
| ADF: |
|
79% |
|
Measured ABV: |
|
7.45% |
Ingredients
| Amount |
Item |
Type |
% or IBU |
| 3 lbs 8.0 oz |
Briess Pilsen Light LME (2.0 SRM) |
Extract |
70.00 % |
| 6.0 oz |
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) |
Grain |
7.50 % |
| 4.0 oz |
Munich Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) |
Grain |
5.00 % |
| 4.0 oz |
Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) |
Grain |
5.00 % |
| 4.0 oz |
Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) |
Grain |
5.00 % |
| 3.0 oz |
Caramel/Crystal Malt -155L (155.0 SRM) |
Grain |
3.80 % |
| 1.0 oz |
Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) |
Grain |
1.20 % |
| 0.50 oz |
Nugget [12.20 %] (60 min) |
Hops |
46.1 IBU |
| 0.25 oz |
Centennial [9.20 %] (10 min) |
Hops |
3.5 IBU |
| 0.50 oz |
Cascade [7.80 %] (10 min) |
Hops |
5.9 IBU |
| 0.50 oz |
Cascade [7.80 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) |
Hops |
- |
| 0.50 oz |
Centennial [9.20 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) |
Hops |
- |
| 0.25 tsp |
Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 min) |
Misc |
|
| 0.25 tsp |
Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 min) |
Misc |
|
| 2.0 oz |
Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (1.0 SRM) |
Sugar |
2.50 % |
| 1 Pkgs |
SafeAle American Ale (Fermentis #US-05) |
Yeast-Ale |
|
Mash Profile
Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge
| Step Time |
Name |
Description |
Step Temp |
| 60 min |
Mash In |
Add 1.72 qt of water at 161.4 F |
150.0 F |
Batch Sparge Round 1: Sparge
with 0.75 gal of 168.0 F water
Batch Sparge Round 2: Sparge with 1.01 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.
Batch prime with
2.25 oz table sugar boiled in 1 cup water.
Click here to see previous recipes
|