Pale ale recipe advice

[thebuddrik]

I am thinking about brewing a pale ale this weekend. I will be using extract. I would like to try to do it without a kit. Where do I start?

[GuitarLord5000]

Well, if you'd like to make your own recipe, I'd suggest you pick up some brewing software, if you don't already have some.

Beersmith is my program of choice, but Promash is also good. If you have Microsoft Excel, you can download the Homebrew Alchemist (free), which is a program I created to benefit those who are new to brewing:http://brewersroundtable.com/forum/homebrew-alchemist-now-available-t849.html

That should help you make your own recipe, without having to spend hours doing tedious calculations. It's a great place to start!

Cheers
Dave

[redtail28]

Think about the flavor that you would
Like in your beer. Hoppy not so Hoppy, Malty
And also color. As a home brewer I try
To emulate flavors from my favorite
Commercial beer, by the way
It’s usually the one that I'm drinking
At a particular moment.

As Guitarlord said software will make it a lot
Easier , plus it's some cool stuff. Beertools and Promash
Both have free versions. Try them

Anyway that’s my 2 cents.

[thebuddrik]

That sounds good, I was thinking about Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.
I will check out those programs but after looking at GuitarLord5000s program, which is very impressive, I don’t know how an inexperienced brewer like me could use it. I am trying to find a recipe. I take notes of each brew that I have done; yes, even the box kits. When I try to duplicate one I plan on going back to my notes and seeing what I want to change. Those programs look to me like just a good way to keep track of ingredients and boil times and figure out IBUs.
Thanks guys,
Buddy

[redtail28]

Ok SNPA
If you go to their web site you find that
alcohol content 5.6% by volume yeast Top-fermenting Ale Yeast
beginning gravity 13.0 Plato bittering hops Magnum & Perle
ending gravity 2.8 Plato finishing hops Cascade
bitterness units 37 malts Two-row Pale & Caramel
just put those numbers in the software a play around a little
with the IBU's to get you additon times

Have fun
and Brew Strong

[thebuddrik]

Never mind guys, I downloaded ProMash free version and imported the Sierra Nevada clone and it all made sense.
Tell me something, how hard is it to get all of these ingredients? How bad is it to substitute ingredients for what’s available?

EDIT: I had not seen your post, redtail28, before I made this post. I had been to their website and seen all of that I just didnt know what to make of it but I think I have it now.
Thanks

[redtail28]

Cool
Finding your hops will be your
biggest challenge. Magnum & Perle
are very hard to find.

[thebuddrik]

[quote="budrockdiesel"]How bad is it to substitute ingredients for what’s available?

I know it will not be a true clone. Next time I will plan ahead and get things together early.
Thanks

[Imakewort]

here is a link to a hop substitution pagehttp://www.brew365.com/hop_substitution_chart.php
and here is a link to a hop availability page
http://www.brew365.com/hop_availability_chart.php
good hunting there is plenty of hops out there, I use the hop availability page all the time it is updated regularly

[Imakewort]

there is a thread on the NB forum on a SNPA clone lots of good info strait from the brewery here it is
http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?t=15532

[thebuddrik]

Thanks a lot IGOR. I checked all of that out and searched on that tread and got some good info.

[aleguy]

I wouldn't worry too much about making a perfect clone of snpa. Just brew your beer with what you can get. Marcello's has plenty of good hops, grains and malt extract. For a basic PA I would just use about 2 oz. crystal, 8 oz cara red or cara amber and maybe a lb of cara pils along with your pale malt base or extract.
For hops I would use Perle or Centennial for bittering and cascade for your late additions. That should give you a damn good p[ale ale. (Note Marcello's is currently out of Centennial hops.)
The main thing is to enjoy yourself and end up with a good beer. Don't make yourself miserable trying to create an exact copy of a commercial beer. It will likely not be quite the same anyway.
By the way, safale 05 is Sierra Nevada's proprietary yeast.

[thebuddrik]

I didn't plan far enough in advance so I broke down and bought a pale ale kit. For my next brew I will take my time and do research and get everything ahead of time.

[aleguy]

I would start the research now. That way you can have all your ingredients and a recipe handy for whenever you decide to brew next. I'm always at least one brew ahead in terms of ingredients and so on. Though I often don't decide what I'm going to brew until it's time to pull out the kettle.
At some point you'll probably end up with enough stuff on hand that you can just brew anything on the spur of the moment.

[Imakewort]

here is a part of what I have on hand in just specialty grains and some base grains good luck aleguy[/img]