Hoppyness is a warm gun... (tweak)

Just wanted a hoppy ale with not a whole lot of bitterness.

Brewer:	Rathole		Email:	am1nightcreature@yahoo.com
Beer:	Hoppyness is a warm gun... (tweak)		Style:	American Pale Ale
Type:	Extract w/grain		Size:	5.5 gallons
Color:	17 HCU (~10 SRM)		Bitterness:	35 IBU
OG:	1.048		FG:	1.009
Alcohol:	5.0% v/v (4.0% w/w)
Water:	Local tap water, kinda soft and no chlorine this time of year
Grain:	1.25 lb. American crystal 40L
Steep:	steep in grain bag about one gallon water, 155° for 30 minutes
Boil:	60 minutes	SG 1.053	5 gallons
	7 lb. Light malt extract
	1 t burton water salts at start of boil 1 t irish moss last 15 minutes Hop Schedule: 3/4 oz Perle 7.6% AA 60 minutes 1/2 oz Cascade 6% AA 20 min 1/2 oz Cascade 15 min 1/2 oz Cascade 10 min 1/2 oz Cascade 5 min 1 oz Cascade end of boil, let steep 10 minutes Dry Hop with 1 oz Cascade and last 1/4 oz Perle about two weeks in secondary
Hops:	0.74 oz. Cascade (6% AA, 60 min.) 0.74 oz. Perle (8% AA, 60 min.)
Yeast:	Nottingham ale yeast, dry
Log:	Brewed 2/8/2004. Lately everything has been fermenting fairly cool, about 60°. I expect it to be in the primary about 5-6 days. For once, the recipator was almost right on for gravity, OG of 1.047 2/14: Transferred to secondary, SG 1.012 and dry hopped with 1 oz cascade and 1/4 oz Perle (it was leftover perle from the brew, and it's supposed to be a good aroma hop when used sparingly) 2/24: So here I am, still sitting here waiting for it to clear up. It will, eventually, and if not I still have a dose of isinglass in the fridge. It's percolating CO2 out of the yeast in the bottom, once it gets 14 days on the dry hopping I may rack to tertiary. 3/5/2004: bottled it today, never tranferred to tert. SG 1.009 Lotsa hop leaves floating around and in fact many made it into the bottle. ("If ya don't want floaty crappy things in your beer, drink coors!" Bob, 2003) nice aroma slightly lacking in malt from the tiny taste I took. I think it will turn out just fine when it has the 3-4 weeks to blend and meld in the bottle, will end up just as I wanted.
Tasting:	3/19/2004: Very clear with no chill haze. Nice fine carbonation with a nice white head that lasts to the bottom of the glass. Good initial taste of malt sweetness that is quickly overpowered by the lingering bitterness. Lower hop aroma than I wanted with a touch of classic cascade citric grapefruityness. Would not want any more cascade in there, at least at this level of maturity. Should be better in a couple/three months. Almost identical to "Red Hook" IPA, about to the point where it could be called a clone. I found the Red Hook to be a little bitter, even though it was supposed to be that way, and thought it could be a little better balanced. I think this will be good with some aging. 4/3/2004: Did a side-by-side comparison with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. The colors are exactly the same. Bitterness is almost exactly the same. Hop aroma on the SN is odd, old and stale compared to mine, with an odd off note I would think is different hops. Mine has a good clean cascade aroma with little or no of the earlier citric character mentioned earlier. none of the lingering bitternes mentioned earlier. well rounded and drinkable, it is almost perfect for me except it needs more hop aroma for my taste.

Recipe posted 02/08/04.