Little Creatures Pale Ale Clone

[Mikes15]

Going to give this a bash;

 

Coopers Australian Pale Ale

1Kg Amber liquid Malt

10gm Cascade hops

10gms of Amarillo

10gms of Galaxy

Safale s-04 11.5gms

 

- Add half the malt extract can to 4 liters of water and bring to gentle boil for 20 mins with the 10 g Cascade.

- At 20 mins turn off the heat / flame and add the Amarillo and Galaxy

- After a further 15 mins strain this into your FV along with the contents of the APA can and remainder of the liquid malt to about 20ltrs

- Ferment at 18-20 C

 

Only the local shop didnt have 1kg amber malt so Ive got 1.4kgs instead, any suggestions on what I need to adjust to allow for this?

 

Ps - already have all the ingredients as listed apart from the malt being 1.4kg.

 

[Mikes15]

Another note,

 

Scored a fridge to sit my barrel in while brewing so this will be my first go at cold crashing before bottling, Ive been getting a lot of sediment & often a wrong taste in my beers, always the same slightly cidery taste if it occurs which is 8/10 times, tried leaving it 1 week + after SG is reached but just cant seem to get round it.

 

Was planning on turning off the heat pad, let it chill to room (about 10'c) then turn the fridge on & bring it down to 4-5'c & bottle then heat back up to 18-20 for a couple of weeks.

 

Des that sound like a good plan?

 

Another option I can do is to transfer to a second barrel part way trough fermentation but thinking this just adds to the contamination / fouling risk.

 

 

[Gag Halfrunt]

Going to give this a bash;

 

 

-

Only the local shop didnt have 1kg amber malt so Ive got 1.4kgs instead' date=' any suggestions on what I need to adjust to allow for this?

 

Ps - already have all the ingredients as listed apart from the malt being 1.4kg.

[/quote']

 

Dont use it all.

Pour off 400g and save it for another brew.

[Mikes15]

So it will keep opened?

 

Would it need to be kept in a fridge & for how long, 3/4days, 1 week, 1 month??

 

What would happen if I put it all into the brew?

[Otto Von Blotto]

The cidery flavours may be from ferment temperatures being too high or fluctuating too much.

 

Do you have a temperature controller with the fridge or just the fridge by itself? If you have a controller then just ferment it in the fridge and use the controller to keep it at 18C. With cold crashing you can just drop it straight to cold crashing temps, it'll take a day or so to get there anyway. The closer to 0C you can get, the better too. Leave it there for a week then bottle.

 

US-05 would probably be a better yeast choice for LCPA, it is an American style pale ale after all. If you use S-04, try to keep it at 20C.

[Beerlust]

Hi Mike15.

 

Your recipe will produce a nice tasting beer. If however you wish to brew something very close to the commercial Little Creatures Pale Ale, then the following is definitely worth your time & effort.

 

Coopers DIY recipe: Chubby Cherub

 

I've brewed this recipe & it has an incredible likeness to the real thing (as it is meant to).

 

I often ask myself why I continue to experiment so much with my brewing, as I could quite happily just brew this one beer recipe for the rest of my life, & be very happy.

 

Cheers & good luck with your brew,

 

Lusty.

[Gag Halfrunt]

So it will keep opened?

 

Would it need to be kept in a fridge & for how long' date=' 3/4days, 1 week, 1 month??

 

What would happen if I put it all into the brew?[/quote']

 

I've stored excess malt extract in a jar in the fridge for a few weeks without any problems.

If you put it all in the brew you will end up with a higher alcohol content in the finished beer.

 

[Mikes15]

The cidery flavours may be from ferment temperatures being too high or fluctuating too much.

 

Do you have a temperature controller with the fridge or just the fridge by itself? If you have a controller then just ferment it in the fridge and use the controller to keep it at 18C. With cold crashing you can just drop it straight to cold crashing temps' date=' it'll take a day or so to get there anyway. The closer to 0C you can get, the better too. Leave it there for a week then bottle.

 

US-05 would probably be a better yeast choice for LCPA, it is an American style pale ale after all. If you use S-04, try to keep it at 20C.[/quote']

 

In the summer I have struggled to keep the temps down, you may have struck the nail here.

 

Ive not used the fridge before, just a poly-foam lined wooden box with a heat pad, temp controlled by wiring a oil radiator thermostat into the power cord.

 

Again, brewing this time of year 18' should be no prob, just going to leave the fridge off & place the pad in the bottom with the thermostat placed in the fridge & the door shut.

 

Reach SG at 18'c, wait a week or so, turn off heat pad, turn on fridge, wait a week, bottle. - thanks.

 

Will see if I can source some US-05, if memory serves it wasn't available & they suggested S-04.

 

Ive never tried LCPA so will work for me either way so long as it tastes good

 

[Mikes15]

Hi Mike15.

 

Your recipe will produce a nice tasting beer. If however you wish to brew something very close to the commercial Little Creatures Pale Ale' date=' then the following is definitely worth your time & effort.

 

Coopers DIY recipe: Chubby Cherub

 

I've brewed this recipe & it has an incredible likeness to the real thing (as it is meant to).

 

I often ask myself why I continue to experiment so much with my brewing, as I could quite happily just brew this one beer recipe for the rest of my life, & be very happy.

 

Cheers & good luck with your brew,

 

Lusty.

 

Ironically, I brewed the Cascarillo Amber & it was BY FAR the best beer Ive EVER made, & genuinely up there with top craft beers in my & a few mates opinions.

 

Spurred on, just before the birth of our first child I brewed a batch of Chubby Cherub, very apt, turned out shite, had to pour it away & it was one of the more expensive recipes Ive tried, fortunately the child - my son - did turn out ok & was spared the drain,,,,

[Mikes15]

Otto,

 

Do you mind if I fact check you on the yeast?

 

Had a bit of a self teach google search on 04 vs 05 etc & in getting results opposed to what you said,

 

100% 04 is English style & 05 is American but,,

 

- "If 04 is brewed ABOVE 64'f / 18'c it gives English esters, below that it brews crisp, clean & has very good drop out & forms a heavy cake if transfered into the bottle"

- "it will finish well & give some esters if brewed at the higher temp range"

 

- "If 05 is brewed BELOW 64'f / 18'c it can throw esters but stays really clean over this temp"

 

- "05 is clean, attenuates well thus drying out the beer"

 

- "04 attenuates well lower & will leave residual sweetness & can produce english style esters"

 

So are we sure I should brew at 20'c if I have a pop with the s-04?

[Mikes15]

Got this into the FV last week,

 

8 days in, 1st SG today, 1010, beer is quiet clear & tastes blood good even at this early stage, very well rounded hoppy flavors along with a slightly sweet rather than bitter taste

 

Interesting to note though while this recipe uses just 2 hops LC claim to use "hops flowers from hop growers in Victoria, Tassie, New Zealand and the Pacific North West of the US, thrown at their pale ale throughout the brewing process", that says 4 hops to me & surely more than just pre wort simmering & steeping?

 

Still trying to source some LCPA in nz to try & compare it with, only options so far are $30 delivered to a 6 pack!

[Mikes15]

Guys,

 

This is my first brew with a fridge & first time cold crashing, normally I would hold the beer in the FV at the brewing temp for about 1 week after SG stabilized, since Im crashing should I just chill it down once the SG is stable over say 4 days and hold it as cold as possible for about 1 week instead?

 

Cheers.

[Otto Von Blotto]

A lot of cats have had issues with S-04 stalling if it's fermented too low, so the general consensus is to ferment it at 20C or so. That's why I suggested that. I inadvertently made a LCPA like beer once when I brewed a pale ale with Chinook and Cascade hops. It was fermented with US-05 and was one of the batches I brewed for a wedding... someone there commented that it tasted like LCPA. Only later I found out those hops were used in the beer at that time.

[Mikes15]

Cheers for the reply,

 

Thanks to my new Ink bird controller & fridge set up the FV has been 18-20'c & not even 0.1 above or below the whole time

 

This brew is looking so good at this stage that Im sure Ill be giving it another bash but with 05, will keep a couple of bottles back to do a taste test.

 

Any thoughts on when to cold crash after/once SG is stable?

[Otto Von Blotto]

I usually raise the temp up 3 degrees 3 days after pitching the yeast, and then wait 3 or 4 days after FG is stable to drop the temp down for a cold crash.

[Mikes15]

Cheers for the feedback, Im so pumped for this being a good brew, every day I take a SG sample its getting harder to not draw off a pint

 

Out of interest you said before to brew S-05 at 18'c so is that the pitching temp or post pitch raised temp? - As soon as this is out of the FV Im planning to wash up & get the S-05 version on the go since I got a double order of the hops & the extra 500grm of malt is sitting in the house fridge anyway.

 

Day 4 at 1010-1012SG, though I prob should have started taking SG's sooner than 8 days in, but ill hold it a bit longer & crash it on Thursday

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Otto Von Blotto]

The 18C is the pitching/initial ferment temp, and the raised temp is 21C.

[Mikes15]

And the crashing begins,,,

 

1010 again today, can really taste the difference in flavor since a few days ago now, the sweeter aftertaste has mellowed to a more rounded floral hop finish but still very light on the bitter tones, looking like being a very mellow / mild brew

 

[Mikes15]

Bulk priming & bottling day tomorrow,

 

Discovered my free fridge actually dos'nt work that well & has only held 5'C for cold crashing but the sample of the FV tap is is certainly clear, & tasting very clean though TBH it has lost almost all of its flavor?

 

 

I would say at this stage it would have really taken a dry hop well.

 

So I normally use this priming calc;

 

Your text to link here...

 

Which tells me for 21ltrs @ 5'C I should be priming 65 - 105g table sugar into 21ltrs to give 2.2 - 2.7 volumes of co2 for American style ales.

 

That seems very low compared to the amounts I use bottling at 20'C, any thoughts?

 

 

 

[joolbag]

Hi mikes15. I use the same priming calculator. I put in the maz temp that the beer go to during fermentation. Usually 20 or 21C after I raise the temp to help my yeast finish fermenting.

 

Then I use the calculator. Usually much more sugar than you posted. It's because low temps it assumes more co2 is dissolved in solution. But when you fermented and raised the temp, it came out of solution and out the airlock. Never to go back into solution.

 

I like my American Pale ales on the higher side of carbonated. About 2.5vols usually. English ales, real ales, etc I aim for about 2.2 or 2.3 vols. Lagers about 2.6 or 2.7

[Mikes15]

Thanks for the help, sounds logical.

 

I fermented at 18 - 20'c so that takes the prime up to 130g for 2.4v/co2, which is just below the mid point of the suggested American ale range.

 

[Mikes15]

Well I'm totally sold on cold crashing!

 

Transferred to the priming V, left a small amount behind so not draw the floaties or sediment out, afterwards I opened the FV & the bottom was packed solid & there was absolutely zero on surface of the beer, by far the cleanest brew I've made.

 

bottles are back in the brew fridge now warming to 18', 2 long weeks to wait,,,,,

[joolbag]

Mike, me too! I dry hopped my brew before last commando with 60g dry hops and cold crashed for a week. I siphon from FV to bottling bucket. Nice compact yeast and hop/trub cake and absolutely no crud in my bulk priming bucket.

 

I know I should wait 2 weeks, but these days I always crack open a bottle at 1. Something to look forward to. It's always green and flavours haven't mellowed nor balanced, but I get a feel for how it is progressing and tastes when carbonated.

 

LEttuce know in a week!

[Otto Von Blotto]

Yup a fan of cold crashing here as well. Jools is correct regarding the priming calculator too, it is the highest temperature the beer got to post-fermentation that should be used, which is usually whatever temp it finished at. I don't know where these cats get their idea of all the CO2 magically reabsorbing into the beer from but they obviously don't understand physics very well, or are seemingly oblivious to the fact that once the CO2 is outside the fermenter it can't just come back in again because the temperature is dropped.

 

Even if all the gas in the headspace (which isn't 100% CO2 anyway) was absorbed into the beer during the cold crash, which is highly unlikely itself due to there being no pressure inside the fermenter, it would only increase the CO2 level by about 0.2 volumes at the most, and would probably be lucky to get that high.

 

I bulk primed numerous batches that had been cold crashed for a week or so at least, with the "normal" rate of sugar/dextrose (usually between 160-200g dextrose depending on the beer style), and not one of them was over carbonated. The idea of using the bottling temperature to calculate priming sugar is quite frankly a load of nonsense, because the theory behind it just doesn't add up.

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

[Mikes15]

 

1 week (or there about's) in the bottle, don't mind if I do,,,,

 

Very nice beer, clear as a sunny day, nice carbonation levels, not fizzy or gassy very close to a hand pumped draft at this stage.

 

Very mild or rounded flavors, with the obvious S-04 English ester tones coming through, Im not great with identifying tastes / smells but I'd defiantly say ripe banana, toffee apple / lightly burnt caramel with possibly some faint stone fruit under tones!

 

All in all a nice ale, prob more bitter than pale ale through, I could prob give this any English mate & say its a IPA & they would never know! Interesting to see how it conditions over the next couple of weeks.

 

Next Job, get the 2nd batch on the go with the American yeast, couldn't get s-05 but have 15g of Morgans American ale yeast which I hope will do the same job.

 

Thanks for all the help on this & with stetting up my brew fridge via my other post,

 

Cheers all