Bee's Knees Pale Ale

jeffsmith · April 16, 2012, 04:08:11 PM

I brewed this one quite a while back but just pulled the first pint out of the keg yesterday after it sat in the kegerator carbonating for a couple weeks.

77% Canadian 2-Row
15% Vienna
4% Crystal 15
4% Victory

Hops are all Cascade:

1oz 60 min
1oz 30 min
2oz 15 min
2oz Flame out
2oz dry hop in keg

Ferment with Wyeast 1272 at 62ºF

Mash at 152ºF
OG 1.059
FG 1.011
6.0 SRM
49IBU

Efficiency was a lot higher than I expected. OG should have been 1.051. I'll definitely be making this one pretty regularly, nice light, hoppy beer for warm days.

Kyle · April 17, 2012, 11:27:57 AM

that looks really good.

jeffsmith · April 17, 2012, 11:32:33 AM

Thanks. Looking forward to getting this one in front of some BMC-drinking buddies to see what they think of it.

jeffsmith · June 20, 2012, 12:21:33 PM

Going to re-run this in within the next week or so with all Columbus hops.

chrismccull · June 20, 2012, 12:53:08 PM

How was it with Cascade?

Richard · June 20, 2012, 01:16:31 PM

In my experience the best way to entice the BMC'ers is to start with a US Wheat or a cream ale to wean them off lager first... whilst this is likely an excellent beer, BMC drinkers are just not used to hop presence of that scale.

pliny · June 20, 2012, 01:24:49 PM

Quote from: "Kyle"that looks really good.

Yes Kyle has a soft spot for Vienna

jeffsmith · June 20, 2012, 02:33:00 PM

Quote from: "Richard"In my experience the best way to entice the BMC'ers is to start with a US Wheat or a cream ale to wean them off lager first... whilst this is likely an excellent beer, BMC drinkers are just not used to hop presence of that scale.

It actually went over really well with 3 Bud Light drinkers. Make no mistake, I was definitely making this one for myself.

Just wanted to see how it would be received by some BMC folks. These guys are used to me experimenting on them with home brew. This one was pretty mild compared to some of the IIPA's I've set in front of them in the past.

jeffsmith · June 20, 2012, 02:35:27 PM

Quote from: "chrismccull"How was it with Cascade?

It turned out really well. The Cascade really shined through and made for a nice, citrus-y flavour and aroma..

Richard · June 20, 2012, 02:38:36 PM

Ah so you've already got them broken in - nvm then

jeffsmith · June 20, 2012, 02:56:42 PM

Quote from: "Richard"Ah so you've already got them broken in - nvm then

To a point. This was the first one that they went back to the kegerator for another pint, so I'd consider it a success.

pliny · June 20, 2012, 03:05:18 PM

Quote from: "jeffsmith"Going to re-run this in within the next week or so with all Columbus hops.

That's a good way to pick up the different tastes and nuances of hops.

All Columbus - you won't be at 49IBU if you use the same proportions that's for sure. You'll be closer to 115IBU

jeffsmith · June 20, 2012, 03:42:42 PM

Quote from: "pliny"All Columbus - you won't be at 49IBU if you use the same proportions that's for sure. You'll be closer to 115IBU

The proportions will definitely be adjusted appropriately. The Columbus I have in my freezer is 16.9% AA, so there'll be a lot less hop matter in the boil. I'll still be shooting for 49-50IBU as before. Though I'm hoping that the Columbus version will have a bit sharper/spicier flavour and aroma compared to the Cascade version which was sweet and citrusy.