Apollo/Galaxy APA

[alsch890]

I'm slowly getting my range of summer brews lined up. I've got a bohemian pilsner and a vienna lager lagering, a spring ale conditioning and now thinking of a stronger APA/IPA type beer. Quite pale though.

Aiming for 19l boil/15l batch, my grain bill is:

Pale malt 4kg
Carahell 250g
Carapils 250g

(I might slightly up the carahell).

I was planning to use Columbus, Apollo and Galaxy, like this:

Columbus 25g @60
Apollo 25g @15
Galaxy 25g @ 0
(all approximate weights until i put it in the computer thing).

Then a dry hop of 1/3 Apollo to 2/3 Galaxy.

Any advice on the hop schedule? I could drop the Columbus and bitter with Apollo as well, I'll have enough.

 

[foxy]

I'm slowly getting my range of summer brews lined up. I've got a bohemian pilsner and a vienna lager lagering, a spring ale conditioning and now thinking of a stronger APA/IPA type beer. Quite pale though.

Aiming for 19l boil/15l batch, my grain bill is:

Pale malt 4kg
Carahell 250g
Carapils 250g

(I might slightly up the carahell).

I was planning to use Columbus, Apollo and Galaxy, like this:

Columbus 25g @60
Apollo 25g @15
Galaxy 25g @ 0
(all approximate weights until i put it in the computer thing).

Then a dry hop of 1/3 Apollo to 2/3 Galaxy.

Any advice on the hop schedule? I could drop the Columbus and bitter with Apollo as well, I'll have enough.

I would drop the flame out hop and use it in the dry hop schedule. The reason being you will lose the aroma of those late addition hop with the CO 2 sparging the fermenter of volatile compounds, so really just wasting them. Adding them at say, day 3 or 4 when there is more ethanol in the fermenter the solubility increases.

 

[alsch890]

Just bumping this as brew day (or brew evening is tomorrow).

The orginal hop schedule was this:

Columbus 25g @60
Apollo 25g @15
Galaxy 25g @ 0
(all approximate weights until i put it in the computer thing).
Then a dry hop of 1/3 Apollo to 2/3 Galaxy.

Foxy suggested this:

Columbus 25g @60
Apollo 25g @15
Then a dry hop of 1/3 Apollo to 2/3 Galaxy, plus extra 25g Galaxy

and my other idea was this:

Apollo 25g @60
Apollo 25g @15
Galaxy 25g @ 0
(all approximate weights until i put it in the computer thing).
Then a dry hop of 1/3 Apollo to 2/3 Galaxy.

Although i dont think I'd have enough Apollo for as much of a dry hop?

My Columbus is unopened if that makes a difference. Is it worth opening it for a bittering charge (Even if it is cheaper than Apollo).

 

[chuffer]

If your columbus is unopened, maybe leave it and bitter with the Apollo, then use Galaxy for flavour /aroma (via late additions and dry hop)

 

[Cestrian]

I've used Apollo for bittering a few times recently when I've ran out of magnum and it's turned out well. I haven't used them for a long time as a flavour addition or dry hop, but I'm sure it'll make a nice drop. Galaxy is great though! Made a pale ale recently with apollo for bittering and galaxy, vic secret, el dorado & citra for late additions and dry hop. It's a beauty! Let us know how it turns out.

 

[chuffer]

I've used Apollo for bittering a few times recently when I've ran out of magnum and it's turned out well. I haven't used them for a long time as a flavour addition or dry hop, but I'm sure it'll make a nice drop. Galaxy is great though! Made a pale ale recently with apollo for bittering and galaxy, vic secret, el dorado & citra for late additions and dry hop. It's a beauty! Let us know how it turns out.

Sounds right up my strasse

 

[alsch890]

Alright so what I actually did was something else completely, on a whim and based on a discussion I was reading about the benefit or lack thereof of late additions. I realised I hadnt stuck a 5 mins charge in a brew for 2 or 3 years so thought I'd give it a try and see if I see any benefit:

Apollo 15g @60
Apollo 15g @15
Galaxy 15g @5
Galaxy 15g @0

plus a dry-hop of 20g Apollo and 40g Galaxy.

For IBU of approx 62

Now, for reasons as yet undiscovered, I missed my OG by quite a bit, was aiming for 1.058 and ended up around 1.050. I've no idea why, I did everything as normal and I am pretty consistent usually. I don't get great efficiency, around 65% but it tends to be the same every time. I literally have no idea what happened here, one theory is the boil was not as rigorous as usual. So I'll have a approx 5% pale rather than a 6% IPA. I hope it still has enough backbone to hold up these hops.

 

[Cestrian]

How are you calculating your efficiency. I use Beer engine and if you hit 1050 that's 71.5% efficiency for a 19L brew with 4.5Kg of malt. So not too bad and your IBUs are more like 45, even if your using Apollo at 16% AA.
As for the late addition, I think you get a more rounded beer with a few late additions as well as flame out and dry hop.
This looks like a good beer to me. You'll be fine mate.

 

[alsch890]

I use an app called brew shop so that calculate the efficiency, IBUs etc. I've never thought to question the accuracy of it!
My Apollo is 17.2%! I've never had such "strong" hops.