Sabro Super Pale Ale

[BlackDuck]

Here's my recipe using all Sabro hops. I wanted to give this one a go with no other hops and a light an crisp malt bill. I think this should do the trick. Some of my recent recipes have lacked the hop character that I thought I was going to get. So I've reduced my Ph a little and lowered the Chloride / Sulfate ratio a bit. Hopefully this one comes out nice and hoppy. Now I just need the weather and my schedule to come together so I can brew this.

Recipe: Sabro Super Pale Ale
Brewer: Antler Brewing
Asst Brewer:
Style: American Pale Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 8.12 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.57 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.75 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.25 gal
Estimated OG: 1.061 SG
Estimated Color: 5.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 81.5 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 68.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 73.9 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
6.00 g Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 1 -
5.00 ml Lactic Acid (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 2 -
2.00 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 3 -
2.00 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent 4 -
7 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 5 49.6 %
6 lbs Pilsen Malt 2-Row (Briess) (1.0 SRM) Grain 6 42.5 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 7 7.1 %
2.0 oz Acidulated (Weyermann) (1.8 SRM) Grain 8 0.9 %
1.00 oz Sabro [15.10 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 9 28.5 IBUs
1.00 oz Sabro [15.10 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 10 23.3 IBUs
1.00 oz Sabro [15.10 %] - Boil 7.0 min Hop 11 12.6 IBUs
2.00 oz Sabro [15.10 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 10.0 Hop 12 17.1 IBUs
2.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) Yeast 13 -
2.00 oz Sabro [15.10 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 14 0.0 IBUs


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 14 lbs 2.0 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 4.25 gal of water at 165.7 F 150.0 F 60 min

Sparge: Fly sparge with 5.56 gal water at 170.0 F
Notes:
------
Mash Water - 2 gallons distilled, 2.25 gallons tap
Sparge Water - 2.75 gallons distilled, 2.8 gallons tap

Mash pH - 5.32
Ca - 72
Mg - 10
Na - 120
Cl - 104
SO4 - 144
Chloride / Sulfate Ratio - .72 May Enhance Bitterness


Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com

[Kealia]

Looks like it should be crisp, although I'll play Devil's Advocate and ask about the 1lb of Crystal. I know when I use it, which is rare anymore, I stay under 5% which I heard years ago was Mitch Steele's threshold for use in IPAs. Granted, this a pale ale but just wondering if that much crystal would take away the crispness from the Pilsen malt and make it too sweet?

And just as a sanity check - you are using the whirlpool/steeping in place of a 60-minute bittering, right? I ask because there isn't one shown.
Just consider this a QA step!

[Beer-lord]

Looks like you just about killed that half pound of hops. Have you opened them yet? If not, when you do and they sit out a bit and warm up, you should notice how fresh and great they smell.
RE: the crystal, I've been omitting it in my IPA's but adding some to some of the pales I brew. For me, if I mash for a dry pale at between 148-151, I usually don't add crystal but for many of the pales I've liked going to 153-154 and found the crystal works well with a fuller body. That's just for me and my tastes mind you but I find C20 is perfect for me.

[BlackDuck]

Good questions:
No 60 minute bittering addition. There are plenty of IBU's without it. And the whirlpool/steep is set at 10 minutes as I will drop them in at flameout and start chilling, so it will take around 10 minutes for the temp to drop where I won't get much from the hops anymore. The 10 minutes is just a guess, but this isn't rocket science. At least to most of us it's not!!!!

I was using the crystal more for color than anything else. I know I'll get a little sweetness out of it, but since it's C20 and it's only 1 lb (7%) I didn't think I would get much sweetness out of it. Buy maybe a drop to .75 or .50 pound wouldn't hurt.

I have not opened them up yet. Keeping them in the freezer until brew day.

[Kealia]

And the whirlpool/steep is set at 10 minutes as I will drop them in at flameout and start chilling, so it will take around 10 minutes for the temp to drop where I won't get much from the hops anymore.

Somebody needs a Hydra!

[Beer-lord]

Somebody needs a Hydra!

No thanks, I have one but what do you want for it and have you thought about putting it in the Buy, Trade, Sale section?

[BlackDuck]

Kealia...thanks for the comment regarding the amount of C20. I reduced it to a half pound and increased the 2 row by a half pound.

[BlackDuck]

Brewed this one today. Mash temp was a degree low, all the volumes were spot on. I did get a little more gravity out of it though. Supposed to be 1.061 and I got 1.065. It was a good brew day!!

[Kealia]

I'll be interested to see what you think. Since you opened this thread I've had a beer with Sabro and it was a weird mix of tastes for me. There was a mintiness to it, IIRC, that I just didn't like.

[Beer-lord]

I'm not sure I would call this hop 'weird' but it is complex to my taste buds. I do get some mint and cedar they talk about but to me, in the only beer I've had it in (my Rye) it blends well with the rye malt. But, since it was my first time using Mecca Grade rye, I'm not sure exactly what is giving me what kind of flavor.
I do know I like it, maybe not love it, but like it!

[BlackDuck]

Well I hope I like it...cause I've got 5 gallons of it coming my way in a few weeks.

[Beer-lord]

I'll drink it!

[BlackDuck]

Took a gravity reading when I got home from work today. Pretty much done. I’ll let it sit for a couple more days before I dry hop it. And of course, I tasted the hydro sample. It’s very promising. A lot o you mention the mint, I’m not really getting that. I get more of the citrus side of it. We’ll see if that changes after more conditioning and the dry hop.


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[BlackDuck]

Put this one to bed in the keg a little bit ago. Looking forward to drinking this. At the gravity test a week ago or so ago I was getting a lot of citrus. Today I wasn't getting as much citrus but a little bit of the pine. But it was different than the dank pine I'm used to. Maybe it's the cedar they mention in the hop description. I'm not getting any of the mint that some of you have mentioned. It is full of flavor. We'll see how it ends up in a couple of weeks.

[BlackDuck]

I forgot to update this over the weekend. I poured a taster this past Friday while my neighbors were over watching the Blue Jackets. It was carbed nicely, still quite cloudy (that should clear with more time), and lots of flavor going on. Here's the flavor description from Yakima Valley Hops website: "Sabro is an aroma hop that is notable for its complexity of fruity and citrus flavors. It imparts distinct tangerine, coconut, tropical fruit, and stone fruit aromas, with hints of cedar, mint, and cream." I did not look at this prior to the tasting. Both my neighbor and I got the citrus flavors. The tangerine was noticable, but I wouldn't say it was distinct. There were other flavors that we couldn't put our finger on. Then I pulled the description up and read it. Then we took another taste. Some of those other flavors became apparent after reading the description. I was getting the cedar, and no mint. My neighbor said he was getting a very slight mint and no cedar. There was one particular flavor that both of us got heavily in the aftertaste, but couldn't identify until after reading the description and that was the cream. It was on odd, but good, flavor. There is a lot going on with this beer, very surprising for a single hop beer.

Here's the interesting part...I had a full pint on Saturday. And things seemed to change a bit. I was no longer getting the cream, at all. The citrus was a little more pronounced and the cedar was still there. And I think I was starting to get a little bit of the coconut, but couldn't say for sure. Then on Sunday, a couple more pints, and again, things changed. The citrus was now not so prominent, but there was other fruity flavors showing up, maybe it was the stone fruits. It's only been in the keg for a little over a week now, so I'm sure it's still conditioning out and will still change a bit more. Unfortunately, my palate isn't that well trained to pick up each and every nuance this hop provides.

All I can say, is that it's a very complex hop, with a lot going on. My wife is traveling for the rest of the week, so my beer consumption drops considerably while I wrangle the kids while she's gone. I'm going to let this sit for the rest of the week and hit it again when she gets home. It will be interesting to see if it changes more.