Flavour Q Re: Pigs Fly PA

[Bizier]

Hi all,

I have a question for those that have experience in picking isolated flavours from a finished beer.

Last night my boss got a case of Pigs Fly Pale Ale from Bowral Brewing Co. I am generally pleased with the flavour and style of the beer, and would like to create some summer beers in this vein. I just feel that it lacks something, and at risk of sounding like a bad interpretive dance, I will attempt to explain. I feel that there is a low end, the pale malt base, and a high end, the hops. I do not want too much more middle, though I would like there to be slightly more of a ramping or tapering off of the flavour. I feel that it is a little too isolated, as though you have two things in your mouth rather than a single integrated beer. That said, I am not being too critical, I would happily drink truckloads of this.

How is this achieved? Do you taper off your malts by adding a tiny amount of darker malt. And then taper the hops with maybe adding a lower alpha variety? The bottle says it uses Chinook hops. Would you add, say, a fuggle or golding?

I am starting to look at the beer I buy with surprising scrutiny - I guess this is where you begin to truly appreciate near perfect brews.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Clean Brewer]

Hello Bizier,

Check out this table, it may help out with your question a little, interesting site also.

http://www.brewsupplies.com/hops-gravity.htm

Cheers

[Iron-Haggis]

I did an APA based on Pigs Fly about a year ago now. Not an attempt at a clone but just something similar, as a group of us tried it at a restaurant and enjoyed it so I decided to make something similar.

1.5kg LLME
1kg LDME

8L boil
30g Chinook (12.4%) @ 30min - 19.5IBU
15g Chinook (12.4%) @ 5 min - 2.5IBU

Then dry hop 15g Chinook after a few days.

Pretty simple and came out pretty good too.

[Bizier]

Thanks guys.

If I changed Iron's recipe here to be something like the following, would it possibly make a slightly more complex and integrated beer:

1.5kg LLME
1kg LDME
75g Med Crystal or similar grain
or 150g DDME

8L boil
30g Chinook @ 30min
5g Fuggles @ 30min

15g Chinook @ 5 min
3g Fuggles @ 5min

Then dry hop 15g Chinook after a few days.

I am largely interested in the approach, rather than the actual ingredients.

Cheers
Dan