Help With All Cascade Pale Ale

[jlinz]

I'm trying to develop a recipe for an all cascade pale ale, because I have a bunch of cascades to get rid of. I'm aiming at a simple easy drinking pale ale. I've read that cascade can be a bit harsh as a bittering hop. I'm hoping to avoid some of that bitterness. I would appreciate some perspectives on this recipe, especially the hop schedule.

10 lbs 2-row
8 oz Crystal 40

1 oz cascade @60
1 oz cascade @15
1.5 oz cascade @ 5
1.5 oz cascades @ flameout
.5 Whirlflock @ 15 min

WLP 001 with starter

Mash @ 152 for 75 min
Mash Out @168 for 10 min

Ferment @ 65 for 2 weeks and then keg.

 

[tjmac5071]

That recipe should be perfectly fine as an easy drinker. Brew it and judge for yourself if Cascade is a bit rough. I do not use it a ton but haven't noticed any harshness from it

 

[jjjjfrench]

I usually keep a 'traditional' APA on tap that features cascade. I don't consider it harsh for bittering, but actually a bit bland (for the bitter hop). I think your recipe looks good, but if I were brewing it, I would add a couple ounces in secondary. Also, if looking for something a bit more complex, replacing 1.5 Lbs of the 2 row with rye.

 

[jlinz]

I usually keep a 'traditional' APA on tap that features cascade. I don't consider it harsh for bittering, but actually a bit bland (for the bitter hop). I think your recipe looks good, but if I were brewing it, I would add a couple ounces in secondary. Also, if looking for something a bit more complex, replacing 1.5 Lbs of the 2 row with rye.

Do you mean rye malt or flaked rye? Sounds interesting, but then I would need to do some shopping.

 

[jjjjfrench]

Rye Malt...I rarely use anything flaked (rolled). Since you are mashing it, you will get full conversion. Rye adds a nice spicy-ness that I think tends to be under-utlized in the brewing world.

 

[jlinz]

Rye Malt...I rarely use anything flaked (rolled). Since you are mashing it, you will get full conversion. Rye adds a nice spicy-ness that I think tends to be under-utlized in the brewing world.

Sounds good. Well, I guess if I do go shopping, I can also pick up some different bittering hops. Anyone have any good suggestions?

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

thats not going to be harsh at all, this is my cascade pale ale and it has some bite to it but not harshness, yours should be fine, Ive had this brewed 237 times by other people and its a hit so go with what you have then change it later if you don't like it

http://www.ozarksmountainbrew.com/1864-2/

 

[Tarpon87]

Looks perfectly fine to me. Ive only made 1 beer using only cascade for hops, but i didnt notice any harshness from it. Heres what i made, omitting the orange peel/ coriander would still make a fine beer im sure.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/cascades-orange-pale-ale.84558/

 

[Yooper]

I LOVE rye- but if you're hoping to avoid harshness, you may want to go with a more tradition 10 lbs two row/1 pound 40L for the base. Rye is wonderfully spicy to me, but my husband hates it and finds it very harsh.

I like the basic recipe you have, but would increase the crystal a bit to have a Sierra Nevada type pale ale, but with more late hops. I love the hopping in your recipe!

 

[jlinz]

I LOVE rye- but if you're hoping to avoid harshness, you may want to go with a more tradition 10 lbs two row/1 pound 40L for the base. Rye is wonderfully spicy to me, but my husband hates it and finds it very harsh.

I like the basic recipe you have, but would increase the crystal a bit to have a Sierra Nevada type pale ale, but with more late hops. I love the hopping in your recipe!

Done! I'm doing a pound of.crystal 40! Woot woot!

 

[imasickboy]

That recipe should be very similar to Troeg's old Pale Ale. Good stuff.

 

[Metalhead_brewer]

Sounds good. Well, I guess if I do go shopping, I can also pick up some different bittering hops. Anyone have any good suggestions?

You should take magnum for bittering, is a very neutral hop that won't display any distinct aroma and flavor characteristics and won't affect the cascades.

 

[jlinz]

You should take magnum for bittering, is a very neutral hop that won't display any distinct aroma and flavor characteristics and won't affect the cascades.

Thanks. I thought about Magnum for bittering. I will probably do it next time around and just stick with the cascades this time.

 

[rhys333]

Recipe looks good. If you're wanting to use up some cascade and have more on hand, you could always double your late additions and cut back on the 60 minute bittering. Also, rye could be quite nice, as well as a range of different specialty malts in smaller quantities. I like to sneak in a little Munich, wheat, victory/biscuit or flaked barley. Heck, even some melanoidin or pale chocolate can add a nice little malt kick.

 

[jlinz]

Here's where I'm finally coming down on this recipe. What do you all think? Better or worse than the original?

10 lbs 2-row
1 lb Crystal 40

1 oz Magnum @ 60
1 oz Cascade @ 5 min
2 oz Cascade @ 0 min
Whirllock @ 15 min

WLP 001 with starter

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

looks good make sure you stir the 0 into a whirlpool for a while before chilling and your set

 

[Cavpilot2000]

I do an all-Cascade Pale ale at least once a year - it is one of my favorite go-to anytime beers. I find cascade to be not harsh at all, just distinct, which I like.
In my version though, I call it a harvest ale, as it is a multigrain brew. here's my recipe:
6 lb 2-row pale (55%)
2 lb rye malt (18%)
2 lb wheat malt (18%)
1 lb Crystal 40 (9%)

1 oz Cascade or 1/2 oz Northern Brewer - 60 min (I've done it both ways)
1 oz cascade - 15 min
1 oz Cascade - 5 min or flameout
2 oz cascade - dry hop in the secondary
WLP001 ferment in the upper 60's to 70.

It is a well balanced, hop-forward, but not aggressively bitter easy-drinking pale ale.

I make this about twice a year, it's so good.

 

[Metalhead_brewer]

Here's where I'm finally coming down on this recipe. What do you all think? Better or worse than the original?

10 lbs 2-row
1 lb Crystal 40

1 oz Magnum @ 60
1 oz Cascade @ 5 min
2 oz Cascade @ 0 min
Whirllock @ 15 min

WLP 001 with starter

Looks great just i think you should add 1-2oz of cascade in secondary for 3-5 days before bottling this will add more aroma to this delicious beer.

 

[jlinz]

Looks great just i think you should add 1-2oz of cascade in secondary for 3-5 days before bottling this will add more aroma to this delicious beer.

It's a good idea, but I don't use a secondary. I go straight from the primary to keg. Might dry hop in the keg, but I'm not a huge fan of messing with the beer too much in fermenter and/or keg.

 

[Tarpon87]

just dry hop in primary

 

[jlinz]

just dry hop in primary

Nah. Don't want to deal with any splashing or mess when racking. I was thinking about getting one of these for dry hopping in the keg.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073GKG7JN/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[jlinz]

Rye Malt...I rarely use anything flaked (rolled). Since you are mashing it, you will get full conversion. Rye adds a nice spicy-ness that I think tends to be under-utlized in the brewing world.

How is rye in the mash? Does it cause difficulty sparging for you?

 

[whovous]

Magnum is quite a bit higher in alpha acids than Cascade. If you were going to bitter with an ounce of Cascade, you might want to use a bit less than an ounce of Magnum to avoid overwhelming the flavor hop.

Alternatively, since you are shopping, consider getting a hopshot or some other CO2 extract for bittering. I find them to be much smoother as bittering hops than anything else I've used. At the moment, they are the only bittering hop I use.

 

[jjjjfrench]

How is rye in the mash? Does it cause difficulty sparging for you?

I use up to about 20% rye and no problems with sparging. Rye essentially is the same as wheat as far as I'm concerned, no hulls--and the few wheat beers I make that have 50% wheat, I also generally do not run into issues. It depends a lot on your system, though.

 

[tomakana]

For what it's worth, I'm a new brewer and do primarily extract brewing currently. I created a simple Pale Ale recipe to begin testing different hops. The first two I did were Citra and Cascade, and I got much more bitterness from the Citra (which makes sense - it's the higher AA%). The Cascade has been popular with people who have tried it, and it's a solid easy-drinker in my opinion. I'm planning to scale it up and use it as one of my regulars going forward.

 

[blubrewbbq]

I do an all-Cascade Pale ale at least once a year - it is one of my favorite go-to anytime beers. I find cascade to be not harsh at all, just distinct, which I like.
In my version though, I call it a harvest ale, as it is a multigrain brew. here's my recipe:
6 lb 2-row pale (55%)
2 lb rye malt (18%)
2 lb wheat malt (18%)
1 lb Crystal 40 (9%)

1 oz Cascade or 1/2 oz Northern Brewer - 60 min (I've done it both ways)
1 oz cascade - 15 min
1 oz Cascade - 5 min or flameout
2 oz cascade - dry hop in the secondary
WLP001 ferment in the upper 60's to 70.

It is a well balanced, hop-forward, but not aggressively bitter easy-drinking pale ale.

I make this about twice a year, it's so good.

I actually just brewed this today. Wort tasted amazing. Only changes were I went with 8# of Base malt and I used S-05 yeast. Can't wait to taste the results

 

[jlinz]

So, I did 10 lbs of 2 row, 1lb of crystal 40, 1 oz magnum @60, 1oz cascade @5 and 2 oz of cascade @ flameout. Used wlp 001. It turned out really good. Sort of like a SN but fruiter/hoppier on the back end. Recommended.

 

[SleepyCreekBrews]

Here’s a cascade pale ale that we brew quite often (see attached)
I’m not sure why the 2oz of cascade dry hop is not showing , but it’s supposed to be dry hopped , divide by 2 for 5 gallons

 

[Cavpilot2000]

I actually just brewed this today. Wort tasted amazing. Only changes were I went with 8# of Base malt and I used S-05 yeast. Can't wait to taste the results

Let us know how you like it when it's done.
Like I said, I brew this at least twice a year. It's pretty much my house APA.

 

[blubrewbbq]

Let us know how you like it when it's done.
Like I said, I brew this at least twice a year. It's pretty much my house APA.

It's funny you posted this today as I just tapped into the keg about a hour ago. I over carbonated the hell out of it. However, I love this brew. It's crisp and has great flavor. Just enough rye and it's cheap!!!

The Cascade does really well here.

I need to check my refractometer. It said OG was 1.060 and FG was 1.025. Thought I did something wrong but it does not feel like a 4.5% ABV brew.

This will be in my rotation for sure. Good stuff!!!!

 

[eric19312]

It's a good idea, but I don't use a secondary. I go straight from the primary to keg. Might dry hop in the keg, but I'm not a huge fan of messing with the beer too much in fermenter and/or keg.

Do try dry hop in the keg. Startling good hop character. 1 oz pellets in a stainless steel tea ball.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

Do try dry hop in the keg. Startling good hop character. 1 oz pellets in a stainless steel tea ball.

It helps to use a floating dip tube like the clearbeer draft system when dry hopping in the keg.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

It's funny you posted this today as I just tapped into the keg about a hour ago. I over carbonated the hell out of it. However, I love this brew. It's crisp and has great flavor. Just enough rye and it's cheap!!!

The Cascade does really well here.

I need to check my refractometer. It said OG was 1.060 and FG was 1.025. Thought I did something wrong but it does not feel like a 4.5% ABV brew.

This will be in my rotation for sure. Good stuff!!!!

Glad you like it. I'm kinda craving it now too.

 

[kristiismean]

Sorry I missed this thread earlier. I made an ale with mostly cascade recently.
I ended up using apollo, 1/2 oz at 60, then 20/10/5/0 for cascade, but added the other oz of apollo I had left in at 0 since it might of added a little bit of floral to the aroma, but nothing to the taste. The way I used it, there was not a hint it was even there.

I used s-05

 

[Cavpilot2000]

Sorry I missed this thread earlier. I made an ale with mostly cascade recently.
I ended up using apollo, 1/2 oz at 60, then 20/10/5/0 for cascade, but added the other oz of apollo I had left in at 0 since it might of added a little bit of floral to the aroma, but nothing to the taste. The way I used it, there was not a hint it was even there.

I used s-05

You've got to dry hop it if you really want the aromatics. For me, for this brew, 2 oz DH is plenty, as it is meant to be nicely balanced and very approachable. I'm not a hop head, except for my NEIPA (which is very low bitterness and no boil hops).

 

[kristiismean]

You've got to dry hop it if you really want the aromatics. For me, for this brew, 2 oz DH is plenty, as it is meant to be nicely balanced and very approachable. I'm not a hop head, except for my NEIPA (which is very low bitterness and no boil hops).

Oh, I agree. 2 oz dh is probably perfect for a pale ale using cascade. Might want to use less

I am a hop head, mine was more of an experiment to make a hop forward IPA, but my hop schedule would not really apply in this situation. (I used 8 oz in my 2 step dry hop, 8 oz of cascade in the boil.....)

 

[blubrewbbq]

Glad you like it. I'm kinda craving it now too.

Yeah I'm going to try it again probably next week but with Centennial. This was the quickest that I ever drained a keg. I Have a ton of centinneal in my aresonal.

It will get in my 10 gallon rotation after that.

 

[PADave]

Nah. Don't want to deal with any splashing or mess when racking. I was thinking about getting one of these for dry hopping in the keg.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073GKG7JN/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Get this one, has mesh over the holes in the lid.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06W555VSQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[jlinz]

Magnum is quite a bit higher in alpha acids than Cascade. If you were going to bitter with an ounce of Cascade, you might want to use a bit less than an ounce of Magnum to avoid overwhelming the flavor hop.

Alternatively, since you are shopping, consider getting a hopshot or some other CO2 extract for bittering. I find them to be much smoother as bittering hops than anything else I've used. At the moment, they are the only bittering hop I use.

FYI. This turned out to be correct. Went with the 1 oz of Magnum and it was a bit too bitter. I'm going to go back to the original recipe with all cascades and give that a roll.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

FYI. This turned out to be correct. Went with the 1 oz of Magnum and it was a bit too bitter. I'm going to go back to the original recipe with all cascades and give that a roll.

I've also done it with a half-ounce of Northern Brewer for bittering. That's worked well too.

Man, I'm really craving this beer now. Gotta put it in my brewplan.