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Borkie's OPA


Vital Statistics:

Batch Number:84
Style:Pale Ale
Brew Date:27 April 2014
Original Gravity:1.050 (12.39 °Plato)
Final Gravity:1.008 (2.05 °Plato)
ABV:5.5%
ABW:4.3%
Calories per pint:215
Estimated IBU (Rager):59.6
Estimated IBU (Tinseth):49.1
Mash Temperature:150°
Mash Efficiency:78%
Days in Primary:20  
Days in Secondary:0 (kegged on 17 May 2014)
Ferm. Temp. Notes:68-73°
Yeast Used:1272 American Ale II
Apparent Attenuation:84%
Real Attenuation:68%
Rating:3.73
Entirely Consumed:Yes (finished 23 August 2014)
Availability:98 days
 Recipe:

8 lb 2-row pale malt
2 lb flaked oats

5 AAU (9g @ 15.3% AA) Calypso @ 60
5 AAU (9g @ 15.3% AA) Calypso @ 20
10 AAU (18g @ 15.3% AA) Calypso @ 10
20 AAU (37g @ 15.3% AA) Calypso @ 5

Wyeast 1272 - American Ale II
General Notes:

Used yeast cake from batch #79.
Tasting Notes:

Tasting notes taken 4 June 2014, 18 days after kegging. Dispensed from kegerator into a tulip.

Appearance: silvery-golden hue with a light haze and a very lazy, low effervescence. Head poured a finger of creamy white foam which dissipated slowly enough, leaving plenty of lace on the glass. Color and lacing and everything are quite good indeed; I guess I'd like a little more evident effervescence, but this is still quite attractive. (4)

Smell: hoppy aroma with a character of green, herbal and minty hops. A little sweet malt comes through, but mostly it is the hops (which are, admittedly, a bit light in intensity). Not bad for a pale ale, although there is an element of "homebrewiness" that seems to come through. (3.75)

Taste: those same herbal, minty hops up front, followed by a sweet malt and a bit of a harsh bitterness. It's not bad at all, but it doesn't finish as smoothly as it could, I think. I feel like I should back off on the bittering addition of the hops to smooth it out (at least where Calypso are concerned). (3.75)

Mouthfeel: medium body with a decent carbonation which doesn't really yield much creaminess, but is interesting enough. (3.5)

Drinkability: pretty drinkable, although the harsh hop finish does detract from this a bit. (3.75)

Overall score 3.73 (B). Not a bad pale ale at all, but it's a bit harsh at the finish and overall has a rough-around-the-edges feel to it. Backing off on bittering, and maybe using something like 1056 instead of 1272, might work better. I'm glad that I did an all-Calypso brew; I've learned that this variety has a very minty/herbal/basily feel to it. I might otherwise have mostly used this as a bittering hop.
Hops Table
Hop Variety Addition Time AAU AA% Quantity (g) Type IBU (Rager) IBU (Tinseth) Notes
Calypso 60 5.00 15.3 9 Pellet 20.8 15.7  
Calypso 20 5.00 15.3 9 Pellet 10.6 9.5  
Calypso 10 10.00 15.3 18 Pellet 12.6 11.4  
Calypso 5 20.00 15.3 37 Pellet 15.6 12.5