cascade SMASH

As it was coming to the middle of summer I really wanted to make a summer ale; one similar to American pale ales, which are bitterly hopped with hops like cascade (the floral grapefruit-like ones), light textured and bodied but a bit sweet. For this I followed a standard pale malt + sweet crystal malt + lots of hops at early and late timepoints. No dry hopping was used. A standard ale yeast was used. This ale turned out pretty well and tasted like the usual Brewdog-kind of pale ale. Not the most creative but tastey.

Basic Information
Batch Name:	cascade SMASH ale
Brewed By:	Connor
Style:	Standard/Ordinary Bitter
Batch Size:	4.50 L
Boil Time:	60 min
Initial Boil Volume:	4.50 L
Mash Method:	Steeped Grains
Brew Date:	1/19/14
I was aiming for something greater than this:

Typical Style Characteristics (google APA for pictures)
Style:	Standard/Ordinary Bitter (closest my program gets to an APA)
O.G.	1.032 - 1.040
F.G.	1.007 - 1.011
ABV	3.2 - 3.8 (could be higher - 5%)
IBU	25 - 35 (50)
SRM	4 - 14°L
To achieve this I used these: Malt Bill Malt Name Weight PPG SRM Type Light Dry Extract 0.50 kg 1.044 8.00 Extract/Adjunct Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L 0.10 kg 1.034 60.00 Steeped Grain Mash Rest Profile Rest Temperature Time Type Details Hop Bill Hop Name Time Added Weight AA% Type Cascade (U.S.) 60 min 12.00 g 5.8% Leaf Hop Cascade (U.S.) 20 min 9.00 g 5.8% Leaf Hop Cascade (U.S.) 5 min 6.00 g 5.8% Leaf Hop Cascade (U.S.) 0 min 4.00 g 5.8% Leaf Hop Yeast Details Yeast Strand Quantity Attenuation Flocculation Safale S-04 Dry Ale 7.5g 60 High And the results were: This is what I got:

Calculated & Measured Statistics
Calculated O.G.	1.044 (72% Efficiency)
Calculated F.G.	1.020 (60% Yeast Attenuation)
Measured O.G.	1.050 (inf% Actual Efficiency)
Measured F.G.	1.010 (80% Actual Attenuation)
ABV	5.3%
IBU	55.4
SRM	5.9°L
comments: from this everything looked nice. The higher than predicted attenuation was worrying but no sign of contamination (might be because of difficulties in measuring the yeast out). I hit the ABV and IBU perfectly. On paper this was pretty good. Two weeks in primary and then two weeks in secondary (lost some in transfer). Used 20g of sugar to prime in bottles. Qualitative: Looks: Little sediment (probably because of secondary and no contamination). Maybe a little darker than I would have liked. This comes from the crystal maybe. Reduce it? There was chill haze when served from fridge. Don't do this. Head: Nice head, which dies away quickly. 'Simmer's away lowly during drinking. Aroma: Cascade hops and only cascade hops. Taste: Sweet, bitter, hoppy. Mouthfeel: Light and refreshing. For next time: change crystal? Change hops? Centennial experiment.