Pale Ale

[NervousDad]

With extract you pretty much stuck with what their water profile was at the time that they made the extract which for the most part is fine.

You can always add a little bit of gypsum to enhance the bitterness maybe a tsp or two, but you'll be doing this kinda blind since you don't know their water profile so use it sparingly.

[Bobbie Dooley]

I've never brewed with extract but if I did, I'd use reverse osmosis or distilled water for the boil. The water chemistry of the company that produced the extract is locked into the powder/syrup so, by adding it to your tap water, you're essentially adding a bunch of minerals that you don't know the concentration of. By using RO, you're betting that the extract producer knows what they're doing (probably a good bet) and can more or less not worry about water adjustments.

Like I said, I have no experience with extract but I'd be willing to bet that RO water will give you a better hop profile than tap water (although the water in the NW can be pretty pure so who knows).

[Ozwald]

My advice:

Forget about the water, forget about the pH, forget about mineral additions. Brew the recipe Nervous posted. Focus on a healthy pitch & a controlled fermentation. Period.

You can worry about all that other stuff down the line, but just leave it there for now. Trying to incorporate it before you've got everything else dialed in is just asking for more problems. If the batch doesn't turn out well, let us know & we can help you take small steps to get you there.

[bigmikenyc66]

Another items to keep in mind is your hop selection. Using hops with lower percentages of Cohumulone <30% (lower if possible) will cut down on the harsh bitterness that Cohumulone adds to the beer. When you select your hops take a look at the different percentages of hop oils to factor in the taste and sensations they will add.

This is a good breakdown of the different compounds in hops and what they do.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index. ... Cohumulone

[MJB]

Thank you all for you input. You guys are awesome. I think I'll try using RO assuming the extract's ph and mineral content are right on. Also, a few of you suggested using low cohumulone hops. I think Jamil has mentioned that on the the radio show. Thanks again.

Cheers.

[BDawg]

Up here in WA, even when doing extract batches of hoppy beers, I still add a touch of gypsum (1 tsp in 5 gals) because our water is very much like Plzen and the sulfate is needed to make the hops pop. Without it, they taste muted.

[MJB]

Interesting tip. I may try that depending on how this batch turns out.

[MJB]

I finally have a finished beer. Life happened, so I didn't get to do it as soon as I wanted to. Anyway, it turned out descent. It didn't attenuate as much I would have liked. Its still drinkable, but I think my next purchase needs to be some aeration equipment. I kept the recipe fairly simple, Pilsen DME, Wheat DME, some Victory, bittered with magnum, and did 4 different additions of cascade. Also, I did use 100% RO water.