Name: Beachcomber St. Augustines Empirical - Old Coast Ales, St Augustine, FL Recipe
Cook time: 16 h
Total time: 16 h
Yield: 20 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 20 l Brewing water (filtered); 5.5 kg Pale 2-row malt; 0.45 kg Light crystal malt (20L); 0.25 kg Munich malt (10L); 0.15 kg Carapils / dextrin malt; 20 g Centennial (8.5% AA) - bittering; 30 g Simcoe (12% AA) - flavor; 30 g Amarillo (9% AA) - flavor; 25 g Simcoe - whirlpool/aroma; 25 g Amarillo - whirlpool/aroma; 30 g Centennial - dry hop; 40 g Simcoe - dry hop; 40 g Amarillo - dry hop; 11 g American ale yeast (dry) - e.g., US-05 or similar; 1 tsp Yeast nutrient; 120 g Corn sugar (for priming if bottling)

Med Bag of Chips

Ham, cheddar cheese, fresh tomatoes, and arugula.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Sliced turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mustard in a whole wheat wrap.

Fit Turkey Wrap

Brewed right here in St. Augustine. Old skool American IPA with a solid malt backbone and a heavy hop of Amarillo, Simcoe, and Centennial hops. (6.4% ABV)

Start with 20 L of filtered brewing water. Target a mash pH of 5.2–5.4 and a chloride-to-sulfate ratio favoring malt backbone (Cl:SO4 ≈ 1.2:1). Adjust with brewing salts as needed (e.g., CaCl2 and gypsum) to taste.

Water profile

Heat ~14 L of strike water to 74°C (165°F) to achieve a mash temperature of 66°C (150°F) when mixed with grains. Exact volumes depend on system losses; target mash thickness ~3.0 L/kg.

Heat strike water

Add crushed Pale 2-row, crystal, Munich, and Carapils to the mash tun and pour strike water to reach a stable mash temperature of 66°C (150°F). Hold for 60 minutes for good conversion, producing a balanced fermentable profile and a solid malt backbone.

Mash

Raise mash temperature to 76°C (169°F) for 10 minutes (mash out) to stop enzymatic activity and improve lautering.

Mash out

Recirculate wort until clear, then sparge with ~8 L of 75–78°C (167–172°F) water to collect a pre-boil volume of ~25 L, accounting for boil-off to yield ~20 L post-boil.

Sparge

Bring collected wort to a vigorous 60-minute boil. Watch for boil-overs in the first minutes.

Bring to a rolling boil

At 60 minutes remaining (start of boil), add 20 g Centennial (bittering). Boil for full 60 minutes.

Bittering addition

At 15 minutes remaining, add 30 g Simcoe and 30 g Amarillo. Add 1 tsp yeast nutrient at 10 minutes remaining.

Flavor additions

At flameout, cool the wort slightly (to ~90°C) and add 25 g Simcoe and 25 g Amarillo directly to the kettle. Allow to whirlpool or steep with the wort for 20–30 minutes to extract intense hop aroma without additional bitterness.

Whirlpool / late aroma

Chill the wort quickly to 18–20°C using an immersion chiller or counterflow. Transfer the wort to a sanitized fermenter, leaving hop debris behind if possible.

Chill

Aerate the cooled wort well (oxygenate to ~8–10 ppm dissolved O2) and pitch the 11 g dry American ale yeast. Maintain fermentation temperature at 18–20°C for a clean American ale profile with good ester restraint.

Pitch yeast

Allow primary fermentation for 5–7 days until vigorous activity slows and specific gravity drops significantly (target final gravity ≈ 1.012–1.014 to achieve ~6.4% ABV).

Primary fermentation

At day 4–6 (when fermentation has slowed but still active) add dry hops: 30 g Centennial, 40 g Simcoe, and 40 g Amarillo directly to the fermenter. Leave on for 3–4 days to maximize aroma extraction while minimizing grassy notes.

Dry hop

After dry hopping, cold crash to ~2–4°C for 24–48 hours to drop yeast and hop particulates. Rack to secondary or prepare for packaging.

Cold crash & conditioning

If bottling, dissolve 120 g corn sugar in 250 ml boiling water, cool, and gently mix into the beer. Bottle and cap. If kegging, carbonate to 2.3–2.7 volumes CO2 (~10–12 PSI at 3°C).

Bottling (priming) or kegging

Condition bottles at 18–20°C for 10–14 days, then cool before serving. If kegging, allow 3–7 days for flavors to settle before drinking.

Conditioning

Serve cold (7–10°C) in a tulip or pint glass. Expect a solid malt backbone with bold Amarillo/Simcoe/Centennial hop character and an ABV around 6.4%.

Serving

Brewing water (filtered)

Pale 2-row malt

Light crystal malt (20L)

Munich malt (10L)

Carapils / dextrin malt

Centennial (8.5% AA) - bittering

Simcoe (12% AA) - flavor

Amarillo (9% AA) - flavor

Simcoe - whirlpool/aroma

Amarillo - whirlpool/aroma

Centennial - dry hop

Simcoe - dry hop

Amarillo - dry hop

American ale yeast (dry) - e.g., US-05 or similar

Yeast nutrient

Corn sugar (for priming if bottling)

Empirical - Old Coast Ales, St Augustine, FL

Make Empirical - Old Coast Ales, St Augustine, FL Recipe in just 16h . Brewed right here in St. Augustine. Old skool American IPA with a solid malt backbone and a heavy hop of Amarillo, Simcoe, and Centennial hops. (6.4% ABV)

Empirical - Old Coast Ales, St Augustine, FL

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

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