Robot Pale Ale - Baptism Batch

My second batch of Belgian Pale Ale was brewed for my son's baptism reception. This was my first partial-mash and my first time making a yeast starter. I also changed just about everything from the original recipe, bad idea. The beer turned out okay and everybody liked it or at least pretended to but I thought the first batch was a little better.

I tasted it side-by-side with my first batch. Here are my notes:

• The partial-mash came out a little low on my mash efficiency and I had to add some sugar to get the gravity up.
• The color is about the same as last time but a bit clearer – better cold break or more floc from the yeast?
• A lower final gravity that gave the beer the dryness I was looking for.
• I think the biscuit malt was a little too pronounced there is a grainy, biscuity flavor that is a little off. I'll definitely go back to the specialty grain amounts I used in the first batch.
• I'm not sure which yeast I like more, the first seems a little fruitier and the second I'm not sure about, not as fruity maybe a little peppery, masked by all the biscuit.

Recipe and Notes:

Expected Original Gravity: 1.053
Actual OG: 1.051
Expected Final Gravity: 1.014
Actual FG: 1.009
IBU: 20
Boil: 60 minutes
Boil Volume: 5 gallons
Final Volume: 5 gallons
Apparent Attenuation: 82%
ABV: 5.5%

Extract:
Briess Pilsner DME 2 lbs. 12.5 oz.
Corn Sugar 1.5 lbs.

Partial Mash Grains:
Briess Pilsner 3 lbs.
CaraMunich 8 oz.
Biscuit 8 oz.

Hops:
Vanguard (pellets) 4.4%, 60 min. 1.5 oz.
Halertau (pellets) 3.8%, 1 min. 1.0 oz.

Yeast:
Wyeast 3522 Belgian Ardennes (Achouffe) - slurry from a 1 qt. starter.

Water:
Spring water from Welpman Spring in Morgan County, MO.

Notes:
Brewed on 06/17/2009 by myself.

Partial Mash (stove top method): In a 8 qt. stock pot, heat 5 quarts of water to 164˚, add grain bag. Mash temp should be about 153˚. Move pot to preheated cooler for 60 minutes (using heated towels).

After about 30 minutes, heat 2 gallons of water to about 170˚. When mash is done, pull out the grain bag and let it drain for a few minutes. Add bag to heated water for 10 minutes to rinse out any remaining sugars.

Add extract and 7 quarts of water. Heat to a boil.

Boil for 60 minutes, adding the hops at the intervals listed above. At about 5 min. add the sugar and the chiller to sanitize it.

Chill wort to about 76˚, transfer to carboy, add water to 5 gallons, aerate, pitch yeast slurry.

6/16 – Made a yeast starter using about a quart of wort (3.5 oz DME) in a growler.

6/17 – My gravity was about 8 points low so I boiled up another ½ pound of sugar in 2 cups of water and added that so my total sugar addition was 1.5 lbs instead of the pound I had planned. I must have had a low efficiency on my partial mash

6/17 – Pitched yeast at about 73˚

6/18/10am – Fermentation is very active with about a 2 – 3 inch kraeusen, ferm temp = 72˚

6/19/11am – Fermentation still pretty active, looks like it's just past peak. Kraeusen is beginning to fall a bit.

6/24 – temp has been in the 72˚ – 73˚ range the past few days – man is it hot outside. Kraeusen is long gone, conditioning now.

7/12 – Bottled 48 12oz bottles, one 750ml bottle and a 330ml bottle. Used 3.8oz of corn sugar for about 2.2 volumes of CO2.

8/1 – Everybody seemed to like the beer, my mom had two! I think next time I want to keep the Biscuit at 4 – 6 oz, 8 seems like a bit much to me. Also might want to cut the sugar down to ½ a pound.