First homebrew day! Recipe tips?

yes.
wipe that poop from your butt.
wash hands with soap.

 

what style of beer are you making?

 

Hard to say. What kind of beer are you brewing and what do you want it to taste like?

You'll get more flavor/aroma from the orange zest if you add it later, with about a minute to go in the boil, or at flameout.

Also, if you haven't already, read this...
http://www.howtobrew.com/

 

1.5 of Willamette at 30 wont do much, perhaps move to 10 or 15. the reason i say it wont do much, is because Willamette is low AA and will not add much to the IBUs at 30, and well 30 is to long for any of the flavor or aroma to survive. personally Willamette is one of my favs and i have used it with great success late in the boil and as a dry hop. but since this is your first time, ide skip the dry hop.

if you are making a wit or hefe, you look good. if it is this style of beer, i might drop the Citra, and save that for the brew.

anyway good luck, have fun!

 

Suggestions: Patience, temp controlled fermentation, have fun, proper yeast pitch, sanitation, and have fun.

Very nice finishing with the Citra IMO. Ive never used willamette before, but cascade and Citra work well together.

You could leave out the orange zest or could be an interesting addition. You could brew it twice, once with and without. The down side is you will have twice the beer to drink...wait, I guess that's not a down side. The Citra/cascade will already be contributing hop derived citrus flavor/aroma.

 

I wouldn't expect a standard Pale Ale kit to produce something like that, even with more hops and orange peel or zest (which one are you using?..they are different). For starters, the 'white IPA' would use some wheat.

But I wouldn't worry about that. Just concentrate on following the directions, make sure that everything that touches the wort after the boil has been well cleaned and sanitized, keep your fermentation temperatures under control, and you'll make good beer.

 

If this is your very first kit, don't add spices (to include orange peel). You will get plenty of citrusy flavor and aroma. Especially with these hops. Let them shine! And they will, believe me. The hopping schedule is fine. If you follow your directions and do as Vikeman said and keep thing sanitary after the boil, you'll make a decent first beer. Be patient. The is the hardest part to master in homebrewing. Don't rush it.
I remember my first. Amber Waves of Grain by Alton Brown. Tasted like shit. But, damn brewing was fun and it still is!

 

I'd definitely use the Willamette as a later addition (15 minutes or less left in the boil) as it's aromatic properties are it's strength. I'd swap the 30 minute Willamette and the 15 minute Cascade additions you mentioned around. I'm also not a huge fan of Cascade hops, but it's a personal preference so no biggie. I'd also say skip the orange zest. Depending on the "maltiness" of your pale ale kit, I'd say skip the citra hops and save them for a later brew session when you have more experience and a "paler more west coast" recipe or another pale base recipe like a saison developed/purchased. Welcome to the world of homebrewing! Have fun!

 

+1 to blood oranges. That + citra saison = goodness. Added juice/pulp to end of primary.