Pale Ale Update
I didn’t make a post about my latest brew day, but here’s an update on the Pale Ale batch I recently brewed. Back in early April, I fired up the TopTier stand and cranked out a Pale Ale. It had been quite a while since I made a Pale Ale as I’ve been on the darker side here recently with a couple Stouts, a Northern English Brown, and a Back IPA.
I had quite a few ounces of loose, whole leaf hops laying around so I decided to use them up. Some of these hops were not available at my local brew shop so I was excited to see how they would smell and taste in the beer. The brew day went pretty well, no real issues or problems. I think I’ve got the TopTier stand all dialed in now. My numbers and temps were hit or with in a degree or two.
Anyway, onto my recipe update…
Hops: I think there’s plenty of bitterness here for the style. However, the hop aroma I was hoping for is not present. I don’t know if the hops were a little old (since I got them second hand) or if I just need to try a different combination. If I wanted to get crazy, I guess I could run this through my Blichmann Hop Rocket packed with hops. However, that may be a waste of hops and time since it would be a one shot, one night / day deal.
Malt: The malt bill doesn’t really support the bitterness as I don’t think it’s very balanced. I think I need to make this beer a little more complex by adding some Victory or Munich.
Overall Impression: It is an easy drinking beer with a fairly dry finish. The color is a nice, deep straw color with a vaguely off-white head. While the citrus aroma may be missing, there is a subtle citrus flavor that’s nice and not overpowering.
I think I will brew this beer again with my malt bill modifications. If anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know. I’m always looking to improve my recipes.
Recipe:
9 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US
1 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt – 60L
1.00 oz Pearle (60 min) 26.9 IBU
1.00 oz Pearle (15 min) 13.4 IBU
1.00 oz Motueka (0 min)
1.00 oz Pacific Gem (Dry Hop 7 days)
1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) Yeast-Ale
Beer Stats:
IBU: 40
OG: 1.060
FG: 1.010
ABV %: 6.52
