Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Tasting: Brew 10 Pale Ale


This is my 4th effort to make a good pale ale, this time I increased the flavor and aroma hops as well as the bittering hops. For some reason the final gravity ended up too high, and the fermentation temperature was too high so I am not there yet, but I am getting closer.

Tasting: Chilled to ~40 degrees (f) from a pint glass.

Appearance: 2/3 Beautiful copper color, thick off-white head, champagne-like bubbles minor haze.
Head: 3/3 Light, thick head that lasts.
Aroma: 3/3 Nice hop aroma, surrounding subtle malt.
Flavor: 2/3 Somewhat dry, nice bitterness with strong hops, and some yeast a bit sweet.
Mouth feel: 2/3 Medium body (for a pale ale), somewhat overly carbonated, sweet flavor remains after swallowing fading to hoppy tartness.
Overall: 2/3 This is a very drinkable beer. The hops are a little more forward than necessary, and it is still a bit too sweet, but I think I have worked out why and will fix that in the next brew.
Buzz: 2/3 Light buzz after 2/3 glass.

I am quite pleased with this beer. It is more complex because I used 3 different hops, and the aroma and flavor that were lacking in the prior effort are there, perhaps a bit too strong. The bitterness is nice too.

Brewing Notes:
5:54 PM 8/22/2008 Heat started.

Strategy: Dough in at 145, observe drop to 135
Lauter/Heat until 148
Rest 30 min
Lauter/Heat until 160
Rest 30 min

5:13 PM 9/27/2008 Dough in at 145
5:18 PM 9/27/2008 mash temp = 135
5:23 PM 9/27/2008 mash temp = 140
5:27 PM 9/27/2008 Started heating sparge water
5:58 PM 9/27/2008 Mash temp = 158
6:06 PM 9/27/2008 Cooled to 150
6:28 PM 9/27/2008 Recirc up to 160
6:43 PM 9/27/2008 Start Sparge
8:22 PM 9/27/2008 Start Boil
8:28 PM 9/27/2008 Added .8 oz Chinook Hops
9:15 PM 9/27/2008 insert chiller
9:25 PM 9/27/2008 add 5 min hops + irish moss
9:30 PM 9/27/2008 Stop heat + add aroma hops + start chill
10:01 PM 9/27/2008 og = 1.054, taste is thin, not bitter.

3:11 PM 9/28/2008 Fermenter is bubbling away

Updated:
Recipe
11 lbs American 2-row
8 oz Crystal Malt 40°L
4 oz Crystal Malt 60°L
4 oz Carapils®/Carafoam®
.85 oz Chinook (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
.5 oz Liberty (4.0%) - added during boil, boiled 5 min
.5 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 5 min
.5 oz Liberty (4.0%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
.5 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

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