The American Strong Pale Ale

A bit of a background

I have to admit, before I started getting into the home-brewing hobby I used to not be a big fan of hoppy beers. I do not know the reason why, but I would avoid to buy let's say an IPA, and if this happened by accident then I would pass it to my wife Angela who by the way likes this type of beer. Things can change though, and indeed this is the beauty of life, right? Ever since I opened the very first packet of hops and saw it, touched it and of course smelled it I just fell in love with it. Funnily enough I'd say that now I really enjoy having a pint of a hoppy beer.

I had a first attempt to brew an American Pale Ale a couple of months ago but I was not entirely happy with the result, therefore I decided to have a second go. This time around I changed some parts of the recipe I had used back then, aiming to a cleaner beer with a bit higher ABV at 7%. I was very generous with hops, as I wanted to give to my beer a very intense hoppy character combined with some fruity freshness. As always, preparing the label of the beer was an important part of the process. I got inspiration from the Fijian sea turtle, a magnificent creature that is born in Fiji waters and although it travels around the world, always returns back to its birthplace. Everything was set to go.

Expectations:

• Color: Pale to copper

• Clarity: Chill haze is acceptable at low temperatures. Hop haze is allowable at any temperature.

• Perceived Malt Aroma & Flavor: Low caramel malt aroma is allowable. Low level maltiness may include low caramel malt character.

• Perceived Hop Aroma & Flavor: High, exhibiting floral, fruity (berry, tropical, stone fruit and other), sulfur, diesel-like, onion-garlic, catty, citrusy, piney or resinous character that was originally associated with American-variety hops. Hops with these attributes now also originate from countries other than the USA.

• Perceived Bitterness: High

• Fermentation Characteristics: Fruity esters may be low to high. Diacetyl should not be present.

• Body: Medium

Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.050-1.060 (12.4-14.7 °Plato) Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.016 (2.1-4.1 °Plato) Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 4.4%-5.6% (5.6%-7.0%) Bitterness (IBU) 40-50 Color SRM (EBC) 4-14(8-28 EBC)

The brewing day

Date of brewing: 5/12/2020 Date of bottling: 18/12/2020

Opening of bottle after conditioning:

Volume of batch: 22 litres

OG:1.060 FG:1.008 ABV: 7% IBU: 55

Recipe:

· Bestmalz Pale Ale Malt 7,000 gr

· Simpsons Crystal T50 300 gr

· Columbus Whole Hops 16.1% A-acids 20gr (60 min)

· Chinook Pellet Hops 11.3% A-acids 14gr (30 min)

· Amarillo Pellet Hops 4.88% A-acids 14gr (15 min)

· Chinook Pellet Hops 11.3% A-acids 14gr (15 min)

· Citra Pellet Hops 12.2% A-acids 28gr (flame off)

· Amarillo Pellet Hops 4.88% A-acids 14gr (flame off)

· Citra Pellet Hops 12.2% A-acids 42gr (dry hopping)

· Wyeast 1056 American ale

· 2 Protafloc Tablets

Procedure:

Temperature in the HLT: 76 ºC

Temperature in the mash tun: 67 ºC

Mashing: 70 minutes at 67 ºC, batch sparging x2 for 20 minutes

The boil: boiling for 80 minutes, immersion chilling and transfer into fermenter.

OG 1.060, FG 1.008, ABV 7%, IBU 55, SRM 11