Tonga, Rustic Pale Ale & Tasting Notes

So what's a Rustic Pale Ale?  I have no idea, but if it was a style, this beer would be in the style guidelines.  I lusted to create what I envisioned as a perfect pale ale, in fact a perfect beer in general, crafted for me.  Light, a little rough around the edges (to satisfy my Sour/Siason needs) and hoppy on the back end.  So I guess calling it a Rustic Pale Ale fits for me, and isn't that the point? 

Aroma:  Medium to low "hop aroma" but well balanced with rye peppered notes pairing into soft green grape stem-ish aroma coming from the Nelson hops.  Medium to high hop aroma.

Appearance:  Golden Yellow, brilliantly clear.  Fluffy white head, lingers longer than I've seen on a pale ale.  The lacing down the glass is textbook.  Everything about this beer screams "Drink Me!" Don't the carbonation bubbles traveling up the glass in that shot look quaffable?

Naked: Chinook & Tasting Session

This is a ongoing "Naked:" hop experiment using Russian Rivers Row 2 Hill 56 base grain. 

When starting this Naked: series I knew it would be an awesome hop showcase (want to know why?  Start at the beginning) Simplicity is the key, as in anything Pale Ale related.  That what makes this experiment so exciting as a homebrewer.  Using this grain base has really elevated my brewing and I am only on the 4th batch of this experiment.  

Chinook started as my go to IPA hop back in the early 2000's.  It was cheap, available and tasty as a bittering or an aroma addition.  Using Chinook as a single hop in a Pale Ale or even a small IPA isn't a new idea to me (or most anyone else) I just haven't been able to pinpoint a recipe worth creating in my mind.  Thoughts of 100% Vienna or Maris Otter bounced back and forth until this recipe base was settled on.

The taste profile for Chinook is classically American.  Big grapefruit, sometimes pungent suggestions of mountain pine and resin (especially as a dry hop) with citrus and fragrant dried herb in the background.  This hop is classically American and has seen a resurgence with the influence of homebrewers turning into professional brewers over the last couple of years.  At one point it even became harder and harder to find.  This is along the same lines as Centennial.  Both these hops have a deep history tied in with the rise of Homebrewers becoming professionals.



Aroma: Sweet dried herbs, similar to dried flowers or potpourri.  A resinous pine character at the end.  

Appearance:  Pilsner like, amazing clarity.  The picture above doesn't do this clarity justice.  Brite white head with larger than normal carbonation bubbles.  A little on the over carbed side.  Which creates a nice cascading bubbling effect form the bottom of the glass. 

Naked: Simcoe vs Azacca Hop Experiment & Tasting Session

Russian Rivers' all Simcoe Row 2 Hill 56 Pale Ale might be the perfect Pale Ale.  To understand how well put together this beer is you don't need to be a hop head or a beer nerd.  Its perfectly balanced against the simple hop bill.  Tossing Simcoe on top of Simcoe to create a ubber drinkable Pale Ale.  Russian River has out done itself showcasing how beautifully Simcoe can stand alone in a recipe. But is this recipe built around Simcoe?  Or is this recipe build around a malt base that just works?  Personally, I think this recipe so well crafted that almost any hop will work within it's grain bill.  So I chose to put it to the test. 

The recipes are based off HomebrewTalk's.com Row 2 Hill 56 (R2H56) clone. (The recipe seems/tastes spot to the original.)  Then brewing another beer with Azacca Hops (same grains and expected IUB's) with all Azacca hops to test out the sturdiness of the recipe for a planned "Naked:" Single Hop Pale Ale Experiment using my personal favorite hop varietals. 

Azacca is a new highly talked about hop formally known as Experimental Hop #483.  This hop is going for the nitch IPA market.  With keywords of grapefruit, fresh citrus, orange, tropical, pineapple and fresh. Which, just about every hop is using now days.  Making the selection of a new hop very difficult for a homebrewer. 

Copying these 2 beers is the key, ensuring a spot on comparison by brewing them back to back in the same fermentation chamber.  Comparing the pros and cons of each single hopped beer paired together with the same base grain, hopefully better educating myself with this new hop "Azacca".

As you can see from the above picture, Simcoe (above left) has a small amount of chill haze compared to the Azacca (above right) which is much clearer. But the numbers and colors are spot on to each other, but how do they stack up?

Naked: Azacca Pale, Tasting Notes:

Aroma:  Big bunches of grapefruit pith (white meat), much more than the zest I smelled when opening the bag of  hops.  Somehow some orange and something resembling cascade are showing up in the backround.  

4 Rings Session IPA and Tasting Notes

Its nice to see the session beer craze finally appearing into the main stream Craft Beer pipeline.  I for one, have been a session beer fan for years.  Having a couple drinks after work is a treasured pastime. So creating a homebrewed beer(s) that can be session-able and satisfy my hop requirements is something that is close to my heart. 

The major issue with creating a low alcohol session beer is creating a faux impression of body into the beer.  People talk about mashing at a high temperature or adding a lot of crystal malt into the grain bill, I'm not going to do that.  I'm approaching this problem like I would when brewing a Brett fermented beer.  Creating unfermentable sugars, and adding them into the mash.  Chad from Crooked Stave talks about adding oats, flaked wheat or another adjuncts into the finished mash or fresh wort around 170-200 degrees for his Brett fermented ales.  (Would it still be an ale if fermented with Brett?).  By doing this, I'm locking the starches into long chain sugars that any ale yeast wouldn't want to ferment.  Leaving them in the final product as perceived body.  So instead of aiming for a final gravity of 1.009 - 1.012, we would be looking at a final projected gravity of 1.013 - 1.016.  Which normally would be an alarm for a troubled or stalled fermentation.   

The vision for this beer is a very simple grain bill, focusing on the hops.  The majority of the grain is  American Two Row at 78% of the grain bill.  Followed by Flaked Wheat (Which we are going to add after the mash) With equal parts Acid malt and Cara-Pils at 4% each. Looking to be under 4.5% and refreshing.

Gluten Experiment / Naked: Amarillo Pale Ale

Sitting at the airport leaving the National Homebrew Conference, my head was full of potential brewing ideas.  The thought of having another beer disgusted me, but recipe formulation, brewing experiments and gadgets consumed my thoughts.  Knowing I was coming home to four empty carboys fueled the need to get in the garage and brew.  One enzyme kept coming back into memory from the conference, Clarity-ferm.  This product is sold by White Labs here in San Diego.  While Clarity-ferm stops the protein that causes chill haze, it's also said to lower the levels of gluten in beer. 

Mitch Steel, the head brewer at Stone stated at his NHC talk, "We at Stone are very interested at this product for it's Gluten reducing properties."  (I scribbled this down at NHC, while drinking so the quote might not be spot on but it's close.) Wanting to know more, I started to research the history of this Clarity-ferm.  It started out as Brewers ClareX manufactured by the DSM Corperation.  Originally created for reducing chill haze and increasing the shelf life of beers.  In a production brewery environment, the use of Silica and PVPP creates a 5-8% beer loss.  Switching to Brewers ClareX doesn't create any beer loss during fermentation.  A big advantage for production brewing.  Adding Brewers ClareX during the start of fermentation also streamlines the brewing process and doesn't require a production brewery to purchase new equipment.

Session 42 APA

One of the great things about the Homebrewing is the since of community.  Across the street, or across state lines, the willingness to help other brewers out is a big part of the reason I have mantain this blog.  A simple tweet, post or comment could lead to something beneficial for both brewers.  Last month, I was tweeting about "Hottenroth" and a conversation started with Dan Vincent about the beer.  This simple conversation with a homebrewer across the country lead to me shipping a Bruery Hottenroth and a Flanders Red Homebrew #7 out to him.  He in return was nice enough to send his Brett Saison (An awesome beer BTW, a Perennial Ales Savant Beersel and a vile of Conan yeast. (The Conan yeast was immediately placed into a starter (1500ml) and let rap up before the brewday.)  
Conan is the proprietary yeast of Alchemist Brewing Company, used in Heady Topper.  Sold (mostly) in the brewery.  Alchemist is located in Waterbury Vermont, a little to far for me to head out and purchase some cans.  Yes, you heard it right, they only release it in cans and on draft at the brewery.  Being a homebrewer that likes craftbeer, not the other way around, I normally wouldn't care about how good Heady Topper is because I would never have the option to drink it, but what makes this beer special is the fact that it is can conditioned with the Conan yeast strain. 

Batch 503, Tasting Session "Split Batch"

Cluster on the Left, Centennial on the Right

Cluster Aroma:  Something is off with this beer, I'm getting some phenolic characters that stand out.  Maybe even some bubblegum (Which I got a lot of in the hops before brewing) and a little diacetyl.

Centennial Aroma: Clean, soft aromas of citrus and pine.  Very delicate, almost like a perfect backdrop for the malt. 

Cluster Appearance: Hazed compared to the Centennial version. Almost Texas Orange in color (Both were aged under the same condition's) Pillowy soft white head, good lacing during the tasting.

Centennial Appearance:  Very brilliant and clear.  Burnt Amber with sun burst around the edges.  Thinner head, good retention during the tasting.

3 Brewers, Take #2 (New Hops)

Sometimes a recipe develops without much thought, like it was meant to be.  A couple months ago I was asked to brew with a couple of buddies at the last moment, with no brewing software available I quickly came up with this recipe sitting in my car in front of my LHBS. (Hear are my Tasting Notes, if you want the details.) The malt bill was spot on for everything I wanted in a Pale Ale.  The only exception was the amount of bittering hops, and this is just me being picky.  I overshot the amount of bittering on the first batch.  The bitterness on the first sip was overpowering.  Now, this faded with time but needed to be looked at when I brewed this again.  I feel like this has been a issue with some of my traditional beers.  Personally liking a very low amount of bittering hops, I tend to focus on the floral whirlpool additions.  So when brewing a classical-ish style Pale Ale or IPA I over shoot the bittering to compensate.

My IPA and Pale recipes have become predicable lately, most containing 2-Row with Pilsner malt and Rye evenly split.  (Hey I love the spice the rye brings in small amounts) The adaption is in the specialty malts.  I seem to be lowering the amount of Crystal in each batch.  I've really started to crave a very attenuated Pale Ale.  The Crystal malts are just getting in the way.  (Normal recommendation is under 15% of the total grain bill, and I tend to stay way under that.)  This recipe is around 4% not counting the Acidulated (Acid) Malt used to lower the pH and showcase the hop aromas.  A couple of ounces of Carafa III giving the beer some needed color that I love in Pale Ales

Dawn to Dusk Session Pale Ale

Summer is in full swing here in San Diego and April is the perfect time to brew a shit load of beer for the summer months.  Plus with my birthday being in April, my wife gives me a "Creative Pass" allowing me to brew more than my standard 4 batches a month.  I'm shooting for 6 or 7 batches this month.  One will be my Coffee English Mild (Post upcoming) for our 4th Annual Brew Off Between Friends, the next one will be my Dawn to Dusk Session Pale Ale.  The recipe for this beer is based on my 3 Brewers Pale Ale, but with a lower starting gravity (from 6.6%) and a revised hop schedule. 

The plan is to take this beer camping over the Memorial Day weekend.  A normal IPA just couldn't do, the beer had to be capped around 4.6% to make the trip.  This will allow me to drink from Dawn to Dusk.  On my original recipe I noted that the aroma/dry hops seemed lacking for the style, so that will be addressed with more dry hopping combined with the lower gravity, it should create a beautiful bounty of flavors.

I've also lowered the mash hop and bittering addition, I feel the bigger version was a little to bitter at the start and the lower gravity this time around couldn't of handled the bitterness bite.

Batch 503: Session Pale Ale

Last month I was sitting in my computer chair, ready to register for the National Homebrew Competition.  I had everything I needed, my AHA number, my entries for each category and my payment information.  Then it happened, the NHC crash of 2013.  I was lucky to get registered right at the start and get one beer entered into the competition.  After that it was a hour and thirty minute fight with 503 Errors and frozen pages.

During this time I started working on a new recipe.  (Typically when I start a new recipe I open up Beersmith and find a good base recipe that I've done before, duplicate it and start rewriting it.)  Today, I was on a different computer with Beersmith but without my recipe collection, so I started from scratch.  Which was a great feeling, not to have any other recipes hovering over me.

The idea was simple, I wanted to use no crystal malts in this recipe, only base malts (yes Munich is a base malt) with some Honey malt as an added mouthfeel addition.  For the hops I started thinking about what I had in stock and what would or could work with this recipe.  I kept coming back to Cluster (I'm sure I don't need to go into detail about how much of a "Cluster fuck" this NHC registration was.) I really can't think of why.

"3 Brewers" Pale Ale

Over the last couple of months I've attempted to brew solo, focusing on my brewing style and efficiency.  This self reflection has decreased my overall brewing time, water savings and propane use.  This has also allowed me to dial in a couple recipes that I've been working on over the last couple months.  But let's be honest, brewing solo is kinda boring...So I was excited when Danny and Eric asked me about doing a small group brew together.

Toes in the Sand, American Pale Ale

With hops being so essential in the brewing process, sourcing them each year becomes a challenge to all Homebrewers.  The elite hops like Simcoe, Citra and Amarillo become prized commodities.  Homebrewing Pro-Am competitions have excluded them from competitions due to availability issues for the brewer.  This doesn't detour me from doing almost anything to buy enough hops to brew my preferred styles throughout the year.  As Danny explained on this post, talking about getting hops.  (Luckily this year I was able to source all the hops I need and then some)

Mustache Rye'd Session Pale

Session Pales are the continuous platform that all good breweries are judged.  This is almost an unattainable goal for most craft breweries.  I've learned to love the challenge of repeatable recipes in homebrewing.  Once I can reproduce the beer 3 times, I consider it cloned and repeatable.

Over the last couple of years I've been tweaking my Session recipes to maximize hop aroma.  I have the recipes mostly figured out on my Fargo Lane Pale and Justice Pale ale experiments.  So it is time to start a new Session Pale Ale, this time with a good majority of the grain bill as Rye Malt.  I want to stay away from the modern tropical hops that the other recipes had.  This time focusing on Glacier and Cascade additions.  I've had great luck with Glacier in my Blackout IPA and I think the grittiness of the Glacier will work great with the spicyness of the Rye Malt.

The name of this beer is in tribute to a long time friend Danny, alive and well, sporting the best mustache around town.  He is well known for trying to hand out some rides after a day of drinking.  (That's why this will be 4.2%)  

Starter of WLP007 building up

 Small changes might come up before brewday, if so I will revise this post as they come along. 

Mustache Rye'd Session Pale

American Pale Ale

Type: All Grain	Date: 9/9/2012
Batch Size (fermenter): 6.00 gal	Brewer: Chris Lewis
Boil Size: 6.86 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: Lewys Tower
End of Boil Volume 6.24 gal	Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 6.00 gal	Est Mash Efficiency 72.0 %
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage	Taste Rating(out of 50): 20
Taste Notes: Not my cup of tea, I've revised the recipe and I will post that soon.
Ingredients
Ingredients Amt Name Type # %/IBU 7 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 61.4 % 2 lbs 8.0 oz Rye Malt (4.7 SRM) Grain 2 21.9 % 9.6 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 3 5.3 % 8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4 4.4 % 8.0 oz Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 5 4.4 % 4.8 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 6 2.6 % 0.75 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 7 33.3 IBUs 1.00 oz Glacier [5.60 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 8 6.9 IBUs 0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 9 1.9 IBUs 1.00 oz Glacier [5.60 %] - Aroma Steep 5.0 min Hop 10 0.0 IBUs 0.50 oz Palasade [7.50 %] - Aroma Steep 5.0 min Hop 11 0.0 IBUs 1.0 pkg Dry English Ale (White Labs #WLP007) [35.49 ml] Yeast 12 - 1.50 oz Glacier [5.60 %] - Dry Hop 3.0 Days Hop 13 0.0 IBUs 2.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Dry Hop 3.0 Days Hop 14 0.0 IBUs
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.047 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.049 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.013 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.5 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: TBA %
Bitterness: 42.1 IBUs	Calories: TBA kcal/12oz
Est Color: 7.1 SRM
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Full Body	Total Grain Weight: 11 lbs 6.4 oz
Sparge Water: 3.24 gal	Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	Tun Temperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE	Mash PH: 5.20
Mash Steps Name Description Step Temperature Step Time Mash In Add 14.25 qt of water at 168.2 F 156.0 F 60 min Mash Out Add 5.70 qt of water at 202.4 F 168.0 F 10 min
Sparge Step: Fly sparge with 3.24 gal water at 168.0 F
Mash Notes: Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Keg	Volumes of CO2: 2.3
Pressure/Weight: 12.54 PSI	Carbonation Used: Keg with 12.54 PSI
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 45.0 F	Age for: 14.00 days
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage	Storage Temperature: 54.0 F
Fermentation Notes
Pitching at 63 ambient fridge temp.  After 24 hours start the free rise to 68.  Hold for a week then bring up to 73 for 3 days and transfer if needed.
Created with BeerSmith Massive amounts of Glacier leaf hops in primary

Outsourced Pale Ale

This weekend I'm brewing an old favorite of mine with a small twist.  The recipe is sourced from my Fargo Pale Ale Experiment.  When I was at More Beer in Riverside I picked up some Rakau Hops.  They are from New Zealand and are fairly new to us American Homebrewers.  The description from RebelBrewer.com is:

Usage: Dual
Description: Suitable for use both as bittering and aroma. Developed as a true dual purpose variety typically with alpha acid above 10 % delivers soft bitterness through low levels of Cohumulone less than 25 % of alpha acids. Can be used for multiple additions with late hop character delivering tropical fruit aromas of passionfruit and peach. Quite high levels of oil with an H/C ratio typical of classical aroma varieties.

This variety has a lot of typical New Zealand fruity character so would be best suited to new world styles of ale and lager such as Pales and "big" IPA's.

Evergreen Pale Ale

On my quest to find the perfect Pale Ale I am going to start with an all Cascade Hopped beer.  The recipe is a lot like Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale recipe (but not a clone).  In my past attempt of getting the perfect pale ale I think I undershot the recipes and made more of a lame blond type of beer.  This time I am going to make something more suited to my pallet.  I'm planning on brewing this Sunday Morning.

Evergreen Pale Ale

American Pale Ale

 

Type: All Grain	Date: 1/15/2012 (1 of 2 this day)
Batch Size: 6.00 gal	Brewer: Chris Lewis
Boil Size: 6.87 gal	Asst Brewer: Danny Schroeder/Aydan Lewis
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: My Equipment
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0	Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 10 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 80.00 % 1 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 8.00 % 1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 8.00 % 1.00 oz Columbus [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 41.3 IBU 1.00 oz Amarillo [8.50 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops - 2.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (HopBack @Serving) Hops - 1.25 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (15 min) Hops 9.8 IBU 1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (5 min) Hops 3.1 IBU 0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (0 min @195 degrees) Hops - 1.00 oz 8.0 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (HopRocket/Transfer) Turbinado Sugar (10.0 SRM) Sugar 4.00 % 1 Pkgs Pacific Ale (White Labs #WLP041) [Starter 35 ml] Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.057 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.058  SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.018 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.009 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.15 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 5.12 %
Bitterness: 54.4 IBU	Calories: 256 cal/pint
Est Color: 10.8 SRM	Color: Color
Mash Profile
Mash Name: My Mash	Total Grain Weight: 12.00 lb
Sparge Water: 8.31 gal	Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	TunTemperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE	Mash PH: 5.4 PH
My Mash Step Time Name Description Step Temp 60 min Step Heat to 151.0 F over 0 min 165.0 F
Mash Notes:
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Kegged (Forced CO2)	Volumes of CO2: 2.4
Pressure/Weight: 21.6 PSI	Carbonation Used: -
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 60.0 F	Age for: 28.0 days
Storage Temperature: 52.0 F
Notes
Created with BeerSmith

Marathon Session Pale

Continuing on my Session style beer mission, I am going to be doing a sMasH styled beer.  This is a "Single Malt and Single Hop" recipe.  I'll be using Marris Otter for all of the grain.  The primary idea for this recipe is for a simple easy drinking, lager style ale.  Or better yet a Kolsch-ish beer.

Marathon Session Pale

American Pale Ale

 

Type: All Grain	Date: 11/19/2011
Batch Size: 6.00 gal	Brewer: Chris Lewis
Boil Size: 6.87 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: My Equipment
Taste Rating(out of 50): 0.00	Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 8 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 100.00 % 0.50 oz Palisade [7.50 %] (60 min) Hops 12.3 IBU 2.00 oz Palisade [7.50 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops - 1.00 oz Palisade [7.50 %] (1 min) Hops 1.1 IBU 0.50 oz Palisade [7.50 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops - 1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [Starter 35 ml] Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.040 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.040 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.009 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.007 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.07 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.29 %
Bitterness: 13.3 IBU	Calories: 173 cal/pint
Est Color: 3.9 SRM	Color: Color
Mash Profile
Mash Name: My Mash	Total Grain Weight: 8.00 lb
Sparge Water: 4.83 gal	Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	TunTemperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE	Mash PH: 5.4 PH
My Mash Step Time Name Description Step Temp 20 min Step Add 12.00 qt of water and heat to 150.0 F over 20 min 150.0 F 40 min Step Heat to .0 F over 20 min 178.0 F
Mash Notes:
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Kegged (Forced CO2)	Volumes of CO2: 2.4
Pressure/Weight: 21.6 PSI	Carbonation Used: -
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 60.0 F	Age for: 28.0 days
Storage Temperature: 52.0 F
Notes
Fermented @67 for 7 days.  Transferred on the 8th day.  2ndary will be at 72 for 3 days.  Then cold crashing it for 7 days @36
Created with BeerSmith

Update #1

Honestly, it's a little bland and boring.  Currently it is cold crashing in the fridge at 36 degrees.  When I have a open tap I will give a better update.  But for now this sMasH beer might be a bust.

Update #2

It is becoming very Kolsh like.  In fact, tonight I am bring it to a New Years party. 

Fargo Lane Pale Ale

I am off for a couple weeks around Christmas and I am looking for a clean Session Pale Ale to drink around the house.  I am expecting a 4.5 % ABV.  Normally I do not brew these types of beers but a lot of thought went into the recipe.

	Fargo Lane Pale
American Pale Ale

 

Type: All Grain	Date: 11/19/2011
Batch Size: 6.00 gal	Brewer: Chris Lewis
Boil Size: 6.87 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: My Equipment
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0	Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 6 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 60.00 % 2 lbs 8.0 oz Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 25.00 % 1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 10.00 % 8.0 oz Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 5.00 % 0.50 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (60 min) Hops 19.9 IBU 1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops - 0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (10 min) Hops 4.7 IBU 1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops -
1.00 oz              Citra [12.00%] (Dry Hop 3 Days)                         Hops                -
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.049 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.043
Est Final Gravity: 1.013 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.08
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.69 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.6 %
Bitterness: 24.7 IBU	Calories: 187 cal/pint
Est Color: 5.3 SRM	Color: Color
Mash Profile
Mash Name: My Mash	Total Grain Weight: 10.00 lb
Sparge Water: 4.32 gal	Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	TunTemperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE	Mash PH: 5.4 PH
My Mash Step Time Name Description Step Temp 60 min Step Add 15.00 qt of water and heat to 149.0 F over 2 min 149.0 F
Mash Notes:
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Kegged (Forced CO2)	Volumes of CO2: 2.4
Pressure/Weight: 21.6 PSI	Carbonation Used: -
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 60.0 F	Age for: 7.0 days
Storage Temperature: 52.0 F
Notes
Fermented @67 for 7 days.  Transferred on the 8th day.  2ndary will be at 72 for 3 days.  Then cold crashing it for 7 days @36
Created with BeerSmith Update #1  Today (11-27-11) I moved over this beer to Secondary.  The gravity right now is 1.008  So this puts it at 4.6% ABV  This is right where I wanted this beer.  The taste right now is perfectly balanced with the Amarillo and the citra hops.  All aroma.  It does however need a little clearing.  Looking at cold crashing it for a week and then doing a drop of Gelatin.  Update #2 After letting the beer cold crash @36 for a week I am currently let it prime up to serving temperature.   It should be ready to serve by Weds this week (12-7-11).   Update #3 This beer is currently priming and the taste is so good uncarb'ed, that I choose to brew it again last weekend with the same yeast (cake) as the Fargo #1.  Interestingly enough, this is the 6th generation of this yeast.  Starting about 2 months ago.  It will be interesting to see if the yeast its holding up well after so many brewing sessions.  Even as this beer is a low alcohol yeast.  Only a couple of changes, well 3 changes were adding the Flaked Barley (1 pound), not adding Citra in the aroma (dry Hop) and this time not forgeting to add the whilfloc tablet.   Update #4 Most people think this might be the best Session beer I've ever done.  The citra hops, after about a month created such a great flavor profile.  The 2nd batch of this Fargo Pale is without the citra, looking back this might be a big mistake.  I am going to brew this again with the citra added back and see how it is.

Haus Pale Ale

After some reading on Home Brew Talk about a "great" pale ale by EdWort.  With over 3,820 gallons brewed by 100's of homebrewers I thought it is worth my hard earned cash to buy the  ingredients.  I have to admit, I'm excited to brew this batch.  The recipe is very simple, plus the recipe recommends a dry yeast.

I brewed this on Friday the 20th with a Buddy Eric.  The brew went really good.  I ended up with a brix of 13 which equals out to 1.057.  Fermentation took off quickly.  Right now it is going strong.  

Here is the recipe:

Type: All Grain	Date: 5/17/2011
Batch Size: 5.00 gal	Brewer: Chris Lewis
Boil Size: 5.72 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: My Equipment
Taste Rating(out of 50):	Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 8 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 76.19 % 2 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 19.05 % 8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 4.76 % 1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (60 min) Hops 18.4 IBU 0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (30 min) Hops 7.1 IBU 0.25 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (15 min) Hops 2.3 IBU 0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (5 min) Hops 1.8 IBU
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.061 SG	Measured Original Gravity:  SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.016 SG	Measured Final Gravity:  SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.88 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 0.65 %
Bitterness: 29.6 IBU	Calories: 43 cal/pint
Est Color: 4.9 SRM	Color: Color
Mash Profile
Mash Name: My Mash	Total Grain Weight: 10.50 lb
Sparge Water: 6.98 gal	Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	TunTemperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE	Mash PH: 5.4 PH
My Mash Step Time Name Description Step Temp 60 min Steep Add 0.00 qt of water at 152.0 F 152.0 F 0 min Sparge Add 0.00 qt of water at 175.0 F 175.0 F
Mash Notes:
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: keg	Volumes of CO2: 2.4
Pressure/Weight: 3.8 oz	Carbonation Used: -
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 60.0 F	Age for: 28.0 days
Storage Temperature: 52.0 F
Notes
This beer is off the Homebrew Talk Forums. Original Credit goes to EdWort. This beer has a cult like following which has influenced me into brewing it. Using Nottingham Dry Yeast or Safale -05