I love pale ales, and I love this recipe! I made this last year and decided to give it another try. I upped the hops a touch to get a little more bitterness, and the malt brands are slightly different. Either way, it’s basically the same beer – simple grist, simple hops, simple yeast.

Beam Me Up Pale Ale

• 12 lb. 2-row pale malt (Briess)
• 0.5 lb. Viking caramel 100 (crystal 40) malt – (Viking)
• 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, in mash
• 2.0 oz. Cascade whole hops (5.5% estimated alpha acid), 60 minute boil
• 1.0 oz. Cascade whole hops (5.5% estimated alpha acid), 15 minute boil
• 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
• 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
• 2.0 oz. Cascade whole hops (5.5% estimated alpha acid), 5 minute boil
• 2 pkg. BRY-97 (Lallemand)

Target Parameters

• 1.057 s.g., 1.015 f.g., 5.5% abv, 55 IBU, 6 SRM
• Full volume mash, 156° for 60 minutes, 168° mash-out for 10 minutes
• Claremont tap water adjusted with lactic acid

Procedure

• I mashed in with 7.6 gallons of water at 162°, to hit a target rest of 156°. I added 5.5 mL of 88% lactic acid to adjust the pH.
• I recirculated for 60 minutes during the mash, raising it to 168° for a 10 minute mash-out.
• After the mash, I removed the grains. In total, the mash yielded 6.6 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.047, for 67% mash efficiency.
• Once the runnings were boiling, I added hops and kettle finings per the recipe. After 60 minutes, I turned off the heat and chilled to 82° and transferred the wort to the fermenter. I continued chilling down to 66° before pitching the yeast, holding the fermenter at 66° for the primary fermentation.
• I brewed the beer on 17 August 2024. Starting gravity was 1.057.
• I kegged the beer using a closed transfer, on 1 September 2024. Final gravity was 1.013, for 5.8% abv.

Tasting

• Appearance
  • Deep gold beer, clear, with a fairly persistent white head
• Aroma
  • Slight caramel malty note, and a moderate citrus aroma. It has a very orange-like quality.
• Flavor
  • Medium bitterness, with a floral orange quality. Light caramel maltiness. This is a tasty beer!
• Mouthfeel
  • Medium body, moderate level of carbonation, smooth and slightly dry finish.
• Would I brew this again?
  • This is a wonderful American pale ale recipe! I see no need to make any changes – it’s just plain tasty. The citrus character is fantastic!
• Overall
  • 10/10