Tag Archives: session ale

Fruit Bowl Session IPA

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A good session IPA is nice to have on hand in the summer months, and also a handy way to burn through my hop stash. For this batch, I aimed for a “short and shoddy” approach, to speed up the brew day during a busy time of year. This meant a 30 minute mash and 30 minute boil, along with Lutra kveik to reduce chill time.

I have a decent variety of hops on-hand from my HOPBOX subscription, and aimed for a very experimental selection. Comet went in for the bittering, with a hefty dose of BRU-1 and Meridian for the dry hop in the keg. BRU-1 is supposed to provide a pineapple and green fruit combo, and Meridian some tropical fruit and berry. So, I’m calling this “Fruit Bowl Session IPA.”

Fruit Bowl Session IPA

  • 9 lb. 7 oz. Lamonta Pale American Barley Malt (Mecca Grade)
  • 8 oz. caramel malt 20L (Briess)
  • 8 oz. Munich I malt (Weyermann)
  • 2 oz. Comet hop pellets (10.4% alpha), 30 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. Lutra Kveik (Omega OYL-071; dry)
  • 2 oz. BRU-1 hop pellets (20.0% alpha), dry hop in keg
  • 2 oz. Meridian hop pellets (5.6% alpha), dry hop in keg

Target Parameters

  • 1.046 s.g., 1.011 f.g., 4.6% abv, 59 IBU, 6 SRM
  • Full volume mash, 156° for 60 minutes, 168° mash-out for 10 minutes
  • Claremont tap water treated with 88% lactic acid to neutralize carbonates

Procedure

  • The night before brewing, I collected 7 gallons of Claremont tap water and added 5.84 mL of 88% lactic acid to neutralize the carbonates.
  • I heated the strike water to 162°, adding the grains to hit a mash temperature of 156°. I added 1.5 mL of 88% lactic acid to adjust the pH, and then recirculated for 30 minutes.
  • After 30 minutes, I raised the mash temperature to 168°, and continued recirculation for another 10 minutes before pulling the grains.
  • In total, I collected 6.5 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.041, for 71% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the mash to a boil, adding hops and finings per the recipe. After 30 minutes, I chilled the wort to 82° and transferred to the fermenter.
  • Starting gravity was 1.045. I brewed the beer on 14 May 2023, and fermented at ambient. The fermenter temperature hit between 82° and 85° at the height of fermentation.
  • I kegged the beer on 23 May 2023. Final gravity was 1.012, which works out to 4.4% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • A straw yellow beer, with a pillowy and persistent white head. I’m writing this tasting on the last pour of the keg, which has a fair bit of haze. Even before the final pours and after sitting in the keg for two months, the beer never completely cleared.
  • Aroma
    • Bright citrus and kiwi hop aroma — very nice!
  • Flavor
    • Tropical fruit, fresh pineapple, lemon, and orange — it’s a very fruit-forward hop flavor. Bitterness is moderately high. The malt character is fairly subdued, as expected given the gravity and hoppiness of this beer.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium-light body, moderate carbonation. There is a slight hop astringency, which is accentuated in the final glass.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • I’m fairly pleased with this one, especially in the hop combination. If I were to brew this again (or one like it), I would reduce the dry hop load by a bit, to cut the astringency. I would probably increase the mash time to see if that helps with the haze (in case lingering starch was the cause), too. Overall, it’s a pretty decent session IPA!
  • Overall
    • 7/10

Easy Days Ale

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My lighter-colored beers lately have been primarily lagers, but it is nice to switch this up from time to time. So, I decided to create an experimental ale recipe that hit the target of being sessionable, flavorful (with some malt character and a bit of hop character too), and light in color. It doesn’t really conform to any style, although I guess you could make an argument that it’s an American(ish) blonde ale. No matter what you call it, it’s pretty darned good! I also have the memory of sharing a few glasses of this with a good friend who was going through a pretty rough spot in life…although it sounds cheesy (and perhaps it is), so much of brewing isn’t just the end product, but the memories that go with each glass and the people with whom it is shared.

Easy Days Ale

  • 4 lb. Finest Maris Otter Malt (Crisp)
  • 4 lb. 2-row Xtra Pale Malt (Viking)
  • 1.5 lb. white wheat malt (Briess)
  • 11 oz. caramel 10L malt (Briess)
  • 4 oz. Melanoidin malt (Weyermann)
  • 4 oz. rice hulls
  • 0.25 oz. Magnum hop pellets (10.1% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 0.8 oz. Simcoe hop pellets (12.7% alpha), 15 minute whirlpool
  • 1 pkg. Safale American ale yeast (US-05)

Target Parameters

  • 1.047 s.g., 1.011 f.g., 4.7% abv, 18 IBU, 6 SRM
  • Claremont tap water, treated with Campden tablet to remove chlorine
  • Full volume infusion mash at 154°, 60 minutes

Procedure

  • I mashed in with 7.25 gallons of water at 160°, to target 154° for 60 minutes, with recirculation. I added 7.5 mL of 88% lactic acid, to reduce the mash pH. After 60 minutes, I raised the mash to 168° for 10 minutes, before removing the grains.
  • In total, I collected 6.4 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.041, for 67% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, adding hops and finings per the recipe. After a 60 minute boil, I turned off the heat and added the whirlpool hops for a 15 minute whirlpool.
  • After the whirlpool, I chilled the wort down to ~75°, before putting it into the fermentation chamber and chilling it the rest of the way to 68°.
  • I brewed the beer on 16 April 2021, and it had a starting gravity of 1.048.
  • I fermented at 68° until 23 April 2021, when I moved the beer to ambient temperatures.
  • I kegged the beer on 6 May 2021, and noted a final gravity of 1.015. This is a bit higher than expected, working out to 4.3% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Medium gold with slight haze, moderately persistent white head
  • Aroma
    • Lightly malty; light bread dough character, with a light hint of caramel. No hop aroma.
  • Flavor
    • Moderate doughy, light malty character; relatively low, clean bitterness; a light tartness from the wheat that is pretty pleasant.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Moderately light body; smooth finish; moderate carbonation.
  • Would I brew this again?
    • This is a very solid session ale; it’s nothing spectacular, but I’m OK with that. I think it would benefit from a little more hop character; the bitterness is fine, but I think a little dry hop charge or a hop stand would help to liven this up a bit. It’s very drinkable, and makes a nice go-to on the tap selection. The malt character is pretty nice; it’s a little more interesting than the usual “2 row+crystal” malt zone that many ales of this type occupy.
  • Overall
    • 9/10