Adam's Pale Ale (an APA...get it?)

I've done a poor job of blogging recently, so here's my first attempt to getting back on track. Back in February I helped a friend (Adam) learn to brew on my system. This beer was designed with his tastes in mind - hoppy but not too bitter. A classical-ish American-style Pale Ale...an Adam's Pale Ale...an APA (get it, that's a beer "joke", or maybe a dad "joke"...regardless, its some sort of a joke, I swear).

Appearance: Golden with a modest white head. Sightly cloudy, although not as cloudy as it appears in the picture.

Aroma: Peaches. Lots and lots of ripe peaches...but there are no peaches in this beer.

Flavour: Overall I am happy with this flavour, although I would tweak the balance of flavours if I rebrew this beer. Upfront is a fruity hop character with a slight catty bite - courtesy of the large late addition and dry-hopping with Amarillo and Simcoe hops. Behind this was a slightly sweet, but otherwise fairly neutral, malt backbone. The hop bitterness was low - to my tastes a little too low to properly balance out the malty sweetness and hop fruitiness. Either a lower mash temp, or drawing back on the Munich malt, would give a more pleasant balance of flavours.

Mouthfeel: Modest body, accentuated by a lower level of carbonation, made for a creamy feel to the beer. Aftertaste was malt-sweetness and hop fruitiness. No lingering bitterness what-so-ever in the aftertaste.

Overall: A pretty good beer. The balance of sweet and bitter is a bit more towards the sweet than I would prefer, but its easy-drinking, hop-forward and delicious - just what Adam ordered.

Recipe below the fold.

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Adams American Pale Ale

American Pale Ale

Type: All Grain	Date: 04 Feb 2017
Batch Size (fermenter): 40.00 l	Brewer: Bryan
Boil Size: 48.20 l	Asst Brewer: Adam
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: Big Pot, 40L, 60min
End of Boil Volume 44.20 l	Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 39.50 l	Est Mash Efficiency 76.5 %
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage
Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU 7.50 kg Canadian 2 Row Pale Malt (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 80.5 % 0.68 kg Munich 10L (Briess) (10.0 SRM) Grain 2 7.3 % 0.68 kg Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 3 7.3 % 0.45 kg Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 4 4.9 % 14.17 g Amarillo [9.20 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 8.1 IBUs 14.17 g Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 11.5 IBUs 14.17 g Amarillo [9.20 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 7 4.9 IBUs 14.17 g Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 8 6.9 IBUs 1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins) Fining 9 - 14.17 g Amarillo [9.20 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 10 1.6 IBUs 7.00 g Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 11 1.1 IBUs 14.17 g Amarillo [9.20 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 10.0 min Hop 12 1.5 IBUs 7.00 g Simcoe [13.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 10.0 min Hop 13 1.0 IBUs 1.0 pkg Dry English Ale (White Labs #WLP007) [35.49 ml] Yeast 14 - 28.35 g Amarillo [9.20 %] - Dry Hop 3.0 Days Hop 15 0.0 IBUs 28.35 g Simcoe [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 3.0 Days Hop 16 0.0 IBUs
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.051 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.053 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.2 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 5.4 %
Bitterness: 36.7 IBUs	Calories: 497.1 kcal/l
Est Color: 6.1 SRM
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge	Total Grain Weight: 9.31 kg
Sparge Water: 33.24 l	Grain Temperature: 17.3 C
Sparge Temperature: 75.6 C	Tun Temperature: 17.3 C
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE	Mash PH: 5.20
Mash Steps Name Description Step Temperature Step Time Mash In Add 24.54 l of water at 75.3 C 66.7 C 60 min
Sparge Step: Batch sparge with 2 steps (9.01l, 24.23l) of 80 C water
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/Tempt: 12 PSI @ 6C
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