Make a Can’t Fail Pale Ale
Yesterday, at a brewpub in New Haven, Connecticut — I helped to brew a pale ale that an English barman probably wouldn’t recognize. Why? Because it is just full of hop character! This comes from late hopping with the spicy, fragrant American hop Mount Hood followed by generous dry hopping in the fermenter with English Kent Goldings. This hop adds a delicate lemony, grassy character to the beer. Couple these late addition hops with American Centennial hops for bittering and you have a pale ale that is a symphony in hops. This makes for a interestingly complex beer that is also refreshing and very drinkable.
Earlier in the year, I visited an English beer festival. It was held in Burton-on-Trent, a city often regarded as the home of pale ale. The first striking feature of the city is the Coors signs that dominates it, the American company now being the biggest brewer in Burton. Second it was clear from the variety of beers that we sampled that British brewers have only a hazy concept of beer styles in general and of pale ale in particular.
Do we really need to classify the beer we drink? The concept of beer styles is not important in the sense that what really matters is whether it is a good beer or not. If you do like it, you don’t need to understand what class it belongs to, do you? Well, that’s not entirely true. After all, you wouldn’t be happy if you really fancied a refreshing glass of Pilsner and the barman served you a dry stout instead. And more importantly, if you want to brew beer that fits a particular style, you need to know what defines that style. This is especially important in the case of pale ale, which is often confusingly used to describe both a whole range of ales — from bitter to IPA — and to one particular style that fits in that range!
In the beginning . . .
Pale ale is obscure in origin. Beers with that designation were produced in England as far back as the 17th century, possibly even earlier. But these beers were rare, the common beers of that time were generally brown in color. Those pale ales that were produced were expensive because of the high cost of pale malt. Precise figures are difficult to find, but it seems that pale malt could cost up to twice as much as “ordinary” malts. However, malts were sold by volume and there was about 30% more pale malt than brown malt in a bushel. It was difficult to produce pale malt with the relatively primitive malting techniques then available. The main problem was that most malt was kiln-dried over an open wooden fire, which often resulted in scorching of the malt.
Hodgson ships his beer to India
Throughout the 18th century, pale ales remained what we would today call niche products. Brown beers suited popular taste and the most important of these, porter, was first produced in the 1720s. Many brewers grew rapidly on the backs of porter. A few of them, such as Whitbread and Courage, being still in business even in the 20th century. Even the Burton brewers were producing dark brown beers in the 1700s. The most important brewer of pale ales at that time was actually a London brewer, Charles Hodgson. In 1790, he hit on a potentially lucrative market in India and started shipping pale ale to the sub-continent. Hodgson was a pioneer and, like most pioneers, he never really got the credit he deserved. Perhaps he himself did not realize he had made the first steps in a brewing revolution by brewing a pale, highly-hopped beer that would be stable when shipped over long distances.
The 18th century was an exciting time in Britain. By mid-century the Industrial Revolution was well under way. It was clearly gathering steam before that, following the scientific lead of Isaac Newton and others. As scientific knowledge advanced, the technologies of manufacturing advanced rapidly. Iron and coal production increased and early mass-production techniques were developed, notably by such as Wedgwood in his pottery. Businesses and factories grew at astonishing rates. The growth of breweries is a good example of the progress made during this period. At the start of the century, a large London brewery might manage 10,000 barrels. By 1800, several brewers were turning out close to 200,000 barrels a year.
The cost of pale malt drops
The malting industry also developed its technology, working out ways to produce more and better malt. Techniques of kilning were improved as maltsters learned how to control the heat applied and to use coke instead of wood. In this way, pale malt of good quality could be made relatively cheaply. Towards the end of the century, it still remained more expensive than brown malt in terms of price per bushel.
However, by this time, brewers were beginning to use the hydrometer and coming to the understanding that pale malt was actually cheaper per unit of fermentable extract than the brown malt. However, porter was still the most popular beer and Hodgson seems to have been the only brewer to see the potential for pale beers.
All this was to change in the 19th century. As the Industrial Revolution got under way, manufacturers sought better means of transporting their products to outlets than carrying them by horse-drawn carts over inadequate roads. A partial solution to this was the building of an extensive network of canals. This enabled the Burton brewers to ship their strong dark ales to the East Coast of England and then to the Baltic States and Russia. Although the Burton brewers were still much smaller than their London counterparts, this was a lucrative trade for them.
Competition for Hodgson
Unfortunately, as a result of the Napoleonic wars, France engineered shipping embargoes on all English trade with Northern Europe. This ended the Burton brewers business with the Baltic States and Russia. Hunting for another market for their products, brewers in Burton were approached by the East India Company who wanted to break Hodgson’s monopoly. In 1822, Allsopp’s made their own India Pale Ale and started shipping the product to India in 1823. It wasn’t long before other brewers in Burton — such as Bass, Worthington and Salt — were doing the same. These brewers were helped by the fact that their brewing liquor was high in both calcium and sulfate, making it ideal for heavily-hopped pale ales. They were helped as well by the unique flavor obtained through the use of the famous Burton Union fermentation system. In the Burton Union system, overflow from fermentation casks flowed into troughs that ran beside the casks. The yeast was skimmed from this overflow and the beer was returned to the casks. The trade of the nine Burton brewers expanded rapidly. In 1831, they produced 50,000 barrels annually; by 1881 Bass alone was turning out a million barrels each year!
Clear glass and snobbery
But that was IPA, not pale ale — so how did that come about? Why there was a move towards pale beers is not clear, for it happened in Europe and the Americas as well. One reason may have been a change in the nature of drinking vessels. There had been a long-standing high duty on glass in Britain, so drinkers used pewter, earthenware and china vessels rather than glass. This duty was removed in 1845, just about the time mass-production methods were developing in Europe (notably in Bohemia). And as soon as drinkers in the pub were using glasses and they could see what they were drinking, the trend towards pale beers gathered speed.
Also, by the mid-1800s, a sizable middle class had emerged in Britain, which had now become the world’s major industrial nation. This middle class had what we now call disposable income and they wanted — and were prepared to pay for — quality beers. There was also an element of snobbery in that they did not want the dark beers favored by the working class. It didn’t help that there had been massive problems with adulteration of porter in the early part of the century, thus lowering its image in the eyes of many people. The middle class wanted something more elegant, special and certainly less vulgar.
Plenty of pale ales . . . and bitter, too
Naturally, other British brewers jumped on the IPA bandwagon and started to produce their own version of the style. IPA was a relatively strong beer at around 7% alcohol by volume (ABV). This made it somewhat expensive to produce and brewers were beginning to learn something about marketing. So many of them began to widen their range of beers — instead of offering just one or two, they now offered as many as five to ten. Pale beers of lesser strength than IPA would be called just pale ale. It was still not a clearly different style since there were many other similar beers, but rejoicing in names like “dinner ale,” and “family ale.” In addition, the term “bitter” was beginning to creep in.
During the second half of the 19th century, the practice of bottling beer became more common. At first, bottle-conditioned beer was the main product. However, a whole raft of technologies followed rapidly on one another and soon changed that. Filtration techniques, refrigeration, pasteurization and artificial carbonation enabled the brewer to produce clear, stable beers in bottles. By the early 20th century, bottled beer made up some 10–15% of total beer production in Britain. If that does not sound like a lot, remember that the English have always drunk mostly draught beer.
It became common to apply the term “pale ale” to bottled, rather than draught beer. Many brewers — including the biggest IPA producer of all, Bass — dropped the IPA designation. The term does still linger today, but hardly any of the beers called IPA are worthy of that title. Most of them lack the appropriate strength and hop bitterness. In addition, the Burton Union System for fermentation, which lent a distinct flavor to beers produced with it, fell into disuse. Today, only one beer, Marston’s Pedigree Bitter, is still fermented in a Union system.
The tax man
In 1880, the British Government changed the taxation system applied to brewing. Instead of taxing malt, as had previously been the case, taxation was now assessed according to the original gravity of the wort as it went into the fermenter. This had two important results, the first being that brewers could now use sugar or cereals in place of malt. The second is that the original gravities of British beers started to decline and continued to do so until today. Average gravity in 1900 was 1.055, while now it is 1.037! As strength fell, bitter became the preferred term for draught pale beers and pale ale for the bottled version. Caramel and roasted malts in bitters became popular from about 1900 onwards, as a way of adding more flavors to improve the taste of weaker beers.
A bitter argument
It could be argued that all bitters are pale ales, or even that pale ale is simply bottled bitter. However, bitter covers such a range of strengths (3.2– 5.5% ABV), colors and hop bitterness as to make this approach inappropriate, though there are some that fit the pale ale profile. On the other hand, some draught bitters are called pale ale by their brewers, but do not fit the style. Pale ale derives directly from IPA and should be of a reasonable strength. It should be pale — in English terms — and, most importantly, it should have a significant level of hop bitterness. It is generally taken that English pale ale should be brewed only with English hops. It is worthy of note though that during the late 19th century, Bass imported a good deal of American hops. Since we cannot taste those beers, we don’t know whether they actually had any typical American hop character. It is more likely that they were blended with other hops so as not to drastically change the beer.
The New World
Of course, the history of pale ale does not end with British beers, since it was a style that readily lent itself to microbrewing in America. When microbreweries began to emerge in this country in the 1980s, most of them brewed ales. This was partly because ales require simpler, cheaper equipment than lager brewing and have a faster turn-around time. Many of the new brewers got their start in homebrewing and were already in love with pale ales and IPAs. They were also in love with hops . . . and American hops in particular.
Some English commercial brewers think that many American micros have gone overboard in their use of hops. Perhaps that is true in some of the wilder Californian IPAs, but it certainly suits the pale ale style to overdo, rather than underdo, hop bitterness and flavor. There is no question that American microbrewing deserves a lot of credit for reviving the almost defunct style of IPA. Also, to my mind, some of the best modern examples of pale ale are brewed in this country; Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a classic of the style. So too, though less well known is the pale ale we brew at BAR. And of course, one of the defining qualities of American pale ale is the use of American hops with their distinctive flavors. Which means that we really have to classify American pale ales as a style distinct from the British version.
Definitions
1. English Pale Ale
This beer should be of medium strength (SG 1.045–1.055, 11.2–13.6 °P), golden to copper in color, with moderate to high hop bitterness (30–45 IBU). This is really a one-dimensional beer so that there should be little or no malt or caramel flavor, though some estery fruitiness is permissible. In other words, it is brewed mainly from pale malt; only the lighter types of crystal malt may be used, and sparingly, if at all. Hop flavor and aroma should be present, but should not be pronounced as it should come from English hops.
2. American Pale Ale
The broad definition is the same as that for the English style in terms of strength, color, malt and caramel flavor. It can have an estery fruitiness even though the classic of the style, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, most certainly does not! Hop bitterness should be high (30–50 IBU) and hop aroma and flavor should be pronounced, coming mainly from American hops.
Brewing Pale Ale
Base Malt: Obviously, pale ale malt is the foundation of this beer. Classically this should be English 2-row pale ale malt. Many brewers regard floor-malted Maris Otter as being the highest quality pale malt obtainable. However, the quality of U.S. 2-row pale malts is also high and is used by many American micros for their pale ales. Most pale ale malts have a color rating around 3 °L, higher than the 1.8–2 °L of Pilsner and other pale malts. As far as malt extract is concerned, the approach is very simple — use a pale extract or one designated specifically as a pale ale extract. The malt extract may be used alone or in conjunction with steeped specialty malts.
Specialty Malts: Hop bitterness and flavor, rather than malty notes, dominate the taste of pale ale, so the only specialty malt used is crystal malt. Even this should only be the lightly-roasted version, with a color of 10–40 °L. Crystal malts add some reddish colors to the beer and a sweetness usually described as “caramel-like.” Crystal malts usually comprise up to 10% of the grist, leading to the final beer color of 8–14 SRM and a just a hint of caramel flavor.
Extract brewers can steep their crystal malt at 150 °F (66 °C) for 30 minutes before bringing their brewing water to a boil and adding extracts. Just place the crushed malt in a nylon steeping bag and let it soak in hot brewing water. Some pale ale extracts will already have color from crystal malt in their formulation. All-grain brewers will mash the crystal malt along with their base grains.
Adjuncts: Many English brewers use sugar or corn as an adjunct. The adjunct adds fermentables to the wort but doesn’t add any flavor, color or body. An English brew might contain up to 15% sucrose — which is cane sugar, not corn sugar. This is added to the kettle, so it can be used by extract or all-grain brewers. All-grain brewers can also use flaked maize in their mash, up to 20% of the grist as some English brewers do.
Adjuncts also dilute the protein content of the wort. At the levels described here, this should present no problems in terms of yeast nutrition. However, just to be safe, adding 1/4–1/2 tsp. yeast nutrients per 5-gallons (19 L) may help your fermentation when using sugar or flaked maize. It may also help if your malt extract contains adjuncts.
Hops: For a classic English-style pale ale, English hops are required, naturally. The first choice for both bittering and finishing would be East Kent Goldings, with Fuggles coming a close second. East Kent Goldings usually contain 4–6% alpha acids are are often described as a “clean” hops. Fuggles are also usually rated in the 4–6% alpha acid range and are described as “earthy” or “woody.” Challenger or Progress hops are also suitable, although some English brewers do use Saaz for hop flavor (through late kettle hopping). I recommend only Goldings or Fuggles for dry hopping if you want to go that way.
For a classic American-style pale ale, Cascade — with its typically floral-citrus flavors — is the most commonly used hop, especially for late and dry hopping. But the choice is wide and such hops as Centennial, Willamette and Northern Brewer can also be used. Other American hops — such as Liberty and Mount Hood — make excellent pale ales, but these would no longer fit the classic American style.
Water: Ever since the Burton brewers got in on the act, “permanently hard” water has been the choice for brewing pale ale. Water from artesian wells in Burton contains very high amounts of calcium (275–300 ppm) and sulfate (450–700 ppm). This ensures that mash acidity is in the optimum pH range of 5.2–5.5 for starch conversion. It can be argued that modern pale malts are of such quality that it is no longer necessary to use very hard water in pale ale brewing. Indeed, Hodgson’s original IPA was brewed with London water, which is very high in “temporary hardness” — calcium and carbonate ions — rather than in “permanent hardness” of Burton.
However, this is first and foremost a hoppy style and “permanent hardness” does accentuate and sharpen hop bitterness. In contrast, “temporary hardness” tends to make for a harsher bitter flavor. Therefore, I recommend that any carbonate should be removed by boiling the water before mashing, and that you add some gypsum (calcium sulfate) before the mash. Exact amounts are difficult to recommend, as much depends on the nature of the water you are using. For medium-hard water (about 50–100 ppm calcium) add 1tsp. (about 5g) gypsum (calcium sulfate); for a very soft water (less than 50 ppm calcium), you might want to add as much as 2 tsp. gypsum.
If you are brewing with a pale ale malt extract, you should not need to treat the water as this should have been done in the preparation of the extract.
Yeast: As ales, all these beers should be brewed with top-fermenting yeast strains. The choice is wide, and those recommended below in the recipe section — Wyeast 1028 (London Ale), 1098 (British Ale) and 1056 (American Ale) — are strains I have found satisfactory for these beers.
Pale ales typically have a fruity aroma. This fruity characteristic comes from esters, which are fermentation by-products produced by ale yeasts. At low levels, the fruity smells are pleasing. At higher levels, the aromas often take on a banana character and become disagreeable. The amount of esters produced increases with temperature. For most ale strains, 72 °F (22 °C) is the maximum temperature that produces a beer with suitable ester levels. Personal preferences vary, however, and some homebrewers ferment at higher temperatures than this. Inadequate pitching rates or aeration levels can also elevate the ester level.
Some pale ales also have buttery or butterscotch notes. These flavors come from diacetyl, a molecule that forms during early fermentation but is later reabsorbed by the yeast cells. Diacetyl is acceptable in small amounts in pale ale. If you’ve ever had a Redhook ESB, you’ve tasted a beer with a small amount of residual diacetyl (this is intentional). In most beer styles, however, diacetyl is considered a beer fault. As such, most brewers try to minimize this flavor in their beers. Most ale yeast strains will reduce diacetyl below its flavor threshold if you follow standard homebrewing procedures. A few, in particular the Ringwood Ale yeast (Wyeast 1187), will leave some diacetyl in the finished beer.
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) yeast is used for the classic American pale ale from Sierra Nevada and really is a must for that style. 1056 ferments “cleanly” — i.e. producing few esters — and is a good diacetyl reducer. White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) is a comparable strain to Wyeast 1056. White Labs WLP023 (Burton Ale), not surprisingly, works well for English pale ale! Other ale yeast strains may do just as well, so long as they are not high ester producers.
Brewing Approach: Mashing is simple, use a single-step infusion at 152–155 °F (67–68 °C). Lower mash temperatures can result in a thin beer tasting only of hops and quite out of balance. Boil the wort for 90 minutes, with the bittering hops added at the start and finishing hops 5–10 minutes from the end of the boil. Cool to fermentation temperature (65–70 °F/18–21 °C) and pitch the yeast, preferably as a 0.5-gallon (1.9-L) starter. Hold at 65–70 °F (18–21 °C) during fermentation, which should only take five to seven days.
Traditionally, many English brewers performed open fermentations. However, most homebrewers use closed fermentations to avoid wort Kontamination.
Classically, pale ales are dry hopped in the keg, but this can also be done in the fermenter. (It would have to be if you are bottling.) In either case, use 0.5–1.0 oz. of the hops in a hop bag held down with a sterilized weight. When bottling, prime with 1 cup of corn sugar; for my taste, 3/4 cup of corn sugar would be even better as this beer should not be highly carbonated.
Conclusion
Pale ale is sometimes dismissed by experienced brewers as being straightforward and not much of a challenge to brew. I don’t think that is true, it always takes skill and care to brew a good beer! And what can be wrong with brewing a beer that is relatively simple, yet classic, drinkable style?
All-grain recipes
Classic English Pale Ale
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.053 FG = 1.013
IBU = 43 SRM = 9 ABV = 5.1%
Ingredients
10.25 lbs. (4.6 kg) 2-row Maris Otter pale ale malt
0.5 lbs. (0.22 kg) crystal malt (40 °L)
10 AAU East Kent Goldings hops (bittering) (2 oz./56 g at 5% alpha-acids)
5 AAU East Kent Goldings hops (flavor) (1 oz./28 g at 5% alpha-acids)
Wyeast 1028 (London Ale) or White Labs WLP023 (Burton Ale) yeast
1 cup corn sugar (for priming)
Classic American Pale Ale
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.055 FG = 1.014
IBU = 53 SRM = 8 ABV = 5.3%
Ingredients
11 lbs. (5.0 kg.) 2-row pale malt
0.5 lbs. (0.22 kg) crystal malt (40 °L)
11 AAU Cascades hops (bittering)(2 oz./56 g at 5.5% alpha acid)
11 AAU Cascades hops (flavor)(2 oz./56 g at 5.5% alpha acids)
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) or White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) yeast
1 cup corn sugar (for priming)
BAR Pale Ale
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.050 FG = 1.013
IBU = 52 SRM = 9 ABV = 4.9%
Ingredients
9.75 lbs. (4.4 kg.) Briess 2-row pale malt
0.8 lbs. (0.37 kg) crystal malt (40 °L)
11.5 AAU Centennial hops (bittering) (1 oz./28 g at 11.5% alpha acids)
8 AAU Mt. Hood hops (flavor) (2 oz./56 g at 4% alpha acids)
1 oz. Willamette hops (dry hop)
1 oz. East Kent Goldings (dry hop)
Wyeast 1098 (British Ale) or White Labs WLP006 (Bedford Ale) yeast
1 cup corn sugar (for priming)
Step by step
Use a single-step infusion mash at 153-155 °F (67–68 °C) for 1–1.5 hours. Sparge one hour, with water no hotter than 175 °F (79 °C), until run-off reaches SG 1.010–1.012. Boil 90 minutes, with bittering hops added after the first foamy head subsides. Add flavor hops 10 minutes before the end of the boil. Adjust wort volume with cold water, and cool to about 70 °F (21 °C). Pitch with yeast starter, and allow to ferment. By 5–7 days, final gravity should have been reached; if so, rack into a glass fermenter. One to two weeks later, rack again, prime with corn sugar and package in keg or bottles. The beer should be ready to drink after conditioning for a week or so. Add the dry hops (if any), preferably to the primary fermenter or else to the keg. In either case, the hops should be placed in a sterilized muslin bag, with a sterilized weight attached.
Extract recipes
Classic English Pale Ale
(5 gallons/19 L, extract only)
OG = 1.052 FG = 1.014
IBU = 40 ABV = 4.9%
Ingredients
6.6 lbs. (3 kg) pale ale liquid malt extract
0.33 lbs. (0.14 kg) pale dried malt extract
10 AAU East Kent Goldings (EKG) hops bittering) (2 oz./56 g at 5% alpha-acids)
5 AAU EKG hops (flavor) (1 oz./28 g at 5% alpha-acids)
Wyeast 1028 (London Ale) or White Labs WLP023 (Burton Ale) yeast
1 cup corn sugar (for priming)
Classic American Pale Ale
(5 gallons/19 L, extract only)
OG = 1.055 FG = 1.015
IBU = 50 ABV = 5.2%
Ingredients
6.6 lbs. (3 kg) pale ale liquid malt extract
0.75 lbs. (0.34 kg) pale dried malt extract
11 AAU Cascades hops (bittering) (2 oz./56 g at 5.5% alpha acid)
11 AAU Cascades hops (flavor) (2 oz./56 g at 5.5% alpha acids)
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) or White Labs WLP001(California Ale) yeast
1 cup corn sugar (for priming)
BAR Pale Ale
(5 gallons/19 L, extract only)
OG = 1.050 FG = 1.014
IBU = 50 ABV = 4.7%
Ingredients
6.6 lbs. (3 kg) pale ale liquid malt extract
0.2 lbs. (90 g) pale dried malt extract
11.5 AAU Centennial hops (bittering) (1 oz./ 28 g at 11.5% alpha acids)
8 AAU Mt. Hood hops (flavor) (2 oz./ 56 g at 4% alpha acids)
1 oz. Willamette hops (dry hop)
1 oz. East Kent Goldings (dry hop)
Wyeast 1098 (British Ale) or White Labs WLP006 (Bedford Ale) yeast
1 cup corn sugar (for priming)
Step by step
Bring 3–4 gallons (11–15 L) of water to a boil. Turn off the heat, add malt extracts and stir well to ensure that the extracts dissolve properly. Bring to a boil, add the bittering hops and boil one hour. Add flavor hops in final 10 minutes of boil. Siphon off wort from the hops and trub, then add cold water sufficient to yield just over 5 gallons (19 L) of wort. Cool to around 70 °F (21 °C) and follow instructions for all-grain beers for fermentation and conditioning.
Extract with grains option:
Replace pale ale liquid malt extract with a plain light or extra light malt extract. Steep 0.5–1.0 lbs. (0.22–0.45 kg) of crystal malt at 150 °F (65 °C) for 30 minutes prior to adding extract.
