American Pale Ale

American Pale Ale

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.056 (13.8 °P)  FG = 1.013 (3.2 °P)
IBU = 40  SRM = 6  ABV = 5.7%

A middle of the road, more malt and hop balanced American PA.

Ingredients
10.2 lb. (4.62 kg) Great Western North American pale malt (2 °L)
10.6 oz. (300 g) Best Malz Munich malt 8 °L
10.6 oz. (300 g) Briess Victory® malt 28 °L
7.1 oz. (200 g) Great Western wheat malt 2 °L
6.89 AAU Horizon pellet hops (0.53 oz./15 g at 13% alpha acids) (60 min.)
4.5 AAU Centennial pellet hops (0.50 oz./14 g at 9% alpha acids) (10 min.)
3 AAU Cascade pellet hops (0.50 oz./14 g at 6% alpha acids) (10 min.)
4.5 AAU Centennial pellet hops (0.50 oz./14 g at 9% alpha acids) (0 min.)
3 AAU Cascade pellet hops (0.50 oz./14 g at 6% alpha acids) (0 min.)
White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) or Fermentis Safale US-05

Step by Step
Mill the grains and dough-in targeting a mash of around 1.5 quarts of water to 1 pound of grain (a liquor-to-grist ratio of about 3:1 by weight) and a temperature of 152 °F (67 °C). Hold the mash at 152 °F (67 °C) until enzymatic conversion is complete. Infuse the mash with near-boiling water while stirring or with a recirculating mash system raise the temperature to mash out at 168 °F (76 °C). Sparge slowly with 170 °F (77 °C) water, collecting wort until the pre-boil kettle volume is around 5.9 gallons (22.3 L) and the gravity is 1.048 (11.8 °P).

Once the wort is boiling, add the bittering hops. The total wort boil time is 1 hour after adding the bittering hops. During that time add the Irish moss or other kettle finings with 15 minutes left in the boil and add the last two hop additions at 10 minutes remaining and at flame out. Chill the wort to 67 °F (19 °C) and aerate thoroughly. The proper pitch rate is 10 grams of properly rehydrated dry yeast, 2 packages of liquid yeast, or 1 package of liquid yeast in a 2-liter starter.

Ferment around 67 °F (19 °C) until the yeast drops clear. With healthy yeast, fermentation should be complete in a week or less. Allow the lees to settle and the brew to mature without pressure for another two days after fermentation appears finished. Rack to a keg and force carbonate or rack to a bottling bucket, add priming sugar, and bottle.

American Pale Ale

(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.056 (13.8 °P) FG = 1.013 (3.2 °P)
IBU = 40  SRM = 6  ABV = 5.7%

Ingredients
6.6 lbs. (3 kg) pale liquid malt extract
10.6 oz. (300 g) Best Malz Munich malt 8 °L
10.6 oz. (300 g) Briess Victory® malt 28 °L
7.1 oz. (200 g) Great Western wheat malt 2 °L
6.89 AAU Horizon pellet hops (0.53 oz./15 g at 13% alpha acids) (60 min.)
4.5 AAU Centennial pellet hops (0.50 oz./14 g at 9% alpha acids) (10 min.)
3 AAU Cascade pellet hops (0.50 oz./14 g at 6% alpha acids) (10 min.)
4.5 AAU Centennial pellet hops (0.50 oz./14 g at 9% alpha acids) (0 min.)
3 AAU Cascade pellet hops (0.50 oz./14 g at 6% alpha acids) (0 min.)
White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) or Fermentis Safale US-05

Step by Step
If you can’t get fresh liquid malt extract, it is better to use an appropriate amount of dry malt extract (DME) instead.

Mill or coarsely crack the specialty malt and place loosely in a grain bag. Avoid packing the grains too tightly in the bag, using more bags if needed. Steep the bag in about 1 gallon (~4 liters) of water at roughly 160 °F (71 °C) for about 30 minutes. Lift the grain bag out of the steeping liquid and rinse with warm water. Allow the bags to drip into the kettle for a few minutes while you add the malt extract. Do not squeeze the bags. Add enough water to the steeping liquor and malt extract to make a pre-boil volume of 5.9 gallons (22.3 liters) and a gravity of 1.0485 (11.8 °P). Stir thoroughly to help dissolve the extract and bring to a boil.

Once the wort is boiling, add the bittering hops. The total wort boil time is 1 hour after adding the bittering hops. During that time add the Irish moss or other kettle finings with 15 minutes left in the boil and add the last two hop additions at 10 minutes remaining and at flame out. Chill the wort to 67 °F (19 °C) and aerate thoroughly. The proper pitch rate is 10 grams of properly rehydrated dry yeast, 2 packages of liquid yeast, or 1 package of liquid yeast in a 2 liter starter. Follow the fermentation and packaging instructions for the all-grain version.

Tips For Success:
Generally speaking, the darker the malt the less you will want to use in an American pale. Focus your specialty malt usage more on the bready malt notes and make sure that the malt character does not start to overwhelm the easy drinking and hoppy balance that is American pale ale.

I really like using citrusy or piney American variety hops such as Cascade, Centennial, Columbus, Simcoe®, and Amarillo® for flavor and aroma, but there are plenty of great examples out there that use a wide variety of hops from around the world. You can use almost any hop you feel has a pleasant character. It is the overall impression that matters.