Recipe

Brooklyn Pennant Pale Ale ’55 clone

Brooklyn Pennant Pale Ale ’55 clone

(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.055  FG = 1.015
SRM = 11  IBU = 30  ABV = 5%

Ingredients
11 oz. (0.31 kg) U.S. crystal malt (80° L)
4 oz. (113 g) Belgian biscuit malt
6 lbs. (2.7 kg) extra-light dry malt extract (DME)
7 oz. (200 g) maltodextrin powder
6 AAUs Willamette hops (60 min.) (1.5 oz./43 g at 4% alpha acid)
5 AAUs East Kent Goldings hops (15 min.)(1 oz./28 g at 5% alpha acid)
2.5 AAUs East Kent Goldings hops (1 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 5% alpha acid)
1 tsp. Irish moss for 15 minutes
Wyeast 1968 (London ESB) or White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) or Lallemand London ESB Ale yeast
3/4 cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by step
Bring 1/2 gallon (2 L) of water to 155 °F (68 °C), add crushed grain and hold for 30 minutes at 150 °F (66 °C). Strain the grain into the brewpot and wash with one gallon (3.8 L) of 168 °F (76 °C) water. Add the DME, maltodextrin and first hop addition. Bring the total volume in the brewpot to 3 gallons (11 L). Boil for 45 minutes, then add the second round of hops and Irish moss.

Boil for 14 minutes, then add the final hops addition. Boil for 1 minute, then remove the pot from the stove. Cool wort for 15 minutes in an ice bath or chill with wort chiller. Strain into the primary fermenter and add water to obtain 5.25 gallons (20 L). Add yeast when wort has cooled to below 80 °F (27 °C).

Oxygenate-aerate well. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C) for 7 days, then rack into secondary. Ferment until target gravity has been reached and beer has cleared (approximately 3 weeks). Keg and force carbonate or prime and bottle. If bottling, carbonate at 70 to 72 °F (21 to 22 °C) for 2 to 3 weeks. This ale is ready to drink 1 month after it is carbonated. It will peak between 1 and 3 months and last up to 6 months.

Partial-Mash:
Acidify the mash water to below 7 pH. Mash 2.33 lbs. (1 kg) British Maris Otter two-row pale malt and the specialty grains in 1 gallon (3.8 L) water at 150 °F (66 °C) for 90 minutes. Sparge with 1.5 gallons (5.7 L) of water at 5.7 pH and 168 °F (76 °C). Then follow the extract recipe, omitting 1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) of  extra-light DME from the boil.

All-Grain:
Acidify the mash water to below 7 pH. Mash 10 lbs. (4.5 kg) British Maris Otter two-row pale malt and the specialty grains in 3.5 gallons (13.2 L) of water at 152 °F (67 °C) for 90 minutes. Sparge with 4.75 gallons (18 L) of water at 5.7 pH and 168 °F (76 °C). The total boil time is approximately 90 minutes. Add the  hops and Irish moss as indicated by the extract recipe.

Issue: April 2001

Pennant is a well-crafted pale ale brewed as a tribute to Brooklyn’s world champion baseball team of 1955. (That would be the Dodgers, who actually beat the Yanks in that crosstown series.)

Pennant pours with a dense light-beige head that sits on a chestnut-colored beer. The aroma is complex and malty, with a hint of freshly baked bread. The full malt flavor is balanced with a clean hop background. English hops provide a moderate bitterness that complements the smooth mouthfeel. The aftertaste is dry with a hint of hops.