American Pale Ale By Mike

February 2005 - One of the best beers I've brewed to date. While every brewer and his brother brews a decent Sierra Nevada clone, when it's done well, it's heaven in a glass. This beer was very good. I intended this beer to be a little low in bitterness and high in hop flavor and aroma. The only suggestion for improvement would be simply increasing the hop bitterness, if desired.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. 40ºL crystal malt

• 1/2 lb. CaraPils

• 8 lbs. Alexander's pale malt extract syrup

• 1 oz. Perle whole leaf hops (5.8%)

• 3 oz. Cascade hop pellets

• 1 oz Amarillo hop pellets

• 1 tsp. gypsum

• 1 tsp. Irish moss

• Wyeast 1056 American Ale liquid yeast

Instructions:

1. Steep the specialty grains in 1 gallon of 150º F water for approximately 30 minutes

2. Remove the grains, add 2 gallons of water and bring it to a boil

3. Remove the brew kettle from the heat source and stir in the extract

4. Once the wort resumes boiling, add the Perle hops and the gypsum

5. Add 2 ounces of the Cascade hops and the Irish moss at 60 minutes

6. Add the final ounce of the Cascade hops at 70 minutes

7. Once 60 minutes are up, chill the wort to about 70º F and pitch the yeast

8. Ferment for 2 weeks in the primary and 2 weeks in the secondary

9. Dry-hop the Amarillo hops

10. This beer was bottled