Brew me.

So as tempting as it is to jump right in and tackle a doppelbock or an Imperial IPA, I think I will start with a basic APA (American pale ale). I like APAs, and from what I have read they are one of the easiest to make. I’ve looked around for some simple recipes, and the one at seriouseats.com is the one I’m going to go for.

• 5.5lbs of Dry Light

Malt Extract

• 0.5lbs Crystal 20L

• 0.5lbs American 6 row

• 0.5oz Centennial Hops – 60 mins

• 1oz Cascade Hops – 15 mins

• 1oz Centennial Hops – 15 mins

• 1oz Cascade Hops – Flame out

• 0.5oz Centennial Hops – Flame out

• 11.5 gram pack of Safale US-05

It’s a pretty simple extract brew, meaning that the first step of mashing and sparging the whole grains is cut out, and we can just use an extract of the sugars. The seriouseats.com recipe starts with a steeping section, where some of the grains are steeped in warm water to extract more flavour and a better texture in the beer. The crystal and American 6 row malt used to steep is basically a way of having more body/‘mouthfeel’, and adding to the depth of flavour of the beer. In the end I couldn’t get hold of any 6 row, so I’m just using slightly more crystal malt. Sue me.

After the steeping we go to the boil, where the malt sugars are boiled with hops for bitterness and aroma. The recipe I am following uses the classic American hops: centennial and cascade. Centennial, cascade and Columbus are known as ‘the three c’s’ and are the cornerstones of an ‘American’ style ale. The flowery, grapefruit-y, citrusy notes are right there when you take the first sip of an APA. The ‘time’ next to the hops in the recipe is how long the hops should be in the beer, in a 60 minute boil. For example, there should be 0.5oz of centennial hops added right at the start of the boil. When the boiling is done, the wort is cooled and the yeast is pitched. Then it’s popped in a fermentor, and left for two or three weeks. Then we have beer. Awww yes.

The recipe, for anyone who wants a read: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/01/homebrewing-pale-ale-for-beginners-extract.html