Brewday 25/02/07 - Gonna try my first recipe out...

[danielski]

I've been messing around in BeerToolsPro to see if I could come up with an american IPA-alike centred around some Cascade hops I've got plus whatever else is in the freezer to make up the recipe. Going for Challenger for bittering, then Cascade as aroma and late hop.

Does this sound like a good combination? I've also got Northdown, Fuggles, Goldings & Styrian Goldings available if you think they might make for a better bittering combo with the Cascade...?

Anyway, recipe:

The Man With The Golden Nun (v1.0)
Dan Harrison

Size: 25.38 L
Efficiency: 72%
Attenuation: 77.2%
Calories: 147.07 per 12 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.045 (1.040 - 1.048)
Terminal Gravity: 1.010 (1.008 - 1.012)
Color: 12.5 (5.0 - 16.0)
Alcohol: 4.49% (3.8% - 4.6%)
Bitterness: 35.56 (25.0 - 40.0)

Ingredients:
5 kg Maris Otter Pale
0.2 kg Torrified Wheat
32.0 g Challenger (BruPaks) (8.6%) - added during boil, boiled 90 min
30 g Cascade (5.50%) - added during boil, boiled 15 min
30 g Cascade (5.50%) - added during boil, boiled 1 min
Danstar Nottingham Yeast

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.0.18

[SteveD]

A quick question.... what makes that an IPA as opposed to say a medium bitterness summer quaffer? Sometimes style designations confuse the hell out of me, particularly the American 'styles' which often to me seem invented out of thin air where no such seperate style really exists.

Like... an ESB. That in the states is a whole style...here it's one beer, by Fullers, which you'd just call a strong bitter. Why don't the Americans have an 'HSB' style as well by that argument, or a 'Broadside' style?

Cream ale?? Can someone describe that style , other than as 'bland'?

At least here and in Continental Europe it's pretty clear cut. But then, this is where the styles originated. I guess the Americans are trying to say that they can originate beer styles too - but finding that the best ones have already been nicked.

[Frothy]

You mean style is the new flavour as in chocolate flavour goods with no chocolate.

[maxashton]

Nonono, americans did invent one style.

I don't really think there's a name for it other than colloquially, ie pisswater etc, but its damn near impossible to get pissed on it since it tends to be 2%.

[steve_flack]

Cream ale?? Can someone describe that style , other than as 'bland'?

I'll have a go. Lagered Ale - very pale, usually has a bit of corn in it. Low IBU, very clean. (so yes bland would probably a reasonable description).

I might try brewing one for Summer - it's probably quite challenging to get the cleanness as there's nowhere to hide in a beer like that.

[PieOPah]

Cream ale?? Can someone describe that style , other than as 'bland'?

I'll have a go. Lagered Ale - very pale, usually has a bit of corn in it. Low IBU, very clean. (so yes bland would probably a reasonable description).

At one time I was considering making a very pale beer and throwing in a load of popcorn into the mash. I never did bother with this one. Seemed like too much hassle for a crappy beer.

[Andy]

The IPA police have turned up, scarper!

[Andy]

At one time I was considering making a very pale beer and throwing in a load of popcorn into the mash. I never did bother with this one. Seemed like too much hassle for a crappy beer.

Great for taking to the cinema though.

[steve_flack]

I guess that shows how little character those beers have....

[SteveD]

Danielski, not wishing to totally hijack the thread - your recipe looks like it will make a very nice brew particularly if you like Sierra Nevada PA - ie, cascades. I'd imagine it to be a nice summer drink if served resonably cool, but not flavour numbingly cold.

Re styles...the Americans seem to go one of two ways.....create a new style by overblowing an existing one... eg Imperial IPA's Massively strong, and even more hopped, or dumbing down and removing character for those that suffer fear of flavour - Cream ale.

[tubby_shaw]

Golden Ales (a new style of pale, the first of which being Exmor Gold and Summer Lightning.

Am I missing something here or aren't the above what used to be called Light Ale before the Lager invasion killed them ?
And aren't both of them just Bitters anyway ?

[steve_flack]

Some Tesco's sell Young's Light Ale in cans - it's fairly weak (3-ish percent), copper coloured and, as you'd expect for Young's, quite bitter.

[tubby_shaw]

Probably TS...you must be a little older than me

Bl00dy cheek
I just happened to have my first beer at 4 years old, that's all

And who could forget George

The Hoffmeister bear

[SteveD]

Golden Ales (a new style of pale, the first of which being Exmor Gold and Summer Lightning.

Am I missing something here or aren't the above what used to be called Light Ale before the Lager invasion killed them ?
And aren't both of them just Bitters anyway ?

Yep, a pale bitter, like TTL, like Double Chance, like loads of others. It's just marketing, there's nothing new there to define it as a seperate style. In fact, 200 years ago they would have been called simply 'Pale Ale' Then Pale ale was so called becasue it was made from - yep - pale malt, just like these.

Same thing happened with Porter, it already existed before it was called porter - just marketing again.

An interesting idea on the evolution of the name 'Bitter'. What's the difference between a pale ale and a bitter? Are there not huge areas of overlap? For many beers how can you say this is pale ale, and not a bitter, or vice versa? One idea is there is no difference. Bitter IS Pale Ale. Pale ale was the brewers term for the beer, but in the pubs the general public didn't know this and ordered it as 'bitter' according to it's predominant taste. They only became aware of the term Pale Ale when bottled beer became widely available, which of course bore the brewery label 'Pale Ale'. This may explain the reasoning forwarded by some writers that Pale ale was a bottled premium beer, to distinguish it from draught 'Bitter'. In fact can be exactly the same beer. Is Pedigree a Pale ale in bottle and a bitter at the pumps?

It's either CLive LaPensee, or Martin Cornell, who puts this idea forward. Can't remember which, but it makes sense to me.

Edit: I found the relevant bit, it was Cornell. I didn't have it quite right. After the Pale Ale/Bitter name thing he went on to conclude that Pale Ales were a type of bitter, so all pale ales were bitters, but not all bitters were pale ale, in reference to the darker mixed grain bitter keeping ales commonly brewed, denoted by 'K'. Eg, AK, K, KK, KKK, etc, which were bitter beers but not pale ales.

To be pedantic you could argue that a pale ale should be made from pale malt only, as it was originally.

Light ale was a bottled weak version, and less heavily hopped. Something like summer lightning would have been too ballsy to be called light ale.

[danielski]

Danielski, not wishing to totally hijack the thread - your recipe looks like it will make a very nice brew

Phew, I thought I'd just invoked the wrath of the forum

So I guess my recipe would fit a british golden ale style, or even better, a beer that I reckon would taste great to me