Better Half - another American Pale Ale

[dmonbeer]

This beer is very similar to GEM which I set brewing 2 days previously, but I named it Better Half after my wife for giving birth to our daughter. I got the Pilot hops free when I bought some other hops from an E-Bay supplier in Edinburgh & wanted to use them up as they had no date on them.

Mash 55°C strike temperature, then upto 67°C over 15mins & held there for 1 hour. 23 litres.

4.2 Kg pale malt
200g crystal malt

Boil 1 hour 40mins. The heating element was a little dirty with caramelised malt sugars & I didn't clean it, so the thermostat kept cutting the heat off, taking ages to get to a boil. Lesson learned.

Amarillo hops (9.5% alpha acid): 50g at start of boil, 30g after 50mins & 20g after 1 hr 30mins.
Pilot hops (7.8% alpha acid): 50g at start of boil.
Hallertau hops (3.3% alpha acid): 20g at 1hr 30mins.

Fermented using Muntons Gold dried yeast. Using the recipe formulator, the alcohol level should be around 4.3% & bitterness at 140 IBU.

Verdict on bottling: Not as hoppy as Gem & the hop flavour isn't as clean tasting - maybe the free hops with no date on them were old.

Verdict after 3 weeks: A little more copper coloured than a blonde ale, fairly dry with a good bitter & very floral hoppy aftertaste. A good refreshing session beer.

Verdict after 6 weeks: A good dryish beer with a good hoppy taste & a gentle bitterness. A good drinking beer.