I’ve been brewing quite a lot, but haven’t posted in a long ass time. Back to it: Pale ale time! I love a good pale ale, one of the first beers that made me fall in love with pale ales was Golden Tuna from Half Acre (now called Tuna session ipa). I would pound 20 oz pints at the taproom and they were fresh, balanced, flavorful, and easy to drink.
Last year I was in Denver for GABF and I went to TRVE brewing and had a pale ale called Scorn. That beer took me back to how I felt drinking Tuna and I wanted to brew something similar – a clean, dry hopped pale ale. I found the recipe for Scorn here, It’s got a clean pilsner malt base, some vienna for sweetness, and some wheat for body and mouthfeel. Since I have lots of hops, I’m switching the combo of citra & mosaic for sabro & cashmere. Let’s gooo!
Scarecrow Pale Ale Recipe
Batch Size
Boil Time
IBU
SRM
Est. OG
Est. FG
ABV
3 gal
60 min
~38.38 IBUs
3.52 SRM
1.053
1.011
5.57 %
Fermentables
Name
Amount
%
Briess Pilsen Malt
4.8 lbs
78.1
Weyermann Barke Vienna
.8 lbs
13
Rahr White Wheat
8.7 oz
8.9
Hops
Name
Amount
Time
Use
Form
Alpha %
Vic Secret
5.9 g
60 min
Boil
pellet
19.6
Sabro
.6 oz
15 min
Whirlpool
pellet
14.5
Sabro
1 oz
3 days
Dry hop
pellet
14.5
Cashmere
2 oz
3 days
Dry hop
pellet
7.2
Yeast
Name
Lab
Attenuation
Temperature
US-05
Safale
78-82%
64-82°F
Mash
Step
Temperature
Time
Mash
151°F
60 min
Water
Calcium
Magnesium
Sodium
Chloride
Sulfate
90
12
16
74
143
Fermentation
Step
Time
Temperature
Primary
TBD
68°F (temp controlled)
Brewed: 3/3/20 | Actual OG: 1.056 | Actual FG: TBD| ABV: TBD
Water: Minneapolis tap water, campden added, 2.2g gypsum, 1.4g calcium chloride, 1.5g epsom salt
I had a really tasty beer with Serrano peppers from Headflyer Brewing, it was crisp, fruity, and full of pepper flavor and aroma with very little to no heat. They describe it as “a combination of light heat from Serrano peppers paired with the citrus backdrop of pineapple” and it was bangin! This reminded me of some habanero peppers I put in vodka to make a tincture a while ago. When using peppers, a lot of people suggest using tinctures so you can start with a little and adjust the flavor\heat. I’ve also heard of using peppers in the boil to get deeper flavor. After some research on how to go about using the peppers, I wanted something easy drinking with nice pepper flavor so I settled on a Jalapeno Pale Ale.
To get the pepper flavor I wanted, I used them in the boil and also made a tincture to dose at kegging. For the boil peppers, I split and roasted them in the oven for about 20 minutes and threw them in the for last 15 minutes of the boil (1 deseeded). I ended up using all of the tincture at kegging to get maximum pepper flavor. Halfway through the keg I threw in a chopped jalapeno I froze in case I needed more. It added some nice spice and fresh pepper flavor. I wanted to use fruity hops, since it paired well in the beer that inspired this recipe so I used El Dorado and Citra hops. I’m quite pleased how this beer came out and it’s all gone as I write this. Check the recipe.
Jalapeño Business Pale Ale
Batch Size
Boil Time
IBU
SRM
Est. OG
Est. FG
ABV
3 gal
60 min
35.15 IBUs
7.32 SRM
1.047
1.010
5.17 %
Fermentables
Name
Amount
%
Pale Ale Malt
4 lbs
72.7
Red Wheat
1 lbs
18.2
Crystal 40L
.3 lbs
5.5
Golden Naked Oats
.2 lbs
3.6
Hops
Name
Amount
Time
Use
Form
Alpha %
El Dorado
3 g
60 min
Boil
pellet
14.4
El Dorado
.5 oz
8 min
Boil
pellet
14.4
Citra
.5 oz
5 min
Boil
pellet
13.1
El Dorado
.5 oz
3 days
Dry hop
pellet
14.4
Citra
.5 oz
3 days
Dry hop
pellet
13.1
Split jalapeños (1 deseeded) before roasting.
Other
Name
Amount
Time
Use
Form
Jalapeño peppers
2 each
15 min
Boil
Spice
Jalapeno tincture
~1.5 oz
0 days
Keg
Spice
Yeast
Name
Lab
Attenuation
Temperature
American Ale Yeast US-05
Fermentis/Safale
74-76%
64°F-82°F
Mash
Step
Temperature
Time
Mash
150°F
60 min
Water
Calcium
Magnesium
Sodium
Chloride
Sulfate
129
2
12
109
151
Fermentation
Step
Time
Temperature
Primary
10 days
Ambient (~68)
Notes
Brewed: 4/4/19 | OG: 1.046 | FG: 1.008 | ABV: 5%
Water: Minneapolis tap water, campden added, 2.5 g gypsum, 2 g calcium chloride
I love enigma hops. Enigma hops are an Australian variety that are descendants of the Swiss Tettnang hop. Their descriptors are “pinot gris, raspberries, red currant, and light tropical fruit.” In the hop spectrum, they’re heavy on the fruit and they’re close to galaxy and vic secret, but lean more toward spice (see pic).
I had my first taste when I got my hands on a fresh can of Other Half‘s Enigma IPA. I loved how the hops were a little spicy, but also really fruity, tropical, and slightly dank. I was then on the search to get some of these hops. At that time, they weren’t easy to get, but I kept searching. I then got my hands on Other Half’s DDH All Enigma Everything and that really showcased the hops juiciness and fruitiness and I was even further hooked! Once I was finally able to get some Enigma hops I brewed an all Enigma IPA and it was bomb. Later I brewed Enigmanilla, with all enigma hops. Now on to the Enigma Oat Coat.
This beer has a simple base of Pale Ale malt and Fawcett Oat malt. I love brewing with oats, and now that I can regularly get oat malt, I’ve been using it quite a bit. I feel it gives the beer a distinct “oat” flavor and does wonders for head retention and body. Hopped exclusively with enigma hops, this has all the fruity, lightly spicy goodness. Check the recipe!
Light amber color with large off white creamy head. Nice lacing. Very nice clarity.
Aroma
fruity hops, a hint of caramel, grain. Smells very clean and crisp.
Taste
A tiny touch of caramel, and clean malt. Assertive bitterness. Hops pop at the end and clean bitterness lingers.
Mouthfeel
Good carbonation, medium mouthfeel. Has nice body, but finishes crisp.
Notes
this beer is extremely clean. No fruitiness from the yeast, it lets the grain and hops shine. I could go a little easier on the hops for more balance. However, this is a damn good pale ale.