Tasting - LowTech Pale Ale v4

LowTech Pale Ale v4

For a beer that I considered more or less a failure... it's sure nice!  In case you didn't read, I had big problems with a new hop filter design, it quickly clogged.  I managed to finally transfer the wort into the fermenters via auto-siphon although I lost substantial wort in the process.

Appearance

Pours burnt orange.  The Muntons Crystal 240 is darker than I expected.  It holds up nicely to the high gravity to bitterness ratio.  There is a very faint roastiness although I get more caramel notes than roast. The dense head only sticks around briefly before settling back into a fine lace.  Considerable lacing throughout the pint.  Considering the age of the beer and the lack of cold conditioning, the clarity is superb.  No finings post boil were used, this is all WLP007.  Overall, its certainly at the darker end of the pale ale spectrum.  You might even call it an American Amber Ale.

Aroma

Malty with a definite hop presence.  Not sure I can pick out any one hop, but the combination works.

Taste

For a pale ale, I'd consider the bitterness assertive.  Hop are front and center, surprising when you consider there were only 5oz's in the 40L batch.  Malt sweetness with some toast on the back end.  The body and mouthfeel are adequate, I might increase the crystal slightly.  Carbonated well, finishes dry.

Drinkability

Bitter and hoppy.  Inviting to the eye.  Lower AVB works. Anxious to try the dry-hopped version. 7/10.

Update June 11th

Had some carbonation issues early on, they seem to have been corrected.  Pints are pouring nicely, the ale is developing nicely.  Not sure if it's at it's peak yet but close.

Update June 13th

Wow!  Drinking really nice.  Bitterness has mellowed, malt profile starting to come forward.  Still a hoppy beer but now with a nice balance.

Brewday - "Sunset Ale"

Notes
An Amber ale [Imperial Red Ale].  Named in tribute to the beautiful sunsets seen over our summer of camping.  I believe this batch marks my 4th attempt at the style.

Through trial and error, I've made a few recipe changes from previous attempts.  First, reduce the amount of Roast Barley.  A measly 40g for colour only.  I've reduced the total amount of crystal malt significantly.  Finaly, I've included a protein rest and lowered the sacc temp 2 degrees.  On the hop side, I've increased the total IBUs, added an addition at the 20 minute mark and will include some dry-hops as well. 

American Amber Ale (10B) [Specialty (23)] 
Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: Fermentis S-04

Yeast Starter: N/A
Additional Yeast : N/A
Batch Size (Post Boil): 26L
Original Gravity: 1.054 [1.060]
Final Gravity: 1.012 (est) [1.014]
IBU: 40 [57]
Boiling Time (Minutes): 70
Colour (SRM): 11 (est)
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 15 @ 66F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 12 @ 66F 
Conditioning [Bottle] (# of Days & Temp): 21 @ 66F

Ingredients

88.7% Pale Malt (Gambrinus)
07.1% CaraMunich I (Weyermann)
03.5% CaraAroma (Weyermann)
0.07% Roast Barley (Muntons)

28.6 IBU Columbus @ 60 min (1oz)
1/4oz Willamette @ 30 min
1/4 [1/2oz] Cascade @ 20 min

1/4 [1/2oz] Willamette @ 10 min
1/4 [1/2oz] Cascade + 1/4 [1/2oz] Willamette @ 1 min
1/4oz Willamette Dry-hop (12 days)
1/4oz Cascade Dry-hop (12 days)
1/4oz Columbus Dry-hop (12 days)
1/4oz Centennial Dry-hop (12 days)

Water (City tap water treated with Campden)

Calcium Chloride, Gypsum and Epsom Salt added, pH 5.50

Ca-86/Mg-14/Na-18/Cl-97/S04-138

Mash Instructions
Protein Rest, 30 minutes (125F), 1.0qt/lb
Alpha Infusion, 60 minutes (152F), 1.50qt/lb
Double batch sparge (170F), collected ~30L into the boil kettle

28/08/2012 - Mashing

Second time using Gambrinus Pale malt for a base, second time with an extraction efficiency over 90%, 93% to be exact.  I've made some last minute recipe (hop) changes to account for the new anticipated OG (1.062).

Wort was chilled to 75F, took about an hour due to warm, summertime ground water through my immersion chiller.  Will need to build a prechiller for future summer brews.  Brewday lasted 5.5hrs, longer than normal since I had problems chilling.  S-04 Yeast was re-hydrated and  pitched to an aggressively aerated wort.

I'd like to brew this again but this time factoring in my proper extraction efficiency and actually coming close to my gravity numbers.

Here's the brew I ended with.:
26L@ 1.060, 22L into the primary.
57 IBUs
I updated the hop schedule (posted above) accordingly.

29/08/2012 - Primary shows signs of fermentation.

03/09/2012 - Airlock quiet.