Life is too short to drink bad beer, so why not brew your own? With this all-grain pale ale recipe, you’ll have a beer that’s so good, you’ll wonder why you ever bothered with those fizzy yellow lagers.
Brewing beer is a labor of love, but the rewards are worth it. As the great philosopher Plato once said, “He was a wise man who invented beer,” and we couldn’t agree more.
So fire up the mash tun, break out the hops, and get ready to brew the best damn pale ale you’ve ever tasted. With a complex malt bill and a healthy dose of Cascade hops, this beer is sure to please even the pickiest of palates.
Ingredients:
- 8.5 lbs Pale Malt (2-Row)
- 0.5 lbs Crystal Malt (20L)
- 0.25 lbs Victory Malt
- 0.25 lbs Munich Malt
- 0.25 oz Magnum Hops (14% AA) at 60 minutes
- 1 oz Cascade Hops (5.5% AA) at 10 minutes
- 1 oz Cascade Hops (5.5% AA) at flameout
- 1 packet of American Ale Yeast (such as Safale US-05)
Brewing Process:
- Heat 3.5 gallons of water to 163°F.
- Mash in the grains and stir until the temperature stabilizes at 152°F.
- Mash for 60 minutes.
- Heat 4.5 gallons of sparge water to 170°F.
- Vorlauf until the runoff runs clear, then begin collecting the wort.
- Bring the wort to a boil and add 0.25 oz Magnum hops.
- Boil for 50 minutes, then add 1 oz Cascade hops.
- Boil for 10 more minutes, then add 1 oz Cascade hops at flameout.
- Chill the wort to 68°F, transfer it to a fermenter, and pitch the yeast.
- Ferment for 7-10 days or until the gravity reaches the final gravity.
- Rack to a secondary fermenter (optional) and age for 1-2 weeks.
- Bottle or keg the beer and carbonate it to your desired level (approximately 48 bottles if you bottle it).
Estimated All-Grain Recipe Stats:
- Batch Size: 5 gallons
- Original Gravity: 1.050
- Final Gravity: 1.012
- ABV: 5.0%
- IBUs: 40-45
- SRM: 8-12
152°F (67°C) is the mash/rest temperature. This is the temperature at which your mash should be held for 60 minutes to allow the enzymes in the grain to transform the starches into fermentable sugars. Following the 60-minute rest, the grains will be sparged with hot water to extract the sweet wort, which will then be cooked with the hops and other ingredients.
Typically, the sparge temperature is roughly 170°F (77°C). This is the temperature at which you should rinse the grain with hot water to remove any leftover sugars and tastes.
Once the mash is finished, move it to a lauter tun or mash tun with a false bottom or filter bed, and then rinse the grains and extract the leftover sugars with hot water. To efficiently rinse the grains and extract as much sugar as possible without removing tannins or other unwanted components from the grain husks, sparge with hot water at about 170°F (77°C).
Remember that your beer’s actual numbers may vary based on factors such as your equipment, brewing technique, and ingredient quality. But, these approximated statistics should provide you with a reasonable indication of what to expect from the recipe. Adjust the amount of sparge water to reach the desired pre-boil volume and gravity. Likewise, based on the alpha acid concentration of your hops, modify the hop dosages and boil periods to get the required IBUs.
In the end, brewing beer is about more than just making a drink. It’s about community, creativity, and the joy of creating something with your own hands. Great beer is not made by machines, but by people who share a passion for beer.
So whether you’re a seasoned brewer or just starting out, this all-grain pale ale recipe is sure to satisfy your thirst for great beer. Share it with friends, enjoy it on your own, and revel in the knowledge that you’ve created something truly special.
Beer is a journey, not a destination, as the phrase goes. So continue exploring, learning, and brewing. Who knows what fantastic beers you’ll come upon along the route?
