Blonde Ale Pacific Ale

[Gnomebrewer]

Recipe Type

All Grain

Yeast

WY1272/WLP051 or US05/WY1056/WLP001

Yeast Starter

As needed

Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter

no

Batch Size (Gallons)

5/10

Original Gravity

1.045

Final Gravity

1.012

Boiling Time (Minutes)

30

IBU

18

Color

6.8EBC

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

11

Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

No

Tasting Notes

Huge tropical fruit and citrus upfront with a nice malty finish

Firstly, a bit of background about the 'style' of this beer. I've put it in as a blond ale, but it doesn't really fit neatly into any category. The 'original' pacific ale was made by Stone&Wood, one of Australia's most successful craft breweries. It's a low to moderate alcohol beer (4.4%ABV) that is more malty than bitter, but with a very strong hop flavour and aroma. Many other breweries in Australia have now copied the style, with some even using the 'pacific ale' name (resulting in court disputes). The recipe I'm sharing here is similar to Stone&Wood Pacific Ale, using barley and wheat malt and all Galaxy hops. The beer is supremely drinkable - great for a session in warm weather. It's a good one to get non-craft beer drinkers to appreciate hops, as they don't have to deal with aggressive bitterness. I've tried brewing this with increased bitterness and it's not as good - there's something about the in-your-face hop flavour and aroma combined with the slightly sweet finish that makes it incredibly moorish. It's a pale-straw colour and slightly cloudy from the wheat. I'll update with a photo when my next batch is ready.

INGREDIENTS
GRAIN
Pale malt or Ale malt (2-row) - 75%
Wheat malt - 25%
To give an OG of 1.045
HOPS
Galaxy: Half a gram per liter at 15 minutes
Galaxy: Half a gram per liter at 10 minutes
Galaxy: Half a gram per liter at 2 minutes
Galaxy: One gram per liter for a 20 minute steep at about 82C/180F or slightly below. It's important to chill to 82C/180F BEFORE adding the whirlpool addition to avoid extracting too much bitterness.
Galaxy: One gram per liter Dry Hop for 7 days
Yeast: Anchor/Liberty strain (preferred) or chico strain (nearly as good). The Anchor/Liberty strain (WY1272/WLP051) adds a subtle fruitiness that complements the beer nicely. I don't go out of my way to get it though, so normally end up using US05 as I find dry yeast more convenient.

FOR 5 GAL/10 GAL @ 80% EFFICIENCY
Pale malt: 2.7Kg (6lbs) / 5.4Kg (12lbs)
Wheat malt: 0.9Kg (2lbs) / 1.8Kg (4lbs)
Galaxy: 10g (1/3oz) / 20g (2/3oz) at 15minutes
Galaxy: 10g (1/3oz) / 20g (2/3oz) at 10minutes
Galaxy: 10g (1/3oz) / 20g (2/3oz) at 2minutes
Galaxy: 20g (2/3oz) / 40g (1 1/3oz) for a 20min steep at 82C/180F
Galaxy: 20g (2/3oz) / 40g (1 1/3oz) Dry hop for 7 days.
Use a yeast calculator for appropriate pitching rates.

WATER
Aim for 60ppm Calcium. Use Calcium chloride to raise the Calcium if needed (rather than gypsum - try to keep the Sulfate low).
Because of the lack of dark specialty grains, you'll need to add some acid to this to get a mash pH between about 5.4 and 5.5. I use 0.5mL of 85% phosphoric acid for a 5 gal batch. You could also use acid malt or Lactic acid.

PROCESS
Mash grains at 69C/156F for 45mins or until conversion is complete. Sparge as normal. Boil for 30 minutes (no need for a one hour boil, but you can if you want to) adding hops with the above times remaining (I also add whirlfloc at 15mins and yeast nutrient at 5mins). Chill to 82C/180F and add steep/whirlpool hops. After 20mins, chill to pitching temperature, aerate and add yeast. I ferment at 19C/66F (beer temp, not ambient). Add dry-hops when the beer is within a couple of points of FG (normally about 4 days) and leave for a week. Bottle or keg using your normal process, aiming for about 2.6vols CO2.

 

[ncbrewer]

Almost all the Blonde Ale recipes I find have crystal malt. I'm interested in something like yours without the crystal. How would you say this differs from other Blondes, that have crystal malt?

 

[CHBrewLab]

Stone & Wood's Pacific Ale is such an easy drinking and delicious beer on hot days. I've definitely had my share of it whenever I head down to the Byron and Coff's coasts!

Excited to try this recipe in the future and if it's close to the original I recommend others try it too! I've converted a number of travellers to craft with that beer.

 

[Miraculix]

Sounds like fun, subscribed!

 

[Pkrd]

I tried this beer at a conference is Aussie last year and tracked down the recipe as soon as I could.

I’ve made it four times now, twice with Galaxy, Simcoe, during the Galaxy drought, and currently on tap with Mandarina Bavaria.

Great lawnmower beer. Shame the brewery had to be dicks about the trademark.

Just ordered 400gm of Galaxy and will brew this twice this week, once at home and once with my brother back in Aussie.

Why the high mash temp?

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Almost all the Blonde Ale recipes I find have crystal malt. I'm interested in something like yours without the crystal. How would you say this differs from other Blondes, that have crystal malt?

It really isn't like a blonde - that's just the closest category numbers wise. This beer is all about the galaxy hops.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Why the high mash temp?

To keep some body, given that it's a low-ish alcohol beer with no crystal malt.

 

[NZhomebrew]

Sorry to raise an old thread. I'm going to try this recipe shortly. Have you altered it at all since?

 

[6midgets]

I'm going to brew this beer but use Mosaic hops instead.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Sorry to raise an old thread. I'm going to try this recipe shortly. Have you altered it at all since?

I'm preferring it without the dry hop. Apart from that, I'm drinking a batch at the moment that's brewed as per the recipe. It's perfect for the warm weather we've been getting.

I'm going to brew this beer but use Mosaic hops instead.

Mosaic would be interesting. Let me know how it turns out!

 

[6midgets]

I’m drinking my first pint of Pacific Ale with mosaic hops. I used 9 lbs of 2-row and 3 lbs of wheat malt. I mashed @ 156 for 60 min. I added 1oz of mosaic @ 15 mins. 1oz of mosaic @ whirlpool. I pitched one pack of safale s-04. Then I went 2oz dry hop for 7 days. My og was 1.050 and my fg was 1.012. I think y’all are right about no dry hop. This beer is basically a full bodied mild bitterness NEIPA. Luckily for me I love NEIPA.