What beer is this

[JakeSparrow]

Well after fermentation I bottled up my beer and gave it a taste after a few days in the fridge. It tastes pretty good, I don't usually like sweeter beers but its good. However it has very little hop taste, and seems more malt forward. I feel I did not use nearly enough hops and the lack of a late addition didnt help much. I was aiming for a pale ale but given my ingredients it seems to malt forward. Can this even be considered a pale?:

11 lbs pale two row
1 lb honey malt
1 lb crystal 40L

1 oz mosaic @60 min
1 oz amarillo @30 min
1 oz citra @dry hop for 5 days

Fermented @approx 65 for 17 days

Bottle conditioned for 7 days and chilled in fridge for 3 days. Tried it out (I plan on letting rest condition for one more week)

So does this even qualify as a pale or is it something else?

 

[Harrier]

Looks like a pale to me. What temp did you mash at? I usually shoot for 150 for a pale ale.


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[JakeSparrow]

160 before the grains were added so I'd think 150 would be accurate

 

[CastleHollow]

Those are the makings of a pale ale, but the honey malt is probably overpowering the perceived balance. Sounds like it might be more of an amber ale.

 

[prpromin]

Agree with CastleHollow on the honey malt covering some of the bitterness.

Did you use a neutral yeast like S-05 or 1056? What was you FG reading? Those answers can help you determine where some of the flavors are coming from.

 

[unionrdr]

The 30 minute hop addition would be some 50% bittering. move it to something like 12-15 minutes left in the boil for more flavor. With a pound of crystal malt & a pound of honey malt,there's a lot of malty sweetness there. Maybe cyt those to half a pound each.

 

[JakeSparrow]

Yes it actually has a very honey like taste, which isn't bad of course. I used a neutral yeast, BRY-97. Of course I'm not jumping to conclusions here, I'm sure ill get more hop character when they've aged another week at least. I'd definitely cut back on the crystal and honey next time by half, and just add another pound of 2 row. I'd definitely increase the hops by at least 2x.

 

[JakeSparrow]

Oh and I haven't picked up a hydrometer yet it's on my to buy list though for next time

 

[Calder]

It is the honey malt that is making it taste sweet. Personally, I don't like it at all; I've tried it a couple of times, but even in small amounts it is too cloying for me.

For a Pale Ale stick to 1 lb Specialty malt, mash about 150/152 (looks like you got it right and use a few (or more) ozs of hops in the last 15 minutes. I don't think your hops are going to come out any more.

 

[calvey]

American Brown(ish) ale maybe.

 

[chickypad]

You really need to get that hydrometer and figure out your efficiency. On my system that grainbill would be over 1.070 which is well into IPA range. That's also likely contributing to it being unbalanced. Unless your efficiency is down around 60% I think you want to drop not just the percentage of honey and crystal but also the entire grainbill if you're shooting for a pale ale.

 

[Math0]

It looks like a sweet pale ale to me! Maybe cut down on the honey and crystal to half each would be spot on.


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