Came in a little hot on a pale ale.....thoughts?

[fendersrule]

Brew day just ended.

I have no doubt I made a wonderful beer, but I came in a bit hot for a pale ale.

I was planning on hitting 6.2%, but I was .7 gallons too short for my double batch (10 gallosn) which jacked my ABV up to 6.9%. Calculated out to be 71-72%ish efficiency, which is pretty consistent to what I usually get.

What's everyone's thoughts about drinking an Orange Peel Citra Pale ale @ 6.9% w/ 37 IBU? I'm sure it would be judged harshly for not meeting the ABV of a pale ale...but...

Dale's Pale Ale doesn't meet the 6.2% limit either either and it's a great Pale Ale.....nearly an IPA though because it has >60 IBU.

I'm very safely assuming that I'll knock in ATLEAST at 6.9% due to my experience with US-05. It's highly possible I will probably be at 7.1%.

 

[Lefou]

If you're not set on putting a sample up for judging in a BJCP competition you don't have to worry.
A little extra efficiency and ABV isn't a fault and it should age well. Matter of fact, if you can set some aside and see how it tastes later.

 

[fendersrule]

I guess I shouldn't be too hard on myself. If I was cloning something I'd be pissed, but because it's my own recipe, it may turn out to be a very "happy" mistake.

It's defiantly in the blurry zone of an IPA and a Pale Ale.

At least I can say that now I have my boiling volume for a double batch nailed at this point!

 

[brewbama]

I’ve found most commercial beers don’t meet specs. If ~7% is to stiff you could brew a session strength version and have the option to have either one or the other or blend them at the tap for a mid strength beer. English Pubs blended at the tap for Three Threads until brewers began to brew the un-blended version: Porter

 

[bracconiere]

call it, 'ice'!

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

IMO, enjoy your brew, review your notes, tweak for next time and don't worry.

 

[bracconiere]

IMO, enjoy your brew, review your notes, tweak for next time and don't worry.

+1, i'm seeing 6.2%, 6.9%, 7.1%...big deal, if you're worried about brewing to a style get some gluco, knock it up to 8.5%, maybe 9+! call it Brüt!

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

The numbers are all hypothetical based on malt statistics (inconsistent from bag to bag), equipment profile, etc. Don't sweat it. Did you make good beer? If so, job well done.

Of course, there are always caveats. For example, no one wants to make a 11% ABV "bomb" when attempting to brew a session beer. However, for the most part, a few tenths of a percentage over or under is attributed to the already mentioned factors.

 

[bracconiere]

I have no doubt I made a wonderful beer,

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Then, kudos. Keep the notes. Perhaps brew again, taste and compare to this brew. What's different? What's better? What's worse? Tweak.

 

[snarf7]

For an American style pale ale, I tend to go lighter on everything...lightly hopped, lower ABV, no crystal malts or fancy specialty malts. I find it's a style that benefits more from subtlety than say an IPA where you're free to explore the whole gamut. That all said, it sounds like it will be a good beer, I have a citrus pils on tap now that I brewed up just for the hot days of summer and it goes down really nice (it's only 5.1% tho)

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

For an American style pale ale, I tend to go lighter on everything...lightly hopped, lower ABV, no crystal malts or fancy specialty malts. I find it's a style that benefits more from subtlety than say an IPA where you're free to explore the whole gamut. That all said, it sounds like it will be a good beer, I have a citrus pils on tap now that I brewed up just for the hot days of summer and it goes down really nice (it's only 5.1% tho)

All sound good. IMO, a nice lower alcohol beer (session beer?) is perfect for the summer. Doesn't fill me up or make me want to slow down.

 

[snarf7]

All sound good. IMO, a nice lower alcohol beer (session beer?) is perfect for the summer. Doesn't fill me up or make me want to slow down.

Yep, exactly. Plus you have lots of friends and family visiting so you're doing more entertaining and there's always a good chunk of people who are in the "i don't like craft beer" camp (aka crazy people) so they're not going to want to drink a DIPA or anything like that, this provides a little twist on something they're familiar with.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Yep, exactly. Plus you have lots of friends and family visiting so you're doing more entertaining and there's always a good chunk of people who are in the "i don't like craft beer" camp (aka crazy people) so they're not going to want to drink a DIPA or anything like that, this provides a little twist on something they're familiar with.

Yes, true. I've had relatives say to me "Is your beer strong? I've heard homemade beer is strong.". I reply, "What is meant by strong? Flavor? Alcohol?". I get a blank stare in return. I guess they are just repeating, without knowing, what they've heard or been told. Unfortunately, the just repeating without knowing, applies to lots of things now days.

 

[brewbama]

I’ve heard a guy say he doesn’t like dark beers because they’re strong.

My answer: They’re only as strong as the brewer brews them.

 

[fendersrule]

I found a really good way to possibly keep Pales/IPAs tasting really clean.

What I used to do before is pitch at 68F with carboys set to other corner of room.

With lag time, the yeast starts taking hold beginning at a wort temp of 65F. Yeast activity easily bring up the max temp to 74-75F with no additional cooling. It's never a good idea I'm learning (and once the hard way) to skate on the edge of a range.

Now, I am focusing on fermentation temps. I built a platform over the A/C vent for both carboys. The temp under the bed sheet keeps at 58F nearly 24/7 because the AC is on nearly 24/7 in my climate zone.

I pitched today at noon when carboy temps were 63F. With lag time, the yeast should start picking up when the wort hits about 60F, therefor leaving my MAX possible peak temp at 70F. Hell, I would be surprised if it even goes to 70F at peak because it's going to stay in this "cooling" configuration until the activity does down. Would be interesting to see how hot it gets while sitting over a floor vent.

If I had to place a guess, I would say 66-68F max fermentation temp.

I'm hoping that this will produce a cleaner taste with US-05!

Not sure why I started only doing this recently. For porters/stouts I think you don't have to do so much, but for lighter colored beers that really need to taste clean, this should be a nice improvement in my process.

 

[isomerization]

I’ve heard a guy say he doesn’t like dark beers because they’re strong.

My answer: They’re only as strong as the brewer brews them.

A good Irish Stout has converted many “I don’t drink dark beers” people.