Terry Foster's "Pale Ale"

[Monk]

Hi guys,

I got this book ("Pale Ale") and have been enjoying it immensely. I know others on HBT have read it, because I found out about it through a thread I read a few months back. My question is, has anyone tried his recipes? They're very tempting because they're so simple. I mean, this guy is a total authority on pale ale, bitters, IPAs, etc. So I figure the recipes rock...but they're so simple! If anyone has tried one or knows someone who has, let me know how it turned out, please.
Thanks in advance, fellows.

monk

 

[Monk]

Well, I tried a version of one of Terry's recipes today. An ordinary bitter with just half a pound of 60L crystal and EKGoldings for bitter and flavor/aroma. I hope it turns out well. Still, let me know if anyone has experience with these recipes. Thanks in advance...

monk

 

[gruntingfrog]

The IPA that I just made (and is almost all gone) was super simple and my friends and wife agree that it's great.

It has only been ready for about 2 weeks, and it's almost all gone with friends wanting one or two, wait maybe just one more... ok, two more.

I don't mind though. It makes me feel good to share with friends. It's part of the reason I do this.

 

[Monk]

Yeah, I guess it's easy to think complicated = good in the homebrew realm. You're the second person I've heard say that they have a super simple/super tasty IPA recipe. I guess pale ale and bitters needn't be crazy complicated. What's your recipe, by the way?

monk

 

[Blender]

I don't think good beer has to be complicated, especially pale ales. My next IPA is just basic 2 row malt and Crystal malt. I have not seen his book nor recipes but I would guess that if those are the types of beers that you prefer then I would brew them.

 

[gruntingfrog]

Here's the very simple extract only IPA recipe I just brewed.

--------------------------------------------------
3 Gallon boil - topped off to 5.5 gallons in primary

8.00 lbs. Light LME

1.75 oz. Northern Brewer @ 11.2 AAU - 60 min.
0.50 oz. Spalt @ 8.0 AAU - 60 min.
0.50 oz. Perle @7.7 AAU - 15 min.

1/2 TBSP Maltodextrine

White Labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast
---------------------------------------------------

That's it. Next time I'll do some steeped grains or something, but that was all this time and it turned out GREAT. I just needed something I could throw together with what I had on hand.

 

[Monk]

I have not seen his book nor recipes...

Here's an example:

Bull's Eye Bitter

6 lb. pale LME
1 lb. pale DME

.5 lb 120L Crystal

1.1 oz Target hops for bittering
.5 oz Saaz hops for finishing

Thames Valley Yeast strain*

*Foster, Terry; "Pale Ale", Brewers Publications, 1999.

This recipe sounds great to me. The only thing that gave me pause was the small amount of specialty grains. Most hb recipes I've seen include the great part of a pound or more...but maybe that's overkill? Only about 2 out of 15 recipes features more than a half pound of specialty grains. This seems peculiar, but on the other hand, rings true with some of my experiences. I made an APA with about 14 ounces of crystal (10 and 60 lovibond) and it was overly sweet. ? So maybe I've been OD'ing on crystal!
Anyway...that's another reason to love homebrewing: the constant tweaking to find that perfect recipe.

Cheers

monk

 

[Monk]

Gfrog: thanks for the recipe. Looks good. Believe it or not, I've still yet to make an IPA. Does 1/2 tblspoon of maltodextrine do it for you?

 

[gruntingfrog]

I wanted this beer to have a lighter mouthfeel so I used less maltodextrine than normal.