Maine Peeper Pale Ale

Maine Beer Company

Here is a homebrew-scale recipe for the beer that got it all started for Maine Beer Company in 2009. Cofounders Dan and David Kleban brewed Peeper—over and over—on a one-barrel system until they were happy with the results. It’s a superb example of a modern, brightly aromatic American pale ale.

ALL-GRAIN

Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)

Brewhouse efficiency: 72% OG: 1.047

FG: 1.006

IBUS: 32

ABV: 5.4%

MALT/GRAIN BILL

7.7 lb (3.5 kg) Briess Brewers 2-Row 8 oz (227 g) Briess Carapils

6 oz (170 g) Briess Vienna

6 oz (170 g) Briess Red Wheat Malt

HOPS & ADDITIONS SCHEDULE

0.2 oz (6 g) Magnum [14% AA] at 60 minutes 1 Whirlfloc tablet at 15 minutes

0.1 oz (3 g) Amarillo [8.3% AA] at 10 minutes 0.1 oz (3 g) Cascade [6.3% AA] at 10 minutes 0.1 oz (3 g) Centennial [10.6% AA] at 10 minutes

0.55 oz (16 g) Amarillo [8.3% AA] at whirlpool 0.55 oz (16 g) Cascade [6.3% AA] at whirlpool 0.55 oz (16 g) Centennial [10.6%] at whirlpool 1.4 oz (40 g) Amarillo, dry hop on Day 7

1.4 oz (40 g) Centennial, dry hop on Day 7

YEAST

Wyeast 1056 American Ale

DIRECTIONS

Mill the grains and mash at 150°F (66°C) for 60 minutes. Vorlauf until the runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle. Sparge and top up as necessary to obtain 6 gallons (23 liters) of wort—or more, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops and Whirlfloc according to the schedule. After the boil, chill the wort to slightly below fermentation temperature, about 66°F (19°C). Aerate the wort and pitch the yeast. Ferment at 68°F (20°C), adding the dry hops after 1 week. After 5 days on the hops, rack into secondary, or cold crash and package.