Black Forest Pale Belgian Pale Ale

ALL-GRAIN

Batch size: 5 gallons (19 l) Brewhouse efficiency: 72% OG: 1.060 FG: 1.015 IBUS: 25 ABV: 6%

MALT/GRAIN BILL

6 lb (2.7 kg) Pilsner malt 6 lb (2.7 kg) Munich malt 4 oz (113 g) British Dark Crystal malt (85L, or

Crystal 80) 4 oz (113 g) Biscuit malt 4 oz (113 g) Caramunich malt

HOPS SCHEDULE

YEAST

0.5 oz (28 g) [14% AA] Glacier at 30 minutes 0.5 oz (28 g) [4% AA] Fuggles at 30 minutes

Wyeast 3522 (Belgian Ardennes) or White Labs WLP550 Belgian Ale

DIRECTIONS

Mill the grains and mix with 4 gallons (15.4 l) of 163°F (73°C) strike water to reach a mash temperature of 152°F (67°C). Hold this temperature for 60 minutes. Vorlauf until your runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle. Sparge the grains with 3.2 gallons (12 l) and top up as necessary to obtain 6 gallons (23 l) of wort. Boil for 60 minutes, following the hops schedule.

After the boil, chill the wort to slightly below fermentation temperature, about 67°F (20°C). Aerate the wort with pure oxygen or filtered air and pitch the yeast.

Ferment at 68°F (20°C) until the completion of primary fermentation, then allow temperature to rise at will. Crash the beer to 35°F (2°C), then bottle or keg the beer and carbonate to approximately 2.5 volumes.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS

If you like a bit more hoppy character in your Belgian pale ales, reserve a small portion of your hops (a few grams of each) and toss them in at flame-out. It will add just a touch of dark fruit and earth in the nose, which accentuates the light citrus esters from the yeast and the biscuit from the malts!