English Pale Ale

Photo by: Islandet

Original Gravity: 1.045         IBU: 25

Ingredients:

6.6# (2 cans) Light Liquid Malt Extract (LME)

1# Crushed Crystal Malt

1 oz. UK Kent Goldings Hop Pellets 5.5%AA (bittering)

1 oz. UK Kent Goldings Hop Pellets 5.5%AA (aroma)

1 Whrlfloc Tablet (Irish Moss)

11.5 gm. S-04 Dry Ale Yeast (Whitbread Strain)

Muslin Grain Bag

Procedure:

Begin by soaking the cans of LME in a bowl or pot of warm water to make it easier to get out of the can later.

Fill your brewpot (preferably a 20qt. stainless stock pot) with two gallons of cold water.

Place the crushed grains in the muslin grain bag and secure with a knot at the top.  Place the bag into the brewpot and begin heating the water.  When the water reaches a temperature of 170F remove the bag and discard.  Continue heating the water until it reaches a boil.  When the water is boiling, remove the pot from the heat and slowly add the LME and the DME stirring constantly to avoid scorching.  When thoroughly mixed return the brewpot to the heat and return to a boil.  BEWARE OF THE BOILOVER!  When the mixture first boils it may produce a heavy foam.  Watch for the foam to rise, and when it does, turn off the flame until the foam subsides (if using an electric stove, it may be necessary to lift the brewpot off of the burner).  After the foam has risen once, it will generally lessen, and it’s safe to return to a steady boil without foaming over.  However, sometimes foaming may occur again.  If so, simply repeat this procedure until foaming finally stops.  After you have achieved a steady boil, add the bittering hops and continue boiling.  After boiling for 45 minutes add the Whirfloc Tablet.  After boiling for 60 minutes remove the brewpot from the heat, add the aroma hops, and cover.

While the wort is cooling, fill your sanitized fermenter with 3 gallons of cold water.  Then proof your yeast by filling a sanitized measuring cup with about a cup of warm (about 80F) water, sprinkle the yeast into the water, mix with a sanitized spoon, and cover with a piece of foil.  In about fifteen minutes you should see some foaming and smell a “bready” aroma.  If you don’t, try it again with your spare packet of yeast (all good brewers keep spare yeast at the ready in the fridge), but 99% of the time it works just fine.

When the wort has cooled to under 100F, add it to the cold water in the fermenter (splashing is ok and even recommended to aerate the wort at this stage).  Try to leave as much of the sediment on the bottom of the brewpot as you can.  Take the temperature of the wort in your fermenter.  It should be below 75F.  Remove a sample to measure the Original Gravity with your hydrometer (do not return the sample to the fermenter when finished).  Then add the yeast and seal your fermenter with an airlock (bucket) or blow-off hose (carboy) and place in a spot where the temperature stays between 65F and 70F. Within the next 24 hours fermentation should start.

Source: Cape Cod Beer