Hoppy Pale Ale - Recipie and Tasting

Hoppy Pale Ale - 3 Gallons

OG - 1.063
IBU - 80
SRM - 6
ABV - 6.6%

7.25lbs of 2-row malted barley
0.25lbs of munich malt
0.25lbs of victory malt
0.25lbs of Cara Pils
1oz cascade at first wort
0.3oz citra at 60min
0.5oz simcoe, 0.5oz centennial, and 0.3oz citra at 5min
0.5oz simcoe, 0.5oz centennial, and 0.3 citra for the dry hop
US-05 yeast


With this beer, I was trying to brew an IPA that would have a TON of aroma, light on the bitterness, and none of the residual sweetness you find in "hop candy" IPAs.  My used a bit too much sparge water on brew day and my 6.6% IPA turned into a 5% pale ale. I also removed the first wort hops after the 30min sparge (they didn't make it to the boil) so my beer was probably much less than the 80IBUs that BeerSmith calculated.  However, the results were still enjoyable.

This Pale Ale is pretty dry due to the lack of crystal malt in the recipe.  However, the citra hops and the BIG aroma lend a subtle sweetness to the beer.  The head is pretty much nonexistent, but there is a fair amount of carbonation.  For some reason, I can taste the US-05 in there. Maybe it is the lack of bitterness, the lack of malt backbone, or maybe my fermentation temperature was just a bit too high.  

So, my second hoppy beer attempt did not go 100% as planned, but still a noble effort.  I had much better results this time, and I know #3 (whatever it is, Bell's Two Hearted clone?) will be even better!