Orange Pale Ale

What a delicious beer, and its not even fully aged yet. April 27, a few of us (Rich, Dawn, Jill, Lenny, and myself) brewed an orange pale ale. This was the third batch on the new system. The wheat beer and the cream ale missed their target temps, resulting in uncoverted sugars. This in turn leaves the beer tasting very sweet and having a low alcohol content. Bad news is that I dumped the beers down the drain. The good news is that these 2 beers only cost $15 each to produce, so I didnt lose out too badly. I also learned a lot from these 2 mistakes which has no monetary value to it.

3rd times a charm, right?

It sure is. This recipe was loaded with ingredients, and costly. There was no room for error. Here's the breakdown.

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: Safale-04
Yeast Starter: Yes
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter: No
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.5
Original Gravity: 1.054
Final Gravity: 1.013
IBU: 34
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 9.0L
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 10 @ 60-ish
Additional Fermentation: n/a
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14 @ 60-ish
Tasting Notes: Orange/coriander low in the profile, compliment fruitiness from Cascades.


Size: 5.5 gal
Efficiency: 68.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 178.22 per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.054 (1.045 - 1.060)
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Terminal Gravity: 1.013 (1.010 - 1.015)
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Color: 6.0 (5.0 - 14.0)
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Alcohol: 5.27% (4.5% - 6.0%)
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Bitterness: 33.78 (30.0 - 45.0)
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Ingredients:
9 lbs Maris Otter
1 lbs Vienna Malt
1 lbs Crystal Malt 10°L
1 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added first wort, boiled 60 min
1 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
1 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 5 min
1 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 1 min
2 ea Fermentis S-04 Safale S-04
2.0 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added dry to secondary fermenter
2.0 oz Orange zest - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
1 oz Coriander crushed - added during boil, boiled 10 min
Whirlfloc - added during boil, boiled 15 min

I mashed this beer at 155F and sparged at 170F. I nailed these numbers to the money. There were a few differences however. I was supposed to end up with 5.5 gallons of brew, but my evaporation rate is higher than my calculated 14% per hour. After an hour of boiling i ended with roughly 5 gallons beer. Thus, my Orignal Gravity was 1.064. This created a few key differences in the beer versus the recipe.

1.) More alcohol - 6% versus 4.75% (that's good with me)
2.) More potency in orange flavor and hop flavor than intended (not a bad thing either, just not as balanced as original recipe)
3.) Less beer than intended (not a good thing. I like to maximize my ROI on ingredients)

I fermented for 10 days at 68F and with the yeast starter it was off to a ferocious start, bubbling like an active volcano. After 10 days in the primary fermenter, I transferred it to my secondary fermenter and added additional hops (dry hopping) and fermented for another 10 days. The final gravity of the beer was 1.014, a 6% beer.
I then transferred it to my keg and it has been there ever since May 13.

I drank a beer last night and it was orangey and hoppy, however not fully carbonated or aged. It will beome drier and crisper in just a few weeks. Can't wait to enjoy it. I'll have you over.

Cheers!