Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

I decided my next brew would be an American Pale Ale (APA). Since the definitive APA is the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, I decided that would be the one to try and emulate. I found a recipe online to guide me. Once again it was an extract recipe using a few specialty grains.


Type: Extract
Date: 4/18/2007
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Brewer: Joshua
Boil Size: 6.50 gal
Boil Time: 60 min
Equipment: Brew Pot (12 Gal)

5.50 lb Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)
0.50 oz Magnum [14.00%] (60 min)
0.50 oz Pearle [8.00%] (30 min)
0.80 oz Cascade [5.50%] (10 min)
2.00 oz Cascade [5.50%] (0 min)
1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001)

Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.049 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.054 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.011 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.9 %
Bitterness: 44.8 IBU
Calories: 43 cal/pint
Est Color: 9.7 SRM


This recipe makes use of a large amount of Cascade hops for aroma and flavor, while using Magnum and Perle to give the bulk of the bitterness.

I wasn't able to find Extra Light Dry Malt Extract (DME) here in Reno, so I had to make do with Light DME. I bought 6 lbs of Light DME at Reno Homebrewer. It shouldn't affect the flavor too much, but the beer will be considerably darker than I really wanted. I really should have used some clarifiers in this as it is such a light colored beer, but I didn't have any on hand. I can deal with hazy beer, I think.

This was the first beer that I did outside on my Bayou Classic patio burner. This thing puts out 155,000 BTUs and heats 7 gallons of water to a rolling boil in about 30-35 minutes. Took a fair amount of fiddling to get the air mixture right, but once I had it set I had a nice ring of blue flame.

Once boiling, I dumped in all 6 lbs of DME. It wasn't until after I was all done that I remembered I should have only put in 5.5 lbs. Oops. That will affect the Original Gravity (OG) that I was shooting for. Recipe estimated 1.049, punching a couple numbers into BeerSmith and I get 1.053 for 6lbs of DME. That will darken the beer some and give it more body, but should still turn out OK.

The boil was mostly uneventful. Added my hops at the appropriate times, at 20 mins I threw the immersion chiller in to sanitize it. I was able to cool the wort from boiling to 70° in about 30 minutes. It's nice to have good cold tap water here.

Once cooled I put it in my 6 gallon carboy. After boil-off I ended up with a hair over 5 gallons. Perfect. I took my hydrometer reading and came up with 1.054, adjusted for temperature. This is where I realized my mistake with the DME as I was expecting 1.049.

I threw in a yeast starter that I had made earlier in the week and by morning I was greeted with this lovely sight. Nice thick head of krausen on it, sitting at a perfect 65°.

The cats are particularly enjoying the beer making. They sit on the side of the tub and watch the bubbles in the airlock. Keeps them entertained for hours.

At the end of the day, as I was cleaning up, the wind picked up and blew my test vial and hydrometer off the table. Snapped the hydrometer in half. I guess I need a new one now.