Batch #4: Addington Pale Ale (APA)

#4: Addington Pale Ale

Thought I'd better update you all on the beer front (super important stuff, I know). Here's some pics of #4—the Addington Pale Ale—and its 'metadata'...

Batch #4: Addington Pale Ale (APA)

Method: Kit + Enhancer + Hops
Ingredients: Muntons Traditional Bitter Kit (35-45 EBU, 27-33 EBC), Copper Tun English Bitter Enhancer, NZ Cascade Hops & Golding Hops (2.0oz + 0.5oz pellets each as a tea), NZ Cascade Hops (1oz pellets, dry hopped)
Original Gravity: 1040
Final Gravity: 1020
ABV: 3.5%
Bottles: Glass (500ml, 330ml).
Bottled: 04-05-2012

Same process as #3, but with different hops. Funny, even though I added more hops it seems less hoppy when drinking it? Maybe it's just the hop variety? Or mix of hops? Anyway, it's 5 weeks old now, has a nice colour and head and is tasting like a well balanced, slightly (but not too) bitter beer with a nice aroma and Cascade flavour. It's definitely less 'tangy' than #3—whether that's to do with temp control or not is anyone's guess (I kept it lower this time, at 18C-20C). The fermentables were the same, although I want to try Coopers Enhancer #2 next time round, as it's got more malt extract than dextrose (the Copper Tun is mainly dextrose, from what I've read online).

As you can see the lacing is great, and retains head all the way down—yay!

Batch #5 is a Muntons Wheat Beer kit my neighbour threw in the fermenter a month back, and then the next brew I want to try is the Coopers Brewmaster Pilsner with Enhancer #2, just to see what difference the malt extract ratio will make. Might also use a different yeast to reach the target gravity. After that, who knows? Maybe some extract brews!