CS 9 - Močnik American Pale Ale

[DP]

Močnik American Pale Ale - 07 April 2013

19L Batch

4.00 kg Thomas Fawcett Maris Otter
0.40 kg Pale Crystal
0.25 kg German Wheat Malt

2 tsp Calcium Sulphate
1 tsp Calcium Carbonate

Mash at 67 deg

15 g Pacific Jade (13%) @ 60 min
15 g Citra (12%) @ 20 min
15 g Simcoe (13%) @ 20 min
0.8 g Koppafloc @ 10 min
2 tsp Wyeast Yeast Nutrient @ 10 min
15 g Citra (12%) @ 0 min
15 g Simcoe (13%) @ 0 min

40 g Citra (12%) @ Dry hop 4 days
40 g Simcoe (13%) @ Dry hop 4 days

WYeast 1056 4th generation
Start at 18deg until full krausen (about 24 hours) and bump it up to 23deg for about 1.5 weeks. 
Transfer to secondary and dry hop + cold condition for 4 days. Further 2 weeks cold conditioning in keg.

OG 1.050
FG 1.008

Ready to drink any time. Bottled from keg so no lees to worry about. People are reporting the bottles are a bit undercarbonated so if you've not tasted yours yet perhaps pour from a great height and pretend it's on a hand pump.

[mattd2]

Second beer out of the gate for me, tried this one with the Father-in-law. I was a bit anxious with this one as the bottle seemed to be soft when compared to what I remember of bottling in PET bottles, but as soon as I cracked the top I knew this was going to be good.

Appearance: Very low carbonation (the cap felt like it didn’t fit properly?) and this lead to no head. A nice amber colour, hazy (chill haze? – as it went away as the beer warmed up)

Aroma: Awesomely huge peach aroma – I could smell it as soon as I opened the bottle.

Flavour: A good hop bitterness, with enough malt to back it up. A complete U-turn from the aroma with a good pine needle/resiny(?) flavour.

Mouthfeel: Crisp leaving a nice hop bitterness tingle.

Overall: Really enjoyed this, blew away the other pale ale I had over the weekend from a commercial brewpub! This was a beautiful way to finish up the long weekend.

Father-in-laws comments: “I’d happily pay to drink more”

Cheers!

[Matt Smith]

Drinking this while cleaning up after brewing an ESB. Great way to finish the brewday! I thought I better stop and give some quick feedback before I leave it too late and forget.

Really nice hop flavour and aroma on this, I like the way you have kept it on the low side in the boil and loaded up on the dry hop, it brings out lots of great hop aroma, with plenty of flavour still there, and a low bitterness which gives it great drinkability (I'm getting through my bottle pretty quick). Well fermented, its nice and clean. If I was to change anything for personal preference, it would be to aim for a slightly higher finishing gravity for a little more body, maybe around 1.010 or 1.011.

Thanks Damian, great beer, now I get to finish the rest of the bottle whilst cleaning up the bomb site I manage to create every time I brew

[paul m]

I think if i made this beer i'd be really proud! Just had  a hard out fishing session and grabbed yer APA whilst eating spag bol. APA is not my go to beer style but I really liked this beer. Subtle and more muted than other APAs I've drank before and disliked which were too full on. This is very drinkable beer. You've put my faith back into APAs ! I just googled Mocnik- wikipedia says Slovenian porridge- is this is reference to the wheat malt. I'd concur with Mattd2 comments re carbonation. My bottles carbonation was  a wee low. But hey it was a real stand out beer. I'd like to try the recipe. What the yeast and fermentation story? 

[DP]

Hi Paul and thanks for providing feedback (same to both the Matts above! I'm not ignoring your comments; just not wanting to get in the way of the feedback process).

Re the name Močnik: I'm working my way through an alphabetical list of philosophers for beer names and just happen to be up to Rastko Močnik. He sounds like a bit of a dick but, hey, only four more beers until Friedrich Nietzsche which might have to be a badass Barleywine.

I've added the yeast and fermentation details. Thanks for pointing that out; I always say that's the most important part!

[Tom C]

Appearance Clear golden/amber, Small white head dissipates quickly

 

Aroma Beautiful hop burst – tropical fruit/spicy, slightly sweaty with resiny notes, Biscuit/grainy malt

 

Flavour Light honey/caramel malt, Full hop flavour, Balanced bitterness – enough to keep you drinking more, Long piney hop finish

 

Mouthfeel Under-carbonated, Nicely dry, Medium bodied, Slightly slick/oily hop feel

 

Overall Under-carbonated but very drinkable, Simple malt is great background for hop delivery (nice burps!), Lack of carbonation makes me think about this one on handpump…

[Luke Davey]

Appearance: slight cloudyness, golden colour, fine white head, minimal seddiment. 

Nose: Nice distinct hop aroma with a faint sweet malty aroma.

Taste: Light maltyness, powerful hop hit, followed by a faint bitterness that lingers

Mouth Feel: Nice smooth ballanced malt to hop. Carbonation was good.

Overall: seemed a bit under-carbonated in the bottle, but held a decent head and carbonation tasted spot on. A very nice beer.

[Dan]

Appearance Orange/amber colour. Slight chill haze -but clear when warmed. Low carb - no head.

 

Aroma Hop spice, orange, citrus, malt - great on the nose.

 

Flavour Big bitterness - balanced malt. Nice piney/citrus hop bursting flavour.

 

Mouthfeel A little under carbed, but still had a nice medium body to it. Dry finish. 

 

Overall I really enjoyed this beer. I like the simplicity of the malt bill too - it lets the hops really shine. I think I'll be "borrowing" this recipe.

Cheers for a lovely beer!

[Adam Barnes]

Appearance – Light amber, hazy, carbonation looks good, small white head on top.

Aroma – Nice hit of citrus. Faint peach aroma.

Flavour – Citrus coming through. Getting more hops over the malt. Not much malt, but a slight sweetness. Bitterness is there on the finish, but could have done with some more for my tastes.

Mouthfeel – Medium body, suits the beer well. Lacking carbonation.

Overall – Everything just needs to be a bit punchier, more carbonation, and more bitterness. A very nice beer though and I’m going to enjoy drinking this one.

[Stu H]

Hi Damian,

What a bloody fantastic recipe! I've definitely going to try the Citra/Simcoe combination - I think you're onto a winner. This was a real standout for me, just beautiful. Thanks! The beer was really well brewed, and looked great in the glass.

S

[Tilt]

Hazy gold in the glass with a thin white head this one has a great big aroma presence. I smell intense mandarin, mango, a touch of passion fruit and a hint of fir tree volatility to sharpen it all.  First taste is soft tangerine citrus with a mellow, balanced bitterness and quite a light mouthfeel backed up by a slightly grainy honey maltiness.  The finish is crisp with a lingering bitterness. Nicely balanced, no flaws that I can pick up. If I was to suggest anything it might be to bump up the mash temp a smidge to boost the mouth feel.  Beaut beer, thanks Damian.