Al's Pale Ale

Category Pale Ale
Recipe Type Extract
Fermentables
3 lbs Laaglander light dry malt extract
.5 lbs crushed crystal malt (40 L.)
5--1/2 oz Laaglander light dry extract (priming)

Hops
1 oz Clusters pellets (60 minute boil)
.5 oz Fuggles pellets (15 minute boil)
1 oz Goldings, Fuggles, Cascade, or Willamette whole hops

Other
1/3 oz Burton water salts
5--1/2 Gal water

Yeast Wyeast #1028 "London Ale" yeast
Procedure Steep the crushed crystal malt in a grain bag in the water as you bring it from cold to 170F, then remove. Don't boil the grains! I use two polyester hop bags, one for each addition, to simplify removing the hops after the boil. The wort must be cooled to 70 or 80F before aeration.

I use an immersion chiller, which brings it from 212F to 70F in 15 minutes, and then pour the beer through a large funnel into the fermenter on top of the yeast. I recommend the blowoff method of fermentation---non-blowoff versions of this beer have tasted harsh, astringent and too bitter.

Primary fermentation: 3 weeks in glass at 66F. Dryhops added directly into fermenter (no hop bag) after kraeusen falls (about 4-6 days). No secondary. Boil the priming extract in 16 ounces of water for 15 minutes to sanitize.