Of all the holidays, Valentine’s Day has to be the most polarizing; people seem to either love it or hate it. It’s easy to see why this is the case as this can be a very stressful time of year. Football season has just ended, tax season is just starting, and those who find themselves without a special someone are forced to watch all the happy couples galavant around town sporting flowers, teddy bears, or anything sold by Hallmark.
It doesn’t seem right that those fat cats at Hallmark stuff their pockets with cash while some people wallow in Valentine’s Day solitude, so Hapa’s Brewing proposes that we celebrate something we can all agree on: beer. To kick off the new FeBREWary tradition we brewed up a classic American Pale Ale.
The grain bill for this batch was a basic as it gets including only 2-row base malt and crystal 60. A multi-rest mashing schedule was used with a hot water infusion added to achieve the second rest temperature.
The grain bill: 2-row and Crystal 60 Doughing-in
After a half an hour at each rest, the wort was recirculated and siphoned into the boil kettle. Hops used for this batch included Northern Brewer and the classic American Pale Ale varietal: Cascade. The hour long boil included three hop additions at the beginning of the boil, 30 minutes, and 45 minutes. At 39 IBUs this pale ale will be nicely hopped, but will not be a hop bomb like some IPAs (we’ll save that for a future brew).
Lautering Hop additions: Northern Brewer and cascade
After an hour in the boil and being quickly cooled to a microbe-friendly temperature, an American Ale yeast was pitched. Active fermentation is currently in full swing and will be monitored closely. Looking forward to giving this beer a taste in a few weeks!
