Let's brew some Pale Ale!!

"He was a wise man who invented beer". Plato

December just started and so, your calendar starts to fill up with parties, family meetings, dinners with friends... there is no single weekend with nothing to do!!!. Soon, the end of year celebrations will begin, which means that we will have to bear with "El Chinamo" in channel 7 and enjoy the bullfights (yes, I have to admit it, I do enjoy watching them).
All this scenario makes you think on the right choice of beer to brew, you need something you can enjoy at any moment, something smooth, that you can drink all night (or day) so.... how about a Pale Ale? yes, that seems to be the answer!!!
What should we expect from an American Pale Ale?
Aroma: Usually moderate to strong hop aroma from dry hopping or late kettle additions of American hop varieties. A citrusy hop character is very common, but not required. Low to moderate maltiness supports the hop presentation, and may optionally show small amounts of specialty malt character (bready, toasty, biscuity). Fruity esters vary from moderate to none. No diacetyl. Dry hopping (if used) may add grassy notes, although this character should not be excessive.
Appearance: Pale golden to deep amber. Moderately large white to off-white head with good retention. Generally quite clear, although dry-hopped versions may be slightly hazy.
Flavor: Usually a moderate to high hop flavor, often showing a citrusy American hop character (although other hop varieties may be used). Low to moderately high clean malt character supports the hop presentation, and may optionally show small amounts of specialty malt character (bready, toasty, biscuity). The balance is typically towards the late hops and bitterness, but the malt presence can be substantial. Caramel flavors are usually restrained or absent. Fruity esters can be moderate to none. Moderate to high hop bitterness with a medium to dry finish. Hop flavor and bitterness often lingers into the finish. No diacetyl. Dry hopping (if used) may add grassy notes, although this character should not be excessive.
Mouthfeel: Medium-light to medium body. Carbonation moderate to high. Overall smooth finish without astringency often associated with high hopping rates.
Overall Impression: Refreshing and hoppy, yet with sufficient supporting malt.
So, having this in mind Dos Amigos HomeBrewing, has taken the decision to brew a simple, yet delicious American Pale Ale.

Here is the high level of our recipe:

6kg of  Pale Malt
500gr of Crystal 30
1/2 oz of Chinnok @60min
1oz of Cascade @20min
1oz of Cascade @10min
1 wirlfloc tablet @10min

Here is the latest innovation from Dos Amigos HomeBrewing, we've modified our simple mill so that we can use a regular hand drill, this simple modification has help us to reduce... the pain of hand-grinding the grain bill :-)

 As you can see, it works really good!!!

 Mashing it @68C, the temperature keep constant during the 60min of the process

 Whirlpool, the smell we get is amazing, the sugars has converted perfectly and the taste of it is really sweet with lots of malt flavor!!

 We start collecting the wort and the sparge process, we fly sparge the mash-tun with ~4gal of water

 After 2 weeks of fermenting this is the final result, we got a really nice color, the hop smell was really perceived during the bottle process, thanks to the Chinnok added at the beginning of the boil, we are expecting to have a relatively high IBU (for Costa Rica standard) ~30IBU.

 We hope to taste it in a couple of weeks, when it finishes it conditioning process, we will get back to you with our review soon!!!

Keep on brewing!!!