How to Brew American Pale Ale: Crafting the Quintessential American Hoppy Ale

American Pale Ale is closely related to the English Pale Ale. These two beers share the same history, with the American version becoming a separate style nearly forty years ago.

American pale ales are refreshing, pale in color, hoppy, yet with the right amount of malt to make the beer very balanced and extremely drinkable. 

The Pale Ale is Coming!

Anchor Brewing Company’s Liberty Ale was first brewed in 1975. It was and still is a 6% abv beer that commemorated Paul Revere’s midnight ride in 1775. This beer was seen by Michael Jackson as the first modern American ale.

Fritz Maytag, original owner of Anchor, visited breweries in London, Yorkshire, and Burton upon Trent. He gathered research on a robust pale ale across the pond. Maytag used just malt in his version instead of sugar as was usually used in England.

He also used the American hop, Cascade. By 1983, Liberty Ale became a regular beer in Anchor’s rotation. 

Pioneers of the American Craft Beer Movement

Jack McAuliffe of New Albion Brewing Company brewed his New Albion Ale in 1976. This beer was inspired by beers he had tasted in Scotland.

Like Liberty Ale, this beer was hopped with Cascade hops. Anyone talking about pale ale in America must include Ken Grossman’s significant contribution to the brewing world.

His Sierra Nevada Pale Ale was first brewed in November 1980 and was first distributed in March of 1981. 

Style Profile for American Pale Ale

Appearance

The color of an American Pale Ale should be straw-like pale golden to a deep amber. Beer should be very clear, unless it is dry hopped. Head should have good retention and be medium large with a white to off-white color.

Aroma

The aroma of moderate to strong American hops. Citrus is usually the case, but does not have to be. Fruity esters can be moderate to not at all.

The maltiness is there to support and balance out the hops. Biscuit, bready, and toasty aromas may be contributed from the malt. Beer should never contain any diacetyl. 

Flavor

Clean malt character which supports the rather high hop flavor. Hop character is often citrusy due to the popular American varieties of hops, but does not have to be.

Malt character is generous and usually gives off notes of bread, toast, and biscuit flavors. Caramel, if present at all, should be very low. Beer should never contain any diacetyl.

Mouthfeel

The mouthfeel is smooth with moderate to high carbonation and medium-light to medium body.  

Food Pairing

When it comes to pairing an American Pale Ale with food, the sky’s the limit. Lighter fare such as salads and chicken is a good way to start.

A hearty bowl of chili, cheddar cheese, seafood all make good pairings too 

Tips for Brewing your own American Pale Ale

Grain

The grist for an American Pale is usually some sort of American pale malt; usually domestic 2-Row.

Crystal malt is generally used and makes up 5 to 10% of the total grist. Usually a color rating of 40L is used. The darker the crystal malt the increased caramel flavors emerge.

Malts such as Munich or Vienna can be used to create more maltiness to the beer. Keep it below 10% of the total grist, otherwise, the grist will resemble too much a British bitter.

Biscuit malt can also be used, but keep it at half a pound for a five gallon batch. 

Hops

An American pale ale has a rather high bittering rate. The classic “C hops” Chinook, Cascade, Columbus, and Centennial are usually showcased in American pale ales. Honestly any hop would work here.

Playing around with combinations or isolating just one variety makes for a good beer and a learning process.

Just make sure the aroma and flavor of the hops do not clash when combining hops. A simple 60-minute addition is usually added.

Flavoring hops are added 10-15 minutes before the end of the boil. Aroma hops are usually added right before flame out and should be lower alpha acid varieties.

A good baseline of a hop schedule for an American pale ale includes:

• 1 oz for bittering 60 min
• .5 to 1 oz for flavoring 15-20 min
• .5 to 1 oz for aroma 1-2 min
• .75 to 2 oz dry hopped 2-7 days optional

Yeast

An American yeast strain that is clean, neutral, and well attenuating is probably best for an American pale ale.

The most popular yeast strain is the “chico” yeast strain made popular by Sierra Nevada.

White Labs California Ale WLP001, Wyeast American Ale 1056, or dried Safale US-05 are all great stains to consider. 

American Pale Ale the By the Numbers

• Color Range: 5 – 10 SRM
• Original Gravity: 1.045 – 1.160 OG
• Final Gravity: 1.010 – 1.015 FG
• IBU Range: 30 – 50
• ABV Range: 4.5 – 6.2%

American Pale Ale Recipe

Grain

• 87%          17 lbs        Maris Otter      
•   5 %           1 lb          Amber Malt     
•   5 %           1 lb          Crystal 45
•   3 %           8 oz         Cara-Pils

Hops

• 2 oz         Target – Boil 60 min

Yeast

• 1.0 pkg   London Ale Yeast Wyeast Labs #1028

Directions

• Mash at 152°F (66°C) for 60 mins
• Boil for 60 mins 

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Frequently Asked Questions

What sets the American Pale Ale apart from other ales, particularly in this recipe?

The American Pale Ale (APA) stands distinct due to its prominent hop flavor and aroma, which is a characteristic feature of this beer style.

The recipe provided elucidates a balanced approach between maltiness and hop bitterness, creating a refreshing and crisp American Pale Ale.

The utilization of specific American Pale Ale hops contributes to the unique citrus or floral aroma and flavor that is quintessential to this beer style.

How does the choice of hops influence the American Pale Ale recipe presented?

The choice of hops is crucial in achieving the desired taste and aroma in the American Pale Ale. This recipe recommends utilizing American Pale Ale hops known for their citrusy and often piney or floral notes, which is characteristic of the American Pale Ale.

The hops not only impart the requisite bitterness to balance the malt but also contribute to the aroma, making the choice of hops instrumental in crafting a true American Pale Ale.

What considerations should be kept in mind for selecting the best yeast for this Pale Ale recipe?

Selecting the best yeast is pivotal in achieving the desired fermentation characteristics for this Pale Ale recipe. It’s advisable to choose a yeast that complements the flavor profile of the American Pale Ale, typically a clean, well-attenuating, and neutral ale yeast.

The yeast should allow the hop character to shine through while providing a clean fermentation profile to ensure the resulting beer is crisp and refreshing.

In transitioning this American Pale Ale recipe to an all grain version, what modifications would be necessary?

Transitioning to an all grain version of this American Pale Ale recipe would necessitate replacing the malt extract with malted grains.

This entails mashing the grains to extract the sugars, which is a step up in complexity from using malt extract. It’s imperative to have a good understanding of the mashing process to ensure the correct sugar extraction, which in turn affects the final alcohol content and taste of the beer.

The all grain process allows for a greater control over the final flavor profile, enabling a more authentic and potentially rewarding brewing experience.

How could one potentially tweak this American Pale Ale recipe to experiment with different flavor profiles?

Experimentation is at the heart of homebrewing, and this American Pale Ale recipe offers a solid foundation for such endeavors. Tweaking the hop varieties, adjusting the malt bill, or even experimenting with different yeast strains can lead to a vast array of flavor profiles.

For instance, introducing a different variety of hops or using a blend of hops can bring about a new dimension of flavor and aroma.

Additionally, adjusting the malt to hops ratio can either emphasize the maltiness or the hop bitterness, allowing for a personalized touch to the classic American Pale Ale.

Bonus: Citra Pale Ale Recipe

Background

The perfect pale ale recipe is elusive.

Most homebrewers brew this style early on in their careers, but spend years trying to master it.

A great pale ale satisfies the hop heads but is balanced enough for the casual drinker. It’s one of my favorite beers, and one of those beers I always want to have on tap.

Like many recipes, you start the quest towards a homebrewed pale ale by using a commercial version for inspiration. The above recipe is not a bad starting point either.

Do you want it to taste like Dale’s? How about Mirror Pond, or Sierra Nevada, or Alpha King? Maybe you want your pale ale to lean more towards the British side, with more balance from the malt without the complexity of the NEIPA.

I’ve always enjoyed the grapefruit-like citrus flavors from the cascade hops used in Sierra Nevada’s pale ale, as well as the tropical fruit flavors from the citra hops found in their Torpedo IPA.

With that in mind, I created this Citra Pale Ale, named for the citra bittering hop but brewed with both citra and cascade. I love the beer, and others do to. I will continue to make some tweaks to the recipe, but I’ve finally found my house pale ale.

The cascade and citra hops blend beautifully together. There is a bright, fresh hop flavor but no harsh bitterness. The malt profile is simple but provides a solid supporting act for the hops.

Here is the recipe for those interested in trying it. It will never be perfect, but to my palate it is really, really good:

Citra Pale Ale Recipe Details and Instructions

Batch size: 6 gallons
Original Gravity: 1.056
Final Gravity: 1.011
ABV: 5.9%
IBU: 35

Malt

11 lbs. 2-Row (90%)
.75 lbs Crystal 40L (6%)
.5 lbs CaraPils (4%)

Hops

Citra AA% = 12
Cascade AA% = 6
.5 oz Citra (60 min)
.5 oz Citra (15 min)
.5 oz Cascade (15 min)
.5 oz Citra (0 min)
.5 oz Cascade (0 min)
.5 oz Citra (dry hop)
1 oz Cascade (dry hop)

Yeast

WLP001 California Ale yeast with 2 liter yeast starter.

Extract Option:

Replace the 2-Row with 8.25 lbs light liquid malt extract. Add half of the extract in the beginning and half with 15 minutes left in the boil to preserve the lighter color of this beer.

Process

Mash at 154F. Cool to 66F and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68F until fermentation stops, then transfer to secondary and dry hop for 7 days. Carbonate to 2.2 volumes.