M&M Session Pale Ale

My plan here was to brew a lowish ABV beer that I could drink plenty of without too much consequence. Initially I was thinking maybe 3% ABV or even lower but then I decided to aim more for around the 4% mark as it’s easier to make a decent tasting beer at that level. However my efficiency turned out much better than expected and I ended up with an OG of 1.047 instead of the 1.041 that my recipe calculator forecast. So it’s looking pretty close to ‘normal’ PA levels.

To maximise flavour in a low ABV beer I went with Munich malt as the main base malt to get a bit more malt flavour from the small malt bill. I mashed high (70C) to get more unfermentable sugars from the mash and reduce alcohol while maintaining body. I kept the mash shortish, 30 mins. I noticed much more heat loss than usual with the thin mash so although starting the mash at around 70C, it ended up in the low 60s.

M&M = Munich & Mosaic

Style Information

Name: American Pale Ale
Recipe Type: All Grain

Grains & Extracts

Name Amount Notes
Munich I 3 kg
Pale Ale Malt 1 kg
Wheat Malt 0.5 kg

Hops

Name Amount Alpha Acid % AAU Time Notes
Mosaic 0.02 kg 11% 0.22 30
Mosaic 0.02 kg 11% 0.22 10
Mosaic 0.03 kg 11% 0.33 0
Mosaic 0.03 kg 11% 0.33 0

Adjuncts

Name Type Use Amount Time Notes
Malto-Dextrine Other Boil 1 kg 0

Yeasts

Name Amount Notes
Safale US-05

Mash Steps

Name Step Type Step Time Temperature
Saccharification Rest Infusion 45 70 C

Boil

Amount: 27.3 liters
Water Description:
Time: 30 minutes
Target Batch Size: 26 liters

Profile

Estimated OG: 1.041
Estimated FG: 1.010
Estimated ABV: 4.05%
 
Actual OG: 1.046
Actual FG: 1.014
Actual ABV: 4.19%
 

Tasting notes

A decent enough, easy drinking beer, but tastes like what it is - a 4%, modestly hopped beer, so a tad on the bland side but it is what it is - a session beer.

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