# Alpha Pale Ale



## JSB (28/10/07)

HI All enjoyed a few Alpha Pales at The Archer this afternoon, and I thought seeing my next brew will be an APA why not have a crack at an Alpha Pale knock off....Here's where I finished up.....any thoughts ?

Cheers
JSB

Style: American Pale Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0) 

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 23.00 L 
Boil Size: 30.67 L
Estimated OG: 1.057 SG
Estimated Color: 22.8 EBC
Estimated IBU: 36.8 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU 
5.20 kg BB Ale Malt (5.9 EBC) Grain 87.39 % 
0.25 kg JWM Crystal 140 (145.8 EBC) Grain 4.20 % 
0.25 kg JWM Wheat Malt (3.9 EBC) Grain 4.20 % 
0.20 kg Weyermann Melanoidin (70.9 EBC) Grain 3.36 % 
0.05 kg Bairds Pale Chocolate Malt (500.4 EBC) Grain 0.84 % 
25.00 gm CB - Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (60 min) Hops 22.1 IBU 
10.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (30 min) Hops 5.4 IBU 
10.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (15 min) Hops 3.5 IBU 
10.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (10 min) Hops 2.5 IBU 
20.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (5 min) Hops 2.8 IBU 
20.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (1 min) Hops 0.6 IBU 
0.05 tsp Sodium Met (Mash 60.0 min) Misc 
0.50 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc 
1 Pkgs US-56 (Safale) Yeast-Ale


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## Randall the Enamel Animal (28/10/07)

A quick question; why do homebrewers add sodium metabisulphite to their mashes? The previous brewer at my work used to do the same thing.


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## JSB (28/10/07)

Randall the Enamel Animal said:


> A quick question; why do homebrewers add sodium metabisulphite to their mashes? The previous brewer at my work used to do the same thing.



Always have done - de-chlorinates the water....in Adelaide we dont generally have water with our chlorine but chlorine with our water....


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## Kai (28/10/07)

I used to because I heard it would help knock out the chlorine in the water; a useful thing when brewing with Adelaide water. And it supposedly helps protect against HSA too.

On the recipe, it looks a little maltier and darker than Alpha. Not sure what the hop bill is on the beer but the quantities look about right to me.


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## Jye (28/10/07)

IMHO LCPA has nothing on Alpha pale ale h34r: I just wish it was available at more pubs  

I get a big piny hit from it so I think it needs more than just cascade and that much cascade will make it too resinous. Maybe some simcoe or a little chinook at the end?

Look forward to the results.


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## JSB (28/10/07)

Hi Kai,

Grabbed the colour and IBUs from the website....yeah I might knock back some of the Melanoidin....or sub for some munich II

Cheers
JSB


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## Vlad the Pale Aler (28/10/07)

Is'nt the dominant hop in Alpha Pale Ale, super alpha? Happy to be corrected here.

Sod met is supposed to ward off the evil spirit of HSA, if you believe in spirits that is.


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## JSB (28/10/07)

From the website
_
Alpha Pale Ale

After adding bittering hops into the kettle at the start of the boil, the alpha acids are boiled out of the hops and infused into the brew to develop the bitterness. The Cascade hops (which come from Washington State USA and are not to be confused with the Cascade Brewery in Tasmania) are added to the kettle late in the boil to develop aroma, giving the Alpha Pale Ale its intense and complex hop characters.

Working with these hops you could quite easily fall into the trap of brewing a beer that is totally dominated by a hop character._


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## Vlad the Pale Aler (28/10/07)

JSB said:


> From the website
> _
> Alpha Pale Ale
> 
> ...




....fairy muff, I rest my face.


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## Kai (28/10/07)

I thought Alpha was a beer dominated by hop character myself. Though not too far to the point of imbalance.


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## Guest Lurker (28/10/07)

Vlad the Pale Aler said:


> ....fairy muff, I rest my face.



I reckon they are telling porkies. I made a beer with late super alpha that had that distinctive resiny, piney character that alpha pale ale has. I have never achieved that sort of hop presence using cascade.


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## enoch (28/10/07)

Guest Lurker said:


> I reckon they are telling porkies. I made a beer with late super alpha that had that distinctive resiny, piney character that alpha pale ale has. I have never achieved that sort of hop presence using cascade.


The quote only says that cascade are added late in the boil. They don't say what the bittering hops are that are at the start of the boil so I guess it could be something else...


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## sinkas (28/10/07)

fosters was too tight to use cascade anyway...


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## Thirsty Boy (29/10/07)

I might be able to find out the actual hop schedule on Alpha Pale. Its my favourite APA as well and I've been thinking about asking Brad for a hint or two on how to brew a knock off.

I'll sound him out sometime this week; and if I get a decent response, I'll pass on a clone recipe of my "own" design

Thirsty


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## JSB (29/10/07)

Awesome thanks Thirsty - be good to get that piney flavour - chinook is just to harsh for my liking....that piney flavour just seems to be so prominent to be added as just a bittering additional

Waiting with anticipation

Cheers
JSB


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## mfdes (29/10/07)

The Matilda Bay head brewer came to the hopsters meeting in Hobart a few months back and I asked him what hops it had. he said they use five varieties at different stages through the boil. Amarillo was one, Cascade was another, but the other three elude me. 
In any case I also find it a bit imbalanced. Much prefer the Moo Brew myself. 

On a different note I had a Mountain Goat Pale Ale that was so highly carbonated it oozed out of the bottle. I had to pour it into 2 glasses. Taste was OK, though it was hard to get past the pricklyness of all that CO2. 
Are they like that by design or was mine a freak?

MFS


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## cliffo (29/10/07)

mfdes said:


> On a different note I had a Mountain Goat Pale Ale that was so highly carbonated it oozed out of the bottle. I had to pour it into 2 glasses. Taste was OK, though it was hard to get past the pricklyness of all that CO2.
> Are they like that by design or was mine a freak?
> 
> MFS



Yours was a freak - I read another post on here that mentioned there was a bad batch released. 

I had a Goat PA yesterday and it was fine.
cliffo


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## mfdes (29/10/07)

Good to know.
Guy at the pub must have seen some like mine before. He gave me two glasses with it, before he opened it, so he was expecting it.

MFS.


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## Beer Krout (30/10/07)

Visited the Matilda Bay Garage Brewery in Dandenong, Victoria, with the Melbourne Brewers club, late last year. 
That's where the Alpha Pale is currently made. 
We even tried some straight from the cold conditioning vats, fantastic aroma.
It's dry hopped heavily with Amarillo and Cascade and cold conditioned for a month. Not sure about any others hop varieties.

Also, there are only two malts in it. Pale and Dark Crystal.

Just what i was told.

Cheers
BK.


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## mfdes (30/10/07)

Beer Krout said:


> Visited the Matilda Bay Garage Brewery in Dandenong, Victoria, with the Melbourne Brewers club, late last year.
> That's where the Alpha Pale is currently made.
> We even tried some straight from the cold conditioning vats, fantastic aroma.
> It's dry hopped heavily with Amarillo and Cascade and cold conditioned for a month. Not sure about any others hop varieties.
> ...



Sounds familiar. Super Alpha also rings a bell, perhaps for bittering?

MFS.


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## JSB (31/10/07)

final recipe....

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - www.beersmith.com
Recipe: 0016 Alpha Paler Ale
Style: American Pale Ale
TYPE: All Grain


Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 23.00 L 
Boil Size: 30.67 L
Estimated OG: 1.055 SG
Estimated Color: 23.1 EBC
Estimated IBU: 37.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU 
5.20 kg BB Ale Malt (5.9 EBC) Grain 90.91 % 
0.25 kg JWM Crystal 140 (145.8 EBC) Grain 4.37 % 
0.10 kg JWM Wheat Malt (3.9 EBC) Grain 1.75 % 
0.10 kg Weyermann Melanoidin (70.9 EBC) Grain 1.75 % 
0.07 kg Bairds Pale Chocolate Malt (500.4 EBC) Grain 1.22 %  
25.00 gm CB - Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (60 min) Hops 22.4 IBU 
10.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (30 min) Hops 5.4 IBU 
10.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (15 min) Hops 3.5 IBU 
10.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (10 min) Hops 2.6 IBU 
20.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (5 min) Hops 2.8 IBU 
20.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (1 min) Hops 0.6 IBU 
10.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (Dry Hop 10 days) Hops - 
5.00 gm CB-06 Amarillo [8.90 %] (Dry Hop 10 days) Hops - 
0.05 tsp Sodium Met (Mash 60.0 min) Misc 
0.50 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc 
1 Pkgs US-56 (Safale) Yeast-Ale 

Any other recommendations/comments


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## Thirsty Boy (31/10/07)

I've dropped Brad (Rodgers, the head brewer) an e-mail to ask him if he would be kind enough to give a little recipe advice. Of course he only has a very little less reason to tell me to piss off than joe blow off the street, so there might be no joy. But then again... there might.


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## ausdb (31/10/07)

Thirsty Boy said:


> I've dropped Brad (Rodgers, the head brewer) an e-mail to ask him if he would be kind enough to give a little recipe advice. Of course he only has a very little less reason to tell me to piss off than joe blow off the street, so there might be no joy. But then again... there might.


He's normally pretty helpful, showing him you have done your homework helps


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## Thirsty Boy (1/11/07)

Received a reply from Brad.

Fairly helpful - but not quite the completely detail hopping regime that I never really expected to get.. but hoped for.

LOTS of cascade late in the boil. And also dry hopped towards the end of fermentation (secondary for HB purposes I imagine)
They have used but dont always use a "touch of Amarillo, not much though" dry hopped.
And somewhere in there there is Mt Hood and Centenial.

And he says it Fermented with 1056, slowly at around 16C


So thats a little more information to go on at least.

Thirsty


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## Jye (1/11/07)

Thats some good info TB. I think we have the grain bill sorted from the info on the web site and below is my version of a hopping schedule. 

Being a commercial brewery I think there are a few conditions for the hops... relatively simple hopping and the high AA hop variety for bittering. Im still unsure on the mt hood as it will be over powered by all the late cascade but given that centennial is probably used for bittering (and I dont really get it in the flavour) mt hood could be in there for flavor somewhere.

Plus some calcium sulfate to make the hop stick out.

Alcohol: 5.2% OG 1.053
Bitterness: 35 IBU
Colour: 23EBC

92% Pale Malt 
8% Crystal, Dark

Centennial [10.00%] (60 min) Hops 24 IBU 
1 g/L Mt. Hood [6.00%] (15 min) Hops 6 IBU 
2 g/L Cascade [6.00%] (5 min) Hops 5 IBU 
2 g/L Cascade [6.00%] (Dry Hop 5 days) Hops - 

1 Pkgs American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) Yeast-Ale


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## Ross (1/11/07)

Jye said:


> Thats some good info TB. I think we have the grain bill sorted from the info on the web site and below is my version of a hopping schedule.
> 
> Being a commercial brewery I think there are a few conditions for the hops... relatively simple hopping and the high AA hop variety for bittering. Im still unsure on the mt hood as it will be over powered by all the late cascade but given that centennial is probably used for bittering (and I dont really get it in the flavour) mt hood could be in there for flavor somewhere.
> 
> ...



you giving this one a whirl Jye? Is the Alpha pale available up here anywhere?

Cheers Ross


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## Jye (1/11/07)

Ross said:


> you giving this one a whirl Jye? Is the Alpha pale available up here anywhere?
> 
> Cheers Ross



Ive only had it at the Stones Corner bar... may have to go back for a few more samples before brewing it


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## Guest Lurker (1/11/07)

Hey Jye

Over here in the west, I have a reputation for spitting beer that has dark crystal in it back in the face of the bloke that made it. Really dont like it. But I really like Alpha Ale. Are you sure about that 8%? At 8% I would expect to be getting raisin/plum/sherryn flavours that I dont really taste in that beer?


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## Jye (1/11/07)

Your right, 8% is a fair bit. I took 'dark crystal' from the web site to mean crystal  but maybe its chocolate? 2% will get you in the correct colour range without the flavour addition.


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## Thirsty Boy (2/11/07)

I forgot to mention what he said about the grain bill...

"A touch of crystal malt for palate weight and colour"

So I reckon its maybe a little less than 8%, and probably a mid range rather than a really dark crystal... or maybe its a really dark crystal and only a % or two.

I reckon some of that Centenial and Mt hood might be later in the boil. I really get a chunk of stuff from the Alpha hop profile that isn't normal Cascadiness. I don't know what Centenial tastes like... but I reckon some of the herbaceous/resinous thing could be Mt hood, they're kinda pungent like that.

I wouldn't worry about ascribing the highest Alpha Acid hop as the "bittering" hop from a cost perspective. I don't think cost really plays a big part in the way Brad designs his beers. And they get it back when they sell you a bottle. Have you seen how much that stuff costs for a case??

But it probably is bittered mainly with the centenial anyway. I'll have crack at this one sooner or later and I think I'll pretty much follow your recipe.. but with a little less crystal and maybe reserve a little of the Mt Hood and Centenial for the flavour addition.

I'm trying to set up spending an afternoon out at the Garage to watch them do a brew. I've got the nod, just a matter of timing. If I can get some more inside info when I'm out there, I'll pass it along.

Thirsty


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## bconnery (2/11/07)

Ross said:


> you giving this one a whirl Jye? Is the Alpha pale available up here anywhere?
> 
> Cheers Ross



Ross,
I've seen it at a few independent stores in Brisbane. The website lists their stockists if I recall correctly...
http://www.matildabay.com/
Chalk and Cheese, West End; Chalk and Cheese, Teneriffe; Spotted Cow Hotel, Toowoomba; Vegas Liquor, Brisbane CBD; Vegas Liquor, Indooroopilly. 
Plus Dan Murphy's, but not necessarily for their small batch range, of which alpha pale ale is currently one according to the site...


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## Jye (2/11/07)

Thirsty Boy said:


> I'm trying to set up spending an afternoon out at the Garage to watch them do a brew. I've got the nod, just a matter of timing. If I can get some more inside info when I'm out there, I'll pass it along.
> 
> Thirsty



Keep an eye out for any whiteboards :lol:


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## JSB (2/11/07)

Thanks Jye & TB and other contributors 

Here are the two recipes for Sunday.....

*
Recipe: 0016 Alpha Paler Ale v1*

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 23.00 L 
Boil Size: 30.67 L
Estimated OG: 1.052 SG
Estimated Color: 23.0 EBC
Estimated IBU: 35.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU 
5.10 kg BB Ale Malt (5.9 EBC) Grain 93.24 % 
0.30 kg JWM Crystal 140 (145.8 EBC) Grain 5.48 % 
0.07 kg Bairds Pale Chocolate Malt (500.4 EBC) Grain 1.28 % 
25.00 gm CB-05 Centennial [9.40 %] (60 min) Hops 25.3 IBU 
5.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (30 min) Hops 2.8 IBU 
5.00 gm CB-05 Centennial [9.40 %] (30 min) Hops 3.9 IBU 
20.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (5 min) Hops 2.9 IBU 
20.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (1 min) Hops 0.6 IBU 
5.00 gm CB-06 Amarillo [8.90 %] (Dry Hop 10 days)Hops - 
10.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (Dry Hop 10 days) Hops - 
0.05 tsp Sodium Met (Mash 60.0 min) Misc 
0.50 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc 
1 Pkgs US-56 (Safale) Yeast-Ale 
*
Recipe: 0017 Alpha Paler Ale v2*

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 23.00 L 
Boil Size: 30.67 L
Estimated OG: 1.052 SG
Estimated Color: 23.0 EBC
Estimated IBU: 36.8 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU 
5.10 kg BB Ale Malt (5.9 EBC) Grain 93.24 % 
0.30 kg JWM Crystal 140 (145.8 EBC) Grain 5.48 % 
0.07 kg Bairds Pale Chocolate Malt (500.4 EBC) Grain 1.28 % 
20.00 gm Simcoe [11.90 %] (60 min) Hops 25.6 IBU 
5.00 gm Simcoe [11.90 %] (30 min) Hops 4.9 IBU 
5.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (30 min) Hops 2.8 IBU 
20.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (5 min) Hops 2.9 IBU 
20.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (1 min) Hops 0.6 IBU 
5.00 gm CB-06 Amarillo [8.90 %] (Dry Hop 10 days)Hops - 
10.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (Dry Hop 10 days) Hops - 
0.05 tsp Sodium Met (Mash 60.0 min) Misc 
0.50 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc 
1 Pkgs US-56 (Safale) Yeast-Ale 

Cheers & I'll report back..

JSB


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## JSB (17/11/07)

Ok gents - just kegged the two Alpha Pale knock offs - Brew 17 with Simcoe Amarillo nice but no Alpha......

Brew 16 - Malt complexity very low.....quite thinnish, attenuation was way up......Hop characteristic not far off piney, slight grassy note - maybe the Amarillo dry hop which I find subsides with time - definitely more Centennial needed in the flavour additions minus the cascade......very nice refreshing ale - which I find Alpha Pale to be, This one will be for x-mas so a bit of extended conditioning may round it out a touch


Recipe: 0016 Alpha Paler Ale v1

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 23.00 L
Boil Size: 30.67 L
Estimated OG: 1.052 SG
Estimated Color: 23.0 EBC
Estimated IBU: 35.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.10 kg BB Ale Malt (5.9 EBC) Grain 93.24 %
0.30 kg JWM Crystal 140 (145.8 EBC) Grain 5.48 %
0.07 kg Bairds Pale Chocolate Malt (500.4 EBC) Grain 1.28 %
25.00 gm CB-05 Centennial [9.40 %] (60 min) Hops 25.3 IBU
5.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (30 min) Hops 2.8 IBU
5.00 gm CB-05 Centennial [9.40 %] (30 min) Hops 3.9 IBU
20.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (5 min) Hops 2.9 IBU
20.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (1 min) Hops 0.6 IBU
5.00 gm CB-06 Amarillo [8.90 %] (Dry Hop 10 days)Hops -
10.00 gm CB-06 Cascade [6.70 %] (Dry Hop 10 days) Hops -
0.05 tsp Sodium Met (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
0.50 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs US-56 (Safale) Yeast-Ale


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## Thirsty Boy (17/11/07)

Cool, sounds like you are nearly there.

Mash a little warmer, swap out some cascade for centennial. Maybe use a british ale malt for more malt flavour??

What temps did you mash at.. how long etc etc

TB


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## JSB (17/11/07)

Thanks TB for your help - I will try with some Bairds MO & Crystal next time, and mash up the temp scale a touch

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 5.47 kg
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body
Step Time Name Step Temp 
60 min Mash In 66.0 C 
10 min Mash Out 76.0 C


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## Jye (23/11/07)

Thirsty Boy said:


> I'm trying to set up spending an afternoon out at the Garage to watch them do a brew. I've got the nod, just a matter of timing. If I can get some more inside info when I'm out there, I'll pass it along.
> 
> Thirsty



Have you managed to make it out there Thirsty?

Im giving my recipe above a crack today and any further insight would be great.


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## asis (27/1/09)

Sorry to drag up an old thread, but there isn't much information on Alpha Ale and I'm keen to have a go at it.

Just wondering if anyone has had any success or more information? Thirsty?

Thanks

Adam


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## Osangar (1/2/09)

I am also interested in some further feedback if available

JSB after a long conditioning if the beer lasted that long, what was your thoughts on recipe tweaks. Which was close to the intended taste, v1 or v2. 

Thirsty, did you find any further guidance for those interested in the Alpha.

As a side note is it me, or does Alpha Pale seem less.hopy than it has before ?


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## MattC (10/2/09)

!!Bump!!


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## JSB (10/2/09)

Osangar,

I am about to re-brew it this weekend - hopefully.

Cheers
JSB


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## Yikes (11/2/09)

Told me they add the dry hops at high krausen. Dont know how much difference it makes but apparently they get the new guy to do it as the foam gushes out the top of the fermenter!


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## cdbrown (2/4/09)

Is there any chance someone could give a recipe using extract with some specialty steeped grains? Had this beer the other night at the Queens hotel and thoroughly enjoyed the full hoppy flavour.


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## eamonnfoley (2/4/09)

cdbrown said:


> Is there any chance someone could give a recipe using extract with some specialty steeped grains? Had this beer the other night at the Queens hotel and thoroughly enjoyed the full hoppy flavour.




I have a massive craving for it - best APA Ive had the pleasure of tasting (especially on tap).

Will probably drop into the Queens this evening!


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## Bongchitis (27/5/10)

Bump!

Yeah I know its an old thread, but a great beer.

Has anyone came close yet... or nailed a recipe.

I have got a recipe together in the db under Beta based on bits and bobs of info above.

Comments welcome.


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## Magro (6/6/10)

JSB said:


> Osangar,
> 
> I am about to re-brew it this weekend - hopefully.
> 
> ...



Did you end up re-brewing this?? If so how did it go? Any tweaks?


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## JSB (22/6/10)

will dig up my recipe tonight, remember it being close but no cigar, not resiny enough if I remember- a few beers since then. I will post recipe

Cheers
JSB


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## Aus_Rider_22 (29/9/10)

Sorry to drag this up.

Due to a recently opened new bottle-o that actually has some real craft beers I've been sampling a few different 6 packs. I was like a kid at Christmas when I first walked in. Before this shop opened the best smaller brewery beers that was available was James Squire, Bees Neez and a few imports. Now there is an abundance of micro-brewery stuff from here and overseas. Looking forward to trying the trappist beers and the assorted beers in "pint" bottles!

Anyway I am on my last bottle now and keep getting a very strong malty aroma and then taste. Maybe it's due to my limited tasting of beers but it really stands out to me and is very tasty! Anyone else notice the malt profile rather than just the hops? What would I be tasting? The crystal malt? I've used Carapils, Caramunich1 and a couple others before but never got the sweet smelling/biscuity aroma and taste before. Thanks.


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## scarlesso (13/12/10)

JSB said:


> will dig up my recipe tonight, remember it being close but no cigar, not resiny enough if I remember- a few beers since then. I will post recipe
> 
> Cheers
> JSB



Stop stringing us along, did you find the recipe???

I'm completely in heart with this stuff. Got a batch of grain from Beerbelly the other day.

Trying a SNPA grain recipe as the base with the hopping profile of alpha. Using 120L crystal instead... will see how I go.

I'lll keep you informed...


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## Phoney (16/12/10)

Interesting to note that Fat Yak now goes for $49 a case in some places but Alpha Pale sells for $87 at Dans...

If someone could nail down a clone I reckon i'd give up brewing any other beer. :lol:


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## DJR (16/12/10)

Never tried it but...

For resiny go for NS, Simcoe or Amarillo dryhopped - all 3 will give a pine needle resin

Hmm.. i wonder where near me sells it

edit: a touch of caramalt won't help get anywhere near 24EBC


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## proudscum (16/12/10)

When i talked to the brewer many years ago before it was brewed at the mbg or pre contract brewed in the same brewery POR was the base bittering hop that was used in all of there beers.
Will have a dig around and see if i can find all the notes i took on the beers.This beer should be the same price as the others but maybe cause its a reasonable drop they have always upped the price!!!


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## cdbrown (16/12/10)

It's a great drink, crazy that the bottle price is so high when the tap price is the same as any other beer. Glad fat yak is at a reasonable price.


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## scarlesso (17/12/10)

phoneyhuh said:


> Interesting to note that Fat Yak now goes for $49 a case in some places but Alpha Pale sells for $87 at Dans...
> 
> If someone could nail down a clone I reckon i'd give up brewing any other beer. :lol:



If I could nail a clone of this I'd not only give up brewing any other beer, I'd give up oxygen and learn to breathe it like fish breathe water OR brew enough for a drip running into a vein 24/7...


That's how much I endorse this fine product.


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## Phoney (17/12/10)

DJR said:


> Never tried it but...
> 
> For resiny go for NS, Simcoe or Amarillo dryhopped - all 3 will give a pine needle resin
> 
> Hmm.. i wonder where near me sells it



boozle.com.au says dan murphy's penrith...


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## kjparker (12/7/11)

Any luck with a final recipe for this one? Working my way through a 6 pack, and thoroughly enjoying it!


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## eamonnfoley (12/7/11)

cdbrown said:


> It's a great drink, crazy that the bottle price is so high when the tap price is the same as any other beer. Glad fat yak is at a reasonable price.



Yeah when they brought out fat yak, they rebranded the pils, dogbolter and alpha, and decided they would sell 4 packs for more than what the 6 pack used to cost. Thats when I stopped drinking them out of principle. I remember the days when they were all on tap at the Queens!

I remember the alpha on tap being an american red ale. Malty, caramel sweetness, and resiny dry hopped goodness. Seems to look quite pale now. Based on memories from 2-3 years ago I would be going with something like:

pale ale malt 83%
Munich I 5%
English dark crystal 7%
English medium crystal 3%
pale chocolate 1-2%

Then hop to just under IPA levels wth cascade, centennial, simcoe. Then dry hop the same combo.


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## jimmysuperlative (12/7/11)

I got this one on my to brew list Molly's Alpha ...


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## jkmeldrum (12/10/11)

jimmysuperlative said:


> I got this one on my to brew list Molly's Alpha ...


Dragging up an old thread here I know, but did you give this recipe a go jimmysuperlative?

I haven't actually brewed this one since that recipe, but I'm about to order some grain for another go this weekend, was wondering what your thoughts were on that one?

I'm thinking about the following:

23L Litre brew

4.8kg Thomas Fawcett FM Maris Otter
.2kg Bairds Dark Chocolate
.4kg Bairds Torrefied Wheat

Going to sub out the POR hops I used previously for Simcoe which might give that smoother, piney bittering I'm looking for. 0 min additions will be dry hopped at high krausen in primary 


Molly's Alpha
10-A American Pale Ale
Author: Justin Meldrum

Size: 23 L
Efficiency: 75%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 205.93 kcal per .473 L

Original Gravity: 1.047 (1.045 - 1.060)
Terminal Gravity: 1.012 (1.010 - 1.015)
Color: 25.16 (9.85 - 27.58)
Alcohol: 4.57% (4.5% - 6.2%)
Bitterness: 39.2 (30.0 - 45.0)

Ingredients:
4.8 kg Thomas Fawcett FM Maris Otter 
.2 kg Bairds Dark Crystal
.4 kg Bairds Torrified Wheat
12 g Simcoe (12.2%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
15 g Amarillo (8.2%) - added during boil, boiled 20 min
15 g Cascade whole hop flowers (6.7%) - added during boil, boiled 15 min
15 g Amarillo (8.2%) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
30 g Cascade whole hop flowers (6.7%) - added during boil, boiled 5 min
30 g Cascade whole hop flowers (6.7%) - added during boil, boiled 1.0 min
30 g Cascade whole hop flowers (6.7%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
0.5 Whirflock tablet, boiled 10 min

Schedule:
Ambient Air: 21.11 C
Source Water: 15.56 C
Elevation: 0.0 m

60 min boil
60 sach rest
Single Infusion light body mash 66C

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated

Cheers

Molly


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## JaseH (12/4/12)

Molly said:


> Dragging up an old thread here I know, but did you give this recipe a go jimmysuperlative?
> 
> I haven't actually brewed this one since that recipe, but I'm about to order some grain for another go this weekend, was wondering what your thoughts were on that one?
> 
> ...



Well this thread is harder to kill than Hitler! :unsure: 

How'd this last attempt end up Molly? I'm keen to give an Alpha clone a go and wondering if you got any closer on the last recipe?


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## Charst (12/4/12)

Radio Brews News did a interview with Scott Vincent for Matilda Bay and he doesn't tell you much but does give a few hints on the recipe.

http://www.brewsnews.com.au/2012/03/rbn-ge...-scott-vincent/

feed://www.brewsnews.com.au/feed/podcast/


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## jkmeldrum (12/4/12)

Frothie said:


> Well this thread is harder to kill than Hitler! :unsure:
> 
> How'd this last attempt end up Molly? I'm keen to give an Alpha clone a go and wondering if you got any closer on the last recipe?



Gidday Frothie

Yep, this thread will live on for a while yet I'm sure.

I've only attempted it twice since then as I like to keep a variety of styles on tap at any time, but ready to give it another go very soon.

For my first go, there was no Simcoe around anywhere so I just stuck with a small amount of POR for bittering as I'd done in my previous attempt. I got the colour spot on with the Dark Crystal addition with the TF FM MO, but it was still lacking in terms of maltiness that Alpha has. To me, this beer is beautifully balanced (for my palate) and is malty with those caramelly sort of flavours but also with a decent hit of flavour/aroma hops that just can't be beaten. It was nice, but no cigar!

Then, inspired by McLaren Vale IPA, which I've been drinking a bit of lately, I tried a recipe inspired by the 10min IPA on the database using the same grain bill, I think I put in a single 180g addition of Cascade flowers at 10min to the end of the boil. Once again - nice but a little more bitter than I thought it would be and not as much flavour/aroma as I was hoping for....all gone now so can't have been too bad! Still not enough maltiness to get close to an Alpha clone.

I think given these results, I will be trying to capture that maltiness by possibly adding some Munich or Melanoidin as someone suggested earlier in the thread. (But as I've never used either, I'm not exactly sure how this will work) and I think I'll go back to my very first attempt where I used a combination of Cascade/Amarillo with a fair whack of it very late and some dry hopping.

Just finishing off my Brutus 10 inspired brew stand at the moment, so I've promised myself no more stove-top brewing until I get off my arse and finish the gas plumbing (probably in the next few days) then I'll give this recipe another go this weekend.

I shall return and report back!


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## Logman (22/5/12)

Had another go at this yet Molly - wouldn't mind cloning Alpha PA....


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## jkmeldrum (22/5/12)

Logman said:


> Had another go at this yet Molly - wouldn't mind cloning Alpha PA....


Funny you should ask Logman....

just got a delivery of malt for a double keg batch which I'll be doing later this week. Haven't quite got the hop schedule worked out yet, but I know I'll be doing more dry hopping than last time.

Here's what I'll be trying this week:

7.5kg Bairds pale ale malt
1.0kg Weyermann Munich I
0.6kg Bairds medium crystal
0.5kg Torrefied wheat.

I changed from MO to Bairds, added some Munich to add some more maltiness and went back to medium crystal instead of the dark crystal, just to see the difference it makes.

Will probably try bittering with Simcoe this time, and will have Cascade and Amarillo.

I'll let you know how this version turns out.


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## Logman (22/5/12)

Molly said:


> I'll let you know how this version turns out.


That would be great, love this beer and definitely want to give it a go...


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## stakka82 (18/8/12)

oldest thread ever...

I've only just started to really get into this beer. I would guess:

95% pilsner or pale
5% some type of caramunich

centennial or columbus for the bulk of the bittering, cascade late, and a touch of amarillo

had 3 tonight now and trying to hone in closer with every sip, it really is a great example of an apa


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## markau (17/8/13)

Just tried this fantastic beer. Like with any good APA, I love the balance of malt and hops, with that lovely pineyness and a crisp taste. Anyone nailed the recipe?


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