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18B American Pale Ale

APA — Greenbacker Variant

Brewed 2024-10-31 Batch · 24 L Owen Paterson
ABV5.4% OG1.052 FG1.011

Grain bill

Gladfield American Ale Malt 4 kg 62.5%
Gladfield Vienna Malt 0.85 kg 13.3%
Gladfield Wheat Malt 0.85 kg 13.3%
Gladfield Supernova Malt 0.5 kg 7.8%
Gladfield Sour Grapes Malt 0.2 kg 3.1%

Adjuncts

Yeast nutrient half tsp @ 10 min
Whirlfloc half tablet @ 10 min

Hop schedule

Hop 60 minWPDH#1
Mosaic 10g·90g
Nelson Sauvin ·150g·

Yeast

Mangrove Jacks M54 California Lager2 packets

Water additions

Calcium Sulphate 1 tsp in mash
Magnesium Sulphate half tsp in mash
Calcium Chloride 1 tsp in mash
Lactic acid (88%) 4 drops in sparge

Tasting notes

Crisp and clear with hop-forward flavours and moderate bitterness. Mosaic and Nelson Sauvin late additions shine through. M54 gives clean lager-like character at ale fermentation temperatures.

About This Beer

A riff on the Greenbacker kit from League of Brewers in Nelson, a kit Owen had made three years earlier that produced a smooth citrusy pale ale.

This time the American Ale Malt scaled up by a kilo, with Supernova and Sour Grapes added to the grain bill, taking the total grist up and the gravity with it.

Mosaic handles both the bittering and a day-3 dry hop. Nelson Sauvin takes the star role as a large late whirlpool addition at 75°C for 20 minutes, its white wine and tropical notes prominent in the finished beer.

Mangrove Jack’s M54 California Lager, fermented under pressure at ale temperatures, gives a clean profile that lets the hops speak.

Packaging

Final keg pressure was 6.3 psi at 9°C, which is 1.6 volumes, so it was topped up with external CO2. Into keg and bottles on 15 November 2024.