How to Brew Australian Pale Ale

There’s nothing like cracking open a cold brew after a hard days work – even better sipping on a beer you’ve made yourself! Australian pale ales are great for warm weather, so whether you’re having everyone over for a summer BBQ or heading down to the beach, this will be the perfect drink to quench your thirst.

Ingredients

• 2.5 kg dry malt extract (DME) light
• 230 g ale malt, crushed
• 230 g carapils, crushed
• 100 g Amarillo hop pellets 
• 50 g Cascade hop pellets 
• 100 g Chinook hop pellets
• 50 g Galaxy hop pellets
• 20 litres water, ideally 8 litres refrigerated
• 10 g SafAle US-05

Equipment

• Grain mill
• Pail fermenter OR Fermentasaurus Snub Nose
• Sanitiser

Directions

Heat 4 litres of water in a large pot to 71°C and remove from heat. Tie the ale malt and carapils malt in a mesh hop-bag. Add malt to water and let steep for 20 minutes.

Raise temperature slowly to 77°C. Make sure mesh bag is not sitting directly on the bottom of the pot. 

Remove the grain bag and add 8 litres of water to make 12 litres in total.

Bring the wort to a vigorous boil. As water is heating, slowly add malt extract, stirring constantly until completely dissolved. When boil begins, add 50g Amarillo hops in mesh bag.

After 45 minutes of boiling has passed, add 50g Amarillo, 25g Cascade and 50g Chinook hops in mesh bag.

After another 15 minutes of boiling (60 minutes in total) remove from heat, add 25 g Cascade and 50 g Chinook hops in mesh bag and cover. Warning: After wort cools below 80°C everything that touches it should be sanitary, and exposure to open air should be limited as much as possible.

Cool wort by placing pot in ice bath until it is below 30°C. Transfer to sanitised fermenter (e.g. pail fermenter or Fermentasaurus). Add 8 litres of refrigerated water.

Sanitise outside of yeast package, fermentation stopper and airlock. Carefully pour yeast into cooled wort (it should be below 21°C), and agitate vigorously. Ferment in a dark place, keeping ambient temperature consistent, preferably between 17-20°C.

After primary fermentation is complete (7 – 10 days), add 50 g Galaxy hops.

1 – 3 days later cold crash to 1 – 2 °C.

Force carbonate at 20 psi for 3 days.

Drop to 10 psi, serve and enjoy!