Horton’s Homebrew – Crescent Moon

Crescent Moon (5.5% ABV and 38 IBU) is a pale ale and one of my newer creations in my adventure in home brewing.  My recipe is 6# Briess Pale LME, 1.25# Briess Sparkling Amber DME, 8 oz. Briess Caramel 20L and 8 oz. Briess Caramel 40L.  Steep the Caramel Malts in 153-degree water for 30 minutes and strain.  Add enough water for approximately 2.5 gallons, added the DME and brought it to a boil for 60 minutes.  Cascade hops were added in 0.5 oz increments at 60 – 30 –15 - 5 minutes with a 1 oz. additional at knockout.  During the boil, I heated up the Briess Pale LME to make it easy to pour.  The wort was chilled and water was added to bring to 5 gallons in the fermenter.  Yeast was Wyeast 1968 – London ESB ale and fermented 2 weeks at 68 degrees.  Finally, use 4.5 oz of corn sugar in 1 C. water – bring to boil – chill and add to bottling bucket with the beer.  This resulted in 24 – 12 oz. bottles and 13 – 22 oz. bottles with some left over for tasting.  OG – 1.058, FG – 1.016, SRM 11.1, IBU 38.19 with the Rager formula, and 5.5% ABV.  I was shooting for an APA that was more on the malty side with a nice hop bitterness too.

American Pale Ale (APA)  - Of British origin, this style is now popular worldwide and the use of local ingredients, or imported, produces variances in character from region to region. Generally, expect a good balance of malt and hops. Fruity esters and diacetyl can vary from none to moderate, and bitterness can range from lightly floral to pungent.   American versions tend to be cleaner and hoppier, while British tend to be more malty, buttery, aromatic and balanced.  Beeradvocate

Appearance – Light Amber with a nice two-finger head this has good carbonation too.

Aroma – One can easily pick up a biscuit / light dough aroma from the malts and a fruit / citrus smell from the hops.

Taste – You first taste sweetness a little honey or caramel then a hit of hop bitterness that is fruity and a finish of biscuit / bread.

Overall – B - this turned out very well and I will stick with the base grain bill.  I will brew this again and will next play with the yeast and the hops

URL - Ingredients sourced at The Brew Hut - http://www.thebrewhut.com/