The Pale Ale that I have made several times in the past (the one I thought was an IPA) has become a house staple, so as we are reaching the last few bottles it made sense to make some more.
This brewing day was actually fully based on my previous Pale Ale brewing (I just added notes to the last page) with a few changes/adjustments:
Mashing – I reached a slightly higher temperature this time due to lack of control over the mash tank; this led to a lower mash gravity – only 1075 compared to 1091 last time.
Boiling – to compensate for the lower mash gravity I increased the amount of dextrose at the start of the boil from 100g to 200g.
Cooling – took longer (45 minutes compared to 30 minutes last time) as we are in a new flat with a smaller sink.
Again the batch is 7 liters but this time it had a higher OG – 1041 compared to 1036; I guess that 170g of dextrose would have been enough to compensate for the lower mashing gravity.
I would like to try and find a way to stabilize my mashing without getting a mash tank, but I’m not really sure how; I guess it is about experimenting with my hob to find the right balance.