2025 Q3 Community brew

[J A]

Glad you like it, that hop combo sounds tasty!

Yea it kind of rides that line between session IPA and pale ale, but the low color and low abv and zero caramel malt characters prevent it from being a true APA. Session IPA is close, but it's best between 30-40 IBUs, so not bitter enough on paper for an IPA.

Honestly golden ale is the closest fitting style. And if you read the description on BJCP they highlight the emphasis on low malt character and abv but very hop forward and typically features American hops despite the style name. Wish they would drop the British part of the name it just seems to confuse people

https://www.bjcp.org/style/2021/12/12A/british-golden-ale/

Maybe American Golden Ale should be a new style category. It would be more session-able than a Pale and more bitter and hoppy/juicy/fruity than a Blonde. Your beer is solidly in the lane of "Northwest Pilsner", of which there are a number of really good examples, but the ale yeast makes it simpler to brew, in some ways. I do like the British Golden Ale as a good, basic beer to have on tap - super accessible for those who don't like big, hoppy beers and with a little more character than a typical lager.

 

[Craigerrr]

I'm going to call it an APA, Annabrit Pale Ale

 

[Megary]

Got mine kegged yesterday. BRY-97 took it from 1.048 —-> 1.007. 85% attenuation, 5.4% abv.

Took a few samples from the hydrometer and I gave it the chef’s kiss. Looking forward to tapping this next weekend.

 

[J A]

Here's my version of the Q3 brew...I wanted a couple of different versions so I hopped the crap out of half of it and slightly diluted the other half and left "plain" with only bittering hops and a little flavor addition of Willamette so I'd have a basic UK pub-style beer in addition to the more hoppy and bitter PNW version.
They're a couple of days and already I can see that they'll be very different beers and I think both will be really good.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1583741/on-tap-ale-q3-2025

 

[Sunfire96]

Here's my version of the Q3 brew...I wanted a couple of different versions so I hopped the crap out of half of it and slightly diluted the other half and left "plain" with only bittering hops and a little flavor addition of Willamette so I'd have a basic UK pub-style beer in addition to the more hoppy and bitter PNW version.
They're a couple of days and already I can see that they'll be very different beers and I think both will be really good.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1583741/on-tap-ale-q3-2025

Nice!

 

[Craigerrr]

Gravity was 1010 Thursday morning so I hit it with 25PSI and set the fermenter to 2C, will probably keg it Wednesday

 

[Craigerrr]

Fermenter of Annabrit Pale Ale, I like it!
6.3% instead of 5%, and there is enough hop presence and bitterness to back up the gravity. It has been cold crashing since Friday, probably not going to clear up any more than this, but I will leave it for a couple more days.

 

[Sunfire96]

Fermenter of Annabrit Pale Ale, I like it!
6.3% instead of 5%, and there is enough hop presence and bitterness to back up the gravity. It has been cold crashing since Friday, probably not going to clear up any more than this, but I will leave it for a couple more days.
View attachment 33012

Cheers!

 

[Craigerrr]

Maybe I should call it an AGA Annabrit Golden Ale

 

[J A]

Mine is lacking attenuation, so far - 1.050 to 1.011 for just over 5% ABV - but I can let it sit another day or two. I won't be too disappointed if it doesn't go any lower because it ended up with a fair amount of bitterness and even though my whirlpool was weak, the bio-trans hops really did the trick for producing huge hop flavor and aroma. A little residual sweetness will help balance that out.
The UK Golden split seems spot on - 1.046 to 1.011 for 4.5% ABV with really nice malt flavor and perfect bitter bite and hop presence. Very nice British-style pub ale.
Both are pretty much ready but it's just day 7 tomorrow and I can let them settle and clean up for a day or two before crashing and kegging.

 

[Craigerrr]

Drew some off to share with my Pallies tonight, and kegged the rest

 

[Megary]

@Sunfire96

I’m hooked.
Nice hops presence, appropriate bitterness, the malt still plays, finishes dry, begs for another sip. And with an ABV in the low 5’s, it is incredibly crushable. Love this beer.

 

[Sunfire96]

@Sunfire96

I’m hooked.
Nice hops presence, appropriate bitterness, the malt still plays, finishes dry, begs for another sip. And with an ABV in the low 5’s, it is incredibly crushable. Love this beer.

View attachment 33052

Dang, that's some high praise Thanks @Megary !!

 

[Sunfire96]

@Megary so what do you think, is it a (n American) golden ale or a session IPA?

 

[Megary]

@Megary so what do you think, is it a (n American) golden ale or a session IPA?

Yep.

If by American Golden Ale you mean a Blonde Ale, then I think my answer would be session IPA. Or just a session American Pale Ale. But to be honest, I have no idea what an AGA is.

Who cares, I’m on my 3rd!

 

[J A]

@Megary so what do you think, is it a (n American) golden ale or a session IPA?

I think it's a better take on the "Northwest Pilsner" style. Since it's an ale and not a lager but still keeps the lighter malt profile and relatively clean flavor and finish, it's not really an American Blonde. I'm calling it PNW Golden Ale and plan to keep it in rotation! American Golden Ale is a perfectly good name for the style and I do think it's stylistically distinct from, though similar to American Blonde.

I just kegged the other day and it's starting to clear a little and getting to the right carb level. I expect that the relatively bio-trans hopping will leave some good hop juice in suspension so it'll be more like a hazy style. My batch is perfectly hoppy with a very clean malt profile. Very drinkable. Congrats on a great recipe, @Sunfire96 .

 

[Craigerrr]

With mine finishing at 6.3 due to unforseen circumstances, I gotta tell ya, even at 6.3 there is enough, or at least an appropriate bitterness to consider it an IPA. My beer snob buddies liked it Wednesday night, quote unquote, "this is good Craigerrr"

 

[Sunfire96]

I think it's a better take on the "Northwest Pilsner" style. Since it's an ale and not a lager but still keeps the lighter malt profile and relatively clean flavor and finish, it's not really an American Blonde. I'm calling it PNW Golden Ale and plan to keep it in rotation! American Golden Ale is a perfectly good name for the style and I do think it's stylistically distinct from, though similar to American Blonde.

I just kegged the other day and it's starting to clear a little and getting to the right carb level. I expect that the relatively bio-trans hopping will leave some good hop juice in suspension so it'll be more like a hazy style. My batch is perfectly hoppy with a very clean malt profile. Very drinkable. Congrats on a great recipe, @Sunfire96 .

Thanks! I like PNW Golden Ale

 

[Sunfire96]

With mine finishing at 6.3 due to unforseen circumstances, I gotta tell ya, even at 6.3 there is enough, or at least an appropriate bitterness to consider it an IPA. My beer snob buddies liked it Wednesday night, quote unquote, "this is good Craigerrr"

True, and I think the bitterness can be adjusted without the beer changing too much. I try to keep the calculator below 40 IBUs, which would not be enough to be an IPA.

 

[J A]

True, and I think the bitterness can be adjusted without the beer changing too much. I try to keep the calculator below 40 IBUs, which would not be enough to be an IPA.

Mine penciled out to 46 IBUs. That's probably fairly accurate - it's got a pretty good bite to it but it's not harsh and has good flavors and aromas to smooth it out. It's a little tough to be accurate with a split batch. The other half, which only got the Magnum for bittering and and an ounce of Willamette at 5 minutes, calculates at 33 IBUs. That one doesn't really seem that bitter but it's probably about right. I'll have to judge when it carbs fully and drops good and clear.

I recently acquired a new mash tun specifically for doing 5 gallon batches and I'll be interested in developing this recipe on its own. I think that playing with the hop schedule in the boil to bring the IBUs down just a little and keeping the bio-trans hop routine will give it a really nice flavor profile.