18B American Pale Ale
Tasman Pale Ale (October 2022)
Grain bill
| Gladfield Ale Malt | 4.8 kg | 82.8% |
| Gladfield Aurora Malt | 1 kg | 17.2% |
Adjuncts
| Whirlfloc | half tablet @ 10 min |
| Yeast nutrient | half tsp @ 10 min |
Hop schedule
| Hop | 60 min | 10 min | DH#1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waimea | 20g | · | 30g |
| Taiheke | · | 70g | 30g |
Yeast
| Safale US-05 | 1 packet |
Water additions
| Calcium Chloride | 4 g in mash |
| Calcium Sulphate | 2 g in mash |
Tasting notes
About This Beer
Third captured Tasman Pale Ale. Brewed 14 months after the previous iteration (batch 13, July 2021). The recipe has been simplified and rebalanced — and at NZD $1.95/L this is the cheapest batch in the captured collection.
What’s Different vs Earlier Tasman Pale Ales
| Earlier batches (11 & 13) | This brew (#29) | |
|---|---|---|
| Base malt | Malteurop 2-Row Ale | Gladfield Ale Malt |
| Hops | Motueka 58 g + Waimea + Taiheke | Taiheke 100 g + Waimea 50 g (no Motueka) |
| Water (mash) | CaCl₂ + CaSO₄ + MgSO₄ | CaCl₂ + CaSO₄ only (no MgSO₄) |
| Water (sparge) | Split CaCl₂ + CaSO₄ | none |
| Mash out | 75 °C × 10 min | 76 °C × 20 min |
| Priming sugar | 160 g | 140 g |
| Cost | $48 ($2.06/L) | $43 ($1.95/L) |
Grain Bill
5.8 kg total:
- 4.8 kg Gladfield Ale Malt (base — 82.8 % of grist)
- 1.0 kg Gladfield Aurora Malt (malt depth, slight colour lift)
Hop Schedule — Lean Two-Hop, No Whirlpool
Just 150 g total:
- Waimea 20 g at 60 min — bittering (high alpha)
- Taiheke 70 g at 10 min — flavour and aroma
- Waimea 30 g dry hop on day 7 — pine and tangelo
- Taiheke 30 g dry hop on day 7 — passionfruit and lime
Taiheke is now the dominant variety at 100 g — was 50 g in earlier batches. The shift makes this a Cascade-family-forward (Taiheke = NZ Cascade selection) Pale Ale rather than the Motueka-led versions before.
Fermentation
1 packet of Safale US-05 pitched at 18 °C for 10+ days. Dry hop on day 7 from pitch: 30 g Waimea + 30 g Taiheke.
OG came in 3 points over target (1.056 vs 1.053). FG hit 1.012 vs 1.009 target — 3 points over. The two over-shoots cancelled out: ABV came in at exactly 5.78 %, matching the target precisely (and matching batch 13’s actual ABV — Owen targeting replication and getting it).
Packaging — Priming Sugar Recovery
140 g of sugar for bottle conditioning at 22 L bottled — ~6.4 g/L. A notable jump up from the recent under-carbonated batches.
| Batch | Sugar | Volume | g/L | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazy IPA II (#23) | 130 g | 22 L | 5.9 | — |
| Black IPA (#24) | 120 g | 22 L | 5.5 | — |
| Black IPA (#25) | 105 g | 20.8 L | 5.0 | ”less fizzy” |
| Red IPA (#26) | 100 g | 24 L | 4.2 | unknown |
| Tasman PA (#29) | 140 g | 22 L | 6.4 | ”good head” ✓ |
After the under-carbonation trough in #25 and #26, this is the first “good head” recorded since the upward correction.
Numbers
| Stage | Target | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Mash + sparge | 32.5 L | 32.5 L |
| Pre-boil | 28 L | 27 L |
| Boil addition | 2 L | 2 L |
| Post-boil | 27 L | 26.5 L |
| Into fermenter | 24 L | 23 L |
| Bottle | — | 22 L |
| Target | Actual | |
|---|---|---|
| OG | 1.053 | 1.056 |
| FG | 1.009 | 1.012 |
| ABV | 5.78 % | 5.78 % |
Cost — The Cheapest Brew
$43 total / 22 L = $1.95/L — the cheapest batch in the captured collection. The cost driver is restraint across the bill:
- Grain: 5.8 kg (typical batches use 6–7 kg)
- Hops: 150 g (typical batches use 250–350 g)
- Yeast: 1 packet (most recent batches use 2)
Lineage
- Tasman Pale Ale (April 2021) — original modification of Occasional Brewer recipe
- Tasman Pale Ale (July 2021) — re-brew of April version
- This brew — Tasman Pale Ale (October 2022) — base malt switched to Gladfield Ale, Motueka dropped, Taiheke doubled, water profile simplified