5 Barrel Pale Ale (10A) - EXTRACT

I wanted to recreate this beer, because I've had it a few times on ski trips to Colorado and New Mexico. I thought it would be a good one to make, so I could compare it w/ some I would bring back from my most recent ski trip to Colorado this last Spring. I did the AG w/ US05. I had to add water to the primary, in order to get the wort up to 5-1/4 gallons. This brew requires a 90 minute boil, and I brewed it in late June in Texas...needles to say I lost some volume during the boil. Results: Color is spot on. Clarity: mine is not as clear, but that can easily be done w/ finings, or more time in the keg. Aroma: Neither beer is overly aromatic. Both are approximately the same. Mouth Feel: Mine is lighter bodied, and more crisp. I'm sure that's due to the lower OG, and water addition to the fermenter. Taste: Very accurate. If it wasn't for the mouth feel, I'm not sure I could tell the difference. Overall: A very good clone, Probably a good one to make in cooler temperatures, so you don't boil off so much water. It actually worked out well, because mine was light enough to drink poolside, in the back yard during the hot summer months.

I wanted to add some more detail to my last review of this clone. I fermented at room temperature for 2 weeks, and then added the dry hops to the primary. I then racked it tot he secondary, and let it go for another week. Then, I cold crashed for 24 hours. I added no finings. I kegged it this last Friday, and we drank it pool side w/ the neighbors this weekend, along w/ some BBQ from the pit.

I absolutely love this recipe. We started the batch on 01/08/11 and cracked the keg open on 03/21/11. This was in the primary for a little over a month, in the secondary for just under a month and aged in the keg for about a month. (sort of lost track of time on this one but it came out great.) We did a blind taste test on this one with some 5 Barrel we bought on a trip to Colorado while the homebrew was aging in the keg. Everyone picked the homebrew as the best tasting of the two. I will definitely be brewing another batch of this. The keg had to be mislabeled to keep any around.

When i got the package i was shocked that a Pale Ale had something like 7oz of hops. Turns out most are aroma hops. All in all i was thoroughly impressed with this beer. Although I've never had the original so i don't know how it compares. Even beer haters liked this beer.