Brewing an Australian pale ale, the style and the hops

Brewing an Australian pale ale at home

An Australian pale ale is a good first beer to aim at, and not only because it is the one most of us actually drink. The malt side of it is restrained, so there is nowhere for a heavy handed malt bill to hide, and the character comes from the hops, which is the part you have the most control over as a home brewer.

What makes the style

Pale gold to light amber, a clean malt base that supports rather than dominates, and a hop character that is fruity and floral rather than the pine and resin you get in an American pale ale. Bitterness is present and balanced rather than aggressive. It should finish dry enough that you want the next mouthful.

The Australian part is mostly the hops, because the hops grown here have a distinct fruit character that the English and American varieties do not.

The hops that give it the flavour

Galaxy is the one that defines the modern Australian style, and it brings passionfruit and citrus in a way that is unmistakable once you have tasted it. It is also strong, so it is easy to overdo on a first batch.

Citra and Centennial are American but they sit well in the same beer, citrus forward and clean. Nelson Sauvin comes from New Zealand and brings a white wine note that people either love or find odd, and it is worth trying once you know what you like. Cascade is the gentler option and a sensible place to start.

The rule of thumb worth knowing is that early additions in the boil give bitterness and lose the aroma, and late additions keep the aroma and give very little bitterness. For a pale ale you want some of both, so a hop early and a hop in the last few minutes.

Two ways to get there

The straightforward way is a kit, which is a tin of hopped malt extract with the yeast under the lid. You add the extract, a brew enhancer, water and the yeast, and the recipe is already balanced for you. It is a real beer and there is nothing second rate about starting here.

The other way is unhopped liquid malt extract plus your own hops, which is more work and gives you the say over the hop bill. This is where most people end up after a few kit batches, because it is the point at which the beer starts being yours rather than the kit's.

Running the batch

1. Sanitise everything. Same first step every time, and the one that decides most outcomes.
2. Dissolve the extract in warm water, stirring so nothing catches on the bottom of the pot.
3. Boil, and add the hops at the times the recipe gives you. If you are working it out yourself, an early addition for bitterness and one in the last five minutes for aroma is a sound starting point.
4. Cool the wort properly before the yeast goes in, then into the sanitised fermenter and seal it with the airlock.
5. One to two weeks fermenting, somewhere with a steady temperature. A neutral ale yeast is what you want, because the hops are meant to be doing the talking and a characterful yeast will argue with them.
6. Bottle with priming sugar and give it a fortnight before you open one.

Shop related products

• Thomas Coopers Innkeeper's Daughter Sparkling Ale 1.7kg. Brewed in the South Australian sparkling ale tradition, and about as close to home as a kit gets.
• Thomas Coopers Bootmaker Pale Ale 1.7kg. American style pale ale with toffee malt behind it, if you want the hoppier end.
• Coopers Light Malt Extract 1.5kg. Unhopped pale malt base for when you want to pick your own hops.
• Coopers Brew Enhancer 2 1kg. Dextrose, maltodextrin and light dry malt, which suits a pale ale well.
• Beer Essentials No Rinse Sanitiser 25g. Sanitising is where a good batch is won or lost.

Did you know we stock the hops in store and they are not on the website. Galaxy and Kent Golding in 25g, and Nelson Sauvin, Citra, Chinook, Centennial, Fuggles and Kent Golding in 100g, plus Cascade and Hersbrucker for finishing. The Coopers International Australian Pale Ale tin is on the shelf in store too. Give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 to check what is there. More in the Coopers range and the beer supplies online, and Brewhilder will help you plan the hop bill.

Read next

• Brewing beer with liquid malt extract, the basics
• Top five common homebrewing mistakes and how to fix them
• Why every homebrewer needs a decent fermenter

Galaxy is a hop that does not do subtle, so respect it or it will take over the beer entirely.

Candeece

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