Epic Beer

Just some quick feedback for those that have asked, yes the current batch of Epic Pale Ale is slightly different. It was kegged and bottled on the 5th & 6th of May, with kegs now on tap and bottles arriving on shelves over the next couple of weeks.

You can find the code on the shoulder of the 330ml bottles
BB 06.05.10 (BB=Best Before)
B0379 xx.xx (B=batch number)(xx.xx=time)

It seems firstly that we have used some coloured malt that is out of spec and is lighter in colour than what we expected. This has resulted in the colour being lighter.

Secondly we are now using current season US Cascade hops at 7.6% alpha. Prior batches to this had had a blend of current and previous seasons hops (US Cascade 6% alpha).

The double whammy effect of the lighter crystal malts not only means the colour is lighter but the malt sweetness is slightly lower, but also the hop character is greater being fresher and greener from being 100% current season.

Over all there is a noticeable difference but it isn't significantly different.

Ahh, the joys of using agricultural crops which change from season to season.

FUTURE CHANGES
Over the coming batches I will be trialling using English Maris Otter malt (a variety of malt) in varying percentages. The reason for this trial is that the beer I brewed in the UK at Everards Brewery in Leicester for the JD Wetherspoons Real Ale Festival we used Maris Otter.

Reason for this was it was their standard base malt and they had a silo full of it. So we gave it a go and it turned out fantastic, and the extra malt flavour really seemed to improve the beer.