Batch #003 - Yankiwi Pale

I started my third batch of homebrew at the weekend. It's based on an American Pale Ale recipe but with the addition of some New Zealand hops, hence the name. The recipe is:

• 270g Crystal malt, steeped for 30 mins
• 1.8kg Light liquid malt extract (LME), boiled for 60 mins
• 1.8kg Light LME, added at end of boil
• 25g NZ Hallertauer hops, boiled for 60 mins
• 27g Galena hops, boiled for 60 mins
• 12g Cascade hops, boiled for 15 mins
• 10g East Kent Goldings hops, added at end of boil and left in fermenter

Half a teaspoon of Irish Moss was added for the last 10 minutes of the boil. The yeast used was Safale US-56 dried yeast, rehydrated in one cup of water before pitching. The boil volume was 13 litres, which was made up to 23 litres for fermentation. Yeast nutrient salts were added prior to pitching.

It's now bubbling away in a fermenter in my Fermentation Cabinet (i.e. an old fridge with a temperature controller on it). However, the temperature controller doesn't seem to be working at the moment (will try and look at it tonight) so I'm having to regulate the temperature by manually switching the fridge on and off.

The intended Original Gravity (OG) of the beer was 1.047, but when I tipped the wort into the fermenter I noticed I had some malt extract stuck to the bottom of the pot. As a result the measured OG was only 1.040, which is a bit on the weak side. The bitterness should be around 58 IBUs which is pretty damn bitter (a good thing).

I'll post updates if there is anything interesting to say as we go along.