Longfellow EPA

Here's my English Pale Ale, hand crafted using a combination of raw grain and extract home brewing techniques. This was my last bottle out the five gallons I made this winter. Initially it was suspected of giving me a four day fever but later this proved to be unfounded. Thanks to then-pregnant Alewife for living smell of the boiled malt extract and hops on brewing day. I love that smell, the aroma of accomplishment. Once you get past that first day, the effort require to home brew is non-smelly and totally manageable (this was pre-Sig).

Here's my beer geek review:

Appearance
Burnt orange color (Hook 'Em Horns!). The head develops fine off white bubbles that quickly dissipate.

Nose
Citrus smell from the Cascade hops (similar to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale). Smells good!

Mouth
Smoother and less spicy than Sierra Nevada. Hoppy and crisp, slightly sweet, light malt, thirst quenching. Slight yeast, more so as the bottles aged and at the bottom of the glass.

Body
Thin. This is a session brew. Two 22 oz bottles causes a warm tingling sensation in extremities and temperal region (5.4% ABV).

Improvements
Enhance head retention and creaminess. Rough up the round edges for a greater hop bite and finish without going overboard.

Next brew: Hopefully I can birth an IPA of West Coast Pale Ale in June. Next winter I'd like to make a Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale clone and my first lager.

Funny: Miller Lite commercial touting it's superior taste because it's hopped 3x.

Pail to Pale

This afternoon I bottled four and a half gallons (I left behind half a gallon with the yeast and spent hops) of English Pale Ale. Cleaning and sanitizing goes faster when using 22 ouncers but it's still a pain in the ass. The first bottle should be lightly carbonated and drinkable in two week. I'm not sure if Pale Ale's are supposed to be copper colored, but I'll drink what I've got.

Here's Northern Brewer's description of the kit I brewed:

Easy to brew, tastes great in a bottle or a keg... it's no surprise that English pale ales are consistently popular with homebrewers. English pale ales are generally maltier, sweeter, and less aggressively hopped than the American version. Our kit produces a slightly caramelly, copper-brown, medium-bodied ale with a flowery, fruity boquet and subtle bitterness from real English hops. We selected Wyeast Whitbread Ale for this kit because of its high flocculation, which makes it possible to package the beer and drink it very fresh — try serving it on tap at a low level of carbonation. Rule Britannia!