Coldwater 420 - Special Pale Ale
This was originally supposed to be a clone of Sweetwater Brewery's 420 Extra Special Pale Ale, however I think my version comes out a lot better and tastier. I chose the name "Coldwater" because the city tap water where I live comes from the Coldwater aquifer ( Coldwater Alabama ) which supplies much of the name brand bottled water that you buy at the store if you live around the South - very tasty spring water, and also as you can see Coldwater sounds kind of like Sweetwater...
This is a really great beer, if you like Sweetwater 420 then I think this would be a beer that you'd really enjoy. Its not an exact clone, for one thing I think my version ends up with a little more alcohol than the real Sweetwater 420 since beers in Georgia and Alabama are limited to 6% ABV, using promash I estimate mine ends up about 6.5% and I also think that the malt is more pronounced in my version.
Regardless, it makes an extremely tastey beer and its an easy recipe that you'll enjoy.
SG: 1.065
FG: 1.012
Color SRM - 7.0
Bitterness: 45 IBUs
Here is the Recipe:
Malts:
7 1/2 Pounds - Pale Malt American 2-row, ( 1.036 - 2L ) - 65.2%
1 1/2 Pounds - Light Munich Malt ( 1.033 - 10L ) - 13%
1 1/2 Pounds - Vienna Malt ( 1.035 - 4L ) - 13%
1/2 Pound - CaraAroma ( 1.036 - 25L ) - 4.3%
1/2 Pounds - Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt ( 1.033 2-L ) # .5 - 4.3%
Hops:
1 ounce Cascade ( 5.75% Alpha ) @ 60 minutes
1.5 ounce Cascade ( 5.75% Alpha ) @ 30 minutes
.5 ounce Cascade ( 5.75% Alpha ) @ 5 minutes
Yeast:
Fermentis Safale US-05
Heat 3.5-4 gallons of water to 165F, or hot enough to bring the mash to 153F. Mash at 153F for 80 minutes, then drain. Sparge with 4.5-5 gallons of water at 170F, to collect 7.5-8 gallons of wort.
Bring wort to a rolling boil and add the hops according to the schedule.
Chill wort to 70F and pitch 1 envelope US-05.
Ferment in Primary at 60-65F, for about 8 days or until gravity drops to 1.012. Rack to secondary and let it clear for another 7 days, or add 1 envelope of unflavored gelatin disolved in boiling water to the secondary and it will clear in about 2 days instead. Keg it or Bottle as usual, with 5 oz of priming sugar.
One thing to note, I make no attempt at all to strain the hops from the wort when going from the brew pot to the fermenter. I only try and filter the beer when I rack from the primary to the secondary and I rely on the gelatin in the secondary to clear the beer. So far, I'm very pleased with how clear it gets.